draconian - 3-8-2004 at 07:21 PM
From Terminalcity.ca:
IMA Robot
No, I am
By Phil Oats
Sat., Mar. 6th 2004
If you saw the White Stripes last fall, you saw IMA Robot opening the show with their blast of frenetic, new wave, edgy, jarring and angular (yet
melodic) spunk. I spoke with Justin Meldal-Johnsen, who has been playing bass with Beck for the last nine years.
TCW: What you're doing with this band is not quite the funk, folk, blues of Beck. Where's your heart with it all?
Justin: I'm a bit of a chameleon. It's what I've been known for forever. The reason IMA Robot came to fruition is I had a long hiatus
from touring with Beck after the Midnight Vultures tour in 2002, and I was yearning for a band experience, but the specific thing about this band is
this, musically, is where my heart has been forever, in terms of doing something that's a little renegade, very hyper, up-tempo and kind of free,
in the way that post-punk was very free.
TCW: So what were you listening to that developed your love for this?
J: I grew up in Los Angeles in the heyday of a big radio station called KROQ...
TCW: Rodney on the ROQ.
J: Rodney Bingenheimer is this sort of L.A. icon;a real music maven, a guy who turns people on to the best of stuff from around the world that's
cutting edge; and he has a particular predilection for punk rock, new wave, post-punk, insane garage rock from the '60s, Stooges, '70s and
'80s stuff, Buzzcocks, Gang Of Four...
TCW: He was also into the Paisley Underground stuff, too.
J: That is just where I was going with this. The first type of things that I was able to see were like, Gun Club and The Three O'clock. Then
after seeing all those kinds of bands, it was inevitable I would go back to the bands that inspired them: Bowie, Roxy Music, and Wire. I found this
bunch of guys...guys who were a lot younger than I--and we found this commonality. The guys in IMA Robot were a bit young for that, but they got
turned on to quality music and we developed a level playing field for what we do together. These guys are the ideal Mojo reader without even reading
Mojo.
TCW: How's the live show progressed?
J: It's basically all about a forum to go nuts. Our singer is a nutball. He's insane in the best way. Alex is probably one of the most free
performers I've ever even seen, in terms of what he's willing to do and put himself on the line onstage. When I was playing with Beck, it
was very much a band vibe, and when we would do the crazier side of his material, the show was very liberated, very free and it was a freak show. IMA
Robot follows that path and allows me to be very expressive and reckless, and that's kind of the motif of the live show. It's a little sexy,
a little sexual, a little androgynous, free and full of life and fun.
TCW: It's not so insular.
J: Not at all. It's a bit of a dance party and we get punky and fun and dancey, but I think the fact that we have a little bit more of an agenda
is stuff that will keep us from becoming stale, for us and for others, I hope.
TCW: It's about uplifting and positive energy, rather than negative.
J: No question. I just find that selfish. We're more interested in the audience than what's going on in our own heads. We like to throw a
party and we like to be kind of stimulating and sometimes, maybe, dare I say shocking? Our agenda can be achieved by making people feel inspired or
free or energetic or socially aware. I know that sounds a little pompous, but if we can achieve that just by being ourselves, that's ideal.
TCW: I just saw Neil Young and I thought, "here's a guy thinking what can he do besides get on a soapbox and be annoying, who instead is
gonna put on this big musical that addresses what's happening to the family..."
J: And what's happening to the town...
TCW: Yeah. He puts it out through his art, makes people think about things, raises the issues and entertains you at the same time. I just thought
that's a great model of using your stage...incorporating your responsibility as a human and a performer.
J: Oh, shit yeah! We're not out there making any money, but we do get put on these stages. Why don't we take people out of their headspace a
little bit, but when we meet kids after the show, like, have a little discourse. Fuck it. Why roll your eyes and think it's pretentious? Bands
that do that... they achieve shit and it's inspiring and there are all kinds of people who do it really well, especially if it doesn't
detract from their musical 'thing.' The masters seem to do it really smoothly--not taking you out of the musical inspiration...that's
fuckin' awesome.
[Edited on 3-9-2004 by draconian]
RoboticTerrorSTD - 3-8-2004 at 07:59 PM
damn Justin is one cool cat!