From
straight.com:
Programmed To Dance
By shawn conner
Ima Robot Angers Audiences With Its New-Wave Theatrics
If you're crossing the street in Los Angeles and you're a member of Ima Robot, the last thing you want to see coming up the road is a black
Jetta. At least three members--keyboardist Ollie Goldstein, guitarist Tim Anderson, and bassist Justin Meldal-Johnsen--have former paramours who might
be behind the wheel, singer Alex Ebert says.
in & out...
Ima Robot's Alex Ebert sounds off on the things that enquiring minds want to know.
On America's electoral processes: "Unfortunately everyone's so controlled by the media, and our information sucks--the person with the
most money gets the most attention and that's the person you end up knowing about. Take [Democratic presidential hopeful] Dennis Kucinich--nobody
knows who he is, and it's fuckin' a shame, man."
On eating healthy: "I get off on eating what makes me feel good. Like, yesterday I had this half-pound lump of raw ground beef. That shit goes
straight to my brain and totally wires me. I eat it in front of people and they think it's very strange."
On Canadians: "I'll tell you, we were just in Toronto and it was a very bizarre show. The crowd was extremely wary of us. They were watching
us as though we were putting on a play. It was extremely awkward, and we haven't gotten that in a while because people are getting familiar with
us and don't stare at us like we're a car wreck anymore."
"Well, Tim's ex-girlfriend drives a silver Jetta now," he corrects from a tour stop in Philadelphia. "And Justin doesn't keep
track of his ex, but definitely Ollie's ex-girlfriend drives a black Jetta, as do a few of her friends. And they're all brunettes and they
all have pretty faces, not to mention the plethora of other girls in L.A. who drive those cars. It just makes for a fuckin' heart attack around
every corner if you're not on good terms with your ex-girlfriend. I've no fucking idea why they drive those cars, though. Jetta must have
done some kind of marketing-genius manoeuvre."
Ebert is explaining the inspiration behind the song "Black Jettas" off the band's self-titled debut. To be sure, there are catchier and
more decadently danceable tunes on Ima Robot. The first single, "Dynomite", grafts a nursery-rhyme melody onto an irresistible groove and an
explosive chorus, while "Alive" pulses with glammy Brit-pop melodrama. And "Scream" shows the band can do poignant yet steely
balladry as well. But on "Black Jettas", Ima Robot achieves a perfect balance of humour and new-wave theatrics.
A former aspiring rapper who wanted to record a demo, Ebert hooked up with Anderson six years ago. The two recruited Goldstein shortly thereafter, and
eventually landed Beck sidemen Meldal-Johnsen and Joey Waronker. The latter has been replaced by Long Beach denizen Scott Devours since leaving the
band in October of last year to, according to the band's Web site, spend more time with his cats.
"There's a little bit of truth to that," Ebert says. "He gets really homesick if he's not extremely comfortable on the road.
And he's used to four-star hotels while we're sleeping on the bus, and he's used to not such a gruelling schedule, perhaps, and we were
gruelling, and then at the same time, he had a lot of other cool things he wanted to do, like score for movies. So it was best he left for the morale
of the band."
Since the release of the disc last year, Ima Robot has found itself touring almost constantly with the likes of the White Stripes, Hot Hot Heat, and
the Sounds. In fact, the group is now headlining a show at Richard's on Richards Wednesday (March 10) that was originally supposed to see it open
for the Sounds. According to Ebert, the Swedish popsters were offered the chance to open for the Strokes on the New York band's tour.
Shortly after the Vancouver date, Ima Robot joins the MTV Campus Invasion '04 Tour with such acts as H****stank and Lostprophets. The event is
about motivating college-age Americans to vote, but Ebert isn't just paying lip service to the idea.
"I'm extremely politically motivated and socially oriented, and Justin is, in regards to certain issues," he says. "The other guys
are aware to varying degrees. Some people do not want to fucking know about it; they want to keep their heads in the sand and they'll even say
it. I rant on about consumerism and they jump out and go into Wal-Mart to buy useless crap. They know what I'm talking about, and at the same
time it's very hard to break those kinds of chains. It takes a concerted effort and a lot of talk and willingness and daring." Then he adds
what has become the closest thing to an Ima Robot manifesto: "At the same time, we want to make people fucking dance. And I don't think the
two are mutually exclusive."
Some people are happy to get onboard, while others have proven resistant. And although some mainstream rock-radio stations have been embracing the
Robot, the group has encountered some downright hostile audiences. Then again, you can't expect to wear your hair in a modified mullet and sing
in a fembotlike voice over video-game keyboards and dawn-of-new-wave rhythms without expecting some sort of reaction. The first time Ima Robot passed
through town, opening for the White Stripes at the Plaza of Nations last September, the L.A. quintet's performance inspired a few drunk audience
members to express their interest in seeing the band leave the stage well before the set was over.
"I don't even remember that," Ebert says. "We got similar reactions in Berlin and London. They [the hecklers] never say anything
that's too smart, or at least that's not too smart to knock down. In London, I got that from some tough guy in the crowd who threw a piece
of ice and hit my head. I just stopped singing and put the mike down and told him we didn't have to play songs; we could just fight. I
didn't hear anything back from him. I can get pretty crazy when I'm upset. And I would've fought him, too; I wasn't joking around.
I don't mind it. You just get a bloody face. It's not the worst thing."
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