By the way, Asobi Seksu means "playful sex"

Asobi Seksu will be bringing its unique brand of delicate, soaring dream pop to the Drunken Unicorn in March. The Brooklyn-based band features Yuki’s sweet bilingual vocals that alternate effortlessly from English to Japanese. TALive spoke with Yuki about their latest release, “Citrus,” and the upcoming tour dates.

TALive: Tell us a little about your history. How did Asobi Seksu form?
YUKI: James [Hanna] and I met while we were in college. When his previous band dissolved, he was looking for someone to play keyboards, and that’s how I joined the band. Eventually I started singing. I guess maybe a year into that they decided that they wanted me to start singing all the songs. So, that’s how I ended up being the front person. I was kind of forced into it because nobody else wanted to do it (laughs).

TALIVE: Were you writing the lyrics at that point?
YUKI: I was writing all the Japanese lyrics and James and I were splitting the English lyrics. And I think that we still write in that way.

TALIVE: So was that the vision from the beginning, to have both Japanese and English lyrics?
YUKI: Well actually, it was James who convinced me that I should incorporate Japanese into our songwriting. I was very hesitant at first, but in the end I’m glad that we chose to do that because I can express myself in ways that I probably wouldn’t be able to do if I didn’t use Japanese. It’s been fun to be able to write songs in Japanese…and my mom enjoys it!

TALIVE: What exactly were you hesitant about? Were there concerns about being able to write in Japanese or was it more about how listeners would react?
YUKI: I was mostly concerned because of the language barrier. I know how important it is for most people to understand the lyrics. Even now we get so many requests for our lyrics. We don’t really do that, and I guess also because people buy on iTunes and online they don’t always get the packaging...so I guess that’s why we get so many requests for that.

TALIVE: Are they asking just for lyrics or for translation of the Japanese?
YUKI: Yeah, translation and just lyrics in general. That was definitely a concern at first, but in the end we decided that the music should speak for itself. And we all love music from different cultures, and it’s never really mattered to me that I couldn’t understand French lyrics or Indian lyrics. So, I was hoping that in the end people would just fall in love with the music. I think it’s a universal thing, and not understanding the words shouldn’t deter us from a certain kind of music.

TALIVE: Do you think singing in Japanese has attracted certain fans that might not have found your music or been interested otherwise? For example, native speakers or people who are generally interested in Japanese culture.
YUKI: I’m sure that’s the case, but I think that overall our fan base is eclectic. I’m sure we do get fans that are interested or became interested in us because they heard we sing in Japanese. But I think most people are fans of the music itself, as a whole.

TALIVE: So, were you born in the States? YUKI: I was born in Japan, but I moved to LA when I was 2. So I am pretty much American I guess.

TALIVE: Asobi Seksu just got a new drummer and bassist last year. What were the circumstances that led up to the lineup change?
YUKI: Well, with the original lineup it turned out that they didn’t really like touring so much. Touring really is not for everyone. It’s a really difficult thing to do and being away for home that often definitely is a very trying situation. You are basically living in a very, very confined space with four people 24/7 for maybe a month, two months, three months at a time. Unfortunately it didn’t work out, but we were able to find a drummer and bassist that James knew them from high school. They’ve been friends for a very long time, and it seemed natural to ask them.

TALIVE: You recently completed a cool tour with Mates of State, what was that experience like?
YUKI: It was really fun! They were great, and we had a great time with them. They are such a talented band...It was a real treat to play with a band we really enjoy and then get to see them every night for free. Plus, they were just the sweetest people, and the people they bring on the road are also awesome. It was just like a big party every night!

TALIVE Was it nice to have another female on tour?
YUKI: Oh my gosh, yes! I've never been able to hang out with other females on the road so it was very, very nice to be able to hang out with Kori. She also brings her friend on the road as well, so I had two girls. So, I was in heaven. It was funny because I remember one of our first conversations was, "you can cry on the road." I was like, "really?" and she said, "Yeah, it's ok. We all cry." (laughs) So, it was nice to be able to hear that it's not just me that freaks out.

TALIVE: What can fans expect from an Asobi Seksu show? Judging by you exceptional album artwork and the psychedelic sound of the band, is it is also a highly visual show with lights etc?
YUKI: We'd love to have an amazing light show, but we cant really afford it at this point. One thing that we do have is that we incorporate strobes into our show, and it can be pretty intense depending on the size of the stage. We’ve got that and we've got Christmas lights and they look pretty. So, that's really all we can do visually…and I try to look nice! I guess that's about it unfortunately! But when we play bigger venues, and there's a lighting person at the venue, and they do a great job for us. It would be nice to have a projection or something to enhance the show, but at this time it's just a pipe dream unfortunately.

TALIVE: Speaking of the artwork, your record was designed by Sean McCabe who worked with such artists as Interpol and Spoon. How did you get set up with him?
YUKI: He actually just wrote to us out of the blue about three years ago, and we've just been great friends since. We don’t have a big budget or anything, and he works with a lot of bigger bands. This is kind of like his pet project, and he doesn’t mind that we're broke, so we're really lucky to be able to use his artwork because he’s absolutely amazing. He's kind of like our Arturo I guess, for The Ramones, or Andy Warhol with Velvet Underground.

TALIVE: You also had Chris Zane (Calla, Les Savy Fav, The Cloud Room) on board a producer. What was he like to work with?
YUKI: He was great! We had a great time with him. We became good friends through the recording and we actually just recorded a 7 inch together over the holidays. He's a very, very talented musician and producer, so I'm glad we had great working relationship and a friendship.

TALIVE: When will that 7 inch be released?
YUKI: In the spring. It should be out in time SXSW.

TALIVE: It’s almost a cliché now to say you’re “big in Japan,” but considering the bilingual nature of your songs, have you have much success out there?
YUKI: Surprisingly, the attention came very late. We just licensed the album out, so it should be coming out some time this year [in Japan]. It was just a recent thing, and people are surprised to hear that we don’t have any Japanese fans really, and that we are being exposed to them for the very first time.

TALIVE: I don’t know much about what is popular in Japan now. Do you think your sound would really find an audience there?
YUKI: Um, I don’t' really know that much about what’s popular in Japan, either. I’m quite sure though that we wouldn’t fit into their mainstream scene. I do think there is an audience for our music though because indie rock, for lack of a better word, is popular out there.

-Michelle Gilzenrat

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Badly Drawn Interview

While young bands struggle to overcome their sophomore slump, Damon Gough was going strong until he faced the impending release of his fifth record. After struggling through five intensive weeks in the studio with Stephen Street, Gough abandoned the project entirely, frustrated by the weight of his own expectations.
It took four maddening months of constant writing before he was ready to return to the studio. The resulting release is “Born in the UK,” a quintessential Badly Drawn Boy record filled with the memorable pop melodies and subtle quirkiness that fans have grown to love and expect from this prolific artist.

TALive caught up with Damon Gough while at home in Manchester as he prepared for his upcoming tour.

TALive: It's no secret you're a big fan of Bruce Springsteen who sang "Born in the USA…" So, it’s clear you were able to connect to his music despite being from England. As you prepare to tour the US this spring, how do you anticipate American fans will react to a record titled “Born in the UK?”
GOUGH: I don't know. I mean, I've already done one US tour last year, and things went ok with that. I think when I play live whatever the connotations an individual album has goes out the window. It's just based on the fact that I'm a songwriter and I've got this record and it just happens to be called "Born in the UK." Some people read into that and some people ignore it.

It’s quite a personal thing for me. Bruce Springsteen is only one level… I wouldn't ever compare my music to Springsteen's. I wouldn’t ever say his music influenced the way I write. I think, more important than that, he just changed the way I looked at my life when I discovered the songs from the road when I was 14. In essence, I'm just sort of paying back, in tribute, the fact that that song in particular was something that meant a lot to be and then made me discover the rest of his music.

I don’t feel like I’m doing myself any justice by continually talking about Springsteen because people just think that's all I'm about. I'm actually my own singer-songwriter in my own right now, which Bruce would acknowledge as well 'cause I've met him a few times and he's been very kind about what I do. The title is just…it came out of a fluke. I was just singing a song one day without any words, and the line " I was born in the UK" came out and I went with it as an idea and then decided to call the album that because I thought it was funny. I think that people might not think it's a serious record because of that, since it's just a joke title. But for me it’s an important closing of a chapter that I'm just sort of saying "This is who I am. This is what my deal is." I was born in England, and I don’t why that is. I don’t know what difference it makes I couldn’t really care.

TALive: Considering the struggle you endured in the studio prior to releasing this record, what would you recommend to another artist who is facing similar challenges?
GOUGH: If anything is really not working out, you should just bite the bullet and walk away from it, really. But it's never that easy in practice to do that. In essence, writing songs generally or being creative or offering something to the world whether it’s a piece of art or piece of music that's creative-- it's quite a difficult thing to do. It’s very rewarding when things go well. But also, each time you do it it’s very scary because you know you're going to be judged. I've had equal and opposite praise printed, and not just on this album but on previous ones. There's been points in time where I feel like I've been credited far too heavily with just being a good songwriter. And people have thrown out words that are inappropriate such as "genius" and things like that, and you say, “well I cant live up to that.” By the same token, I've had some really scathing criticism-- people saying I'm just some windgy old bastard who sings about fey, twee things such as your family and issues like that. But I just feel like I'm a fairly decent songwriter that's doing the best I can to do something of value...Which is why I take it seriously and why I had to quit the attempted record because I didn’t feel it was quite up to scratch for one reason or another. It just didn’t' feel like the right record to release at that point.

So, I try to learn by it. I try not to take it too seriously in a way because I don’t think enough people care about it for me to worry this much. I’ve still got some decent fans all around the world. I think in America, generally, and on this record in particular, I feel like it's been received on a more honest level than perhaps it has been back home. I feel like Americans appreciate in a different way. Like in more, "it's just a good record let's forget about all the other things" way. At home at the minute I don’t think I'm taken as seriously as I should be as an artist for some reason. I'm not as cool as people used to think I was, or, that's what I feel like.


TALive: So has that pressure of being judged not diminished at all, even after 5 records?
GOUGH: Oh, for me I feel like I've made 5 albums of equal standard of songwriting. Some have been better received than others. But I think I can honestly say that I think each one is as good as the previous one. So that's my job done. My last album, for example, didn’t get a lot of credit; I think it's probably my best album ["One Plus One is One] for me personally, that is. But to get anyone else to agree with you is impossible. There's a lot about my first album just being my best, which I thoroughly disagree with. But, how I can argue with someone who likes the first album? It's not their fault. I think I've equaled that first album every time, or bettered it, because its more focused now. I don’t know, people's opinions are inexplicable at times. I feel I get judged on a level that is a little bit unfair as well. I don’t think people generally listen to the whole album. And unless you do, you don’t get the whole picture. If people just hear the singles that come out, I don’t think they really get a good picture of the music I make.

TALive: You are sort of notorious for being very honest with people, especially when you are performing. You've never had any reservations about confronting people who are being annoying. What are your biggest pet peeves out on the road?
GOUGH: Well there's really only one thing that can possibly frustrate you, aside from missing home and all that which can be difficult to deal with. But, that's personal and shouldn’t really come to play in the gig. The only time it ever does is when the sound isn’t good on stage and you can't hear. If I'm gonna be 3,000 miles away from home, and I've got a gig to do that night and the sound is so bad that I can't even hear my voice and sing the songs well, then…I saw this thing the other day, it was like a press TV show on telly about the bad boys of rock 'n' roll and one of them was Axel Rose for storming off stage about umpteen times because the sound is terrible…and everyone's saying he had no right to do that. But, I can totally sympathize with that because if you can't perform because of technical problems, then it's impossible. That happens and that's a nightmare.

Or if audiences are just chatting all the way through the song, then that can piss you off obviously, because.. its not that you want to be the center of attention, but if people are there to see a gig and you're there to play a gig then you expect a little bit of mutual respect.

TALive: Well I appreciate when you address it because a chatty audience member can ruin the show for other audience members as well.
GOUGH: It completely depends on the day of year,the night of week or whatever is happening in your life at that point as to whether these things get to you or not. I played in Cleveland once and the back half of the room was so disrespectfully chatting at the bar, I said,"Well why don't you just fuck off to the bar next door and chat there?" and I actually walked off the stage and pinned this guy against the wall and threatened to punch him because he was chatting all through the set, and you could hear him from the back of the room. I'm not in the business of doing too many times. That's the only time I've ever walked off stage to threaten an audience member (laughs).

TALive: In Athens, Ga. you handled a rude audience by spontaneously singing for people at the bar to "shut up." GOUGH: I remember that gig. It had something to with there'd been a big football game or something and everybody was completely and utterly drunk. And it was a rowdy bar I think.

TALive: That's most weekends in Athens.
GOUGH: Ha, yeah. Well, I felt like I handled it really, really well. I didn’t go too crazy that night because I had to appreciate that they'd all had a big day and that was that.

TALive: Is it true that you prefer not to have a set list?
GOUGH:Yeah, generally, but normally it just naturally evolves into a set list anyway. I tend to write down a long list of songs that I can choose from so I've got them kind of next to me on the floor. Then after you do about five or ten shows on a tour, you kind of get used to a certain way of playing them anyway. But generally I don’t even ever look at the list. It's just there as a comfort thing. It really depends, each night is different. I can kind of just shout out the next song to the band, and say right we're doing this one next, keep it going as a natural thing. Other nights you just have to refer to the list because your brain is not in gear. I generally avoid a set list if I can because it makes me feel restricted. It's nice to switch it out just see 'cause occasionally it might just work better to start with a song at the piano, or start with a solo song, or start with the whole band and deconstruct it down to solo or vice versa.

TALive: One review I read referred to "Badly Drawn Boy" as your alter ego. Do you think that is accurate, or is it just a stage name?"
GOUGH: It's just a means to end, really. On my first EP, I needed a name, and I didn’t at the time feel like using my own name because I didn’t feel like it would have enough impact for some reason. I had this name "Badly Drawn Boy" and I thought, well, I'll just use that for the EP and then I'll think of something better. I ended up not having time to think of anything better because things took off so quick, and loads of record companies were calling me up and the name Badly Drawn Boy had already become notorious. So I ended sticking with it by accident.

I think early on it did me proud in the name. It intrigued people. It sort of made them think, "What's this about? Who is it? Is it a band?" I think still people are confused in America... some people still think it's a band . but, I mean, because I got out playing with a band it's forgivable. But, it's the same as Bob Dylan going out with different bands. I've had about 10 different backing bands in the last 10 years. It's essentially a pseudonym, which I don’t know, I think one day I’m going to lose it if it's possible to. I mean, it'll be possible because people know it and know the music by it. I don’t think it's an alter ego, I don't think I essentially change. It just gives me something to aim for. Like, Badly Drawn Boy music has a certain sound. There's gotta some charm in there . I've grown to really dislike the name, personally. Which is a bit of shame really.

Featured Show:

The Loft

Atlanta, GA

Wed March 14, 2007
-Michelle Gilzenrat

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Our first comedian interview! Laughs likely.

The Beardo himself, Zach Galifianakis had a chat with TALive via e-mail this week prior to his show at Juanita's. It appears the piano-tinkering comedian has a lot on his plate for 2007, including two movie appearances and a slot on Coachella! Fans are advised to catch him in the smaller clubs while you still have the chance.

TA Live: We tried to learn more about some of your upcoming film projects, and the posted description of "Visioneers" (thanks, imdb) only describes a comedy involving people who "physically explode." Can you provide any additional insight as to the premise of the film and/or your role in it?
Zach Galifianakis: It is a very interesting little film. I shot it in Seattle and it was my first lead role. It is a story about a guy named George who is a corporate drone who has given up on life. And he tries to find a way out of his pathetic life. Those around him who dare to dream in this kinda Orwellian world end up physically exploding. He tries to dream without exploding. You know your run of the mill people exploding because of daydreaming movie.

TA Live: On the other hand, you'll also be in a more dramatic film, Sean Penn's take on “Into the Wild.” Were you working on these very different movies simultaneously or did you have a break to adjust between the two roles?
ZG: I worked on "Visioneers" right after "Into the Wild" with a little break in between.

TA Live: What age did you start playing piano? When you go to the piano to provide accompaniment for your jokes, what are you playing? Is it a composition created for that purpose, improv, or maybe a piece that someone else composed?
ZG: I started playing around with the piano around 8, I guess. I don't know how to read music so I make it all up. It just adds a bit of backdrop to my stupid little jokes.

TA Live: In the last 5 or so years, Jimmy Fallon has opened up for The Strokes, David Cross opened for Guided By Voices, and you and Patton Oswalt performed with Elf Power at a show here in Atlanta just last year. Who's responsible for making these connections? Are the comedians reaching out to the indie acts, are the indie acts reaching out to the comics, or is it just a creation of record labels and managers to get new people out to shows to deal with sagging album sales?
ZG:There have always been comics opening for music acts. Sinatra often had comics open for him. I don't think it is anything new. I think bands like certain comics and ask them to open for them and vice versa. Annuals, a band I like out of North Carolina are opening for me simply cause I asked them to. I don't think there is any more to it than that.

TA Live: On a similar note, Comedians of Comedy have a slot on the traditionally music-oriented festival Coachella. Are you intimidated performing comedy in front of a large audience of rock fans? Have you had any experience doing stand up in a festival environment? How do you anticipate the reaction will be different or similar than a club show?
ZG: I have done so many different types of shows that it does not phase me really. I cannot wait to perform at Coachella. My Morning Jacket asked me to open for them but we could not work it out. There is always going to be drunks at any kind of show which is a drag.

TA Live: The TV version of the Comedians of Comedy show made it look like you, Brian Posehn, and Patton Oswalt lived in pretty close quarters. Who would you say went the most stir crazy from living in such close quarters and how long did it take for them to crack?
ZG: We all get along quite well. Those guys are nerds and Maria and I are the jocks but we make it work. Brian has the shortest fuse but usually that fuse is put out with a well planned fart joke.

TA Live: As you tour the nation, do you have to adapt your set geographically at all? Besides maybe making reference to local news/events, do you find that sense of humor varies in different parts of the country? Or is a Galifianakis fan a Galifianakis fan no matter where he/she lives?
ZG: I have performed at colleges where I wondered how many of the students ever got out of 4th grade. But as far as regions? I am not too sure. I will research a place a bit to give it a little local flavor perhaps but I don't cater my act because I fear that they audience will not take to it. If they do, wonderful. If they do not you can usually tell by the amount of mouth breathing that is going on.

- Michelle Gilzenrat

Featured Show:
Juanitas
Little Rock, AR
February 26, 2007

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