Record executives suffering from post-millennial industry malaise, beware: The Lovemakers are coming to stir shit up. Like your bouncy, self-assured, and slightly slutty older cousin, the band plans to stay at your house, inviting over disreputable friends while emptying your liquor cabinet and dancing all night to old Berlin records.
The truth is, this type of behavior might very well be tolerated in the homes of the powers-that-be, because The Lovemakers are poised to release Times Of Romance, a sugar-rush pop album that seeks to revive dance music for young adults—if young adults ever decide to return to new wave from hip-hop club remixes.
Signed to new Interscope imprint Cherry Tree Records for an August 23 release date, the band has been on a meteoric rise to the majors since their 2002 genesis. Comprised of Lisa Light (vocals, bass, violin), Scott Blonde (vocals, guitar), Jason Proctor (electronics) and recent add Josh "The Eagle" Kilbourn (drums), The Lovemakers have spent the last three years building a West Coast fan base and honing their electro-trash live show.
"Sorry, I'm just getting in the bathtub. I'm so tired and we just got back from L.A. like ten minutes ago," Light says matter-of-factly over the phone from her Oakland apartment. Whether or not it's a ploy to get a naked mention in this piece, the Stanford graduate, former marine biologist, and retired circus musician nonetheless follows through.
Born to hippie parents who've supported her through several career changes, Light embodies The Lovemakers ethic of experimentation, art, and fun. Her somewhat sedate voice gets progressively more excitable as she discusses her band's overarching goal for music and performance: having fun. Fun that often requires detached modern-day audiences to lose the ironic distance and get their hipster asses shaking.
"Some people don't like to dance and that's cool, but usually most people do, and if they don't I'll usually dance with them whether they want it or not. I like to actually touch people and sing lyrics to them," she says over the sound of bathwater splashes.
Prior to forming The Lovemakers, Light and Blonde were in the more serious art-rock band Applesaucer. They were essentially kicked out for being preoccupied with writing and recording the music that would eventually become Times Of Romance.
"It's kind of complicated, like trying to explain the Iraq war... but that's definitely part of it [being kicked out]," she says cheerily.
Interscope swooped in and signed the unproven Lovemakers based on a healthy first impression.
"If something moves me, I have to get behind it," says Cherry Tree Records founder Martin Kierszenbaum, senior VP of A&R at Interscope. Responsible for signing Keane and t.a.T.u., Kierszenbaum seems genuinely excited about The Lovemakers and knows a thing or two about marketing semi-controversial female-fronted groups.
After hearing demo versions of songs, seeing Light, Blonde, and Fish's out-of-control stage antics made an impression on the music industry veteran. "The first thing that grabbed me were the songs and the second was the live show. It was like watching a drama unfold and I liked it. I only want to work with bands that make me genuinely excited, and they do," he says.
Whether or not Kierszenbaum's excitement will translate into dollar signs for the label remains to be seen. The Lovemakers face an uphill battle if they are to make the arduous transition from unknown indie band to full-fledged recording stars. Without a national following outside of San Francisco and Los Angeles, the band is essentially starting from scratch.
"We're going to release the album through Fontana, our indie distribution. They're an indie band and I think it's really important to position them that way," Kierszenbaum says. He started Cherry Tree with Interscope head Jimmy Iovine's blessing and the goal of being artist friendly and career conscious. A perfect fit for a band like The Lovemakers that needs time to grow.
"I want to give The Lovemakers the time they deserve," he says. "The great thing is that we get access to the hefty resources but function as kind of an indie-major hybrid."
The Lovemakers cite new wave influences ranging from New Order to Bauhaus to The B-52's, but are conscious of bringing along the kind of energy that their favorite dance music, hip-hop, brings to the table. In fact, their Myspace site features an unauthorized 50 Cent/The Lovermakers mash-up that combines 50's "Disco Inferno" and the band's own "Shake That Ass." Both songs are of similar tempo and contain the lyric "Shake That Ass" repeatedly.
"When I first heard ["Disco Inferno"], I was like oh my God, he fuckin' stole our song," Light says. "I hope we don't get in trouble for that, but it doesn't really belong to anyone; it should just belong to the world."
Light's comments lend themselves to a discussion of Digital Rights Management and P2P file sharing. "I feel like artists don't make money on records. I don't plan on making any money; that's not why I got into this. Sometimes I download, but I don't really listen to that much music. I listen to the radio when I'm in the car and that's basically it," she says.
Light and Blonde are known for intense on-stage make out sessions and for keeping their actual relationship undefined for fans and media. They share vocal duties equally, often within the same song.
"It's like we're the same person, like one half of the other," Light says. Does that include making out on stage? "Yeah, I guess that would be in the same category, making out with yourself."
Known for performing topless—save for some well-placed masking tape—and using a vibrator on Blonde's guitar, Light professes no worry over The Lovemakers' music being overshadowed by gimmicks or outrageous dress.
"People like to remember flashy things. You can play a guitar with a vibrator; it's not like we invented that. It's kind of like a slide but it vibrates and makes this drilling sound," she says.
"When we play music, it's sort of like anger and annoyance mixed with some sort of inescapable passion that's become kind of a problem. It's slightly out of control, I get really emotional sometimes and then I don't even remember what happens. It's therapeutic and fun, I guess."
Whatever the future may bring, Light and her band mates are learning to take all the hype in stride. They recognize that inking a deal with Interscope hardly guarantees fortune and fame.
"We didn't really have that many expectations," Light says. "Mostly we were like, 'Oh cool, we don't have to work for a while.'"
Buy the Music
The Lovemakers
Times Of Romance
:: More Info
:: Buy Now: $9.98
Subscribe to Feed
