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The Gothamist Band Interview: Ladytron
By
Jeff Baum
Published Apr 14, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jeff Baum
Published Apr 14, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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Ladytron almost defies definition. The boy/girl four-piece's third and most recent full length, 'The Witching Hour', combines shoegaze elements with a driving dance beat that was one of the most unique yet accessible albums last year. It kept New York ablaze during the cold, dark months of Winter. The massive hit "Destroy Everything You Touch" was, by all accounts, one of the best singles of 2005.
We asked Daniel from the band to answer a few of our questions about music and the band's experiences in New York. They will be playing a sold out show at Irving Plaza tomorrow night. Have a listen on their Myspace page and try and sit still. Not gonna happen.
Let's get this out of the way, where did your band name originate?
It was a Roxy Music song, off their first album.
What is your favorite/least favorite memory involving New York?
Favourite, probably the last show we played there at Irving, and lots of parties. Least favourite, probably a photoshoot in a subway station in early August, was unbearably hot, horrific, inhumane.
What's your take on playing shows in New York City? If you could play at any venue here, which would it be (past, present...)?
Well, we preferred Irving plaza to Bowery Ballroom to be honest.
Is there a difference in the New York music scene from your own local scene?
Definitely, I mean the size of the population alone, there’s 20 times the amount of people here, that is bound to impact on the music scene. Liverpool and New York are historically linked, but not in that way (unfortunately, besides that Shea stadium thing).
Now its time for some fill-in-the-blank action:
"You know you've made it when..."
Madonna rips you off.
"It'll be time to pack up the gear for good when..."
Madonna rips you off.
Let's have some fun with word association. Give me your immediate feelings on the following (if you've got no discernable feelings, make something up that won't embarrass you in the morning):
Yankees
utd
Mets
city
Bridge & Tunnel
Birkenhead
Blogs
Unsubstantiated speculation presented as scientific fact
Pitchfork
To the devil a daughter
Times Square
The QT
Lost
Don't watch television
A few quickies on the music tip:
What's the most played song on your iPod (or an equivalent music playing device) in the past week?
Panico
Who would be in your ultimate music supergroup, your all-star Olympic team of rock?
Emerson, Lake, Palmer, Bachmann, Turner, Overdrive.
If you released a new 7" tomorrow, what would you put on the cover?
Condi Rice.
What was the first/last album you bought on the day it was released?
I really can't remember, probably our own.
We've heard your music on the show before, but if Josh Schwartz, creator of the OC, asked your band to perform on his tv show (as Modest Mouse, the Killers and the Walkmen have) would you?
Probably, why not?
And finally...What came first, the music or the misery?
Chicken and egg, impossible to separate.
Tagged
band interview
bowery ballroom
city
dance
irving plaza
Music
myspace
new york
new york city
people
Roxy Music
subway
Witching Hour
Jeff Baum
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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