Louis XIV interview

Louis XIV are a new band from San Diego. I saw them play this summer when they opened for The Killers. They started playing two years ago and recorded some songs in France and San Diego. Some of their songs were put online at their website which led to "God Killed The Queen" getting played on the radio. Soon after, they released a few EPs and got some play on BBC Radio.

As their reputation grew, they signed to Atlantic Records and won Best Album at the San Diego Music Awards. In January they released the "Illegal Tender" EP. A new full length album will come out this Spring. I met the band at their show during the Noise Pop festival in San Francisco. They were opening for Hot Hot Heat. Look for them at Sin-e on March 8th. They will be playing a second show with Hot Hot Heat at Bowery Ballroom on March 9th. I spoke to Brian Karscig backstage right before their show. Their music is a mix of glam rock of the 1970s and Britpop of the 1990s. They are playing tonight at the Virgina Megastore in Hollywood at 11pm. They will be at the Troubadour on Wednesday.

Louis XIV are Jason Hill (guitar/vocals), Brain Karscig (guitar/vocals), Mark Maigaard (drums) and were joined recently by Jimmy Armbrust (bass).

*******************************************

AL: How did you meet each other?
Brian: Jason, Mark and myself grew up together. I have known Jason since junior high. We have known each other for a long time.

AL: Did you play in other bands?
Brian: We have played in a million bands. We have been playing since we were sixteen. There have been a lot of bands in the past ten years.

AL: What is the scene like in San Diego, for someone who hasn't been there, like myself?
Brian: There is a cool music scene there. My ignorance ranks high because we were never part of a scene down there. The scene is thriving but we don't really fit into the mold of what is happening. We appreciated it. There are a lot of good bands.

AL: How long has the band been going?
Brian: It's been two years. We were playing in multiple bands.

AL: This is band that took off?
Brian: Yeah. It was bizarre. It wasn't meant to be. We went to France and recorded for two weeks. We came back and the response in the UK started the buzz in the United States.

AL: Things happened in Europe first?
Brian: Yeah. They caught on to it first. They thought we were from Europe. People still do. They come up to us and expect that we are going to have a British accent.

AL: How did the record come about?
Brian: We have another record that we did. It's out on our own label, the Pineapple Recording Group. We still put out records now, but it's through a bigger label now. We made the record and printed and distributed the record ourselves. We started getting a lot of attention from it. That was the record we did in France.
AL: You played a lot of shows in Europe?
Brian: We haven't played many shows over there yet. We are going over there in May this year. We did one show at a tranny strip joint. We brought in a sound system and played for some people who were interested in us over there. We were being played on BBC radio. There were a few blurbs in places like the NME. That started the American interest in a band. They paid more attention to us.
AL: You played with The Killers when they were blowing up.
Brian: The Killers said "Come play with us" and we were stoked because they are one of the new bands that we really dig. They are great guys.
AL: You started your own label, Pineapple Recording Group, and you kept that going. Is that a good idea?
Brian: I think it's a great idea. That's how the success started. Why give up what worked so well just because a major label comes into the picture? Once we sold fifteen thousand records out of our bedrooms, the labels came in hordes. They wanted to do this deal. There is no more power than the word "No." You say "No" and people go away for two weeks, and come back with bigger and better offers. We did have bigger offers but we went with Atlantic because they genuinely understood the vision. They were going to help us with the plan that we already created. It's cool.

AL: So what records have you released already?
Brian: We released a full-length album first. We were so low key and not so much about selling our music. We were much more into giving away our music and getting people interested. We released the song "Finding Out True Love Is Blind" on our website as a free download. It wasn't on the album we just released, but check out new things we are doing. Then a DJ on a radio station in San Diego went to our website, burnt a copy, started playing the songs, and things just exploded.
AL: The song wasn't even released?
Brian: That's how we got the whole EP vibe. We just finished putting out the album. We only had four or five new tunes. We were forced to put something out while radio is picking it up. We put out what we called the pink and the blue EPs. Those are discontinued. You can find them on Ebay now. We only printed up about seven thousand. Illegal Tender came out on January 25th. That is pretty much our first national release.
AL: How do you write songs in the band?
Brian: It usually starts with an idea that comes from either Jason or myself. Jason and I will get a piano or guitar and start to throw ideas around. We have a formula. Jason has a Bon Scott AC/DC type of voice. He sings the verses. I got the high, more feminine voice, and I sing the choruses and bridges or bridges.
AL: You sing the high part in "Finding Out True Love Is Blind?"
Brian: Yeah. There is a girl who sings one part. I sing most of it though. People think it's a girl. From the very beginning, people listen to our recordings and ask, "Where did you get the girl to sing?" I sing the choir vocals.
AL: The new album has been done as well?
Brian: It's coming out on March 25th. It's called "The Best Little Secrets Are Kept." We tried to keep things the same. Just because we signed to a label we didn't want to change things or get other people involved in the creativity. We produced it ourselves and recorded it ourselves at our own studios. I don't think that we would have made something that we were not 100% happy with. We are our own worst critics.
AL: How do you record?
Brian: We don't use Pro Tools. We have a 16-track two-inch tape machine. We have a lot of old gear. We have old microphones. We make our records with that. You can go to Oceanways Studio in LA and they don't have stuff that cool.
AL: You recorded live?
Brian: We recorded live as a three piece. We did a lot of overdubs. I played the piano with the drums. We like the big room sound. We like the sound bleeding through the other tracks. Let it bleed. It's cool.
AL: It's a studio band.
Brian: We are a studio band. People like the live show. We play live to support what our true passion is and that is being in the studio.

AL: You must have recorded a lot of songs? Some of the songs might not fit?
Brian: Yeah, some of them are not like what we currently do. We don't make songs to fit. Louis XIV will never be pigeonholed, I will tell you. We will never be backed into a corner because we are this type of band. I would be insulted. People might think we are a guitar rock band. Who is to say that our next record will have no guitars?

AL: You might come out on stage looking like Kraftwerk.
Brian: Exactly. There is no limit. I was a fan of the rock and roll that had no rules. The dangerous stuff. David Bowie plays a song that switches keys in the middle, wearing makeup, and offending parents. Rock and roll is supposed to have no boundaries. The danger in rock and roll is what is cool. You want the parents to get pissed off at their kids for buying your record.

AL: You mentioned Bowie. Do you like The Fall?
Brian: Everybody mentions that band. We have never heard of The Fall until six months ago. We love so many other bands. It's really easy to compare what you doing to some other band. It's more difficult for people to find the uniqueness in what your do. I am not an advocate for us being the best band in the world. We set out to be our own favorite band. I don't hear anything on the radio that sounds like us.
AL: You still have to deliver the songs onstage.
Brian: I think that your delivery is a part of how much you believe in it. You can see bands that are nervous and not too confidant about what they do. I saw bands play who I heard their recordings and loved them. When I saw them, they let me down. I was so bummed.
AL: I noticed that there are a lot of girls who are into Louis XIV. How do they get to meet the members of the band?
Brian: The girls who are really determined are the ones who will be hanging out with the band. Only the strong survive. You have to fail to succeed.

Website: Watch video footage of this by Keith Martin

--Interview by Alexander Laurence