New York – Last time I spoke with Total Slacker for BNB, The whole Occupy movement was in full swing, and we were talking about inspiration taken from public assembly, corporate weirdness, and cultural development. That was a little over two years ago, and since then the Brooklyn-based “slimegaze” band has challenged Olive Garden, been re-tweeted by Paris Hilton, and featured on MTV and Rolling Stone. It seems they’ve come quite a ways in the past couple years, but even in the beginning it wasn’t all about Clear Pepsi and secret VHS collections. They’ve always had a knack for highlighting accepted absurdities with exaggerated realism. “I think there’s a natural way that all creative people find a personal pathway of expression and it changes all the time,” says Total Slacker vocalist/guitarist Tucker Rountree. “So it’s true we’ve evolved our sound and expanded our concepts, but at the heart of it, the message and feeling remain the same.”
TR: Aww SLC punk, sooo good! Thanks man, I try not and think about it to much you know, there’s a lot of magic that happens in that arena and its kind of in the air to me, you cant really grab it. People need an alternative voice to address the matters that the more mainstream -corporate world wants us to ignore. As long as we have our high fructose corn syrup based products to give us diabetes, alcohol to kill our bodies, and professional sports to keep us sedated, I’ll keep writing about it in hopes to maybe enlighten people.
KK: You’ve really infiltrated at least the local community the past couple years – have there been any subtle or significant changes you’ve start to see happen just around the underground NYC scene, musically or philosophically?
TR: It feels like the music scene in NYC now is starting its 3rd wind, which I’m really happy about. There are a lot of creative and positive thinkers right now. One of my favorite new conceptual and mixed media artists to arrive is Katie Sullivan. But as a whole I have really high hopes for the scene. Some of the changes I don’t enjoy would have to be the constant gentrification that happens. DIY venues and spaces suffer from this, which sucks.
KK: Where do you think our culture in general is gravitating towards next, as far as trends and philosophies, good and bad?
TR: We’re in a unique “phase” that’s really a mixture of cultural aesthetics and new technologies being formatted into new social medias, that we still have no idea of the long term effects on society and tomorrows communities etc. this will have. I’m really interested in “anti aesthetic”.
KK: What about the new album you have coming out – what was writing this one like? What was your main focus and purpose for this?
TR: Just to make music we enjoy and to say something that only we can say, and say it with feeling.
KK: You hooked up with MTV for your latest video, which is super awesome. How did that come about?
TR: Thanks man! Yeah we became pals w Nate Ford who directed that. He was so inspiring to work with.
KK: Who else (besides Paris Hilton) are you into and inspired by right now?
TR: I’ve been studying Keith Jarrett again… been studying different regions and zonalities of 1990′s corporate training – seminar VHS tapes.
KK: You have a big record release show coming up at Rough Trade – Congrats! Are we going to get a pyro demonstration at that one?
TR: We’re so thrilled and excited about that, hope to see u there! It’s gonna thrash out that night
KK: What are you really psyched about that you have coming up?
TR: VERY excited to tour again!
Catch Total Slacker on tour through March, including their Brooklyn record release show at Right February 12, celebrating their new Slip Away LP out February 11.
Photo By Ebru Yildiz
