Louis XIV Jason Hill Interview
Singer Discusses Touring, Writing and Recording and Their Work Ethic
In this exclusive interview, Louis XIV's lead singer looks forward to heading back home, recording the band's latest album "Slick Dogs and Ponies" and their DIY ethos.
“I’m really sick, so I shouldn’t shake your hand”, apologizes Jason Hill, lead singer for San Diego neo-glam rockers Louis XIV, as he sits down with Suite101 in Vancouver. It’s the tail end of a nearly four-month tour and most of the band (Brian Karscig, Mark Maigaard and James Armbrust) have the same lurgy. They’re ill, knackered, and they’ve been ensconced in a rock bus for far too long, bantering about the merits of Celebrity Apprentice and how much whiskey and brandy to drink to cure their colds.
End of Tour, Beginning of Work
The shows have been “f*cking brilliant”, Hill says, but he’s really excited to be going home soon. Not just so he can chill and hang with his girlfriend, mind... so he can get back to writing and recording before playing Lollapalooza and heading out on another summer tour of Europe. Who needs sleep?
One’s got to give Louis XIV credit for the purity of their enthusiasm and work ethic. But while lovers sing their praises from atop music mag headlines and they’re adored by all who dig well-crafted, slithery rock and cocksure live shows, some have dismissed the band as mere T-Rex/Stones/70s retreads.
Not so. And It’s all water off a (Thin White) Duke’s back for the likeable Hill, anyway. Louis XIV are do-ers, not borrowers. In fact, Hill and Karscig write, produce, record and release everything on their own label, with a little help from Warner Atlantic. Few bands of their level can claim to be quite so energetic.
Home Studios and the Act of Capturing the Magic
“Writing and recording for me is like being a little kid in a room full of toys, and it’s the part I really get off on,” Hill says, sniffling. “I love playing live but I would much rather be at my house, with a bunch of gear around. The last record we did was recorded at home. You get used to cooking a little food, having some wine, sitting around and fiddling about.” The resulting sound? Intimate, textured but still uncomplicated, spontaneous-sounding and above all FUN rock.
“The albums feel different on purpose. The newest album (Slick Dogs and Ponies) was meant to be bigger sounding but the last (2005’s The Best Little Secrets Are Kept) was really raw and very close, no reverb except for the little transition parts. But on this one there’s more dabbling on other stuff, not effects, but with layers. The next album will probably be different from them both."
Learning to Love Slick Dogs and Ponies
Hill wasn't always a fan of Slick Dogs, though. “I like it more now. For a while I hated it, ‘cos I was too involved in it. It was so close, but it also felt so different from the last record, which I didn’t listen to for a long time as well. I didn’t want it to influence us. Maybe we should have and recognized what we liked about it, but I think that’s over-thinking it. Slick Dogs never felt finished to me. That’s the hardest part - letting go. But I’m always excited about the newest idea.”
Bless him. A few months into touring one disc, and Hill is already onto the next. Flus be damned, he really just wants to get on with it. And for fans of indie rock's reigning royals, this is a very good thing.
Read on to find out what Jason Hill has to say about a new Louis XIV album, and writing with bandmate Brian Karscig.
Read more about Louis XIV Live at the Vancouver Commodore with Editors and Hot Hot Heat.
Louis XIV play Lollapalooza in Chicago on August 2nd. A Euro tour of Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Switzerland and Paris, France begins on August 8. For more info, visit LouisXIV.net
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