Kendrick Strauch of Harlem Shakes : Q&A

<img src="http://www.qromag.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/harlemshakesinterviewupdate.jpg" alt=" " />QRO was lucky enough to catch up with one of our oldest friends, the Harlem Shakes....

  Back in May, bassist Jose Soegaard and keyboardist Kendrick Strauch gave QRO on of our longest interviews to-date (QRO interview, Part IQRO interview, Part II).  And right before a Bowery Ballroom show with friends (and fellow interviewees) the White Rabbits (QRO interview), Strauch caught up QRO with what the band’s been doing, including Soegaard’s recovery from his appendectomy (which had only taken place a few days before the first interview), their plans for a full-length, finally playing Canada legally, playing at 10 A.M. on the first day of CMJ, what else they have in common with the White Rabbits, and more…

QRO: How’s Jose?  Fully recovered from the appendectomy?

Kendrick Strauch: Oh, he’s fine.  He was fine like three days later.  Like, the week after, he was basically ready.

QRO: Was he okay playing?

KS: Those things heal really fast.  They work wonders, those Ohio doctors.  He was probably 100% in a week.  He could like, lift stuff.

QRO: After our last interview, you said you guys were going into the studio to start work on a full-length.  Where are you guys on that?

KS: We’re working on it.  We’re in the middle.  We recorded a little bit, and we’re going to be recording hopefully the next couple months.  We’re probably going to hit the studio… February?

QRO: Are you still looking for a label?

KS: Yeah, we haven’t signed a deal.  We’re hopeful.  We think something’s gonna pan out, pretty soon.

QRO: Did you guys find new jobs, after the tour was over?

KS: Oh, no.

Lexy [Benaim, singer] works for The New York Times Review of Books, which is pretty rad – or sounds pretty rad.  Jose got offered a wonderful job to stay where he was, and they love him and let him do whatever he wants.  All Jose does is work and go to dance parties until 6 A.M., and party with Justice, with a beautiful escort in each arm.

That’s Jose’s life.  I’m still selling coconut water…

QRO: You were totally right about the McCarren Park Pool Parties (QRO venue review)

KS: So cool.  Yeah, I love those things.

Those things are so fun, because, I hate going to shows.  Whenever I go to a show, for some reason, for some reason, I turn into a huge dickhead.  I hate whatever I’m watching, and people are so annoying.  But those things, were like ‘pool parties’ – like, really, really pool parties…

QRO: Most of the shows you’ve done recently have been in New York, but you did do a Boston University show in November (with Ra Ra Riot) and a Montreal show in September (with Islands).  How were those?

KS: It was really great.  The first time we played in Montreal, it was in like a coffee shop?…  I think legally, it could hold like twelve people.  But the twenty people who were there were hanging off the rafters.

But this time, it was more normal kind of place.  We’re starting to get to know the city; the city’s starting to get to know us a little better.

And it wasn’t so fucking cold!  That killed us last time, the coldest place I’ve ever been.

It was terrific.  And, we got in legally this time…

QRO: How was CMJ?

KS: CMJ was great.

QRO: You guys started off CMJ doing a KEXP in-studio session at the Gibson Showroom at ten in the morning.  What was that like?

KS: It was weird.  It’s weird because your brain feels different; it’s light outside.  It wasn’t like a show, so there weren’t like a billion people.  It’s not a party; you’re just playing.  So it’s actually easier to focus.

It was a whole lot of fun.  We love KEXP.  Those guys are the best.  It went really well; that was probably one of the best things we did at CMJ.

We played one night where we were slated, and we played probably four hours later.  Disasters striking… 

One of the disasters was that, one of the toilets upstairs, the drain broke.  So we thought that it was a leaky building, but I found the next day that my keyboards were brown.

It rained shit on us; everybody was three hours drunker than they thought they were gonna to be.  It was a little bit of a disaster, but yeah, it was great.  It’s a bit of a clusterfuck, CMJ.

White Rabbits + Harlem ShakesQRO: How long have you guys known the White Rabbits?

KS: We’ve known them for a while.  When we went in to record our EP, they were working on their album with our producer, Chris Zane.

Basically, it was like a blind date.  ‘You know, hey, I’m working on this thing with these guys, you should really meet them, you would really like them.’  And he told them, ‘Hey, you should listen to these guys, Harlem Shakes, they’re really good, you would really like them.’  So he put us in the same room, we hugged and made out a little bit, and now we’re playing together.

QRO: The weird thing is you guys seem to have a lot in common – this bill, Brooklyn, same PR company, Chris Zane, both have guest horns from Jon Natchez (Beirut), lotta guys on stage, both the letters in your name add up to twelve letters, they both don’t start with a ‘the’ but end in an ‘s’, they’re two words…

KS: I think we both might have at least one member who’s been abducted by aliens.

QRO: But my real question is: who wins in a knife fight?

KS: They’ve got six guys; they could surround us.

I wouldn’t trust Jose if you cornered him.  And Lexy has a goblin instinct.

We would win in a knife-throwing contest.


QRO: Do you guys still play Burning Birthdays (QRO review) stuff live?

KS: Yeah.  We’re playing a lot of new stuff now, but we’re still definitely playing the Burning Birthdays…

QRO: Are there any songs you don’t play anymore?

KS: Yeah.  You will not hear “Felt Wings”.  ‘Cause… ‘cause we just don’t feel like playing it right now.  And I’m not sure why.  We’re being temperamental for fun.

QRO: Do you guys have any tour plans or anything like that?

KS: Since we’re gonna be recording, we’re probably not going to be recording for a while.  We’re probably planning on ‘no touring’.

Thom Yorke did say something about a worldwide tour, but we didn’t return his call.  He’s a dork…

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