THE INTERVIEW: Lady Ga Ga

All Hot and Bothered, Lady GaGa Looks to be Dance Music's Next Big Thing





Her infectious music makes you want to get up and “Just Dance” whenever it is playing. The Fame, disco-electro pop idol, Lady Ga Ga ’s new album is filled with songs about fashion, fame, and our celebrity obsessed culture. Fortunately, I got to interview the pop idol herself and ask her about the album, working with Akon, and what she would ask Andy Warhol if given the chance to ask him anything.

Before we get started I have to say your album has been on repeat in my CD player. My gay friends and I have to dance every time we listen to it.

Thanks so much, that’s the image I like hear about.

Your CD, The Fame, is filled with songs reminiscent of ‘80s synth pop. Are acts like Madonna, Blondie and other eighties pop singers an influence on your music?

Most definitely Madonna, Blondie and Dale Bozzio from Missing Persons. All of those powerful blonde women from that era. There were not too many back then.

On your album you got to work with Akon. What was that experience like?

Dope, we met after he listened to a few of my songs. He was a fan. For him to take an interest in your work, for him to be into it is huge. He worked with me on six songs including “Just Dance” and I also worked with Red One. I wrote the lyrics and melodies and he mixed the songs. He is a hip hop pioneer who invented the ella-ella sound. It was an honor to work with him.

I saw your music video for “Just Dance” recently and it looks like it was a lot of fun to shoot. What was the concept behind the video?

I wanted it to look like a party I had gone to. I got to choose the clothing, where it was shot, and wanted to show what a New York party was like through a pop lens. A New York City party I would attend.

A few weeks ago I saw you perform at the New Now Next Awards in NYC and this weekend you are performing at San Francisco Pride. Are gay men a large part of your audience?

Oh yeah a lot. The gay community has been a huge support of mine. I have always had many gay men, gay women and transgender people as friends. I want to make music my friends would listen to. I have played at a lot of gay clubs. Performing at the main stage of Pride is a huge honor and very humbling.

What inspired the title of your album and songs like “Beautiful Dirty Rich”?

The album title is based on fame and the songs are about our celebrity obsessed culture. It is about putting these two ideas together on the album. I grew up in an environment with rich girls like Nicky Hilton who I went to school with. They didn’t do anything but were famous. I grew up and moved downtown. Me and my friends had no money in our pockets, did drugs, made demos and partied big. We totally felt famous for no reason. We were nobodies but felt like rockstars. It is funny how people define their own fame. Andy Warhol said, “I am famous for my parties”. It had nothing to do with who you are it was more of a choice or inner self realization. When I think of his work, I thought he was making a comment about our culture. Fame is an ideal and we can all get a piece of it for ourselves.

Your sound seems to defy any one genre. How would you describe your sound?

Thanks for saying that. Definitely pop, crunk, vogue. No one has been able to describe it right so I don’t want to give it away. (laughs)

How did living in New York City affect your sound?

Completely, the street fashions, coldness of the concrete, and traveling back and forth across the world. There is a sense of urgency in New York City and it takes a certain lifestyle to live there. In Europe they have it right. The wine and cheese, cool dance music and good afternoon creativity are amazing. I think New York City is trying to emulate the European lifestyle.

Some of your music reminds me of the vogueing craze that was popular in the late ‘70s club scene in NYC. Is that one of your influences?

Not so much in my music but in my performances. I am trying to interpret vogueing from old videos. I am trying to reinterpret it for the future and incorporate it into my performances. Trying to get it to reflect what you love.

Alright one last question: If you could go to Max’s Kansas City and ask Andy Warhol anything what would it be?

Um…Is it true you never had sex? I think it was a lie. Also where did he get his nerve? The idea of fame, where did it come from? I would die to be his muse. What kind of stuff do you have to do to be Edie Sedgwick?

Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions.

Thanks. You ask thought provoking questions.

--Corey Crossfield

Posted by Short and Sweet NYC at 7/22/2008 08:30:00 AM 0 comments

THE INTERVIEW: Former Top Chef Contestant and Restaurant Owner, Camille Becerra

With Her Urban American Cuisine, Paloma Restaurant Owner/Chef Camille Becerra is Helping make the Greenpoint Neighborhood a Community.



She was on the third season of the Bravo channel show Top Chef, and currently, Camille Becerra, is the owner/chef of Greenpoint’s Paloma, where she doesn’t have to create a three-course meal in an hour and be judged by some of the food businesses biggest names! Here, she sits down to discuss her experience being on Top Chef, why she chose Greenpoint to call home, and where the name “Paloma” exactly came from, and more.

How did you get into cooking professionally?

It started as a great love I had and of course, I wanted to make some money off it, and it progressed from there. Early on in my late teens, early twenties, I traveled around the country, wound up in New Mexico, and started getting into Zen Buddhism. This monastery needed a cook at the time, so I became their cook and there, I really learned a lot of vegetarian techniques, and about foods and ingredients. Zen Buddhism plays a part in many things that I do in general, but cooking, as a whole, is very meditational. You have to stop thinking about everything else and just focus on what you’re doing. I take a lot of that and apply it to cooking.

Of all your experiences as a chef, what do you feel has influenced your style of cooking the most?

I think what influences me the most is where I live. It’s New York City. It’s all the boroughs. It’s incorporating all these different cultures and with them, their ingredients, and their techniques. Just going around the city and eating is a huge influence on how I cook.

How were you chosen to be on Top Chef?

I have a friend who’s a pretty well-known doorperson at nightclubs. Top Chef people came into one of the clubs my friend was working one night and they used the fact that they were from Top Chef to get into the club. They had just finished their NYC casting call. He is a huge fan of the show and had always been telling me to watch it. So at 2:30 AM one night, I get a phone call saying how he just met these people and they want to meet me. The next day they had me run up to midtown to meet with them. It went really well. We talked about food, NYC, and owning a restaurant. After that, I just kept meeting with them and then went to L.A. It all went really quick. I would say that from the time that my friend called me up until I was in Miami, it was probably a month and a half.

What was the experience like?

It was difficult. Some people are fine with it. I however wasn’t. You are sequestered, which is a huge downer for me because I own a business, and I have a daughter. Her birthday came up and I couldn’t call her. I was upset about it and they let me call her the next day. But at that point, I was just kind of over the show, and it became not about winning, but about leaving as a fast as I can, and keeping my dignity.

Did you have any heat with any of the other contestants or judges?

I left pretty early on, so no. I’m pretty easy going, friendly, and a social person, so they really weren’t going to get that much drama from me. Gail Simmons has been here to eat. Tom Collichio, though we didn’t know it at the time, we grew up about five blocks away from each other in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Of course, he’s a little bit older, so we didn’t really know each other. But now, whenever we see each other at an event, we’ve really become fast friends because we share our neighborhood. Padma [Lakshmi] is great. She’s always very gracious and fun. Instead of enemies, I actually made a lot of very good friends.

Given a chance to do it all over again on the show, would you have done anything different?

Well yeah! I could sit here and say loads of things that I would have probably done differently. But in the end, as I tell everyone, I took from Bravo what I needed to take and Bravo took from me what they needed to take, so it was a friendly exchange and I love that network and the people who work for it, so I really have no regrets.

Why did you choose to open your restaurant in Greenpoint?

I moved here in 2001, and opened the restaurant three years ago in 2005, so I was living here for a few years and there wasn’t really anything around. I saw a lot of great people, and that this neighborhood could potentially be great but also potentially a great community, and I think in Manhattan you don’t really get that because it’s so transient. Brooklyn has the ability to have great communities, more than just really great neighborhoods.

Tell me about the cuisine you serve. How did you come up with the menu?

The cuisine we have here is what we call Urban American. Basically, what we do is incorporate a lot of different ingredients and techniques from all over the world. But we really try to stay seasonal. Although we may use spices from India or wherever, we really try to buy a lot of our produce, meats, and proteins locally. There’s a lot of influence from all different cultures, but we offer seasonal and regional ingredients, helping our local farmers as much as we can. The end result is so much better, because a locally grown peach from a farm that cares is so much more rewarding. So those are the three components we feature, global ingredients and techniques, mixed with local, and seasonal produce.

Did the experience of being on Top Chef change the way you work with food in any way?

It was definitely a huge dose of inspiration. Just being around foodies and chefs, and then being so passionate, it definitely fueled a flame, and sometimes when you do a particular career for a long time, you kind of forget about that initial passion that you had. So that was a great thing to have gotten from Top Chef, a refueling of inspiration and creativity. So yes, it did change the way I work with food, and very much so, because I was reinspired, and on-set, you really do have a lot of time to share with these people, and when you get 15 people together who are also passionate about food, that’s what the conversation is, everything dealing with food. I left there with new techniques and new ingredients that I hadn’t really worked with before.

Where does the name “Paloma” come from, as it sounds Polish, like the majority of people who live in this neighborhood?

Ha! It’s so not Polish. It’s like the furthest thing from Poland! It’s the name of my seven-year-old daughter. It means “dove” in Spanish. It’s a common name in Spain. Naming a child is the most permanent decision I’ve ever had to make, so when I had to name the restaurant, I went in between names and decided to stick with Paloma. I asked all my friend’s and everyone really loved that it would be named after my daughter, so I just stuck with that. I kind of took the easy road to naming my restaurant!

Where do you enjoy dining and drinking in NYC when you have a free moment?

I really don’t go out that much. If I do, I kind of stick to Brooklyn. My favorite restaurant in Brooklyn is Marlow & Sons. In the city I like Public, Freemans, and The Spotted Pig. Those are my faves. I usually stay downtown. I like going to restaurants where the style of cooking is similar to my own. I don’t go out to eat a lot and that’s something I really want to start doing. I find myself eating and entertaining here mostly. Paloma is kind of an extension of my home, and looking at work in that light has helped so much, because I’m here so much. Looking at it like that, like Paloma is my living room and my dining room, helps me cope with working long hours.

Paloma is located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn at 60 Greenpoint Avenue. Phone: (718) 349-2400. Hours: Dinner 6:00 PM-11:00 PM; Brunch Sat. and Sun. 11:00 AM-3:00 PM; Closed Monday.

--DaVe Lipp

Posted by Short and Sweet NYC at 7/17/2008 08:30:00 AM 0 comments

THE INTERVIEW: We Are Scientists

Now a Duo, We Are Scientists Talk Brain Thrust Mastery, Sort of!



With the release of their new album Brain Thrust Mastery, We Are Scientists have grown. Though that includes losing their drummer, they have developed their sound. While you can expect the garage rock feel they are known for, the Scientists, now a duo, have possibly put out a better record than their first, With Love and Squalor. I had the chance to talk with Chris Cain about what to expect on their new album, losing a member of the band, and life on tour. Whether they really are scientists or not, that remains to be seen.

Your new album Brain Thrust Mastery is coming out in May. What can your fans expect from the new one?
Thoughtful, poppy (but not too poppy!), intelligently referential, exquisitely crafted album artwork, and some songs.

Did you do anything different when recording the new album compared to the last one, With Love and Squalor?
As we approached the recording of Brain Thrust Mastery, we decided it would be interesting to experiment with playing a lot more tennis. We chose a studio in Sausalito, CA -- a place called The Plant -- that offered unparalleled tennis access: immaculately maintained community courts a short two-minute walk from the studio's back door. The facilities coupled with Northern California's reliably temperate weather meant we were able to play tennis before and after sessions, plus during breaks. All that tennis had the desired effect: over the course of a month recording at the Plant, our tennis games improved dramatically.

Since losing your drummer, instead of finding a new one, you decided on staying a duo, and using supporting musicians. How did that affect your songwriting and playing live?
BTM was written and (largely) recorded with Michael Tapper -- it wasn't until everything was pretty much finished that he decided to leave the band. So, the effect on songwriting has yet to be determined. Probably it will make our songs more hip-hop. Keith and I have long been interested in taking things in a C+C Music Factory/Technotronic/Haddaway direction. Michael was always resistant, but with him out of the picture, things are probably going to get pretty goddamn hip-hop -- 'pretty' to 'very' hip hop, I would imagine.

What are your favorite tracks off the new album?
“Lethal Enforcer,” “Dinosaurs,” and “That's What Counts” are personal favorites, but I have a warm tolerance for most of the songs on BTM.

Your last album With Love and Squalor was named after a short story by J.D. Salinger of the same name. Is there any meaning behind Brain Thrust Mastery?
It has a koan-like meaning, which is to say logic and even language (which is construed according to logical strictures such as consistency) are inadequate to describe the meaning. Through reflection unrestrained by any sort of formalism, though, gobs of meaning emerge.

What are your favorite things about being on tour?
Probably groupies, drugs, and free sandwiches. Actually, that may not be the order. Maybe sandwiches, groupies, drugs.

Any funny stories while on the road?
We met a young fan the other day outside a venue who told us -- after five or ten minutes of chit chat -- that he liked us more than his parents, and could he come with us on tour? It was a little awkward. He's doing a great job, though, so far.

What's the weirdest food you've tried while out on tour?
I had something called 'bath chap' at a restaurant in London last month, which was described to me by the waiter as the flesh from a pig's head scraped off, chopped, formed into patties, and then cooked. I couldn't resist, and it was actually very good. You'd get sick of it if you ate it every day, yes, but once a week would work well, I suspect.

Who are you guys bigger fans of Obama, Hillary, or John McCain and why?
We're Obama men. My impression is that to get to the highest rung of political achievement, one spends many years making awful compromises -- taking it up the ass, essentially (not in a good way). Years of taking it up the ass breaks your spirit, scrapes away all the good intention and idealistic commitment that got you into politics in the first place, and leaves behind a skeleton of amoral ambition -- like when all the meat is taken off the pig's skull to make bath chap. It's my vague sense, though, that maybe the chutes-and-ladders-esque speed with which Obama ascended -- the flukey meteoric rise -- means he hasn't been at this long enough to have had all the good flogged out of him. Hillary and McCain are surely evil at this point, or, at best, ravenous, robotic embodiments of momentum.

You guys are from New York. So what are some of your favorite places to eat, drink, and shop for music?
In Manhattan: Pastis, Corner Bistro, Lil' Frankie's, Five Points, Mona’s, Cherry Tavern, Grape & Grain
In Brooklyn: Relish, The Abbey, Ana Maria's Pizza, The Levee

--DaVe Lipp

Posted by Short and Sweet NYC at 6/03/2008 08:30:00 AM 0 comments

THE INTERVIEW: The Duke Spirit

A New Album, A New Tour, and The Duke Spirit Keep Getting Better




The Duke Spirit is one of the most up-and-coming acts on the indie rock scene today. They came to the Bowery Ballroom and upheld their reputation as a dynamic live act last month, and lead singer Leila Moss was gracious enough to sit and answer some questions after the show.

You guys played at South by Southwest this year, how did it go and who were some of the your favorite acts you caught?

Leila Moss (LM): The south by southwest gigs went really well this year, we did three shows all in all, good. SXSW is generally a bit weird for bands to play, I don't necessarily think it's the best place to see bands either. A lot of the music industry folks just come and stand around and chat while you play. Give me the Bowery Ballroom instead anytime!

You've been playing together for about five years. What's it been like to grow together as a band while watching your fanbase multiply?

LM: There is always a lot of proximity with a band playing/touring/recording together which is hard to get away from. Its like, you see each other so often, you don't notice the little changes in each other. None of the band have turned into divas from whatever success we've had. Yet! I don't feel we've got particularly different ideas musically than when we started, to be honest. There isn't a lot of chronology to our songs in many ways; they could have appeared at any time of our existence. The songs on 'Neptune' are just a better group of songs and recorded in a way we are happier with. It is very exciting to get some recognition for what we do, it's such a tenuous thing to do for an occupation. I suppose on a purely selfish level you can talk to people like your folks about your successes in playing to a packed-out venue in LA or New York and they can relate to that and get all proud and soppy!

What are your favorite tracks off the new album?

LM: I like "You really wake up the love in me" for general bombastic rockin' duties, but also "Dog Roses". I feel that song was snatched from the jaws of defeat when we recorded it, it didn't have a lot of interest in it around when we were choosing what to record but its gone on to be a little beauty.

What was it like working with James Lavelle on the UNKLE album?

LM: He was very in tune to the music he wanted to make, a real music fan, obviously. I liked how him and Rich would get enthused and passionate about fuzz tones from guitars, or whatever, having come from what's perceived to be a more 'electronic', sort of, area of music. They totally knew what worked for them and that's admirable. I think they got a really good, eclectic selection of collaborators for their record and it shows.

You play all over the US and UK, how much has the quality of your live shows contributed to the growth of your fanbase, and how does NY as a city and the Bowery Ballroom as a venue stack up?

LM: Our live shows have given us a great reputation, its been a big part of whatever success we've had. I think its got to be a combination. To be a really great band, your records have to be really exciting, too, not a damp squib compared to your live show. I hate it when that happens. New York is a great place to play, obviously, and the bowery ballroom is easily my favourite venue . I like the size of it, and the layout. Maybe its an aesthetic, architectural or spatial thing, but its great.

Do you have any favorite venues, bars, places to eat when you make it to NY?

LM: I've found a place recently called Great Jones Cafe on Great Jones Street, serving creole/cajun food, which I could visit everyday I believe, and another taco stand called La Esquina near there too, which is great. You don't get much Mexican/Latin American food in the UK, it's a bit of a rarity generally, so I load up whenever i'm here. I do like a big proper vodka martini, clean, with an olive, so I might end up going to a posh hotel bar to get one of those, like the Tribeca Grand. Its just medicinal, you know!

--Marc Amigone

Posted by Short and Sweet NYC at 5/20/2008 08:30:00 AM 0 comments

THE INTERVIEW: El Perro del Mar

Sarah Assbring Talks about El Perro Del Mar's New Album. Photo Credit: Johanna Hedborg





Recording under the moniker El Perro del Mar, Sweden's Sarah Assbring won the music community over with her 2006 self-titled debut. She's gracing our shores again in support of her pop-perfect sophomore effort From The Valley To The Stars (Control Group/Tcg).

We caught up with the busy singer/songwriter to get the scoop on the album, her tour, and who she would love to collaborate with (hint - If you're name is Devendra Banhart or Bjorn Yttling, you might want to scroll down!).

You toured really hard behind your last record. Did you take a break at all between supporting that album and recording your new one From The Valley To The Stars?

I was able to take a real break last summer when I just spent every minute in the studio writing and recording. It was about time.

On your last album you arranged and produced everything very much on your own. Did you take the same approach this time around?

Yes and even more so on this album. I was very much into keeping it all true and organic and to not use any digital or midi devices whatsoever. It made the process even more tricky, since I’m working on my own, but it was worth it. I was after that specific jangly feeling anyways.

Did you have a specific blueprint when you went into make your new album or did you just follow your own muse?

I had worked on a theme for the album for a long time, long before I even started writing the actual music. It revolved around my idea of heaven – symbolically as well as literally and harmonically. I wanted to write something about the feelings you go through when losing someone close to you; both the sorrow and the feelings of gratitude for being alive - those kinds of highs and lows and the preciousness of life.

What would you say is the biggest difference between your first album and this one?

Well, this album is definitely different in the way that I wanted to make an album and a conceptual one at that. I really wanted to make something that felt like a classic album made to be listened to from beginning to end.

You're playing two dates in New York City May 7th at Joe's Pub and May 8th at Bowery Ballroom. Do you like the larger venues like Bowery or do you like the places that are smaller and more intimate?

I guess it depends on how the set is or how big the band is. On this tour, playing the songs from this album, I definitely prefer playing bigger venues. The songs need a certain kind of airy atmosphere I think.

You're taking Lykke Li out on the road with you. Is it good to have a fellow Swede around?

Oh yes! It’s so great! We’re gonna be like a big funky family moving around in our tour bus.

Your tour is taking you from Stockholm to Paris, across the U.S. and back to Stockholm again. Is there a city that you would like to play that you haven't yet?

I would love to go to places in Australia and New Zealand and well, I guess there’s millions of other places I would love to go to too. I’ve never played in Italy for example, I would love to.

Some artists say they can't sit back and listen to their own music casually. Do you ever put your music on when you're just sitting around the house relaxing?

No, that’s more or less an impossibility. You’ve kind of dissected the music so deeply and so many times during the process of making it. It’s a shame. But at the same time I think it’s that very feeling that makes you want to continue making new things…because maybe there will come a day when you’ve done something you actually can enjoy listening to without feeling awkward or uneasy. That’s what I’m striving for.

If you could record with any other artist, who would you pick and why?

I would love to work with Devandra Banhart. He’s got such magnitude and power in this very natural way that I admire. I’m also dreaming of working with Björn Yttling of Peter Björn and John some day.

When it comes to your music, what is the best advice you've ever been given and who gave it to you?

I think I gave it to myself when starting El Perro del Mar: Keep it simple and sincere.

--Amy Wagner

Posted by Short and Sweet NYC at 5/06/2008 08:30:00 AM 0 comments