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Ah yes. The ever popular, controversial and gossip-targeted loons the Locust. This band has been consistently working their asses off to create something unique for quite a number of years now, and are probably at a higher level of popularity than ever. I got a chance to bat a few questions over to vocalist/bassist Justin Pearson about the band's new record & label, as well as his viewpoints on the state of music and so forth. It should be made quite clear that despite a sassy & quasi-intimidating stature, Mr. Pearson is a workhorse for his art, kind, and as straightforward as they come. So check it out. And then check out their new record, Plague Soundscapes, if you haven't already.
Blake Butler> ‘Plague Soundscapes’ sounds a lot more refined than anything else you guys have done. By that I mean a lot of the technical aspects of the music that were kind of subverted by synth and noise before are more prominent, and people can really see how intricate your music really is. Is this something you were shooting for when you recorded the album?
Justin Pearson> Well with all of the previous recordings we had a small recording budget and no one to assist us in the recording process. This time, on Anti, we hired Alex Newport to help produce the album and we had a recording budget that actually allowed us to be in a good studio and for more than one or two days like we had done up until "Plague Soundscapes." So this allowed us to take our time and get a better sound as well as more time to mix the album.
BB> How long did it take you guys to write the record? What’s the songwriting process like for you?
JP> It took us about 3 weeks to record. As far as songwriting, it takes us a while to actually be finished with songs. We sort of get parts together and over time it mutates a bit. We add some stuff, take stuff away, just sort of make it less predictable and more fucked up time signatures, tempo changes, etc.
BB> You guys are up there with Don Caballero for having some of the greatest song titles of all time. Are those names picked out for their instant appeal a lot of the time, or do they simply come along with the lyrics?
JP> Well three of us write and sing the words to the music we create. The song titles usually come with the lyrics. I'm sure that they are sometime created before and after the lyrics are added to the music. But for the most part, the titles come with the lyrics.
BB> How well do you think Anti- expects the record to sell?
JP> I'm not sure. I don't think that was really an issue with the label or us. As far as I know, its selling pretty well.
BB> I remember a few years ago when you guys played at Under the Couch in Atlanta some straight-edge kid threw a watermelon and hit you in the head while your back was turned after the show. He said he’d done it because you were supposedly heard saying ‘nigger’ out west, or some equally asinine reasoning for blindsiding someone. How much stuff like that do you get from idiotic kids at shows who are offended by what you’re doing?
JP> Well most of the shenanigans surrounding the band are mostly due to the internet. We played a show in South Carolina. The show was ok, nothing too crazy. But there were a few people there that had issues with us. Not too sure why, nobody ever said anything to us about it. Anyhow, the following morning the internet was fast at work telling everyone how I called some black kid a "nigger" and spit on him. The funny thing is, in that shit hole of a town, everyone was white. Now, I mean white like KKK, red neck bullshit. So anyhow, if anyone with half a brain looked at the bands that I have been in- Struggle, Swing Kids, etc. and looked at the links page from Three One G, a label I run, and saw the list of political organizations that we support, they could figure out that we, or me in specific was not racist. So the whole internet thing triggered a few other incidents, like a huge fight the next night, us getting maced, and the lame watermelon incident. The main thing is, if someone is going to fuck with me, they should at least have the guts to stand up to me and deal with it, instead the chicken shit(s) ran away. I actually like water melon too.
BB> I noticed that you even get that kind of throwback on your website, such as the email calling you “big-headed rock stars.”
JP> Yup. People will see what they want to see.
BB> How important is image to a band like the Locust, who many put aside as a gimmick band despite the obvious ingenuity of the music? I mean obviously you get some use out of it in the presence endowed by wearing costumes on stage and being able to sell crazy merch such as mirrors and belt buckles.
JP> Well you are talking about appearance and merchandise here. So as far as the uniforms we wear, they are more aesthetically appealing then watching 4 normal looking guys play music. Its fitting to what we create as art. Its not really a big deal, who says we need to limit our art to only what people might hear? But in the past we were also pegged with "fashion core" and that we had some sort of "locust look". Those labels were pre-Locust uniforms. So we decided to take it a step farther and embrace irony.
BB> How did you first get into punk?
JP> For me personally it all sort of stemmed from skateboarding. I had stumbled upon all the first Thrasher skate comps and sort of went from there. Also, I lived a few blocks from Slayer in Phoenix and ended up getting into some other punk bands like the Dead Kennedys, Suicidal Tendencies and then a lot of metal due to them.
BB> There are a lot of bands out there these days that are getting sold as “indie” or “punk” or “hardcore” bands that are really just corporate rock in disguise. And the scary but very unsurprising thing is, its working on a lot of people. What do you think about that kind of stuff going on in music today?
JP> Well culture theft has been a part of american culture from day one. So its not that surprising. Obviously its sick, but you just have to re-invent what you have and take it to another level. Its been done before with "no wave" bands after punk became new wave and mass marketed. You had people like James Chance trying to create something that was not viewed traditionally and typically as "punk" but was exactly what punk was meant to be...ethically. I don't consider the Locust's music to be "punk" in a traditional musical sense. We are not a "punk rock" band, but we are ethically punk in my opinion.
BB> Are there any bands that particularly grate your scrotum?
JP> Yes, a lot.
BB> It seems like there is a kind of political edge and/or ideology to the band, but its never presented in a way that’s overly direct, other than through the way you warp standards of music.
JP> You are correct. There is no reason to cram political ideals down peoples throats, its a turn off. We try to present what we feel politically and emotionally in a way that can be dealt with however one wants to ingest it.
BB> How do you guys manage to get so much done through the Locust while all of the members are involved in such a wide variety of other projects? Do conflicts ever become a problem?
JP> Being a workaholic is the way I can accomplish all that I do.
BB> What other musicians and/or experiences influence the Locust’s sound?
JP> I'm not sure where to start. It's not only musical influences that help us create what we do. For me its things like my mother, independent cinema, dadaism, radical political activism, food, communication, community, culture and so on. But as far as musical influences, some are the Birthday Party, Public Image Limited, the Stooges, Black Sabbath, Leonard Cohen, yes, the Sex Pistols, Born Against, and so on...
BB> A lot of your lyrics are very literary and abstract, in an effective way that most lyricists can’t capture quite so well. Are there any writers that inspire and/or influence you to create them as you do?
JP> Well Joey, Bobby and I all write lyrics. As far as the stuff I write, I try to use a lot of slang, a lot of sexual references. Ii tend to use re-occurring things that are used as metaphors. But I'm not really influenced by other writers. As far as influence, its the same as the musical influences question above.
BB> There are supposedly a lot of rumors about the band’s drug use. How much influence has drug use had on the Locust’s music? Is that even important?
JP> It's not important to me since I haven't done drugs since I was 14.
BB> How can you become a virgin?
JP> Well the title for that song came from the way my father was towards me. It's sort of like being born a specific way, having a personality and characteristics that will never be approved in the eyes of someone, in this case, a parent. So the idea of a virgin is thought to be pure and good. Well to become a virgin when you are not is the irony of the idea that i was trying to convey.
