James Pants

Davide Bortot

If there is one record that Busy P likes and Peanut Butter Wolf likes, you pretty much know there is something special going on, so please welcome Mr James Pants… [Applause] So, you might be signed to a label from Los Angeles, but you’re actually from another place called Spokane [in Washington State]. I don’t know if anyone is familiar with this place, maybe you might break down what this town is like?

James Pants

Is anyone familiar with it? All of the guys in my band are. [To audience member] You drove through the wasteland? How was it? It’s barren. Now, everybody knows Seattle in Washington, while Spokane is like on the east side of the state. Have you seen the movie Napoleon Dynamite? Well, it’s near Idaho, that vibe a little bit, pick-up trucks and shotguns. I really love it. It is a really scenic town and there is really nothing going on so you stay home and work on music.

Davide Bortot

But still, as you told me yesterday, A Tribe Called Quest mentioned Spokane in one of their songs, “Award Tour,” how did that come about?

James Pants

That is a mystery to me. Check it out, nobody believes me, we can settle this right now, is that OK? Here it comes, second verse. I’m skipping ahead.

(music: A Tribe Called Quest – “Award Tour”)

James Pants

Did you hear it? We got lumped in with London and Tokyo (applause). It is our claim to fame.

Davide Bortot

Was that also an influence for you growing up or did you just like the song because they mention Spokane in there? Was that the kind of music you were listening to when you were younger?

James Pants

Definitely, that was one of the albums that really got me into hip-hop. When I was really little I liked Naughty by Nature and Kris Kross and stuff like that, but that was the first real, serious rap album I heard, and when I heard Spokane, I took it from there.

Davide Bortot

So, what was going on in Spokane musically, were there concerts? How did you get in touch with music?

James Pants

I moved around a lot. My dad is a Presbyterian minister so he was finishing up his doctorate and we lived in Texas, Boston, then Spokane, then back to Texas so I didn’t really get into music in Spokane per se. Except Steppenwolf and stuff like that. But yeah, I just got exposed to a lot of different stuff and with moving around I had a variety of friends.

Davide Bortot

Have you ever thought about moving to another place? It would be obvious, and a lot of people do that, but it’s not right for you?

James Pants

I think about it, but if it’s another place, it would be another version of Spokane on the East Coast. Maybe like Pittsburgh. Somewhere where records are cheap and cars are breaking down, something like that.

Davide Bortot

So, records, now we’re talking. How many do you own?

James Pants

I keep it pretty pared down so I go through everything and get rid of all the fillers. Probably maybe like 2,500 or something, a wall.

Davide Bortot

So, when you go digging, how does that look like? Is it just when you travel or is it in Spokane or where do you get your records from?

James Pants

When I first started, it used to be wherever I could get them, so lots of thrift stores. Those have dried up over the years. There’s a really great record shop in Spokane, which is one of those real digger type shops, real cool. When I travel, I go for records I haven’t seen before, so I don’t like to spend too much because 50% of the time they’re not that good. I go to places where I find a lot of quantity and thin it out later.

Davide Bortot

Did you have a chance to go digging here in Barcelona?

James Pants

No, not yet, although my bandmates did laundry this morning and said they found a spot, so I’ll have to go smell it out.

Davide Bortot

So, how exactly are you looking for records? I reckon there are the people who see the cover and think it looks interesting and that the record must be and listen to it intensely and think about it a long time before they buy it. What kind of record digger are you?

James Pants

That’s a good question. It is like, “What kind of character are you?” I really just like stuff I’ve never seen. I feel like I don’t by any means know everything, but I have seen enough names to… I just like stuff I’ve never heard of, mostly like regional records, but any genre, I don’t really look for anything specific. I don’t sample too much any more, so I buy the stuff to use as influences, really.

Davide Bortot

So, two things, maybe first, why don’t you sample anymore? Has it got boring or for reasons of clearance, because the bigger you get the more you have to worry about clearance?

James Pants

It was just a natural progression. I used to sample a whole lot when I first start producing and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it at all. I mean, Madlib on the label is a sampling mastermind. J Dilla. Me, personally, I just found it harder to make songs. I didn’t work with any rappers, really, and I can’t rap personally. You might have heard me try, but I can’t. To do the kind of music I wanted to do, I wanted to have choruses and key changes and whatever. It’s hard with a sample to do that, unless you are pulling out a lot of parts. I am not a huge technology guy, not real good with computer programs, so I have limited options and I decided to play it, it’s just a lot quicker for me to make a song.

Davide Bortot

I guess we will talk about the production of your new album later on, but there may be one more thing when it comes to buying records or looking for music… I think when you are, you really want to listen to music everybody else is listening to, and you just want to be part of something, pretty much the music that everybody else likes. So, at what point was it that you started looking to music that nobody knows and no one else was listening to?

James Pants

That is a good point because when I first started buying records I was looking for peoples’ samples, reading Wax Poetics when that first came out, and just hunting for those big-name rare records, which a lot of them are really incredible. But there comes a point when so many people are looking for the same stuff that I feel you can find better things by just trusting your gut. Whether you like some lame new wave song, if you like it, just buy it instead of worrying, “It’s not cool, hip-hop friends are going to beat me up over this.” I get a lot of heat from certain record store owners for buying wack records but I like them, like Del Shannon, actually he’s got some really cool stuff.

Davide Bortot

So, it is more about the music itself and not about owning a record, or having that one record that nobody else has and telling everybody about it?

James Pants

I think so. It’s kind of extra special to have that one record nobody has. There’s a couple of records I buy every time I see them, just so nobody else will get it. I probably shouldn’t do that, but some of the records that you find for a quarter are fantastic. So, I don’t think price or rarity really matters, it’s just how good the songs are.

Davide Bortot

What was the most unlikely place where you have found a good record that inspired you?

James Pants

I found one in Spokane that I really, really like. I don’t know anything about it, but I know Peanut Butter Wolf has one, and he is the only other guy I know has one. But he has everything. It is by a guy called the Prophet and is called A Badd Record, like B-A-D-D – that is the kind of music I like where the song is maybe not very professional but is really interesting to listen to. It’s like a mid-’80s funk record that has got really atrocious vocals, but there is something about it. It’s like broken beat music but from the mid-’80s. I can play you one if you want. Be forewarned, his singing is a little out of tune. I think this guy has the attitude and his heart is in the right place, but he just doesn’t have the know-how. Here’s a weird one.

(music: The Prophet – unknown)

James Pants

I don’t know if he got any girlfriends out of that, which I think was his motive, but it’s a great record.

Davide Bortot

[Points at James’ computer] So, you seem to be pretty much on point with all this iTunes business – no typos in there, all the genres and everything – but, still, you are a record collector so when you buy a record do you digitalize it right away? Where did you get all this music from?

James Pants

When I DJ out, I use Serato a lot. Just for traveling and having some records lost for a few days in Miami a couple of years ago. I was doing only vinyl until then, and I thought, “Enough of this.” And now I really like Serato, it’s super-fun to play on. So yes, I digitize all my records and try to have it as specific as possible, so you can just type in “weirdo” and all your weirdo songs come up…

Davide Bortot

So, we are already at a point where there are nerds for iTunes as well?

James Pants

Oh, yes, definitely.

Davide Bortot

When did you discover this whole world of MP3s and iTunes and that kind of stuff?

James Pants

When I got a computer. I record on a really old computer, so when I got this thing maybe two years ago I found out about the great world of iTunes, it’s totally addicting.

Davide Bortot

So, let’s talk about the whole signing with Stones Throw and everything. There this myth that has been told in all the press releases and so on. First of all, is it actually true that you met Peanut Butter Wolf at your prom night?

James Pants

Yes, that is very true. Do you want the rundown? I still don’t know how I got signed to Stones Throw, so you guys decide that. But I met Peanut Butter Wolf, let’s see, I was a huge fan in ’98 or ’99, when Stones Throw was still really little. I lived in Austin, Texas, at the time, and Peanut Butter Wolf was a DJ at a rave, which was really bizarre, first of all, for him. But I just emailed him, “Would you like to go record shopping?” And I couldn’t believe it because he wrote back and said, “Sure.” So, his show happened to be the night of my prom, so I took my date to his show… I took her to the show and I met Wolf, I was still wearing my tux, and we just kind of hung out for the next few days. I didn’t know anything, I was very new to all this, and we kind of drove him around, he showed me some records. That was probably nine years ago now, but I just kept in touch with him and sent him mixtapes periodically, caught his shows periodically, so I think he knew my name. Later, in college, I ended up doing an internship with Stones Throw, and if Egon was here he would probably tell you how terrible I was.

Davide Bortot

Why is that?

James Pants

Stones Throw is a really funny label. My favorite, but there is not really a structure. So, I showed up ready to work and they just told me where my desk was, but they didn’t tell me what to do. So, I just sat there and would ask lots of questions, like, “Do you want me to help with this?” And they’d be like, “Oh, no, he’s doing that,” and so I did a lot of sitting, did a lot of thinking about life, and I drank a lot of wine at night, and that was a dark time in my life.

Davide Bortot

So, when did they kick you out?

James Pants

It was just a short thing, a few months for a college credit, and my goal was to get a job in LA, get signed to Stones Throw, make it in the music business. And I couldn’t even get a job in a grocery store. So, I moved back with my tail between my legs to Spokane, and I decided I was not going to make rap music any more, which I was making at the time. It was like, “Forget this, I just want to make stuff,” and that is how all this got started. Deciding what I was going to record and just starting recording. Maybe a year or two later, I got asked to do a cover of a song [by] The Grand Master Lover, and we should play that, too, maybe? It is basically a song by a guy named O’mar. He is kind of like a 40-year-old virgin. You can tell. The way he sings and talks about what a player he is, what a lover he is. Don’t quote me on this, but I think he still lives at home with his mother. This is from ’83, but it is a great song. Wolf showed it to me, and they wanted to re-release it, and he didn’t give them permission to do so, so the way around it was to do a cover of it. So, this is the cover of the song. It is not that creative just because they wanted it very similar to the original, but I can play the original. Anyways, after I did this I was asked to do an album.

(music: James Pants – “The Grand Master Lover”)

James Pants

So, it kind of rides like that, with crazier and crazier lyrics. The original, I can’t begin to explain. He says things like, “Don’t forget the funk girl / Just move that doggy.” Here’s the original.

(music: The Grand Master Lover – “The Legend of O’Mar”)

Davide Bortot

So, your iTunes still says “unreleased” for the cover version – why didn’t it get released?

James Pants

You know, I don’t know. Peanut Butter Wolf, I think, we both agree on “bad” music and I think they were going to release that with, or have a promotion where you buy hot dogs outside a club. Like, when you leave a club at three in the morning and you’re hungry and you buy a hot dog, you get a free James Pants 45, that was going to be the idea.

Davide Bortot

You said you were making rap music at that time when you had your internship at Stones Throw – what does that mean, did you do beats or did you rap?

James Pants

Mainly beats. I used to be in a rap group in Austin, Texas. It was a black nationalist rap group, kind of a Black Panther thing and I was the white DJ, so it was always a little tense. But they were really good guys. One of them is Deon Davis, who is on my record, but yeah, I made beats for them, and as soon as I moved for school I was just making beats and hoped I would meet this rapper that would be perfect.

Davide Bortot

Can you play any of the records or is that something that you want to hide from the public?

James Pants

From the group? I don’t think I have any on me, I guess, that I would be a little bit embarrassing. We were named Ballistix with an “X” on the end. I thought that was a really good name for high school. Good times.

Davide Bortot

What was the name of the girl again you took to prom night?

James Pants

My wife is going to kill me. Cindy Huckabee.

Davide Bortot

Did she get a copy of your album?

James Pants

No, I don’t know where she is. I just hope she’s watching.

Davide Bortot

So, let’s talk about this album. When did you start working on it?

James Pants

Welcome, I didn’t start working on an album, really, I was just making songs. I was really poor at the time, just out of college, working at a grocery store and just spending my nights making music with no purpose in mind. Basically, I just turned in 100 or so songs to Peanut Butter Wolf, for him to check out, and he kind of picked and chose what he liked on there. But it was probably right after my internship with Stones Throw – maybe like around 2002 – I started making all kinds of stuff.

Davide Bortot

So, all of the songs have been recorded for throughout the five years?

James Pants

Yes, that was kind of the time where I just discovered ’80s boogie, and I discovered it because it was cheap at the time. Everybody was into funk records and I couldn’t afford them, so I would buy what was in the dollar bin, which at the time was ’80s R&B. And I just kind of fell in love with it. So, even although the record comes out now, and ’80s R&B is really cool – I don’t know what I’m saying, I’m not ahead of my time – but I was into ’80s music before it was trendy, just because it was cheap. And now I’ve started doing new age music, because those records are a dollar right now. So, my theory on life is whatever is in the bargain bin, any genre that you can get for cheap is probably the genre that is going to be trendy.

Davide Bortot

Were you surprised when you realized that suddenly this music became trendy. I mentioned before that a lot of people who really dig your album come from a very unlikely place, people you wouldn’t expect to actually listen to your music or play your music. Were you surprised when people with funny caps and funny sneakers started playing your music?

James Pants

Totally. I live in the forest, more or less, so I just get surprised that any of this happens. I’m in, Barcelona, that is pretty crazy. Did I answer the question?

Davide Bortot

I reckon that the “Ka$h” record has been remixed by A-Trak, so obviously that has nothing to do with what you really do, or is there a connection there?

James Pants

I think so. I think with the Welcome record there is definitely some kind of – I won’t say club music because we tried to play it at the club the other night and it scared some people – but it has kind of a backbone of club music, and so a lot of DJs have found the certain songs they like. It is a little different because it is not quite as polished, so I think that has helped a lot too, because there is a raw aspect. I think there is little overlap between A-Trak’s version and mine.

Davide Bortot

So, how do you blend it in this world, is it something you like, going to clubs, playing in clubs and checking out this music? You said yesterday that you wouldn’t listen to any new music. How does that go together?

James Pants

I’ve been trying to listen to more new music, I have no excuse. I really love playing in clubs. I think it is about 50% of what I do. I try to do recording – I don’t want to say I keep a separate world – but recording’s where I can be as strange as I want, and don’t have to worry about making club records. But, when I DJ, I just like to have as crazy a dance party as you can get.

Davide Bortot

When you listen to the album, you said the sounds on the album were recorded over the last five years, it has a very unique sound. But it is still very homogeneous. Is that something you tried to do intentionally? Is that a sound that you wanted to create? Maybe all the 80 other songs were totally different?

James Pants

Right. I think a lot of the sound just comes from the way I record. A lot of it is out of necessity. I didn’t really invest in the studio. You know, the way I record the drums on every song is the same. So, that creates a kind of continuity throughout the album, I think, just because I have the worst set-up in the world.

Davide Bortot

So, how actually do you record your drums? Is it live drums or drum machines?

James Pants

Some of the songs are drum machines, I kind of like to do both. So, some of them are drum machines, some of it is live drums. I usually just record them in a basement with one microphone and throw a lot of compression on there. And then I accidentally discovered this other trick to makebass drums really fat. You have your drums running through a compressor, and you have a record on the turntable with the needle down and that’s running into the compressor as well, and it picks up just the bass vibration so you have this [makes noise] and you don’t even have to play it loud, so your parents can be asleep upstairs and on the record, they sound huge. That’s a factoid, take note.

Davide Bortot

You seem to use a lot of reverb, is that true? Is the intention to create this ’80s Soulsonic Force sound, or am I wrong here?

James Pants

I love reverb. I think reverb is more a ’60s tool. With my vocal skills, I need a lot of reverb.

Davide Bortot

How about Auto-Tune [laughs]?

James Pants

I want to try that sometime, too, that will be the club hit [laughs]. I’m a big fan of effects. Some of my favorite music, besides ’80s boogie is ’60s psych, so I kind of like to marry the two. I don’t know which one is male or female. All the effects they used in the ’60s, the heavy pans or that one that cuts up the sound, I don’t know what that’s called, but they’re fun.

Davide Bortot

So, could you play any more of the records you listened to when you recorded the album… some of the cheap records?

James Pants

Definitely. Some of the cheap records, OK. What shall we start with, ’60s? Let’s do the ’60s. You guys know Silver Apples? This one is a direct influence on the song we did, “Dragon Slayer.” All the heavy drum songs we did on the album were in a period when I was just obsessed with this group. This is from ’68…

(music: Silver Apples – “Lovefingers”)

James Pants

So that’s the Silver Apples… crazy. I can’t believe that’s 1968 when the Beatles were doing…

Davide Bortot

Do you know anything of the background of the record, the artists?

James Pants

I don’t want to lie, I think they are from New York, but the singer is originally from Knoxville or something. It’s just a drummer with a crazy drum set, home-made basically, and a guy named Simeon, who plays [a synthesizer] named the Simeon, which is just some foot pedals and some knobs. Apparently, he built it, he didn’t have money to get better instruments. So, he just learned to hold a tune by turning a little oscillator. It’s really repetitive, hypnotic music, which is my favorite stuff. Some people hate that about my music but I really like repetitive stuff.

Davide Bortot

Maybe another one?

James Pants

OK, this, another one I really like. This is actually early ’80s but this is an influence. Peanut Butter Wolf showed me all these records so I’m going to give him the credit, though I ended up finding it. It’s from Germany, it sounds like Lil’ Wayne, but from 1981.

(music: Unknown – unknown)

James Pants

That goes on for nine minutes so I usually only play a minute of it. It’s really good.

Davide Bortot

So, when you DJ do you play the nine minutes?

James Pants

I do. You can play it with T.I. and it goes well.

Davide Bortot

What about this whole repetitive element, what attracts you to that kind of stuff?

James Pants

I guess, my musical training was really playing the drums. But I was just involved in jazz bands and things, and I always just liked playing beats more than songs. I think anything that has got a strong rhythm I feel I can listen to forever, whereas if I play the guitar, I probably get really bored with it fast. That kind of music obviously works on dancefloors, and we’ve seen that with ’80s Chicago house. There is something about repetitive music, in a way it can be quite soulful and suddenly non-repetitive in a way. I think somewhere after a minute or so it seems it switches in your brain and you go on autopilot and it becomes really enjoyable. When you’re not listening for changes, you’re not predicting when it’s more a repetitive song…

Davide Bortot

So, you play drums, you play guitar, what else do you play?

James Pants

I don’t play guitar, I make a noise on the guitar. Really, just anything I can get my hands on. I’ve got a lot of keyboards. I won’t claim to be a proficient keyboard player but I can bust out some chords. I have a real proficient keyboard player in my band for those hard-to-reach things. I have a bass, a bunch of goat toenails, little shakers, spoons, wooden blocks, anything.

Davide Bortot

How did the whole band thing come about? Did you put that together for the live gigs, or will they play on your new album?

James Pants

On the new album, I would like to have a lot more instrumentation. The first one was basically drums and a keyboard.

Davide Bortot

All the guys who make music with a drumbox, or with a sampler, at a certain point want to make real music, how does that come about?

James Pants

I think that’s an exciting point in everyone’s musical career, when you ditch the easy stuff. I don’t know how it comes about. I think you just experiment, that is really all I do. I don’t claim to really be a technical master on any aspect of recording, I just play around and see what kind of sound I can get. I’m not really afraid of having bad sounds. Sometimes the best records have terrible mastering jobs. But if it’s funky, it kind of shines through.

Davide Bortot

Is it something you do intentionally? Because you listen to your records, it is not like they sound like a Dr Dre record or anything… do you try to keep it all lo-fi aesthetics?

James Pants

I do. I am a really big fan of lo-fi. I would love to do clean stuff but I’ve not heard many records that sound clean without being sterile. I think the more equipment and the more processes you use to go from start to finish, each little step of the way has the ability to suck a little of the life out of the music, unless you really know what you are doing. I know my limitations, so I think my stuff is always going to be a little lo-fi.

Davide Bortot

So, how long does it usually take you to produce a song from beginning till the end?

James Pants

It really varies. My general rule of thumb is to go very quickly. If I don’t have something workable within 15 or 20 minutes or maybe a half hour, if I don’t have some skeleton of something that I think is good, I scrap it. I am still learning this, but I have found that when you really try to work on a song – and this might be me, I’m not much of a perfectionist, my wife is – but when I really try to work on a song and put my stamp on it, it just doesn’t work. Like, I kind of play something really simple and see what it needs, instead of planning it. I always think the quicker the better. It is more right of the top of the brain, which is a little more soulful, I think.

Davide Bortot

So, what is usually there in the beginning of a track? Is it always an idea, or do you start playing drums?

James Pants

I usually start with some melodic instrument, keys, guitar, bass, something like that and just try to get something real simple that you can expand on. Maybe three notes. Add drums, then you add chords, then voila!

Davide Bortot

So, could play some of your new record? You were saying yesterday it might be a new direction, so it might be interesting to hear more of that? [James laughs] What’s so funny about that?

James Pants

I finished this Stones Throw record that came out in May but I started on another one of Catholic music. I don’t know if there are any Catholics, I haven’t joined the church yet, but I might. But it is kind of Catholic psychedelic music, mastered really horribly, at the moment.

(music: James Pants – unknown)

James Pants

So yeah, that’s one. It’s about getting the ID chip put in your hand, like the day of judgment. That’s what the story is. You get an implant, and scan things with your hand, and that means the end of the world is coming any day. My girlfriend got an ID chip in her hand in that song.

Davide Bortot

Could you play another one?

James Pants

Yeah, this is a creepy one called “The Eyes of the Lord Are Upon You.”

(music: James Pants – “The Eyes of the Lord Are Upon You” / applause)

James Pants

It gets creepier, but I won’t spoil that.

Davide Bortot

So, what the hell made you want to do a record of Catholic music?

James Pants

First of all, like my theory goes, I started finding Catholic records in the dollar bins. I found some really good ones and some really bugged out ’60s Catholic stuff, kind of during the whole hippie revolution, that was just mind-blowing. My dad being a minister, I always grew up with horrible Christian music, like... [sings] No offense, but women with denim jumpers and wireless microphones. And to find out there was this stuff was like, “Whoa, my parents are going to be really happy if I record stuff like this.” Here’s one Catholic record you can find for a dollar.

(music: Unknown – unknown)

James Pants

It’s a vocoder mass right there. To me, that’s forward-thinking. I would go to that church. So anyway, dollar bins again.

Davide Bortot

So how did you find out about this kind of music?

James Pants

I don’t really do a whole lot of music research, like reading. It’s kind of a personal journey. Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I kind of buy what I see, and you can’t predict what you are going to find. Usually, you pay a lot of money when you do, so that usually dictates or influences what you will be doing. That was really long-winded. I hope you understood my point.

Davide Bortot

So, when you try to recreate that sound, correct me if I’m wrong, is this recreating? Are you actually trying to find the exact vibe of these records?

James Pants

No, no, no, I just like to see the combinations of things I can come up with. I just really use them as an influence. I feel like maybe it’s my zodiac sign, I’m a Gemini, so I get really into like, “Oh, Catholic music.” Then next month it’s new age music, or funk, and pretty soon I’ve got all three are together on one song and you have a new sound.

Davide Bortot

What do you think is the link between these genres? Is there anything that makes you like ’80s boogie and ’60s prog rock?

James Pants

Yeah, I think, everything. I mean, I don’t know how to describe it, but the more I get into music, the more I realize I like everything. There is some kind of energy level that runs through good music that you can’t really pinpoint, and it doesn’t matter what genre. You can usually tell and it’s personal taste, of course. I might not like something that really is good, but I feel I can kind of hear what they are doing, or can feel a rhythm, even if there’s no drums on it, so I think it’s funky. And I show a friend who likes funk and say, “Isn’t this funky?” And they go, “No!”, but I think it’s funky.

Davide Bortot

So, you really seem to be concerned with what you think is funky and other people find funky. How does that come about? You told me yesterday that when you come to a club or play a concert, it’s always surprise for you when people dance and sometimes you don’t know if people like it. What’s the point in that?

James Pants

What’s the point of it? Because I just don’t like stuff that’s too in-your-face as, “This is what it is, funky funk.” Like, “This song is so funky, the funkiest guitar.” That’s too easy. It’s fun to be like, “There’s no guitar on this song, and only a bass drum, and if you can hear the funk, that’s great.” It’s a little challenge. You, of course, don’t want to alienate audiences, so I think there is a lot of songs people know and love that ride that line very well. But I think all music production is about subtleties, you know? Resist the urge to go full-throttle on one thing. It kind of has lot more character, if you lay back and let the music speak instead of trying to add all this stuff.

Davide Bortot

So, what could be an influence for the next record, the record after that? Are there other genres you like and nobody else does?

James Pants

I really want to do a record for T.I. I think he raps very percussively, very [much] a part of the beat, as opposed to on it. And I’d just like to see what would happen if he would let me make a record for him. I’ve been writing him all this fan mail and he hasn’t responded yet, so I keep trying [laughs].

Davide Bortot

What’s your favorite T.I. record?

James Pants

Oh, man. See, that’s the thing, they always have a couple that are like “Ah, dear God,” but over all the albums, I think the production could be a little better.

Davide Bortot

Could you maybe play a T.I. record and explain a little more in-depth what you mean as the way he uses his voice as a percussion instrument? I totally know what you mean, but I think it might be interesting to hear a record and have you explain it.

James Pants

My favorite one, I really hate that chorus. I shouldn’t be using these words while I’m on videotape, but the chorus on that DJ Khaled song “We Taking Over,” the chorus is a little too dramatic. But when T.I. comes on on that one, it is just like lightning strikes. But I don’t have that one on me. So, where’s another T.I. one? Are you guys getting the after-lunch blues? We could play the blues, maybe. Well, “Bring ’Em Out,” everyone knows that one, but that one is incredible. You probably all know it, but here it is anyway.

(music: T.I. – “Bring ’Em Out”)

James Pants

… I think it’d be interesting to see what he would do on crazy finger cymbals, and all that kind of stuff would be really fun. And I would do it only drums and maybe a few sounds. But if you just came up with a wicked rhythm record and had him on there, I think it would be an unstoppable force.

Davide Bortot

Why didn’t you have any rappers on your album? Because T.I. is the only one you listen to?

James Pants

Only T.I… I only work with the best. Do you know who I am [laughter]? I think, for this record, I just didn’t want any rap. I did have a rapper on it but he was singing, Deon Davis, and I do have a version of “Crystal Lite” where he raps. It is actually pretty good, but I think Peanut Butter Wolf edited it out.

Davide Bortot

Could you play it?

James Pants

Yeah, yeah, for sure. He’s a really good rapper, I really like him, but he’s doing the nine-to-five thing. Here we go.

(music: James Pants – “Crystal Lite (Alternate Version)”)

James Pants

… Red Bull exclusive rap version. [Whispers] Exclusive.

Davide Bortot

I think it’s pretty common sense right now to say hip-hop music has become kind of boring, everybody says it. Do you think it’s boring?

James Pants

I think, without offending anyone, a lot of the more major label commercial stuff is a lot better than a lot of the underground stuff I hear right now. Say what you will about the conversation topics, but I think there’s a lot of good stuff coming out of the South that has that initial energy that hip-hop had when it started. The Mannie Fresh stuff is always wicked. So, I prefer to listen to more of that. Again though, I’m way behind on new music, so I’m sure there’s a lot of stuff bubbling that I just haven’t heard.

Davide Bortot

How about Wolf and Egon, do they listen to rap music?

James Pants

Oh yeah. They listen to rap. I’m a huge mid-’80s rap freak. I like it all. It’s really sad, maybe I just have a slightly rebellious streak because my father’s a minister, so the only rap music I don’t listen to much, which is sacrilegious to say, is like the early ’90s stuff, because everybody listens to that. “Let’s take it back, y’all.” So, I just don’t take it back [laughter].

Davide Bortot

What do your parents say about your music? Your father?

James Pants

My mom says, “It’s really interesting.” And my dad said, “We’re just so proud of you.” They haven’t said much about the actual music. My grandfather said it was like Chinese water torture; he was a prisoner of war [laughter]. I think I’m going to have him do the next album review.

Davide Bortot

You might take that as a compliment?

James Pants

I thought so, yeah. I listen to his 78s, and there’s nothing there. I don’t trust him.

Davide Bortot

I mean, you seem to be obsessed with people not liking your music, so what would anybody need to say to really offend you?

James Pants

Well, maybe I want people to like it, but I just have a real bad anxiety problem. That’s why I talk without knowing what I’m going to say and I just keep going and going and don’t finish sentences, like I’m doing. I want people to like the music, but I just assume that they don’t because I live in Spokane and I’m not an AC/DC cover band. So, I grew up with people hating it, and I think that makes me a little stronger. But I always find that if I assume that people hate it, and they do like it, then we’re like best friends.

Davide Bortot

What else was around in Spokane besides AC/DC? What kind of music were people listening to?

James Pants

Maybe you’ve heard of this thing called nu metal, I think it was big about ten years ago, but we just got it. There’s this band called Limp Bizkit that’s like really cool [laughter]. So, that’s the kind of life there. There’s also a lot of folkies, mustache mandolin players. There’s some really good jazz bands. I mean, the guys in my band are all from Spokane, we are kind of like this underground little posse, and nobody likes us.

Davide Bortot

So, what does a usual day look like over there? Do you have a studio at home?

James Pants

I do. I record at home. I’ve been traveling a lot this year, but when I’m home I try to work on music from about 1 PM to 8 PM, and then usually again at night. I just like to consider it a job. I remember reading Kraftwerk worked nine to five, Monday through Friday. I thought, there you have the classic German discipline. We Americans aren’t quite that disciplined, but I’m working on it.

Davide Bortot

Why do you like considering it as a job? Does it make you more efficient or creative or prolific, or is it that you don’t like music that much that you want to have weekends for yourself?

James Pants

I really like working on my stuff at night. I’ve been doing a ton of remixes and I really enjoy doing those, but I consider those more a job, because it’s somebody else’s song. I can play you one if you want, the one for Beck… I don’t think it’s going to come out, though. We’ll see. I did one for Beck, and I just did one for Converse for that Pharrell song, too. So, I don’t know, which shall we go first? OK, Beck. You guys know that song “Gamma Ray”? OK, here’s Beck.

(music: Beck – “Gamma Ray (James Pants remix)”)

(music: Pharrell & Santogold – “My Drive Through (James Pants remix)”)

James Pants

That’s my commercial song, right there.

Davide Bortot

You said that when you remix other peoples’ music, it feels like a job. So how do you feel when other people remix your music?

James Pants

I love it. I mean, A-Trak did a remix of “Ka$h” that sounds totally different, and it’s a lot more club-friendly in a good way. I think remixing is really fun. I said it’s like a job but it’s a really fun job.

Davide Bortot

When did you realize that music could be like your job?

James Pants

I kind of didn’t think it ever would be. I was working in front of a computer doing retirement plans. I don’t know if Europe has that. Anyways, in America we have terrible healthcare and, also, when you retire you have to have all this money saved up. So, I worked on that, the investments, financial stuff… terrible. But I would do that during the day and work on music at night, and I just thought that was how it was going to be. I was content with that, just making music for myself. I would have a good time and every now and then DJ and go out and play it, and when I saw this could be viable it was crazy, and I’m thankful… very much.

Davide Bortot

Were you already DJing at this time?

James Pants

I started DJing when I was 16, and I wasn’t good until maybe a year or two ago. People wouldn’t dance, you know?

Davide Bortot

So, why are you good now? Because people dance now?

James Pants

I won’t say I’m good. I play mainly old stuff, so there’s always that challenge when you are in a club environment and people are playing dubstep and whatnot, with massive bass, and here you come with a Sergio Mendes song, girls kind of scowl. But I think I’m able to find a happy balance between just big club stuff as well as old stuff that everybody can still dance to. I also do something called “The Golden Oldies Countdown.” It’s not really a shtick, I really like them. I grew up on AM Gold radio, so, “We count down the songs of yesterday, today and beyond, number 30 to number 1, the most requested on 5:40 AM, five to seven every Monday morning on the James Pants Golden Oldies Countdown.” Like, the Monkees and stuff. That works in a club.

Davide Bortot

So, how important is the DJing? Is it more for necessity, because you have to make money because you put out a record every two months? Does it influence, does it inspire you as well?

James Pants

I think it’s probably the best thing you can do, whatever you play, whatever style of music. I think it’s really good to DJ, because it’s really easy to think that you have great stuff. I always used to think, “This song is so good,” and then you play it and people frown and go to the bathroom. It’s just good instant feedback. Seeing how much you can get away with and still have people dance, that kind of tells you there’s something about these songs that still works. Or if you play songs from 40 years ago, and people still dance, there’s something in it that’s still good. So, I think it’s a good educational tool, where you get instant feedback to see what works and doesn’t work. How much can you get away with, really.

Davide Bortot

So, what was your most unlikely success when playing at a club, a record you thought nobody would dance to and then everybody started dancing?

James Pants

That’s a really good question. It always seems to be Sergio Mendes. No, I would say this one…

(music: The Muppets – “Mahna Mahna”)

James Pants

At three in the morning, if people have been drinking, there’s something about songs like that they really go over. And that one’s a little corny, so I shouldn’t use it as an example but maybe I think I got away it and did not lose the dancefloor. You can do all kinds of fun stuff when it’s late at night, like the Fifth Dimension.

(music: The Fifth Dimension – “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In”)

James Pants

You can’t play the next part, because it’s too played out, but if you only play that much, woo…

Davide Bortot

So, what was your worst bathroom moment, something you thought would kill the dancefloor, but everybody went to the bathroom, and they sent you home?

James Pants

That happens at least once a show. It’s different every night. It depends on the city. We played in Budapest not long ago, and I DJed after. I don’t remember what I was playing, but there were a few songs where I was singing along with them. Maybe we had too much Hungarian beer, but I was singing with the records and a lot of people went to the bathroom. Mostly the songs where I am on, that’s when they go to the bathroom.

Davide Bortot

Who is the best DJ you ever saw play at a club?

James Pants

I have got a couple. Kenny Dope is one of my favorites. Peanut Butter Wolf, definitely. I know Benga is playing tonight and I’d never seen him play, and I played with him in Liverpool months ago, and he completely destroyed me. I think I played and people were like, “Hmm,” and he played, and all the girls went insane.

Davide Bortot

Girls at a dubstep party, really? Where was that?

James Pants

Yeah, in Liverpool, and I was really humbled. So, he’s up there too.

Davide Bortot

So, this whole European dubstep dancefloor stuff is an influence for you? Have you been listening to it?

James Pants

No, I just started hearing about it a couple years ago, and I like some of it, for sure. I just never want to be into one genre, like, “Oh, he’s a dubstep guy.” Just because that’s not me. Some people are way more detail-oriented, and can focus and probably get good at one genre, whereas maybe I prefer to be pretty good at a lot of different stuff. So, dubstep, I guess we can throw that into the blender, but I haven’t made any dubstep yet or anything.

Davide Bortot

Is there a scene in the US where you are from, for dubstep?

James Pants

I think it’s growing. Again, I don’t live in a big city, so we miss a lot of those things. We just heard about this band called Guns ’N Roses, but I think probably in a few years it will hit where we are at. But I know in LA and New York there’s a lot of people who bug out on it, for sure. The States is kind of weird, because it’s so spread out and cities are so different.

Davide Bortot

What’s wrong with Guns ’N Roses?

James Pants

Oh, they’re great. “Welcome to the Jungle” has a pretty vicious guitar.

Davide Bortot

Any Guns ’N Roses fans in here?

James Pants

I think I saw a Motörhead shirt – that’s pretty cool. We just heard about them, too.

Davide Bortot

So, if you had to wear one band shirt, what would it be?

James Pants

One band shirt? It’s always hard. I usually just buy the generic ones, like Nirvana, Jimi Hendrix. It’s funny, everyone used to wear them when I was in junior high and now nobody wears them. Probably, like Gary Wilson, though. He’d be there, one of my all-time top fives.

Davide Bortot

What’s so special about Gary Wilson? You mentioned him before?

James Pants

We were talking about him the other night. He is somebody I really look up to as far as… what kind of music is he? No one knows. I call it psychedelic lounge, but somebody gave a good description, it’s the kind of music you play at a party with broken glasses, you know? I thought that sounded really heavy at the time. But yeah, I don’t know what you would call Gary Wilson. Are you guys familiar with him at all? OK, Stones Throw put out a record of his that I really liked and I think they got 90% of it back, returned from stores, but we’ll play one really quick Gary Wilson song.

(music: Gary Wilson – “Chromium Bitch”)

James Pants

He’s incredible. Every song is like five songs, because there are so many switches and tempo changes. I know ?uestlove and Dilla were huge fans of him. Beck shouts him out on that “two turntables and a microphone” song. Matt Groening from The Simpsons shouts him out, too. He’s just one of those cult, lounge weirdos. It’s really soulful stuff. Again, he can’t sing, which kind of adds to the charm, but his musicianship is incredible – it’s like Prince or something.

Davide Bortot

I don’t know if I remember the name right, but there’s this other guy that you mentioned called Bruce Haack? I think Stones Throw is working on an album of his, too, right?

James Pants

Yeah, I’m hopefully going to be able to do some songs. He’s another – go figure – another weirdo artist out there. But he was an early electronic pioneer, made his own instruments. He has one where you could sit down on a piece of tin foil and someone could play your scalp by stretching your skin, sounds like a Theremin or something. He was on the Mr. Rogers show and I think he was getting more depressed and died. It was a tragic ending. Actually, I should mention his last song was going to be on Def Jam, but it didn’t come out. He’s a definite weirdo.

Davide Bortot

Can you play any of his music?

James Pants

Certainly. He has got so many different styles it is hard to pick one but I will give you… how about… here’s the one for Def Jam, 1984, I believe.

(music: Bruce Haack – “Party Machine”)

James Pants

I just couldn’t believe he knew the word “wack” because that is right at the beginning of the word wack, I believe. He has all kinds of stuff, psychedelic music, children’s records, medieval music, songs for robots. He is kind of an everyman’s man.

Davide Bortot

So, I think a lot of people who like this kind of music, play this kind of music, I don’t know, ’80s boogie, electro kind of stuff, it has a sort of tongue-in-cheek touch. How much of irony is on your music?

James Pants

To be honest, I really don’t like irony too much. It’s a very fine line. I do like humor, and I think those records or some of the ones that survive. Not necessarily humor like, “I’m going to tell a joke or rap about everything ’80s, and then shout out Game Boy.” There’s a lot of people who cross the line and it becomes kitsch stuff. I think there’s a lot of bands doing stuff in earnest, but it might be so foreign sounding or strange that it kind of lives on. I don’t think Gary Wilson, for instance, who keeps going like “hey, hey” during his songs because he can’t do a good James Brown yell, I don’t think he’s trying to make fun of that. I think it’s just his own little flair. I like to consider it flair instead of irony. But I think there’s a fine line because we live in a pretty ironic age right now, unfortunately. I think it goes through cycles and so, in order to connect with crowds, there has to be some element of not necessarily irony but some kind of connection that people recognize… “Oh, Game Boy, I had one of those.” I’ve never made a song about a Game Boy, that’s just an example. There has to be that without going over and just rehashing things. I think right now is an interesting time to make music, I think. There’s a lot of people in an irony camp, and a lot of people in a serious camp, so I think there’s a fine line you can walk that can connect both worlds.

Davide Bortot

How many people in the irony camp come to your concerts and listen to your music? Not to offend anybody but I think a lot of the attention that records like yours get at the moment comes from an ironic point, and as a musician I would be angry with those people.

James Pants

Strangely enough… I guess I do play some more ironic club nights, mainly in LA. But for the most part, maybe because of the Stones Throw connection, I end up playing pretty serious shows. Which is great because I don’t really fit in with too much of the hipster scene. I’m too much of a nerd, I don’t know how to talk to people, and my hands get sweaty.

Davide Bortot

So maybe from outside perspective, what do you think is this whole, “I’m a nerd, I’m retro,” or whatever, why is this so big at the moment? Is it because everyone was into gangster before, and now there’s that kind of vibe? Where does it come from?

James Pants

It’s just cycles. That’s what I’ve noticed. We are always going through cycles where certain things are getting rehashed. I feel like the ’80s has been going on for five, six years already, and it’s still going. It’s mind-boggling. But I think we get a lot of people just being nostalgic for their childhood. People take a little longer to grow up these days. You can still be a party freak at 39 or something, which is fine, but I think the music is a reflection of that, in a way. You can get very philosophical on this stuff.

Davide Bortot

How old are you, by the way?

James Pants

I’m 26.

Davide Bortot

So, there is no original ’80s influence in your music?

James Pants

My parents had a couple records, not many, we had Whitney Houston and Footloose, so I grew up on those two. Basically ,that until I started buying my own music.

Davide Bortot

Good. Any questions? I think we’re pretty much done. Any questions from your side?

Audience member

Could we hear something from your record that came out in May?

James Pants

Yes, yes, certainly. That old thing. There’s a lot, what kind of music shall we listen to first? OK.

(music: James Pants – unknown)

Audience member

So, you’re more like an Esquivel kind of guy instead of Harry Belafonte?

James Pants

Probably, I like all that kind of stuff. I really like karaoke. A lot of that old lounge stuff is just incredible, the showmanship, I think that’s kind of a lost art. I can’t sing, but I’m trying to at least give a rose to the girl and that kind of stuff. Because ultimately, no matter how serious you get with music, and you can take it very seriously, it’s entertainment. At its root, whether it’s crazy, crazy John Cage stuff, it’s still entertainment. Your job is to put on a show and give people something to talk about however you do it, that’s your own choice. But those lounge guys, there’s a lot to be admired from, say, Dean Martin.

Davide Bortot

Anybody else? Well, if that’s it, that’s it. Give it up for James Pants.