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ON THE COUCH WITH: Louis XIV

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ARTIST INTERVIEW

Access All Areas.net.au: How’s Australia been treating you so far?
Brian – Louis IVX: So far fantastic man, we’ve been here before and I’m appreciating it more now we are here.

Access All Areas.net.au: Firstly can you tell us about your new EP “The Distances From Everyone To You”?
Brian – Louis IVX: Well the EP kind of started off… originally we were going to release a full length record in September or October this year and because we didn’t meet the deadline and we weren’t 100% with where we wanted the album to be we got pushed back to January 2008 but we wanted to release something that kind of explained the progression between our first record and our second record. There is one song that is on the EP that will also be on the full length, there is also two B-Sides which are two cool songs that didn’t fit the full length record but could have and then we did a cover and decided throw that on as a bonus track.

Access All Areas.net.au: So with lines like “You don’t have to go to the pool if you want me to make you wet”, some of your lyrics have come under fire with some listeners, was that something you had expected when you began writing the album?
Brian – Louis IVX: Jay and I both write the lyrics and we’re kind of always trying to please ourselves and do the music for the sake of why we want to do it and we didn’t put much thought in to the reaction of others until after the fact for better or for worse I suppose. Even with the songs on the last record, they had been written and recorded even before we had a record deal, before anyone could hear them and then we got the record deal and the tracks got listened to we were then asked about the lyrics and the content after the fact and it was always difficult to answer and we didn’t expect so many people to hear them.

Brian – Louis IVX: The three of us that make the recordings, we’ve been friends since grade school, we’ve known each other for ages and we are aesthetic in the studio and we usually don’t over think everything it’s whatever we are feeling and we just run with it. We say what we think rather than edit it for the reason that will radio play it or not. I personally don’t think we’re a radio band anyway.

Access All Areas.net.au: What can we expect from the album when it drops in January 2008?
Brian – Louis IVX: Well its definitely a different record than our other record. I guess the best way to describe it is it is not the same as our first record but it’s undeniably Louis IVX… I guess the first record was the party and the next record is the morning after.

Brian – Louis IVX: On this album, it’s kind of a reflection on the last 18 months. It’s definitely a darker, deeper kind of more ambitious album but still one of the greatest things we’ve done in our lives. We had this old church that we turned in to a recording studio and we did all the producing and engineering ourselves and had no outside influence and we went mad. We recorded literally 60 to 70 songs and the album lineup changed about 6 or 7 times so we went in and pushed ourselves to mere insanity and looking back I think we needed to do that to get out. You can easily be influenced by expectations of fans and record companies and we had to get a lot of stuff down and do our craft again you know.

Access All Areas.net.au: You’re currently on tour with The Killers, how has the tour been going?
Brian – Louis IVX: Fantastic! They are good buddies of ours and we’ve been on and off the road with them since we both started. Obviously now it’s a lot different for them but its great we get along. Being on tour with another band is like going to summer camp and, you know, you might hate them or you might click with them and we click with them.

Access All Areas.net.au: What can audiences expect from your shows?
Brian – Louis IVX: To be blown away! We always kind of never really make a plan with our shows and there is so many new songs, and they are elaborate with a 12 and 24 piece orchestra on our record, we’ve toured with Ray who plays violin with us and fills the gap. I think they can expect the unexpected. If it’s boring for us then its almost certain it’s going to be boring for them too.

Access All Areas.net.au: You’ve no doubt been clocking up a lot of Kilometers driving, what do you guys do to pass the time on the road?
Brian – Louis IVX: Wow! [laughs] At the back of our busses we converted it in to a recording studio. We’ve got a small pro tools rig and bring with us our guitars and small percussion and we play music, drink booz, play rummi, whatever else nine to ten guys on a bus can do to pass the time. It’s different in Europe than it is in the States. In the States to get from one city to the next can take up to fourteen hours distance whereas in Europe it’s only about an hour.

Access All Areas.net.au: What’s ahead for the band?
Brian – Louis IVX: Finish this Australian tour and we have some different options for tours in the beginning of next year, radio promo and going in to stations to play acoustically and talk up the EP and keep doing everything we can to build up this EP and keep spreading the word and get people excited about the release. We’re also looking forward to taking the holidays off and spending time with our families and then gearing up for 2008. It’s going to be a big year!

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

The core unit of San Diego's Louis XIV had originally played together in the rootsy, alt-rocking Convoy, which issued an album called Black Licorice in 2001. Having moved on by 2003, vocalist/guitarists Jason Hill and Brian Karscig and drummer Mark Maigaard hooked up with bassist Jimmy Armbrust and began fleshing out the Louis XIV concept -- irreverent, oversexed lyrics and songwriting that channeled glam, scratchy punk, and vintage Rolling Stones. A self-recorded EP caused quite a stir locally, MP3s helped spread that buzz to England, and Louis XIV released more material to keep up with the growing demand. That spring and summer they played the 2004 South by Southwest festival, toured the U.S. with the Killers and Von Bondies, and signed with Atlantic Records, which issued the introductory EP Illegal Tender in January 2005 and the debut full-length The Best Little Secrets Are Kept the following March.

www.louisxiv.net

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MY FESTIVAL EXPERIENCE

The Beautiful Girls
Your most memorable Festival moment or experience?
Probably the first time we played Falls. It was in Tasmania and we were on a side stage in the afternoon and were just happy to be there. Our friend Mason Jennings played before us to about a hundred people but by the time we came on the entire festival crowd was at our stage! There was literally about 50 people at the mainstage. It was mayhem with too many people in a small area. The front barrier got knocked down and the crowd sung every song so loudly we couldn’t hear ourselves. There’s been many amazing festival stories but that was the first and I’ll never forget it.

Favourite Artist you’ve seen at a Music Festival?
Probably Snoop Dogg at a festival we played in Detroit.

What’s your ideal Festival line-up?
TBG, Pantera, Biggy, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Fat Freddys Drop, The Clash, The Specials, Kate Bush, Tenor Saw, Tanuki Dub, The Dead Beat Band, Daft Punk, Led Zepplin, Johnny Cash, Bianca Jade

What are your tips for attending Music Festivals?
Turn up, bring your ticket.