Your TVD Chicago writers headed over to the Subterranean last Thursday night to see the amazing group of laptop rappers that are currently performing on MC Chris’ latest tour.
Next up: MC Lars
In the third part of this four-part story, we get a chance to sit down with MC Lars to discuss Lars Attacks, vinyl records, the UK, Kurt Cobain, and English literature.
MC Lars is the originator of “post-punk laptop rap”, and is the founder and CEO of the independent record label Horris Records. MC Lars took to the stage third, and performed an awesome blend of material from his newest release Lars Attacks, along with some of his older classics.
MP3 or Vinyl?
Vinyl!
What would be the one vinyl record that you think everyone should own?
Probably Kind of Blue by Miles Davis, because it’s classic and beautiful. The original pressing is a few semi tones different, because the machines that they used had a weird electricity so it would be recorded faster. So, it sounds different than the remastered version. You can hear the original way that it was supposed to sound.
Have you ever thought about having any of your albums pressed to vinyl?
I want to, I just don’t because its so expensive. One day, maybe i will press my greatest hits.
You just got off of Warped Tour, where you did joint performances with Weerd Science. How was that dynamic for you versus going out on stage by yourself?
I’ve learned going forward, that I just want to focus and do solo shows, because then you just own it. But Weerd Science is such a good MC for Warped Tour. He played drums for Coheed and Cambria, so he had that connection and the kids love him. We [also] did England together, and I put out his albums on my label, so its really fun rapping with him. He’s just so good, he makes you stay on your toes.
You’ve spent a lot of time in the UK. How do shows in the UK compare to shows in the US?
Well, the UK is a smaller scene, so things spread faster, but they also burn out faster. The kids there are so excited for something one week and then not the next. Some tours I go there and we sell out shows and make tons of money, and some tours the kids are like “Lars who?” You have to have the right promotional machine. Here, it grows steadily because its just such a bigger market. If you do a good show, they’ll keep coming back.
Also the press, [in the UK] likes to turn on you. They’ll love you one record, but not the next. That’s my relationship with the UK, but the UK launched me. I studied there, and got signed to an indie label in ’03 and that got me started. I was there doing the nerdy white laptop rap stuff when it was still kind of a novelty, so it was good timing. Without the UK, I wouldn’t be doing this in the US.
Your latest album, Lars Attacks just came out , would you say that this record is different from the others? Your records are traditionally filled with pop culture references, is that the same case with Lars Attacks?
Lars Attacks is the first album I did without the help of a label or anything. We raised a bunch of money on Kickstarter, which was awesome. It’s an album that’s more spiritual and more personal, and less pop culture references. Its definitely a larger album too, than my last ones.
It’s about finding hip-hop as a metaphor for keeping me going. I was trying to figure out if I wanted to go to grad school and do a Media Studies PhD, and figure out a way to take hip-hop studies and take everything I’ve done for it, and turn it into a graduate degree. But, the momentum kept building and I was like “Well I can always go do Doctor Lars or something like that later”.
The album is about finding my voice again, finding God in hip-hop, and really whatever that means as a metaphor. It’s just a spiritual album, and I was able to work with some of my favorite rappers like KRS-One and Sage Francis, which is really fortunate.
Do you feel like your time spent in college helped you? You rap a lot about English Literature, do think school was a helpful experience?
Two things. If I hadn’t gone to college, I wouldn’t have been able to study abroad. I went to Oxford as a sophomore, and that’s what got me into the UK scene. So college let me do this, quite literally. The other thing is that I majored in English, and being a English major you learn how to write and think. When you write a song, your chorus is your thesis and your verses are your defending paragraphs. Everyone should go to college, take out the loans and do it because it’s worth it.
Going right into music is a disadvantage, because if you get signed there’s no one saying that in 5 years you’ll still have a following. If this all goes away, and people decide that they don’t care, it’s all good because I still have the songs and I can translate it into something else.
I’m also working on a book. It’s a hip-hop almanac. We’re pitching it to main stream publishing houses, and that’s what my project for the fall is. Using what I’ve done, and my love of hip-hop, to get involved in academic ways. When I am up there, it feels like I am teaching. I’ve got a classroom full of drunk students.
If you could do a track with one artist, alive or dead, who would it be?
Probably Kurt Cobain, if I could pick anyone. I know he understood hip-hop. I read his journals, and he had a thing about hip-hop, that it was the new punk rock. He got it, and he also got the comedy. He was into how Weird Al was a post-modern genius.
I would like to get down with him. He might be kind of a downer though to hang with. That’s weird that I am 28 and he was 27 when he passed. It’s weird when you outgrow your childhood heroes. That’s kind of interesting, what would it be like to kick it with a younger artist that I used to look up to.
You have some tracks that cover Edgar Allen Poe, and others that cover William Shakespeare. Who would you pick if you could only have one or the other?
Wow, well, probably Shakespeare. That’s kind of like saying The Beatles or Oasis. I just think that Shakespeare is more prolific, but I like Poe’s style more. If I could only have one, it would probably have to be Shakespeare. I am doing an Edgar Allen Poe EP. 7 songs – all Poe stories, and that’s going to come out in November
Do you have anything else going on right now that you’d like to mention?
You know my whole message is to teach kids to consume less and create more. Don’t try to emulate your heroes, become your own hero. Do something independent, and believe in what you do. It takes time, but if you believe in your craftsmanship, and you have heart, then good things happen. I feel like I am proof of that.
The DIY model pays off. If you’re good at what you do, believe in it. Sacrifice, then you can become an artist, and that’s my whole thing. Keep punk rock alive by not becoming part of the machine. The machine will spit you out as quickly as it makes you big. Build your own machine and you won’t get killed by a robot.
Pick up your copy of Lars Attacks today by visiting mclars.com.
