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The Locust hit the road with Andrew W.K.
BY SEAN RICHARDSON
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When Andrew W.K. asked the Locust to open a three-week stretch of his current US tour, which hits Boston and Providence next weekend, the San Diego noise-punk provocateurs were excited. For one thing, despite the obvious stylistic chasm between them and the high-spirited MTV fave, they’re fans. "My roommate was into him, and I thought it was crazy at first," Locust frontman Justin Pearson admits. "I was like, ‘This sounds like skinhead music.’ But when I saw him play live, it was amazing. Not only is he an amazing guy, but he’s also an amazing performer. It’s crazy how positive that guy is." The Locust realize that Andrew W.K. fans might not be quite as gung-ho about them. Since signing to Epitaph and releasing the artcore blitzkrieg Plague Soundscapes last year, the band with the insect costumes have been playing to bigger and more diverse crowds. As they learned on a recent UK trek with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, confrontation is inevitable. "It was insane to have 3000 people want you dead," Pearson marvels. "It’s not that great to get hit by beers over and over; our equipment can’t really withstand glass bottles and the actual booze soaking into the pedals. But in my mind, a reaction like that is a good one. I’d rather piss everyone off than just have them be bored. They were so mad, they would go home and e-mail us that night, how we were assholes and stuff. To us, that’s definitely a compliment." As much as the Locust enjoy playing shows with major-label acts like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Andrew W.K., they’re being careful not to stray from their DIY roots. A recent post on their Web site proclaimed, "Boycott Clear Channel," and the band are doing just that by dropping off the handful of Andrew W.K. dates (including New York City) that play venues affiliated with the controversial entertainment conglomerate. Pearson is especially alarmed by the political implications of Clear Channel’s near-monopoly of radio and tour promotion. "It’s pretty much ruining music as we know it. There are so many different dynamics. That it’s controlling what people get to hear and see is a very questionable thing. There are all these nasty aspects that we definitely don’t want anything to do with." Next up for the Locust is an EP on Ipecac; that’ll be followed by their second Epitaph full-length. Next month, Pearson is doing a weekend of East Coast shows (including one on June 12 at the International Community Church in Allston) with one of his other projects, the more straightforward but equally violent Some Girls. Also featuring Give Up the Ghost frontman Wes Eisold, the band just released their debut CD on Converge’s Deathwish label. "I love the music, but I don’t really write mosh parts, so it’s interesting," Pearson says. "The other guys write the majority of the music, and I just kind of fuck it up. It’s a total mindfuck for me to go from rehearsing with the Locust to rehearsing with Some Girls. I’ll go to a Some Girls practice like, ‘Are you sure it’s only two parts in 4/4 time, and that’s it?’ It’s so easy that it’s almost hard for me." The Locust open for Andrew W.K. next Friday, May 21, at Matrix, 275 Tremont Street in the Theater District; call (617) 542-4077. Then on Saturday May 22, the tour hits Lupo’s at the Strand, 79 Washington Street in Providence; call (401) 831-4071.
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