kleptomaniac
02-12-2007, 06:25 PM
http://www.smh.com.au/news/gig-reviews/good-vibrations/2007/02/06/1170524072522.html
The Beastie Boys interrupt their album recording for a summer holiday, er... show.
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2007/02/06/BeastieBoys_070201122725148_wideweb__300x216.jpg
Caption: The Beastie Boys are ready for a backlash.
The Beastie Boys' Mike D, aka Michael Diamond, is amazed by his band's fans' honesty.
For their first concert DVD release, last year's Awesome; I F---in' Shot That!, they decided to get their groupies in on the action, enlisting 50 fans to shoot the full Beastie Boys extravaganza at Madison Square Garden in 2004.
"It was funny because I thought, for sure, no matter what happened, a couple of people would keep the video cameras," he says.
"Because, why not? But it was weird - everyone returned them. Surprisingly, we've got some honest fans."
Since starting out as a hardcore punk band in 1981, the New York hip-hop group have built a substantial, fanatical following, so you'd have to expect some honest ones.
The DVD was the brainchild of Adam Yauch (aka MCA). After watching a fan's live camera phone recording of the group on the band's message board he decided to expand the idea into a fully fledged DVD release. The Boys handed out 50 digital recorders for the audience to film them from that perspective.
"The [Madison Square Garden] show was sold out so we had to know where the audience members were sitting so we had every section covered," Diamond says. "Then off we went.
"It was like seeing everything the fans have going on. We were able to see what our show looks like from the audience. We only see it from the stage going out so we have no idea."
Watching from the audience vantage, Mike D, MCA and Adrock (aka Adam Horovitz) realised one thing - they talk too much.
"We did realise we ramble on quite a bit so maybe that got us to be a little more sparing with the words, the banter," Diamond says. "It's still there but we figured maybe we could cut down a little bit."
The slightly less chatty Beastie Boys are returning to Australia's shores. The last time they were here, in 2005, they toured on the back of their sixth studio album, To the 5 Boroughs, bringing their blend of hip-hop, instrumental funk and punk rock to the main stage of the Big Day Out. This year they'll headline Good Vibrations, but with one difference - no new album.
"The timing is a little bit strange," Diamond says. "To be completely honest, we were in the middle of recording and we kind of felt like, 'OK, we're here in New York city in the middle of our winter, it's a long winter and we'll be in the studio for all of it, it kind of would be nice to get out and play some music and go somewhere summer.'
"We liked the idea of coming over to Australia having a bunch of days off between the Gold Coast and Sydney shows allowing for ocean recreation."
The studio time was used to lay down tracks for a new Beastie Boys album. It will hopefully be out later in the year, which would mean only a two-year hiatus between albums. This will be a welcome pleasure for patient fans who waited six years for To the 5 Boroughs.
"We're calling it a follow-up but it's a such a dramatically different record, it's more like its own thing," Diamond says. "We're trying to get it out for our summer, which is your winter. For us that's pretty quick.
"Our 20 years for a lot of bands is probably like 10 years. We space it out a little more. We take some breaks so when we are working together, in the studio or whatever, we actually generally appreciate it."
Time is an indulgence not many acts can enjoy - something not lost on the former obnoxious, bratty rhymers who re-invented themselves as trendsetting MCs. Yet record company execs are prepared to wait if the Boys are still exuding cool at 40.
"Unfortunately, in this day and age, it's not like anyone lets you do that," Diamond says. "But we're OK, we kind of got the lifetime exemption. If we were starting out today I don't think we'd have that luxury. Today it's like everyone wants to get their money back right away. They're not looking to see what you're going to do in three years, they want to see what you can do now."
Luckily, the Boys don't require new material to vary their show. Champion turntablist Mix Master Mike joined the extended Beastie family with the release of 1998's Hello Nasty.
The former member of Invisibl Skratch Piklz was asked not to compete in the DMC World DJ Championships after taking out the title three years running. He can mix between records with otherworldly dexterity - and occasionally confuse the MCs by dropping unexpected instrumentals in the middle of a track.
"Mike likes a challenge and to keep us on our toes," Diamond says. "He also likes to push it to a point and see us gasp for air, struggling to come up as he throws in another instrumental.
"The most surprising mix in a bad way, because it didn't work, was one time, actually a few times, he snuck in Cars by Gary Numan. That really threw us for a loop, trying to rhyme over that. He wins a special prize for that one."
The official Good Vibrations after-party is at the Chinese Laundry at Slip Inn on February 17.
The Beastie Boys interrupt their album recording for a summer holiday, er... show.
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2007/02/06/BeastieBoys_070201122725148_wideweb__300x216.jpg
Caption: The Beastie Boys are ready for a backlash.
The Beastie Boys' Mike D, aka Michael Diamond, is amazed by his band's fans' honesty.
For their first concert DVD release, last year's Awesome; I F---in' Shot That!, they decided to get their groupies in on the action, enlisting 50 fans to shoot the full Beastie Boys extravaganza at Madison Square Garden in 2004.
"It was funny because I thought, for sure, no matter what happened, a couple of people would keep the video cameras," he says.
"Because, why not? But it was weird - everyone returned them. Surprisingly, we've got some honest fans."
Since starting out as a hardcore punk band in 1981, the New York hip-hop group have built a substantial, fanatical following, so you'd have to expect some honest ones.
The DVD was the brainchild of Adam Yauch (aka MCA). After watching a fan's live camera phone recording of the group on the band's message board he decided to expand the idea into a fully fledged DVD release. The Boys handed out 50 digital recorders for the audience to film them from that perspective.
"The [Madison Square Garden] show was sold out so we had to know where the audience members were sitting so we had every section covered," Diamond says. "Then off we went.
"It was like seeing everything the fans have going on. We were able to see what our show looks like from the audience. We only see it from the stage going out so we have no idea."
Watching from the audience vantage, Mike D, MCA and Adrock (aka Adam Horovitz) realised one thing - they talk too much.
"We did realise we ramble on quite a bit so maybe that got us to be a little more sparing with the words, the banter," Diamond says. "It's still there but we figured maybe we could cut down a little bit."
The slightly less chatty Beastie Boys are returning to Australia's shores. The last time they were here, in 2005, they toured on the back of their sixth studio album, To the 5 Boroughs, bringing their blend of hip-hop, instrumental funk and punk rock to the main stage of the Big Day Out. This year they'll headline Good Vibrations, but with one difference - no new album.
"The timing is a little bit strange," Diamond says. "To be completely honest, we were in the middle of recording and we kind of felt like, 'OK, we're here in New York city in the middle of our winter, it's a long winter and we'll be in the studio for all of it, it kind of would be nice to get out and play some music and go somewhere summer.'
"We liked the idea of coming over to Australia having a bunch of days off between the Gold Coast and Sydney shows allowing for ocean recreation."
The studio time was used to lay down tracks for a new Beastie Boys album. It will hopefully be out later in the year, which would mean only a two-year hiatus between albums. This will be a welcome pleasure for patient fans who waited six years for To the 5 Boroughs.
"We're calling it a follow-up but it's a such a dramatically different record, it's more like its own thing," Diamond says. "We're trying to get it out for our summer, which is your winter. For us that's pretty quick.
"Our 20 years for a lot of bands is probably like 10 years. We space it out a little more. We take some breaks so when we are working together, in the studio or whatever, we actually generally appreciate it."
Time is an indulgence not many acts can enjoy - something not lost on the former obnoxious, bratty rhymers who re-invented themselves as trendsetting MCs. Yet record company execs are prepared to wait if the Boys are still exuding cool at 40.
"Unfortunately, in this day and age, it's not like anyone lets you do that," Diamond says. "But we're OK, we kind of got the lifetime exemption. If we were starting out today I don't think we'd have that luxury. Today it's like everyone wants to get their money back right away. They're not looking to see what you're going to do in three years, they want to see what you can do now."
Luckily, the Boys don't require new material to vary their show. Champion turntablist Mix Master Mike joined the extended Beastie family with the release of 1998's Hello Nasty.
The former member of Invisibl Skratch Piklz was asked not to compete in the DMC World DJ Championships after taking out the title three years running. He can mix between records with otherworldly dexterity - and occasionally confuse the MCs by dropping unexpected instrumentals in the middle of a track.
"Mike likes a challenge and to keep us on our toes," Diamond says. "He also likes to push it to a point and see us gasp for air, struggling to come up as he throws in another instrumental.
"The most surprising mix in a bad way, because it didn't work, was one time, actually a few times, he snuck in Cars by Gary Numan. That really threw us for a loop, trying to rhyme over that. He wins a special prize for that one."
The official Good Vibrations after-party is at the Chinese Laundry at Slip Inn on February 17.