I would say with older, more traditional blues and gospel and rock & roll, we're still very attached. But as far as the local scene, we're not too attached. We're there only once or twice a year because we tour so much. I haven't been to Atlanta in four months. The fact that we're from Atlanta shows, though, because we have a lot of country and early rock & roll influence.
The Black Lips have been a band more more than a decade now. How has your approach to making music changed in those years?
It's still the same aesthetic, pretty much. I don't know what that says about us, but it's a good thing. We've always had the same philosophy, that we'll do whatever we want to do. Sadly, that's really it. That's who we are.
There's always the idea that Black Lips are getting bigger but haven't reached a peak yet. At what point will the band be satisfied with its size?
I'm satisfied with how we are now, and three years ago I was fine with that. If we stayed the same, I'd be comfortable. I don't think we'll ever be mainstream or anything like that. That's not possible for us. I don't think a band like us could hit the top of the charts or anything, if you know what I mean.
I don't. What do you mean by "like us?"
We're too concerned with what we want, and we don't care about the other stuff. The time for us to make it to the top has passed, and we know that. I just want to be a fun rock & roll band that influenced younger kids. They tell us when they come to our shows, and they say they like us and things like that. And we borrowed from the bands before us. I want that to keep happening.
What is one thing the band has done right in the past year and one thing it has done wrong?
Right, we put out the record and also somehow did a world tour. The worst thing we've done recently is be late to a few shows. We don't have a lot of bad memories this year. We like doing bad things, so we think of all of those things as good things. If you look at it that way, there are really only good things.
What's the biggest lie you've told recently?
I lie to my tour manager and tell him I'll be down in five minutes. I am never down in five minutes. Never.
