Fischerspooner explains its onstage antics
It's a little bit Broadway, it's a little bit rock 'n' roll. Or, as Fischerspooner would say, it's electronic music presented exactly the way it should be: canned, with lots of ham. During the avant-garde electro duo's elaborate performances, staged in galleries and concert halls, everything is prerecorded. "Electronic music is primarily a studio form, so why conceal that?" says frontman Casey Spooner, noting that all of the songs on the group's debut, #1, were conceived on partner Warren Fischer's iBook. "If you don't stand behind a keyboard and push buttons, even though it's not plugged in, there's a lot you can do." Like prance along with dancers outfitted in outlandish headdresses and shower audiences with champagne and chocolate sauce. In true art student fashion, Fischerspooner simply suggests that, as a new form, electronic music needs a new kind of presentation. Wired asked Spooner to explain it.
"We're in Miami at an art collector's home on a 40- by 25-foot stage that's suspended over a swimming pool. We've all just jumped in the pool and climbed out and we're doing the encore, wet. That's Jeremiah, also known as Peanuts, running up behind me to tear off my pants and shirt. That's the low tech part of the show."
"This is at the Deitch Gallery in May, during 'Emerge,' our pop hit. I have such a weird outfit on because a fuel leak postponed the show and the sound permit only lasted until 11 pm. I didn't have time to change. I just grabbed a T-shirt that Peanuts made. I love making a pro-artist statement in a pop way."
"Initially, this show was Bollywood, and then 9/11 happened, and anything with a turban was demonized. I decided to confront that using cultural motifs that would be considered politically difficult. We're also fetishizing athletics. Part of the costume is based on cricket. We pulled from the way Indian culture fetishizes English culture."
"I would show this image in an art context. It's funny and interesting, but somehow it goes too far. We're trying to walk the line between art and pop, and it's a bit too sophisticated a point of view. The composition's fine; I love the geometry - it's just that I don't have any pants on."
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The Fantasy Life of Coder Boys
In Ronald We Trust
Astroboy, Born Again
Bootleggers, Roll Your DATs
What's On Your iPod?
The Electro Freak Show
If You Hear Me, Give Me a Sign
Read Me
A Reason to Walk in LA
Japanese Schoolgirl Watch
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