Hello, My Name Is Dick
Hello My Name Is Dick
IE: Seeing Electric Six at Double Door was how I spent my very first New Years Eve in Chicago. That’s not a question, obviously, just a fun fact.
Dick Valentine: The thing I remember about that show is that we thought it might be our last show ever, since we had recently been dropped by our record label. Also, someone broke into our vehicle later that night and stole Tait’s [Nucleus] keyboards.
IE: Electric Six seem to enjoy a good relationship with Chicago and, specifically, Double Door. Is there an inherent quality to the city and venue that meshes with the band?
DV: We are a bunch of drunk, loud white guys . . . and that’s how they like it in Chicago. As for the Double Door, they treat us fairly. That’s all we’ve ever asked.
IE: What’s been the reaction to the song “Lenny Kravitz” and the line “I’ve never understood why anybody likes Lenny Kravitz”? If he wanted to throw down, could you take him?
DV: People seem to like that song. I am sure I would fare horribly against Mr. Kravitz. He would crush me with his predictability and smother me with his unoriginality. Then he’d start talking about himself and bore me to death.
IE: What are your thoughts on the term “joke rock”? Is it ever a positive description?
DV: I picture an album full of song titles like “A Jew, A Puerto Rican, And A Canadian Walk Into A Bar” or “Knock, Knock (Who’s There?).” In that scenario, it is a very positive description.
IE: Without looking at your Wikipedia entry, can you name how many ex-Electric Six members there are?
DV: There probably eight that were considered full-time members. But there were probably another 10 or so that sat in for a show or two.
IE: Why so many? You seem like a likeable guy.
DV: Well, we’ve been at it since 1996. In some cases, it’s just been that people got all they wanted out of the band and the split was amicable. In other cases, it’s because they lacked the proper perspective and lost their fucking minds. In any case, the people in the band now are all sensational.
IE: Allmusic gives each of your four albums a four-star rating? What will it take to get four and a half?
DV: Magic.
IE: You’ve collaborated with fellow Detroit native Jack White, but are there any other Motor City madmen you’d love to work with?
DV: I’d like to a do trip-hop record with Rasheed Wallace.
Electric Six’s I Shall Exterminate Everything Around Me That Restricts Me From Being The Master (Metropolis) is out now. The band play Double Door March 29th. Q&A by Trevor Fisher.
