| From out of the trenches of
NYC's underground indie music scene emerged The Moldy Peaches; a rather odd duo
who incorporate all types of strange lyrics into their acoustic and sometimes
plugged-in concoction of punk and folk. Their sound is lo-fi; ANFY (Anti-Folk
New York) music that is about as gritty and under produced as it comes. Songs
like "Who's Got The Crack" and "Downloading Porn With Dave" make these moldy fruit
cakes somewhat of an acquired taste and most mainstreamers wont necessarily 'get
it.' "We're just doing this to make ourselves happy," explains Adam Green, one
half of the peach, "So, if someone doesn't like it or 'get it' then they don't
have to listen to it."
There sense of cynicism and sarcasm instilled
in their delivery is often direct and unyielding; yet comes across as charming
and sweet. Many of their lyrics insinuate them as the smart-ass oddball's goofing
on the cool kids behind their backs and that may very well be the guilty pleasure
of it. "We're not into anything that's blatantly ironic," says Adam, "we're just
into stuff that's twisted." Their sound is deliberately crude and simplistic with
just a 4-track recording and uneven levels. Their vocals are nothing special and
their skills as musicians aren't necessarily impressive. So, how could a sound
so simple and craftless become such a success and earn them an enormous international
buzz? "We never pushed our music," says Kimya, the other half of the peach, "we
never made a press kit and we never called a club and took a CD to a club and
asked if we could play there. It's always just grown on it's own, just really
organically. We never had to try to be like anything else."
Adam Green
and Kimya Dawson hooked up in 1994 when Adam was just 13 and Kimya 21. Kimya,
the manager of a record store and Adam, a pizza boy across the street found each
other by fate and with his boyish charm and her material instincts the two would
hit it off and become peaches, Moldy Peaches. It was their sense of not following
trends and not trying to appease the masses that led them towards the great city.
Through the years the duo had made plenty of friends within the NYC
underground music community. They would soon earn a buzz for their creative form
of expression and outlandish style and music. Often performing in costume, (Adam
as Robin Hood & Kimya as Bunny Foo Foo) lead many critics and mainstreamers to
believe that they are just some weird city kids, but as Kimya explains, it's not
that abnormal. "We just dress up, when we play a show we like to put on a costume.
When I think costume, I also think uniform. It's like your dressing up like something
and I think that most bands are wearing that 'rock-guy' uniform. Everybody wears
that 'rock-guy' or that 'pop-artist' costume. We just happen to be wearing what
we wanna wear, it's like we're just wearing our clothes; it's our style."
The Moldy Peaches are not just ant-folk; but anti-pop and anti-establishment
as well. Peaceful protesters who figuratively mock the brain washed mainstreamers
and while most may laugh at the Moldy Peaches with their costumes and their weird
music the joke was really on them the whole entire time.
On the song
'Who's Got The Crack' there is a line that says, "I like it when my hair is poofie/
I like it when you slip me a roofie." When I spoke with the Moldy Peaches we touched
on many topics and one thing I had to know was- What is a "Roofie?"
KIMYA - it's a date-rape drug. It's a pill that people slip into other
people's drinks.
CRUD - That paralyzes them or something?
KIMYA - They black-out and then you carry them home and rape them
and then they don't remember anything.
ADAM - Yeah, it's a college
campus thing. It would happen a lot at keg parties.
CRUD - Really?
People go to keggers and just keep getting slipped "Roofies?"
KIMYA
- yeah, and at raves too.
ADAM - any place where people are giving
you drinks.
KIMYA - I was slipped a "Roofie" at an Iggy Pop concert
at Roseland.
CRUD - You were slipped a "Roofie?" What happened?
KIMYA - Well, I had taken them before, so I knew what he slipped me.
(laughs)
CRUD - (laugh) So, you already knew that you were under
the influence of a "Roofie?"
KIMYA - (laughs) yeah..
ADAM - They used to be recreational before they started calling it the
"date-rape" drug.
KIMYA - Some people still take it recreationally;
it really messes you up.. I mean, I don't do any drugs or even drink anymore,
but it was kind of funny that some guy tried to slip me something that I was very
familiar with. I was just like "hey, thanks!" (laughs)
CRUD -
(laughs) Damn.. So, at least you knew how to handle yourself under the influence
of a "Roofie"
KIMYA - Yeah, and I just went up front and drooled
watching Iggy and I was like, "Wow, you look great!" (laughs)
CRUD
- So, the "Roofie" made Iggy look even better to you then?
KIMYA
- Even better!
Interview and Report by Don Sill for Crud Magazine©2001
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