Forever Your Bitch
Meet Indie-Pop's New Paula Abdul-Obsessed Oddball, Darwin Deez.
By Stephanie Nolasco
Darwin Deez, frontman of his eponymous Brooklyn band, looks like the long-lost, insane brother of Napoleon Dynamite. Despite this, however, Deez is all charm and charisma, writing bubbly, hopeful indie pop about love. The 26-year-old from South Carolina and his band found fame in the UK last year, with their single "Radar Detecter" climbing the charts, and now they have their sights set on the U.S. Just in time for the US debut of his self-titled album on February 22nd, we chatted with Deez about touring with his other band, Creaky Boards (who accused Coldplay of ripping of their ironically-titled track, "The Songs I Didn't Write," with their smash hit "Viva La Vida"), returning to New York City, and why he'll soon be forever your bitch.
You studied philosophy in college. Why did you choose to pursue music instead?
Philosophy really depressed me when I was studying it. I think everyone who takes philosophy knows that the only job you can get is teaching. I knew I didn't want to do that. I just grew sick of it. The decision came down to me becoming a psychologist like my dad or pursuing music. I became a member of Andrew Hoepfner's band, Creaky Boards, and we did two weeks of touring in the US. I thought it would then be fun to perform in Europe and it was! I did it for the thrill.
Do you have favorite places to play in Europe?
One really cool place that we visited was for a Creaky Boards show in 2009. It was a
tiny town in Germany called Castrop-Rauxel. Andrew had been there on a previous tour
and he enjoyed this combination of drinks that they served at a bar he played at. We got
to sleep upstairs from the bar and had a home cooked meal provided to us by the person
who booked the show. There was also Super Nintendo there! About 20 people were at
the show and yet, it was the same performance that I think put Darwin Deez in the driver
seat. After that, my album was sent to my label, Lucky Number, in England. Everything
can be traced back to that tiny show in Germany.
You studied philosophy in college. Why did you choose to pursue music instead?
Philosophy really depressed me when I was studying it. I think everyone who takes philosophy knows that the only job you can get is teaching. I knew I didn't want to do that. I just grew sick of it. The decision came down to me becoming a psychologist like my dad or pursuing music. I became a member of Andrew Hoepfner's band, Creaky Boards, and we did two weeks of touring in the US. I thought it would then be fun to perform in Europe and it was! I did it for the thrill.
Do you have favorite places to play in Europe?
One really cool place that we visited was for a Creaky Boards show in 2009. It was a
tiny town in Germany called Castrop-Rauxel. Andrew had been there on a previous tour
and he enjoyed this combination of drinks that they served at a bar he played at. We got
to sleep upstairs from the bar and had a home cooked meal provided to us by the person
who booked the show. There was also Super Nintendo there! About 20 people were at
the show and yet, it was the same performance that I think put Darwin Deez in the driver
seat. After that, my album was sent to my label, Lucky Number, in England. Everything
can be traced back to that tiny show in Germany.
And now you're performing at the Bowery Ballroom on February 19th. How do you feel about coming back to New York City after your success in Europe?
It would really be amazing if there are a significant amount of people there. Bowery is a big fucking deal. We're still going to keep releasing music and touring. Before you know it, we'll have 4,000 fans in New York City. At that point I'll answer your call and probably say, 'I'm tired of this and I'm so bored.' But at the moment, I'm loving it. I'm in the back of a Honda minivan now burning CDs to sell at our next show. I got my boys with me and Andrew is driving as the GPS guides us. We have the freedom to do what we want. If we need to squeeze in a hotel, we can afford it.
Is it true that you love dancing because you're secretly obsessed with Paula Abdul?
I love Paula Abdul's music and dancing. Forever Your Girl is one of the best pop albums. It's also my favorite. I don't know what else to say except it's so beautiful. Paula Abdul's vocals are pretty limited, but it doesn't bother me because she's a dancer first. That's how I am, too. I'm still working on my singing.
You should call her up and start a collaboration.
We should do a dance collaboration for sure! We could also co-present an awards show. While working on my rap mixtape, Wonky Beats, I had an idea. I'm going to do another
mixtape featuring samples from Forever Your Girl. The title for the mixtape is the best thing about it so far. It's going to be called Forever Your Bitch. First, I have to make a real album, a follow-up to Darwin Deez. That's going to take a lot of time. But, I have this fun project to look forward to!
Darwin Deez performs at Bowery Ballroom on February, 19th. Darwin Deez comes out on February 22nd via Lucky Records.
It would really be amazing if there are a significant amount of people there. Bowery is a big fucking deal. We're still going to keep releasing music and touring. Before you know it, we'll have 4,000 fans in New York City. At that point I'll answer your call and probably say, 'I'm tired of this and I'm so bored.' But at the moment, I'm loving it. I'm in the back of a Honda minivan now burning CDs to sell at our next show. I got my boys with me and Andrew is driving as the GPS guides us. We have the freedom to do what we want. If we need to squeeze in a hotel, we can afford it.
Is it true that you love dancing because you're secretly obsessed with Paula Abdul?
I love Paula Abdul's music and dancing. Forever Your Girl is one of the best pop albums. It's also my favorite. I don't know what else to say except it's so beautiful. Paula Abdul's vocals are pretty limited, but it doesn't bother me because she's a dancer first. That's how I am, too. I'm still working on my singing.
You should call her up and start a collaboration.
We should do a dance collaboration for sure! We could also co-present an awards show. While working on my rap mixtape, Wonky Beats, I had an idea. I'm going to do another
mixtape featuring samples from Forever Your Girl. The title for the mixtape is the best thing about it so far. It's going to be called Forever Your Bitch. First, I have to make a real album, a follow-up to Darwin Deez. That's going to take a lot of time. But, I have this fun project to look forward to!
Darwin Deez performs at Bowery Ballroom on February, 19th. Darwin Deez comes out on February 22nd via Lucky Records.
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