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MC Lars makes post-punk
laptop rap and the kids are eating it up like
ear candy
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MC Lars |
"The first artist I was really into was Weird Al
Yankovich," admits MC Lars, who is currently on
tour with Bowling for Soup, American Hi-Fi and Riddlin
Kids, and is making a musical splash with his 7 song
Laptop EP (Sidecho Records). "What I liked
about him is that he was so smart and funny at the
same time. And, even though he was funny, the music
was still really good." There are probably
few artists who cite Weird Al as a major influence,
but in MC Lars' case, it makes perfect sense.
The songs, "iGeneration" and "Signing Emo" from
his EP are smart, funny and very popular. This
month, on the music site, Launch.com, he is listed
among the artists to watch out for in 2005.
Like many teenage musicians on the West Coast
in the 90s, MC Lars was into the music of Green
Day, Rancid and Offspring. But when he went off
to college (Stanford) and landed a rap show on
the college radio station, his world was about
to change. Having access to some of the greatest
hip-hop records ever put on vinyl (Run DMC, Public
Enemy) did strange and wonderful things to the
young songwriter. He went back to his dorm room,
and with nothing but a laptop, some samples and
a small pile of instruments, he began to concoct
his own musical creations. They were an infectious
blend of computer-driven beats, guitar riffs,
raps and very funny social commentary.
After moving to England to study at Oxford, MC
Lars began performing his music at small clubs
there and developing a following, eventually drawing
the attention of Truck records, who released his
first album, Radio Pet Fencing.
"The rap scene in England is more cutting edge
and weirder," says MC Lars, "with artists like
The Streets and Dizzee Rascal. Also, the audience's
sense of humor is more sophisticated. All those
things were very conducive to me getting the response
I did."
Upon returning home, empowered by the attention
he received in the UK, Lars decided to keep pursuing
his quirky muse and hasn't looked back. He released
The Laptop EP in the States in June of
last year. He signed with Nettwerk Management
and is currently working on a full length album
with a few producers, including John Fields (Andrew
WK). So what creative demons does a Weird Al-loving,
Oxford-educated, white rapper wrestle with now
that he has America's attention?
"The challenge for me now," says Lars, "is to
be funny without being a joke."
By Erik Philbrook |
