In the world of nightlife Larry Tee is a legend. Not many people can consistently define cool for the cool-kids, but Larry Tee has been doing just that for over 20 years.
It began in 1980's Atlanta, with Larry Tee spinning new wave at his Celebrity Club with the likes of RuPaul and Amanda Lapore. From there he migrated to NYC to host Disco 2000 and Love Machine along with the Club Kids and the infamous Michael Alig (who you might remember from the film "Party Monster"). He even co-wrote RuPaul's classic 'Supermodel' track. After some time out of the spotlight, he reemerged as the Godfather of Electroclash...he even trademarked the term in 2001.
Since then he's worked with acts such as Peaches, Princess Superstar, Fischerspooner, Ladytron - even Perez Hilton - and released a few tracks you've almost surely heard in the electro clubs (for example, see "Licky w/ Princess Superstar" below). But, in all this time, he's never released an album.
That all changes on May 5, 2009, when his debut "Club Badd" is released.
We managed to snag a little bit of Larry Tee's time to ask him a few questions about his career, his music, and his new album.
You've been around for a while now - care to give us a quick history of what got you started, and how it took you to where you are today?
Well, I have always been obsessed with dance music since I was a child in Atlanta listening to FUNK radio and disco stations. I started a band that was a disco punk group that was called now explosion and we had guests like RuPaul and Lady Bunny and were contemporaries with Deee-lite. I started DJing and making dance music when I realized no-one in Atlanta was going to play the new wave stuff I loved, like New Order, Yazoo, and Pylon....the Flying Lizards etc.
You played a big part in the early-90's NYC club scene, which sort of has a pivotal place in modern club/rave culture. Tell us about that experience.
Well, I did name the Party Disco 2000 and started it with Michael Alig, unlike the way it goes in the movie 'Party Monster", however I am glad they left my character out of the movie...at that point I was a drug addict, like everyone else working at Disco 2000. I loved the overall effect of all the 17 yr old kids dancing to techno in the main room and am well aware we were the first to use techno as a big room soundtrack in America....I think it was a good time because it was going on at the time that NASA started too and the kids started to experiment with ecstasy and that broke down a lot of racial and sexual barriers....but boy the hangover and destruction amongst the children of the night...was huge!!
You were tight with the 'Club Kids' and the infamous Michael Alig. What was that like?
Well, at first Michael was funny and helped everyone get going in town. He didn't even use drugs...but when he became a drug addict, it kicked in with all his other issues like abuse and neglect in his life and he became everything HE hated himself...So sad. But at first he was quite the charming troublemaker and a real engine for new ideas in clubland...I write to him from time to time as a way of forgiving myself for being a drug addict...I can understand how things got out of hand...
You're credited with coining the term electroclash, and helped organize the first electroclash festival in 2001. Tell us more about that.
Well, after I got clean in 97 it took a couple years for me to get my brains back and a passion for music. In 2000 someone took me to see Fischerspooner at the Gavin Brown gallery. It was around this time I was also investigating the electro section of dance music 12 inches and discovered Adult, Chicks on Speed, Peaches, and Gigolo Records. I decided to throw a festival to bring attention to these artists because I was honestly bored with the state of dance music at the time...intelligent dance music, glitch hop??/agggh! So I spent $80,000 on a festival to end all festivals and lost it all!!! Luckily my Luxx Club in Williamsburg took off and helped me pay off that debt. Ouch!!
Electroclash is known for the same outrageousness and sexuality that was seen in the early 90's club scene - is that what attracted you to it, or do you think you helped bring it back?
Electroclash DOES have peaches who is wildly sexual, but I think all electroclash artists were different from each other and few really explored sexuality so much...maybe Felix, Peaches, Avenue D...but what about Adult who were buttoned up to the collar, or Fischerpooner who never uttered a sexy word in their art-gallery lives, or Ladytron? sexy? I think electroclash is often misunderstood. It was a powerful political statement because there was a huge women's voice, gays were allowed and encouraged, and the politics of like Chicks and Peaches were quite important!! Do we see that in dub-step, the Crookers wave, indie rock boy-bands....it was a punch in the most to dance and rock culture and is STILL so much more fucking rock than ANY screamo or nu-metal act out today...
Tell us about Club Badd.
Well, when I started my BANK party in 2005, I needed some tunes that no-one else had and there just wasn't enough trashy fun records to play. Everything was so safe and formulaic! After I did the Princess Superstar LICKY track and others I started to find wild new Clubkid like creatures on the internet and started using the internet to find talent...I found Jeffree Star on MySpace (85 million visits), Kelly's SHOES on YouTube (55 million plays), Perez Hilton.com (nuff said), and Roxy Cottontail on iheartcomix.blogspot.com....to me there were so many people that loved these characters and no-one was putting their hot personas to use properly...I felt the record industry lost sight of doing new things and trying new artists and now the internet is making stars democratically from the kids throughout the states...about time.
I hear this is your first full album, why wait until now to release one?
I have never had a collection of my material that I was so proud of to release before under my name. Let's face it...Larry Tee is a pretty exclusive brand to live up to...just kidding. But now is just the time because I reach the neglected customer that likes something colorful and trendy and outrageous and sexual...and also my productions, with the help of Christopher Just and Alexander Technique, have just ripened to the stage where I feel comfortable showing the world my twisted vision. OK, maybe this isn't that far of a reach of songs I wrote for others like "Supermodel" for RuPaul and "Do I Look Like a Slut", but you can definitely see the movement from there to here.
How do you manage to keep your sound fresh over the years?
I keep my sound fresh over the years by keeping my ears open and resisting sticking to one genre, even if there might be more money in it. I watch the blogs for new music, ask friends to turn me on to new producers, and travel the world DJing alongside amazing new talents...and most importantly, by staying clean from alcohol and drugs for 11 years. I can't emphasize how much more wonderful and fun my life has become since I got clean and that is anyone needs help, it is there in AA and NA....
Any final remarks?
Yeah, one last remark. Listen to my M*f*ing album because it think it sounds like no-one else's album out these days. I am quite proud of it...oh, and can I say I'm single? It never hurts to advertise...hehehehe.
yup...this is brillient interview ...i love that....
