Monday, 8/25/97 The Crystal Method basks in early success MUSIC: Electronica's new American wonder buzzes with live performances
By Mike Prevatt Daily Bruin Senior Staff Eight months ago, the electronic music (or "electronica") hype went full throttle with albums from such artists as Prodigy, the Chemical Brothers and Orbital. Now, with the surprise critical and commercial success of those bands, Britain is gloating about their hot exports. But where is the American electronica experience? Enter the Crystal Method. Hailing from Las Vegas but now a part of the L.A. electronic music scene, duo Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland have found themselves with a recording contract, the lead single off of the "Spawn" soundtrack, a spot on the upcoming "Electronic Highway" tour (coming to Los Angeles on Sept. 12) and a good chance to develop an audience in the midst of electronica's buzz. And much of this has caught the band by surprise. "Y'know, it's weird because when we signed with Outpost and when we were starting to make the record and everything, we were just going along as normal as we had been for the past few years," Jordan says, "Then, while we were making the album, all of a sudden people started paying attention to this kind of music. There's plenty of other electronic artists!" When the Crystal Method signed with Outpost, it did generate hype, mainly because the band is the first American electronic outfit to garner attention. They join the ranks of Prodigy and Chemical Brothers in that they have been thrust into the limelight even before their albums were released. Now, things are building to a higher level with their new album "Vegas" (available Aug. 26) and their hit single with industrial band Filter for the movie "Spawn." "The guy who put together the 'Judgment Night' soundtrack came up with the idea for this," Jordan says. "And Filter was originally asked to do a track with Moby, but they heard our track and wanted to do it with us. It was kind of scary when our manager told us it was gonna be the first single." The single, "(Can't You) Trip Like I Do" is one of many songs on a soundtrack which showcases the electronic sound. The Crystal Method also found a place on the MTV compilation, "Amp," which showcases electronica artists and DJs. "It's cool because people are opening their ears more to new sounds," Jordan says. "It's not like anyone who's been making this kind of music is really doing anything to cross over to the mainstream. Is it because everyone has home computers and are less afraid of technology?" But does the overkill hype of electronica worry the Crystal Method? "I think one thing America and American media do extremely well is promoting new things. But at the same time, it sometimes can automatically become something that will go out of style ... That kind of scares us. We'd rather this music be an established kind of music that people listen to forever." "As long as people keep making good records, I don't think people get sick of it." The Crystal Method keep a modest yet realistic attitude about potential success in their music genre. "More than anything, we'll continue to make records, Jordan says. "I guess if we put out a record and it only sold one or two ... we'd probably wouldn't get to make anymore. We'd be at McDonald's or something." So far, the hype has paid off. The Chemical Brothers' "Dig Your Own Hole" debuted on the Billboard Top 200 at No. 14, and Prodigy sold 200,000 copies of "The Fat of the Land" the first week. For other electronic artists used to their genre's anonymity, this comes as a surprise. "No. 1 Prodigy!" Jordan exclaims. "I could not believe this! This band had 'Firestarter' out a year ago in Europe and they couldn't fucking get arrested in this country! They were dropped by their (American) label and then one year later ... they debut at No. 1. That's phenomenal." "It's a little more on the pop formula structure," Jordan continues. "It's like a four-minute pop song ... we've never tried to do regular vocal/verse/chorus hit songs." "Pop electronica" has caught the eye of artists like David Bowie, the Smashing Pumpkins and U2, whose current electronica-influenced album, "Pop," was used by the media to help jump-start electronic music sales. "I remember hearing how U2 was going to put out some sort of electronic-techno album," Jordan says, "and I never heard that record! I think ("Pop") was cool, though, because they still sounded like U2. I think they would have been stupid to come out and be a techno act." Does the Crystal Method see any truth to the critics' claims that electronic music artists are faceless except for the Prodigy's charismatic Keith Flynt, thus hampering real big sales potential? "I think (they're) absolutely right. I mean, it used to be that the biggest problem with this kind of music was that no one knew who the fuck made it!" A lot of the "faceless" backlash comes from the live presence of techno artists who surround themselves with machinery and mixing tables on stage, making them almost immobile. The Crystal Method aim to be different, playing music on stage rather than appearing to play back tapes. "From the beginning, we wanted to be more of a performing band," Jordan says. "We don't surround ourselves with gear." Touring and a live presence can help make upcoming artists into rock stars. However, with the Electronic Highway tour coming up, the Crystal Method looks primed to make a connection without the arrogance and ego-trip - something difficult to accomplish for electronic bands. "We played New Orleans," Jordan says, "and it was an incredible amount of people. And, they were just so into it! It was incredible. But we're both fucking insecure and cynical, so I don't think either of us will ever think we're 'rock stars.' We'll think, 'Cool, we did something good.'" The Crystal Method will play Sept. 12 on the Electronic Highway tour at the San Bernardino Fairgrounds. Call (213) 480-3232. OUTPOST RECORDINGS Ken Jordan (left) and Scott Kirkland of The Crystal Method play in Los Angeles on the "Electronic Highway" tour Sept. 11. Previous Daily Bruin Story Punk, Pimps live up to hype in concert