Spend Friday the 13th in Key West. But don't go to sleep.
Machete clawed janitors in Bermuda shorts could creepsurf your dreaming brainwaves. You might wake up next to a she-crab full of hot, musky soup. You will miss out on the party at a musiholic paradise called The Green Parrot.
Spam Allstars will be there, keeping the bodies live and shaking till the early morning. And there ain't no party like a Conch Republic party. It may still be the 305. But it's a whole 'nother world down there.
We spoke with DJ Le Spam about the band's upcoming shows, new album, and why Key West is fun. Here's what he had to say.
Crossfade: Wasup dude, how's everything?
Spam: Everything's good. We're getting ready for our Keys run this weekend, and finishing up work for a new video for our new album that's coming out this year.
What else?
We've been lucky to have other local bands come through the City of Progress Studios and record there, and that's become my second business now. I'm in the middle of mixing Fusik. They went all analog, so we recorded live to two-inch tape, and they did a great job, and now we're gettin ready to mix that. Cleaveland Jones did most of his album in my house, and we just did sessions with Elastic Bond, recording drums with the guy from Amigos Inivisibles.
Wasup with the Green Parrot show. Never been there. But the place sounds cool.
The best analogy for it in Miami terms is that it's kinda like a Tobacco Road in the sense that it's the oldest bar down there. It's been around for a long, long time, and it has a real, real vibe to it. Some tourists go there, but it's not just like a tourist place or anything like that. I guess we started playin' there like at least five years ago and Key West appreciates the Miami bands. Suenalo goes now. Locos Por Juana have played there. It's just a nice little weekend trip.
Key West is still 305 area code. But ...
It really is like its own little Conch Republic. They have a different attitude towards life. It's another little world down there. I see stuff in Key West that just blows my mind.
Wasup with the new album?
I've been working on these recordings three and a half, almost four years now, tryin' to take the arrangements beyond what we do live and what we've done before in our recordings. It's been a huge task, but I'm excited about it, there's more guitar work.
When's it coming out?
No later than this summer. We'll have the new video out some time this month. But we may release all the tracks individually leading up to the album release. This is like the biggest thing in my life. Till I get this record done, I can't move foreward. I think about it almost constantly.
I see you have like ten shows coming up listed on your website...
Thank god for our venues in Miami that support us, and that we're able to make our living doing this. And not just the venues that support the music, but the people that support the venues. Miami's grown ... We have a nice little infrastructure now. We work from Key West to West Palm. That's our little circuit. When the album's done, we'll get back to our other markets like Tampa, Orlando, Atlanta, California, and New York City so I'm happy about that.
Spam Allstars. Friday, January 13. The Green Parrot, 601 Whitehead St., Key West. The show starts at 10 p.m. Call 305-294-6133 or visit greenparrot.com.
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