The Crystal Method basks in early success

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