Sixteen Deluxe Interview: SXSW 2010

Sixteen Deluxe ruled Austin's noise-pop scene in the mid-'90s. Their debut single, 'Idea,' was in regular rotation on MTV, and their debut album, 'Backfeed Magnetbabe,' garnered universal acclaim. But after six years, the band split up in 2000 -- leaving fans bewildered and disappointed. That changes this month, when the quartet reunites after more than a decade to play SXSW and a few other shows in Austin. Spinner caught up with lead singer and guitarist Carrie Clark and bassist Jeff Copas in between rehearsals.

Not to bring up a sore subject, but why'd you guys break up in the first place?

Carrie Clark: Back in the day, touring in a van before cell phones were cheap and before widespread Internet [was available], we were pretty much living like pirates. You left home, you had a calling card to use on the phone and hope that someone would pick up or have an answering machine. It was a really hard lifestyle. We did that for six years, and that kind of thing took its toll. There's only so much time you can do that and keep yourself grounded, and I think it was time for everybody to do something different. I was 30 and being a 30-year-old and sleeping on somebody's kitchen floor is not where I wanted to be in life.

Why did you decide to reunite now?

Jeff Copas: It definitely was a challenge at first. But it's fun, and playing music smoothed over a lot of the differences in the past. We started practicing in January, but we were all getting together and hanging out in October, just trying to get to know each other again. It's really nice to have music in the front burner again.

CC: We were finally interested again. We have been in touch already, working on music projects in duos, so the idea of getting back together for a show seemed a lot easier. When we first started playing, we never imagined in our wildest dreams that we'd be making records in studios. It was all about playing live and connecting with [an] audience. We're good at recording and good at all that other stuff, but where we really shine is that live performance. The rehearsals have been great. We always approach music as a contact sport.

How have you been spending the last decade?

CC: I've been working on music on and off. In between, I'm a special ed teacher. It's not very different from being in a rock band. You're managing fits and emotional breakdowns and having a lot of fun rooting for the underdog.

What's the vibe like now?

CC: It's great. Everybody has had time to turn into the people we are now. We're closer to the people that we were when we first met, actually. Touring, dealing with labels - that tends to throw things out of perspective. But everybody's become themselves again, and this is why we started playing music in the first place.

Have you had trouble remembering the old songs?

CC: It's like riding a bike. I was really concerned about remembering the songs, but I had forgotten how simple they were. The songs are really basic pop songs played with a lot of energy, creativity and noise.

Describe the sound. Is it still going to be just as loud?

CC: It's pop songs filtered through serious noise. It's a lot of sonic experimentation, but all just wrapped around pop songs. It's similar to what Jesus and Mary Chain did, but it's really American. We sound like we're from Texas, and we're really proud of that. Happy pop songs wrapped in a serious amount of gut-wrenching noise.

It's very loud. We can't not be loud with the way that we play -- with the energy that we play with, the sheer volume that it needs to be at to get the sound right. Volume is a factor in the texture of our music. Loudness isn't an option.

Have your musical influences evolved at all?

CX: We're all real rock geeks. Sixteen Deluxe is grounded solidly in rock. In terms of bands we love, there's Big Star, Velvet Underground, the Beatles, My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, the Stones. There's a base of stuff that's still bonds us on that sort of level. Since we've gone separate ways and come back again, everybody's pretty open to listening to new music. But our hearts and souls are pretty much there with what brought us together in the first place -- geek, record store rock.

Let's step back for a minute. How did you guys get together?

CC: We all just knew each other, and that's how people form bands. I was in a band called Swing Step that was sharing the same rehearsal space as Chris ["Frenchie" Smith, guitarist] and his band. And both broke up at the same time. It's just easy to form a band. People might think it's this complex process, but it really isn't. We were all rejects from other bands [laughs].

Where did the name come from?

CC: Everything sounds better with "Deluxe" at the end of it.

Do you have any crazy tour memories?

JC: There was a time that we were opening for another band and some of us ended up on stage during the headlining band's set. And we threw a deer's head into the audience. A stuffed deer head. That was a pretty crazy night. I probably don't remember anything else.

Is this a full-on reunion? Are you guys back together?

CC: I think it's too early to say. We're really focused on enjoying our time at SXSW and seeing how it all goes. The answer is we'll see. It's going to be fun!

What have you got planned for SXSW?

JC: We're playing quite a few songs from our last album, which we've never really played as a band before. It should be a really good night. We're going on at 1AM, which is really late for people our age. We used to call it headlining [laughs].


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