Team Facelift Interview: SXSW 2010

Holy cow, Team Facelift is OUT OF CONTROL. Speaking to Fat Jew and Karim Fonda (Machine was apparently knocked out of the game by the previous night's festivities), I found that the NY rap group and SXSW act is made up of several dudes that I would love to hang out with, but most definitely wouldn't want my baby sister listening to. Ever. Never ever.

Describe your sound in your own words?

Karim Fonda: I like the Wu Tang Clan meets Barbara Streisand.

Fat Jew: That was one, a New York newspaper described us as that.

No way. That's Shock G. Big nose, rapper: Shock G.

Fat Jew: Recently, I've been using if Cypress Hill gangbanged Bette Midler.

Karim Fonda: At an afterhours club.

Fat Jew: At like an industrial warehouse rave in Europe.

Karim Fonda: If Cypress Hill quit smoking weed and just started doing speed and gangbanged Bette Midler in a warehouse, that's what it would sound like.

Has anyone described your sound in a way that has rubbed you the wrong way?

Fat Jew: Anytime there's a white rap group, people jump to conclusions. Someone once compared us to the Bloodhound Gang, which I didn't really feel. At all.

Karim Fonda: Anytime you do anything white-rap-orientated, you get into dangerous comparison territory.

Interesting. So how did you guys meet and form Team Facelift?

Fat Jew: We met at a yoga ashram in Toronto, before yoga was hot.

Karim Fonda: Yea, when it was underground.

Sooooo...You just started rapping while in the Standing Lotus position?

Karim Fonda: You might not be aware of this, but I swear, you can patent yoga moves.

Fat Jew: Huh.

Karim Fonda: Yea, I've got a couple moves patented, and am working on an entire sequence. It's going to be the Karim Fonda Workout tape.

Fat Jew: I do not remember what position we were in when we specifically met.

Karim Fonda: I think you were in Downward Doggie Style and I was in...

Fat Jew: I was all in your ass, you were in the Baby Rock Shrimp.

Karim Fonda: I was in the Crouching Flaccid, and he leans into me and says "Do you rap?"

Fat Jew: No, no, I just started beat boxing in your ear. From there, once you meet a bunch of guys at a yoga ashram who are into over-the-top rap music, basically you'll never separate again. We realized we were all from New York, moved into a cute studio apartment and had this four-person bunk bed, one on top of the other. We started recording rap music and the rest was history that a decent amount of people know about.

What are your musical influences?

Fat Jew: Short days and long nights.

Karim Fonda: Women shrieking.

Fat Jew: Cypress Hill, Pearl Jam...

Karim Fonda: Masters at Work.

Fat Jew: Who the hell are Masters at Work?

Karim Fonda: Nitzer Ebb, Wu Tang Clan, obviously. Killarmy, we listen to a lot of Killarmy.

Fat Jew: Indigo Girls. Larry King. Pat Smear. Barack Obama. We were influenced by Obama before he was president, I liked him when he was a hot-shot Illinois senator, we liked him when he was underground. He's too commercial now.

Karim Fonda: Everyone's all on his dick now. Yo, Jew, I was just listening to his unreleased album, the B-Sides. His first mix tape: Dream of My Father.

How did you come up with the name Team Facelift?

Karim Fonda: We're surrounded by plastic surgery and superficiality.

Fat Jew: Most of the mothers of people we grew up with and middle-aged women that we've slept with have had more than numerous procedures done on their faces. We decided to go hard at a certain demographic. Initially, we were making rap for rich, middle-aged women from the Upper East side. It's still an homage to them.

Karim Fonda: Have you heard our early song "Buy a New Vacuum, Buy a New Vacuum?" Your maid needs a new vacuum.

Fat Jew: A lot of groups come out and they go "Let's target college kids, let's target the younger crowd," but we wanted to target middle-aged rich mothers. It's worked for us.

Karim Fonda: It worked for Yanni!

Jeeeez. What's your biggest vice?

Karim Fonda: Ohhhhh, God.

Fat Jew: Where do you find the top of the list, I can't even see the top of the list.

Karim Fonda: I think it's safe to say mine are the classics: drugs and loose women, so on and so forth. For Fat Jew, though, this is a little Fat Jew factoid: he's gotten ulcers from eating mustard packets.

Fat Jew: I'm really into condiment eating.

Karim Fonda: He'll come through with a container of French onion dip, and just take it to the face, like with a spoon like it's yogurt.

Fat Jew: Yeah, I'll eat it like it's Dannon. My body is mangled, basically.

Are you stoked for SXSW?

Karim Fonda: Oh, definitely. Last time we were at SXSW, this is literally true, I was blowing crack smoke in Moby's face and we got dosed with liquid acid by some Texas yokel.

Fat Jew: I have that guy's number in my phone. It's under "Trevor Acid."

Karim: Yea, we're gonna get in touch with Gary the crackhead and "Trevor Acid."

What is in your festival survival pack?

Fat Jew: Oh, god. Adult diapers.

Karim Fonda: Foot rash medication, Viagra...

Fat Jew: Definitely Viagra. A lot of Diet Coke. I'm definitely bringing Biore facial strips for blackhead removal. I think those are important. A lot of exfoliators.

Karim Fonda: Like the apricot facial scrub.

Fat Jew: Oh, yeah. The apricot exfoliating facial scrub is a MUST.

Karim Fonda: That's a good thing to know if you are an up and coming artist: bring a lot of exfoliating product with you on tour.

What is your musical guilty pleasure.

Fat Jew: I basically send Alanis Morissette songs to Fonda and he makes house remixes out of them. Pretty much ALL I listen to.

Karim Fonda: Like CeCe Peniston, but I'm not guilty about that anymore. I like Crystal Waters. Only divas.

Do you prefer the Rolling Stones or The Beatles?

Fat Jew: Who?

Karim Fonda: I don't think I can name more than one Rolling Stones song.

Jonathan Yost is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.