Classixx Interview: SXSW 2010

L.A. DJ duo Tyler Blake and Michael David -- better known professionally as Classixx -- got their start just a few years out of high school, scoring plum remixing duties on officially sanctioned releases from Yacht, Fischerspooner and Phoenix, among others. Spinner spoke with Tyler Blake in between European tour dates about SXSW, what it means to make it, the fallacy of a "guilty pleasure" and not-quite-dead tour delicacies.

Describe your sound in your own words.

It's hard to describe your own sound. We plan on making all different kinds of music. We like to use classic reverbs and delays and effects and sounds that have proven timeless over the years. There are usually electronic and organic elements combined. I don't mind how other people have described our sound so far, actually.

How did your band form?

Mike and I grew up together in school. After high school, I went away to music school and Mike went on tour with his band at the time. That band broke up and around that same time, I dropped out of school and that's about when we started this.

What are your musical influences?

Everything. The good stuff influences us on what we want to create and the bad stuff does the opposite. I know that's a bulls--- answer -- just listen to our music and whatever you think we're ripping off, you're probably right.

How did you come up with your band name?

There isn't really much of a story. We came up with tons of ideas for names and Classixx was just something we didn't get sick of immediately, so it stuck.

What's your biggest vice?

Cigarettes.

What's in your tour survival kit?

Cigarettes.

Your remix of Yacht's 'Psychic City' was recently included on the 'How To Make It In America' mixtape. What does "making it" mean to you, and do you think you're there yet?

It's funny when people ask us how it feels to have made it because we definitely aren't there yet. We haven't even put out an album. I still live in a shitty apartment, fly coach and get excited about free dinners. We do eat very well, though. I don't know what "making it" means; I just know music and we're making that.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

'Guilty pleasure' is just a phrase someone without taste made up as an excuse for their bad taste. There might be some stuff on my iPod that might turn some people off, but there's no way I'd be embarrassed by any of it.

Any dream remixing collaborations you'd like to take on?

We'd love to remix Peter Gabriel, but it would be even cooler to write and produce something with him.

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

We've been in a lot of crazy situations, but most recently, immediately upon walking out of customs at the airport in Calgary, our buddy Ryan, the promoter of the party we were playing, got attacked by an old man. Ryan is a big dude and used to be a bouncer and shit and he could have fucking annihilated this guy but he was just trying not to get hit. This old man was out of his mind. I just remember he kept screaming and calling us "cocksuckers." It was insane.

We also ate a still-breathing fish in China a few months ago with Drop The Lime. I think you can watch that on YouTube, actually.

Jesse Costello is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.