Themselves Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Mar 16th 2010 10:40AM by Zack Zoeller
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Adam "Doseone" Drucker and Jeff "Jel" Logan were introduced by DJ and producer Mr. Dibbs in 1998, a match seemingly made in rap heaven. The duo united under the name Them, which they changed to Themselves before releasing their first single 'Joyful Toy of 1001 Faces' in 1999.

One of the original groups in the San Francisco-based musical collective Anticon Records, Themselves have released three full-length albums on the label in addition to various singles and compilations. Drucker recently took a break from his myriad projects to give Spinner the lowdown on what motivates him, the importance of breakfast tacos and '90s rapper Tim Dog.

Describe your sound in your own words.

It's rap with integrity -- it's not all gristle. We pump prose out over drum-machine bass beats that Jeff, Jel, plays all live, so we don't use any sequencing when we play live. I've gotta say the way that our songs sound on record, they're very fully produced, and the way we've been sounding live lately is kind of like a punk-rap thing, where it's very drum-driven. We bring the main samples with us and both of us play live. It's like in the raw, yet having us there in front of you, which seems to bring just as much, but different, amounts of what's in these songs in comparison to when you listen in your headphones or in your Jeep.

How did your band form?

We actually met through our dear friend Mr. Dibbs. Dibbs was always like, "You gotta meet Jel," and to Jel, "You gotta meet Dose." We kind of had been looking for each other our whole rap upbringings. There was something about our sensibilities that were similar, and we had a great communication, and we've been doing this s--- for 10 years now. And we're pretty much best friends and band mates.

What are your musical influences?

I love a lot of things. Various artists in the various arts inspire me to varying degrees in different ways, from David Lynch to the Notwist and Mount Eerie. I'm into a lot of poets as well, like Dylan Thomas. And Jeff and I come from rap, artists like De La Soul, X-Clan, Freestyle Fellowship -- all these people have influenced me directly and permanently. But the way that Jeff and I make music and the way that I create stuff is always, I like to not necessarily challenge myself, but to break some ground and do things I haven't done. And all the while you do what you do best when it's called for, so we try and avoid the aspects of a formula. It's interesting how by not getting rich -- yet -- and by still being good friends and interested in what we're doing, we've sort of gone back to the beginning in all these new ways, both more mature and more creative than we were when we both sat down with samplers and raps in our heads.

Do you still have the same hunger today as when you first started?

I don't know what else I'd have without it. Jeff and I are still totally hungry. It's a combination of our steady and certain success with the people that love our music, and we've had a similar steady sure success with refining our aesthetics, taking steps to still enjoy what we're doing and not feel like we're part of a record machine or being tortured by being independent musicians. We're quite happy, which is really cool. I think that some of that has to do with how many records we've done and how long we've been doing it. I think that at least for me, I'm a thinking man and a nervous man, and so all these years later, it's nice to actually feel like I have my feet firmly planted in what I do. I'm experiencing a lot more of it than falling through it.

How did you come up with your band name?

I couldn't come up with a way to describe us better. I was smoking Newports, and we were recording some of the songs like 'Crayon Sharpener,' and we just decided we'd call it Them, and something about that seemed right. Each name that I have come up with or agreed that that's the name, they all arrive in very different packages and fashions. There's no map to the source of the name, but you're not confused once you come across it.

What's your biggest vice?

Dead heat between coffee and pot. I don't really go to strip clubs or cut my thigh.

Speaking of coffee, coffee company Intelligentsia just hooked up with Anticon to make some new blends. If there were a coffee blend inspired by Themselves, what would it taste like?

It would taste like mud. It would be strong -- you'd make a face.

What's in your festival survival kit?

Last time, no matter what I tried to put in it, it was just [Pabst Blue Ribbon]. I don't know that we even ate in three days. Oh -- breakfast tacos! That's kind of something I think about all day. The hour after I eat it I don't think about it, but the rest of the time I'm there I'm thinking about breakfast tacos.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

Tim Dog. He's a brilliant but horrendous rapper from the early '90s. I love him, and he's a maniac. We figured it out over all these years -- what we love is that he's just so 110 percent that his sucking becomes pristine. He's the man.

Who was your first celebrity crush?

The princess in 'The NeverEnding Story.' It's a dead heat between her and Alissa Milano. She was the ultimate Jersey girl.

Zack Zoeller is a Seed.com contributor. Learn how you can contribute here.