Warning--mullett discussion inside.

From www.happymag.com:

Ima Robot
By David Jenison

The Los Angeles group Ima Robot boasts such a distinctly crafted sound that comparisons fly all over the place, from David Bowie-meets-Devo to the Cars-meet-Crystal Meth. Originally formed as a rap outfit by vocalist Alex Ebert and guitarist Timmy the Terror, the group eventually grasped the glam punk mantle and forged the most aggressive new wave sound imaginable. During this rock 'n' roll transformation, the duo evolved into a five-piece band that included keyboardist Oligee and former Beck players bassist Justin Meldal-Johnson (also with Air, Tori Amos) and drummer Joey Waronker (also with R.E.M., Smashing Pumpkins, the Vines, Cash). Musical pedigrees aside, Ima Robot currently enjoys surging critical acclaim and growing fan support thanks to their much-hailed self-titled debut LP on Virgin Records. While crossing through Middle America on tour, singer Alex Ebert spoke with Happy Magazine about the buzz. You are in St. Louis today, correct? Were you in town when the Rams beat the Ravens last night? "Yes, we arrived last night, and the entire city poured into the streets. I was wearing this sweatshirt with gold on it, and people were yelling 'Elvis' at me." Were the fans unruly? "They weren't as bad as Chicago after the Cubs won. We were there too for that. They were out of f**kin' control - naked, painted and screaming." Speaking of being out of control, you once caused some problems at a show in Vegas. "Ah yeah. We played for all these A&R people on this big outdoor stage at the Mirage, and I was told not to cuss. Okay, well, anyways, we got into our second song, and I guess I said the word 's**t' in one of my lyrics. After that, they started yanking our sound one by one - the guitar, the bass, and the last to go was the vocals. I was like, 'What the f**k?' Someone started screaming at us to pull the plug, and I lost it. There was this lawn situation going on where all the A&Rs were basking in their own glory and barely paying attention to us. I jumped on some chairs and started telling them my soccer tournaments were more organized. Next thing I knew, there was a large aggravated crowd coming after me. The security guards who were originally trying to tackle me were now trying to prevent this crowd from killing me. Seven security guards took me away as people tried to take shots at me. They took me to the basement, took my thumbprints and picture, and told me I was never allowed back into a Steve Winn hotel in my life. I was like, 'Ever?' and they said, 'Never ever.'" I saw you perform at the Roxy recently, and toward the end of the show, your drummer got sick and was replaced by someone in the audience. Was this staged? "It was a plan. That was our last show with Joey so we set up a little scenario to introduce our new drummer, Scott Devours. He's Timmy the Terror's cousin." What's Joey doing now? "The official word is that Joey is taking care of his nine cats." You have an art loft in, of all places, an old warehouse that belonged to Liberace. What kind of art do you do? "I mostly paint, but there's also some manipulated found art and some sight-specific performance art. As a painter, I run with one concept and keep it simple. It's not exactly abstract because there is definitely tone and story to it, but I focus on one kind of thought. I did one series of rooms with forced dimensions or no roof. It was inspired by hospital rooms and other rooms in which you can feel trapped." What's the most twisted thing you've done manipulating found art? "This wasn't already existing art, but my last piece involved a crushed side view mirror. The glass was all in shards, but it was still in the frame. I typed out a sticker that said 'Out of Jail' and stuck in on there. I wanted to create a contextual montage. There's a broken side mirror, which implies a crash, and then you are throwing another word or concept in with it to create a story. I sold that one for a free lunch." Missy Worth, a longtime music industry vet, helped the band with development. What was something she said or did that had a big impact? "She said, 'You need to decide what you want to be. Do you want to be a cool indie band or make changes and be a huge mega-band?' This sparked a defiant creative spree aimed at that comment. We had been really selfish in our songwriting. We wanted everyone to conform to our jumbled sense of song, and we still do to a large extent, but we've learned to create songs that people can gulp while still maintaining our ethos. I went home and wrote 'Dynamite' and 'Alive' that very next week. The rest of the songs thereafter set us on this new, more focused trip." How do you balance being original and having commercial value? "Clearly we haven't done that because no one will play our radio single, at least not on a wide scale. Our music is still a little too shocking, not for people, but for that guy at the top who doesn't want to lose his bling bling. We'll see. Maybe the next single will be more amiable. The only song that kind of made my skin crawl was 'Alive' because it sounded a little too familiar and a little too safe, and it made me crazy. I've since reconciled with it entirely, and I think the song is awesome." The bio says your dad was a psychotherapist. Did he ever try to analyze you? "You know, it seemed like all his training flew right out the f**kin' window every time he came home. He didn't really have any sense of calm. I think it was the scenario of the sin-eater. A guy listens to everybody's sins all day, gets filled up with them, and then he rolls home and needs therapy himself. No, he never tried to psychoanalyze me, which I'm actually kind of a grateful for." Lastly, the press seems to like writing about your mullet. Are you a proud mullet guy? "It's not really a mullet anymore. I got an inverted pigtail going now. Whatever. I don't even know. It's funny what people freak out about. My hair is getting quite a bit longer in the front and shorter in the back, actually. The two shards are shooting down from each side, and the middle is chopped off, so I guess they will have to come with a new name for it."