They just opened for the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs. They're Californian with a gipsy past and an interesting garage rock discography. With the new EP "Violate A Sundae" the Starlite Desperation are determined to stay. Here's the last interview released before their kicking off tour with a couple of legends: the Rapture and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Check it out!

Hi guys, would you like to introduce yourselves to the Italian readers?
Dante: My name is Dante Adrian, and I sing and play guitar
Dana: My name is Dana Lacono and I play bass guitar...
Jeff: Hello Italians!
Dante: Casey plays guitar but he's not here right now.

Your Ep, "Violate A Sundae", will be released on May 18th. How would you guys describe your sound and which are the differences with your other two albums?
Dante: The songs are shorter and better now.
Dana: Dante's answers to interview questions are shorter and better now as well....
Jeff: In writing and arranging the new music, for "Violate A Sundae" we had a auditory vision to deliver a syncopation, tambour, tone, rhythm and melody less mature than our previous recordings. Where as before, we were studying and learning from some of the greatest living classical composers and arrangers, we now felt a desire to play to people that were not fortunate enough to sit in the $180 per night velour lined seat of this nations concert halls. We wanted to play for, and aside human nature to let the arrogance of our exclusive up bringing wrap itself around a simpler beat and a riff. One that a baby could follow along to on a pot with a wooden
spoon.
Dante: Casey plays guitar, but he's not here right now.

In your Ep is there any song that you particularly like? And if so, why?
Dante: What kind of a parent has a favourite child?
Dana: As my parent's favourite child, I would say that my favourite song is the one I wrote, and now it is up to you (the reader) to figure out which one that might be...
Jeff: I just woke up and I have to tell you about this dream I had before I forget it.
I always hope to note my dreams... but for one reason or another I can't remember them past lunch. This one was kinda scary... (takes a sip of coffee)
I was with an ex girl friend... i never saw her face because I was always following her, she seemed to have the map and a schedule to guide us out of this ultra violent labyrinth we were stuck in. Many open air corridors that intersected with one another and would open up in a certain sequence to let these mobs of violent men into another section of the corridor, for example, we would be trying to get completely out of this mess. The girl had the map and schedule of when the corridors would open, so occasionally we would have to wait for a while, because of a corridor opening ahead of us. We would hear the men ripping apart a victim. Squish, squash, scream, break, snap, tear etc. We'd just sit and wait in retrospect, we should have had sex in the down time, I mean, we could have died, might as well make the best of it. So this went on for what seemed like days and I eventually remembered that I forgot my lunch... about four corridors back. I was really hungry and this would not do! 'the girl' was not game for heading back but I had to eat. So with out a map I navigated my way back to my brown sack lunch. To a bite of a sandwich and the doors flung open the men were coming straight at me with ghoul like intentions. This was my first glimpse of these creeps, and they looked like the "founding fathers" of our country powder wigs, knickers, with the decay and intent of any of your faster moving zombies and then like nothing. I figured out how to fly! Fucking Great! I flew right over their disappointed powdery heads and finally got a view of this maze, in it's entirety wouldn't you know? As I was hovering with the use of my forearms, I saw the mutilated body of my "ex" that I had left alone so that I could get a sandwich she was a mess! I could see her face this time but could not make out who it was. If any dream interpreters wanna give this a shot. Contact me via our web site: www.starlitedesperation.com.

What are the past bands that influenced you most?
Dante: Isn't it obvious?
Dana: I'm not so much influenced by bands as inspired by bands, so any bands I might list would probably only confuse anyone as to what we might sound like... and as much as I thrive on confusion, I don't want to assume anyone else does....
Jeff: I am more influenced by other types of art and performance... Isaw David Copperfield (the magician) when I was 9 years old. That was when I started playing drums. He had it all! Levitation, Disappearance, Fire, Smoke, Mirrors, Jokes, and a super model! I tried starting with table tricks, I was good enough to impress my mom
and her friends she played cards with by using the same deck of cards they used to play bridge and making them all "7's...but that didn't really bag me any super models.

You guys have an interesting story: you all met in California, moved to Detroit and then moved back again... Why did you guys choose Detroit? How was the rock scene there?
Dante: We chose Detroit because it was centrally located, extremely cheap and we had a few friends there that helped us become situated.
Also, the extreme urban decay there made it feel like a blank slate that we could transform into anything we wanted. When we moved there none of those bands were famous at all. The first White Stripes record had just barely been released, and our second record had just been recorded, literally one week before we moved there. The Von Bondies did not yet exist. I think they started around the time that Jason started dating Yasmine, our bass player at the time. I haven't been back in a while, but when we moved there, the scene was very incestuous and close knit. For the most part we received a very warm welcome and were made to feel like a part of the family.
Dana: Mostly, I'm just really excited that the words "Stripes" and "White" made into this article.. if this question about Detroit hadn't come up I was going to have to resort to an oblique reference to my favourite movie being "Stripes" which I usually watch while clothed in a "white" robe... why does no one ask why we moved to L.A.? I'm a bit curious myself as to why the hell anyone would move here...
Jeff: After we moved there and I found a "day" job... everyone by the water cooler would ask me "why in the world did you move from California to Detroit" or "you moved backwards honey" or "I had a cousin that moved from California back here... to help with our elderly Grandmother."

Dante, I read a review, from the Detroit years, where you are referred as "Dante White" instead of your real name. A pure coincidence or an important friendship/ influence?
Dante: My birth certificate says Dante Adrian White, but I've been using my step dad' s name, Aliano, since I was seven. I never used White on any Starlite Desperation record. I chose Adrian to avoid having to choose last names. I'm not Italian, but Dana is.

How do you guys see the rise of the Detroit scene now (the White Stripes & Company)? Do you miss it? Do you regret not to be part of it anymore?
Dante: I'm glad that good music is finally getting a lot of recognition. and. I often miss the friends I made in Detroit but I don't regret anything.
Dana: Actually, I just ran into Iggy Pop on the streets of Detroit (home of Detroit rock'n'roll). It was good to see him again… he's more fit than ever... (Dante, feel free to omit this answer...)
Dante: You never should of let him go
Jeff: What were you doing in Detroit Dana?

Your '99 LP, "Go kill Mice", was produced by the leader of the legendary 80s glam band Vain: Davy Vain. How important was his help? How did you feel like working with him? Any interesting anecdotes about him?
Dante: Davie is one of the funniest guys I've ever worked with. He's also very talented and good at what he does. Although he didn't technically produce the record, he definitely influenced the way it sounded. We only had about a week to make that record, so often the lack of time was the most determinant aesthetic factor. He was wonderful about communicating with us when we were mixing. Interesting tales? Hmm. Well, he took a lot of breaks so that he could "take his dog out to look for snakes", but most of his tales were about his 80's glam rock friends.
Jeff: Through out the making of that record... the whole week of it... I was teasing Davy about stuff... hair metal, Aerosmith, Saturday Night Live. At the point when he got fed up with it, he stopped a take and said, over the studio talk back, in the voice of the announcer for Saturday Night Live: "Vain was not hair metal"! Well... yeah... but...

You guys broke up for a while. What happened?
Dante: Our side projects became more than side projects.
Dana: The sex just wasn't any good anymore...
Jeff: We thought we would be better off as solo acts. Although I have a reputation as an "entertaining" drummer... I couldn't sell any tickets for my two hour drum solo called "under the black light" How do you think that would do in Italy? My red hair and freckles look really gross under black lights. Well worth the $78 admission.

What made you want to go back together?
Dante: We missed playing music with each other.
Dana: Among other things we were going to get back together as a comedy troupe instead of a band, because we also missed having fun together, but we still had all our guitars and stuff hanging around so....
Jeff: Yeah... can't you feel comedy pouring on were a regular Laurel and Hardy meets Andrew Dice Clay when were in the van if only that translated into interviews.

How and where did you guys recruit the new members? Is the line up stable now?
Dante: There is only one new member and that's Casey. He answered a flyer we put up at a record store. We've had the same four people for over a year now, not bad for us.

Can you describe us you song composition mode? How do you guys get inspired? In your band, is there just one songwriter or more?
Dante: Dana and I write most of the material but During "Go Kill Mice".
It was mostly me because he wasn't in the band at the time. Occasionally a song will evolve out of group improvisation. Most of my ideas come to me in dreams. All of our songs are arranged and ultimately improved democratically.
Dana: It's a democratic process: first there is an idea, then someone has to get 500 signatures in support of the idea at which point it gets put on a ballot... if 2/3 majority then votes in favour of the idea it becomes a law. I mean a song, the ideas though,generally descend from the ether...
Jeff: Last time I brought up politics in an interview, you guys got annoyed rightly so but since I didn't bring it up this time: "vote Bush out in November!".

You guys have recently opened for the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs. Which kind of feelings did you guys have that night?
Dante: I would have liked the sound system to have been better. We couldn't hear each other, but we still had fun.
Dana: Much later in the night I had a feeling of elation with some dizziness… the next morning I had a feeling of nausea.. this is probably due more in part to the liquids I imbibed though then the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs...
Jeff: I felt "the hots" for Karen O... but I doubt that was a unique feeling that night.

I was in the audience and I saw that sometimes the public wasn't that supportive. Were you guys upset about it? Did you expect that?
Dante: It's common for a crowd that is made up predominantly of young teens who are there to hear the headliner play the one hit they saw on MTV to be somewhat slack jawed and silent for the opener whom they probably haven't heard. We sold a lot of records and shirts that night though, so apparently they liked us.
Dana: You come to expect it... especially in this city, until you are given the "seal of approval" or the key to the city of Pasadena for your various civic umm... generally people are unresponsive till you are "known"...

You guys are about to go on tour with two exciting bands: the Rapture and the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club... How do you guys feel about ?are you guys nervous, excited or...? Do you guys have any other news?
Dante: I think it's safe to say we're all very excited. We're supposed to go to Europe shortly after that but I don't have any details for you at this time.
Dana: I was a bit disappointed to find out that there aren't actually going to be any motorcycles involved in the tour, but nevertheless, very excited to play a tour with two bands playing exciting music...
Jeff: It's pretty "exciting" that we played with both of those groups 4 plus years ago in little clubs and people were elated to the point of allowing this tour to fill buildings of over three thousand. "building... are you ready... 'cause we're gonna tear you down?"

Which bands are you listening to recently?
Dante: If you're talking about contemporary stuff, I'll have to say Tasslehawk, Fade To Beige, and Eucalyptus Steve
Dana: Scratch acid or most often whatever happens to be coming through my roommate's wall....
Jeff: Dante bought a stack of records and left them at my house... I have been listening to those... let me see... Santo and Johnny, Curtis Mayfield, Rose Maddux, and what Pearl Jam!... Dante! What's this about
Dante: Goddamn it. That was going to be your birthday present. Eddie Vedder tried to shake my hand once while I was urinating. He didn't want to wait until I was done, but I made him wait. I even washed my hands first.

What's your favourite drink, book, movie and your top 5 album of ever?
Dante: Cold french toast flavoured tea, the "Sky Mall" catalog. Movie... the same as Dana. I don't really like albums, only singles and it changes every week. Top five would be "Omaliddy", by J.J. Jackson and the Jackals, "Pedro Joe" by Red Hot Russel, "The Theme Song" from Car Service (which is the remake of the old tv series "Taxi"), "Three Of Everything" by Iron Bird, and whatever is number one on the charts at the time.
Dana: Pink Candies, book... varies, right now maybe "The Dead Father" by Donald Barthelme. Movie... the movie I quoted before... again, some sleuthing by the reader is necessary... Top five albums... we've only made three so far, so I'll answer this question in two years...
Jeff: Dana! We discussed this before the interview... that was my answer... take it back! My top five albums are the ones we made! Those are mine and you can't have them. But for the other two... ol'Dirty "Nigga Please" and what's their chops... uh. Book... "Master And Margarita" by Mikhail Bulgakov. Drink... tie between Coffee and water... movie: Anything with a zombie.
Dante: Casey isn't here right now but he plays guitar and I know what his favourite things are: iced tea and Christy Canyon Autobiography. Movie... Any thing with Jack Palance & records... anything with Jack Palance...

What's the craziest thing that you guys have done in your lives, individually and as a group?
Dante: Well, there was that perfectly planned heist that went nattily awry.
Dana: I'd rather not say in print
Jeff: Yeah... my mom might learn Italian and read this at some point, so I have be a little reserved with that one... but next craziest thing... spending more that 10 seconds with these guys! They are weird!
Dante: Casey isn't here right now but he plays guitar and the craziest thing he ever did was go to a Steve Harvey concert.

Do you guys have anything to say to our "exploders" before we conclude this interview?
Dante: If anyone is missing a spirit animal, we have one that's lost. We expect a reward. Also, everyone break up with your boyfriends and girlfriends. Now.
Dana: Mangos are entirely over-rated as an exotic fruit...
Jeff: Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah... Batman!
Dante: Casey isn't here right now but if he was he would probably be playing guitar and saying, "August 10th. Never Forget"...
Jeff: Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah... Batman!

Intervista realizzata da Arianna Menon
Supervisione di Margherita Realmonte
Fotografie di Peter Ferguson e Marla