![]() ![]() Though, I think a lot of the new wave of New Yorkers (those who believe 100% in their superior taste, have some money, want it all, have little interest in any pre-existing culture of a city or neighborhood vs. I don’t really like the new, maxed out economy, which I think breeds a sort of suburban expectation of comfort and predictability, at the expense of dynamic energy, diversity, and opportunity. I think those inefficiencies in the real estate market, as they’re now called, were where the margins and creative people lived, and I miss them. I had a big studio in Dumbo for $350/month, which I could afford as an occasional live sound man. But there were both the biggest art galleries and museums in the same city as cheap artist studio space… Madison Square Garden and major label home offices in the same are as crummy rooms under a deli for bands to practice. I miss the accessibility of cheap space to do weird shit. What are some of the things you miss about that era? James: I miss the affordability of it. Synth History: New York City was probably a much different place when you first moved here. I’m there, but it’s more like i’m in the audience. But onstage, i’m not playing any instruments, which is harder for my brain. I’m alone, and generating music, and it kind of comes through me like a wave, and i’m there-really there-being exposed to it and irradiated by whatever it is that’s happening. ![]() I’m always 3 steps removed, worrying about some technical thing or other. There’s something wrong with me that won’t let me be there to a certain degree. But in some ways i’m not “experiencing” it. Playing live has been so many different things for me over the years-being a kid singer guitarist in a goth band, being a drummer in a touring indie rock band or two, then being in LCD. Synth History: Can you recount one of your favorite memories from performing live? James: It’s mostly been a drunken blur, like a 35 year psychedelic episode, where everything runs together in a stream of color and light and friendship and fear and appreciation. ![]()
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