David Lazaroff, of The Brothers Lazaroff musical group, will be manning the sound system of The Royale this evening, under the guise of The Old Time, Modern Time Digital Destruction Show. We caught up to him via e-mail and asked some questions.How did this form of playing come together for you?When I decided to start getting into mixing music, I would do little mini-sets for my brother and our band (Brothers Lazaroff) after our weekly rehearsals to test out the sounds.  So, when I got my first gig at Pop's Blue Moon I asked Jeff what I should call the act.  He e-mailed me some ideas and this one seemed to sum it up.  The name comes from the idea of combining all forms of music: Old Time (fiddle tunes, old country, cajun, string band, old jazz and blues stuff, etc.. ) with more modern styles, ala Rock, Dub, Hip Hop; and, with the help of effects processors, mix them together. Sometimes literally (so that a field recording of an old fiddle tune from the 1920's could be blended with a King Tubby Sparse drum and bass dub track for example). The result can be chaotic or more subdued depending on the venue and crowd.  I'll bring out toys to create live soundscapes to help ease the transitions, as most of the music we play can't be beat-matched.  For bigger stage shows, I will often read from a Charles Bukowski collection of poems and show archived field recording footage from the '20s and '30s running the audio through the mixing board so we can use that, too.  I always love the term Old-Time, referring to country music before bluegrass and The "Modern Times" is a shout out to Dylan's 2006 album (which was a shout out to Charlie Chaplin's 1936 movie).
How did you begin playing gigs here?
Moving back home to St. Louis after living in Austin, TX for 13 years, I was exposed to the Deejay culture here immediately and did some gigs playing live instruments over house music. Â But, nobody was really spinning the kind of music I wanted to hear played loud on these big systems, so, I decided to get into it. Â Most recently, DJ Goldie has been assisting me in my spins. Â She brings a whole bunch of underground hip-hop and an assortment of other really hip stuff that I was lacking, allowing me to mess around with the soundscapes a bit more.
Does this music have any relationship to the Brothers Lazaroff sound, in your mind, as it also mixes in many elements?
The Old-Time, Modern Times Digital Destruction Show is an extension of Brothers Lazaroff as it features the diversity of the stuff that we listen to and reference in our writing, recording and live shows. Â We love the experimental and the rooted equally. It's a balancing act!
When's the band playing again?
Brothers Lazaroff are playing Feb. 13th Sunday Brunch @ Lola on 14th and Washington 11-2am and March 11th @ Lola with The Funky Butt Brass Band. Â We are also gearing up for SXSW in Austin in mid-March.
Any writing or recording?
Jeff and I have started writing another batch of tunes - got about 17 rough drafts of new songs that we are really excited about and looking to get into the studio again in early spring with the group; Grover Stewart on drums, Teddy Brookins on Bass, and Mo Egeston on Keys. We've been playing with them for just over three years with now. Â We just put out our first studio album with this current lineup in November - "Give 'em What They Need" - our third album as Brothers Lazaroff. Â Jeff and I have been playing together since high school - we started writing together in 1999 and playing gigs as Brothers Lazaroff since 2003 - we were long distance collaborators until I moved back home in August of 2009 - so, our gigging was limited to the occasional tour and infrequent Austin or St. Louis gigs. Â Ever since we started playing with this St. Louis lineup - things really came together and the sound became something of its own
Anything specifically fun about tonight's set?
I'm excited to eat the fish tacos at the Royale tomorrow night - best i've ever had (and I lived in Austin, TX). It's always fun to try and get the bartenders to ring the bell at the Royale - the real challenge of playing there! Â My bell rings were way up the last time I was there. The last request I got at the Royale was from Pokey LaFarge - after I played some Mississippi Sheiks, he asked me to play only "old stuff." So, since he was one of only a handful of folks there, for two hours I played all 1920s and '30s stuff . Usually I'm not quite as accommodating!
