Listening to Freezepop is akin to watching a rainbow perform harakiri; neon colors jut out everywhere. The band’s sound is a dichotomy of saccharine and cyanide, a swandive into a pool of glitter and reverb. Freezepop’s lead singer, the multitalented Liz Enthusiasm, pulls back snarky syllables with the bowstrings of her lips as she feathers them through the band’s musical compositions. How can you not like songs songs that contain lyrics about adoration, rocking out, and public transportation? Freezepop has been decoupaging speakers for years with their large catalog of music (some of which can be seen in Harmonix’s “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band” video game series). Lucky as Cinema Spartan was to interview Liz Enthusiasm, we are, presently, still uncomfortable about having Freezepop’s frontwoman peruse our site (she’s a graphic designer of high-caliber when not painting the recording studio red).
Robert Patrick: In an era that is so dominated by mp3 singles, digital play lists and instant gratification by way of electronics, do you think that people have been desensitized to the practice of sitting down and listening to full albums as they were intended to be listened to?
Liz Enthusiasm: I think so to an extent, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not doing it at all. And we made a conscious effort with Imaginary Friends to make a very cohesive album (which is a big reason why we ended up with a whole bonus disc worth of material, a lot of odds and ends which didn’t quite “fit” with the rest of the album tracks). But, that said, there’s something nice about popping up on playlists too.
If you had to choose one song out of Freezepop’s catalog, for a first time listener to hear, which track would it be and why?
It’s a toss-up between “Less Talk More Rokk” and “Stakeout”, both of those seem to be the quintessential Freezepop tune. Although realistically, LTMR has been heard by wayyyy more people than Stakeout has.
The mediums of music and film often bleed into one another. Have you ever thought of scoring a film, and if so, what sort of movie would it be?
Oh, Sean would be really good at that (and he does love the sci-fi). Me not so much in my skill set, but I could make a nice movie poster.
Music piracy, coupled with the recession, has made it increasingly difficult for artists to stay afloat. How do musicians combat a market that, modernly, is forever in uncertain waters?
Um… by keeping their day jobs? Ugh, it’s depressing.
Do you think that Pitchfork Media is the new Rolling Stone magazine to today’s music listeners? Is the website an asset to artists and readers or can those stamps of approval really create black marks for bands that do not receive praise on the site?
Well, they’ve certainly ignored us for many years now! I like to think we’ve done sort of OK despite that fact, but who knows, maybe we’d be huge if they’d ever reviewed us. (Probably not though.)
I know you’re a fan of Duran Duran; When can we expect you to lasso Simon LeBon into a collaboration of sorts?
Was that supposed to sound that dirty? Because that sounds kind of dirty. (I like it.)
Have you ever thought of recording a fight song, specifically for Agganis Arena, when BU is playing against BC?
Wow, no… I can’t say the idea would have ever occured to me. (Although the opening riff to LTMR might work in an arena context.)
At one point you worked at Bostonia Magazine. With your success in music and your affiliation with BU in mind, how closely, if at all, do you work with the school at this point?
I’m still in touch with folks there, and still live nearby. I do sorta miss that environment sometimes, as far as “day jobs” go, it was pretty low-key. But I left because I wanted to do more web design.
Harmonix by and large has widened the exposure of Freezepop, but, with Kasson Crooker departing in favor of putting in extra hours at the game company, it has also taken a member away from the band. Is there a love-hate relationship with the success of the Rock Band and Guitar Hero series?
Well, it wasn’t exactly fun to lose The Duke (and honestly, it’s amazing he was able to do both things for as long as he did), and it was scary there for a while, but things have worked out quite well in the end. He’s still involved as much as possible and I really love the energy of the new lineup. I’d say if we were love-hate about anything related to the videogames, it’s that it’s gotten us pigeonholed to some extent. But, it’s also exposed us to soooo many people, so how are you really gonna complain about that?
What album, in your opinion, is the band’s most definitive work so far; a record that you could call a perfect representation of what Freezepop is as a group?
I’d say Imaginary Friends is a perfect representation of where we are right now. Of our earlier works, definitely Fancy Ultra•Fresh.
The band has played in many venues. What location, that you haven’t yet been to, is on your proverbial ‘bucket list’ to play at?
I would love to play in Asia. Especially Japan. But overall, I’m quite happy/amazed at all the places we’ve managed to hit so far. I mean, we’ve played at NASA. How many bands get to say that?
In the future someone makes a movie about the band, on the poster, written across the top, is the film’s tagline; what will it say?
“The shocking untold story!!” Ha ha….
For more on the astonishing Liz E. and the rest of Freezepop, visit their official website; keep in touch with them at their obligatory Facebook page; and get blip-quips from the band on their Twitter.
