Attitude is
everything

>>James Pants tackles the lo-fi mindset

RHYTHMS AND SUCH: James Pants

by SCOTT C

Spokane, Washington’s lo-fi oddity James Pants first met Stones Throw honcho Peanut Butter Wolf in 2001 at a Texas rave after his senior prom. He later went on to intern at the label before eventually getting signed. His debut LP on Stones Throw, Welcome, dabbles in ’80s soul, electro boogie, new wave and post-punk disco, and its success has allowed James to quit his day job. The Mirror spoke to him from his home in Washington.

Mirror: Please tell me your standard procedure for creating.

James Pants: I guess there really isn’t one. That, more than anything, is why it probably sounds all over the place. I’ve got a lot of influences and kind of walk around thinking, “Oh, I wish I’d made that song...” Then I try to make something in that same vibe and end up making something that sounds a bit different because I don’t have the skills to do what I want to do.

M: What’s your native instrument, the one you feel most comfortable playing?

JP: Drums are the only thing I can really play. I did that all through college, in a jazz band, marching band and all that stuff. Then I kind of ditched it for a couple of years and got into DJing, but now I’ve come back to the drums. I’m rusty but I think it’s kind of a good, drunken rusty sound. The album is just an exercise in rhythms and such, with real simple melodies. I wish I could do Roy Ayers type of arrangements, or crazy chord switch-ups, but every song I really like has got a good rhythm, whether there are drums in it or not. It could be handclaps or another instrument doing the rhythm, but it’s essential.

M: Do you ever catch heat for your singing voice?

JP: (laughs) I can’t sing, and I’m not trying to. Some of my favourite music is the stuff where the guy really can’t sing, like mid-’80s soul or ’60s psych where the band has no skills but the right attitude. They’re trying their hardest but coming up short. That’s my style right there.

M: So is your attitude more “too cool for school” or “too rad for mom and dad?”

JP: I guess “too rad for mom and dad” because I was never too cool for school.

With Arabian Prince
at Coda tonight, Thursday,
June 12, 10 p.m., $5