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Making ayes
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Once the solo electro-pop party project of Jasamine White-Gluz, Bad Flirt has evolved into a full-on, five-headed rock experience, with blog buzz on top. Virgin Talk is the first release by this line-up, a five-way collaboration between White-Gluz and guitarist Laura Lloyd, keyboardist/vocalist Evan Dubinsky, guitarist/bassist Nick Knowles and drummer Raf De La Durantaye. With penetrating hooks and sky-high melodies (and titles lifted from episodes of a popular ’90s sitcom—Google and ye shall find), it’s a record that grabs you instantly, and with such pop smarts and rock muscle, don’t even try to escape its clutches. Ahead of what promises to be a triumphant local launch, White-Gluz explained to the Mirror how hard work and a certain celebrity endorsement have paid off. Mirror: I can hear the connection between your new and old material, but there are some obvious differences, as I imagine there are between the new record and the live show. Jasamine White-Gluz: Oh yeah. Being a five-piece, it’s more full sounding and less electronic—there are still synths, but they’re not so prominent. But there are songs on the album that I felt were a stretch for all of us, like “Homecoming,” with piano and a choir. It’s like nothing I’ve ever done. But when people see us live, they’re like, “Oh, you guys are way louder than I thought you were gonna be.” We’re still a pop band, but we do have our guitars cranked. Laura and I, who are the guitarists, are big fans of some heavy music, but we can’t actually play heavy music, so we just play louder. M: You’ve developed a high profile over the last year. What happened? JWG: For us, touring has been the most important thing. When you do it so much, people notice! And part of the show-going demographic is bloggers, or people on the “internets,” so… M: And I understand you won the Olsen twins’ battle of the bands. What on Earth is that? JWG: That’s the weirdest footnote to our story. For some reason, we were put on their Web site. They had collectively found 10 unsigned bands that they liked, about a year ago, and without us knowing, there was a vote with their tween fans and we won. For a period of time, the Olsen twins were like, “Yeah, let’s manage a band! Let’s get you a video! Let’s put you in some showcases with our company!” and we were like, “Hey, worse things could happen. The Olsen twins are pretty rich, so…?” But like any spoiled kid, they got bored really fast, so after they made us some promises, they basically vanished. So our relationship with the Olsen twins is no longer. M: Any other celebrity fans? JWG: Larry King, when we were in L.A., was at our show. That was weird. He looks better in person, I have to say. He looks dead on TV, but in real life, he’s kind of handsome. M: I can’t believe he goes to shows. JWG: I know! He’s on the pulse of America! M: Your Wikipedia entry says you’re planning to be the first band to play space. JWG: Well, I’m afraid of heights, so space is probably not on my agenda. It’s a great idea though—look to the skies, you never know. Maybe our album will be there. CD LAUNCH WITH WHISKEY TRENCH |
