Purveyors of: Guitar pop for the bemusedly bitter 
File next to: Brian Eno (the pop records), Elvis Costello, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Orange Juice
Playing #WL13 Friday, February 15 @ Black Box Theatre/Great Hall Downstairs

Blondes — you may have heard this before — have more fun. Blonde Elvis is a project where Jesse James Laderoute can let down his (decidedly non-blonde) hair, making for a contrast to the tense post-punk/neo-krautrock of his other band Young Mother, who released the fabulous Future Classics LP last year. Joe Strutt sat down with Jesse to pick his brain.

What is a Blonde Elvis? And how does that name reflect on the band's sound?

The name Blonde Elvis is an effort to take the piss out of how performers
self-consciously manipulate their image to create exhilaration in their audience. Our culture, vacuous and image-obsessed as it is, deserves it. It’s supposed to be kinda funny. Also, it’s an objectively good band name.

What makes this different from the other music that you're making right now? Please answer in the form of an analogy: “Young Mother is to Carl Sagan as Blonde Elvis is to _____.”

Young Mother is to Carl Sagan as Blonde Elvis is to Christopher Hitchens.  Bitter, drunk, sarcastic and good for a soundbite.

In the live performances I’ve heard, there’s much more of a loose and rambunctious quality than in the recordings you have online. To pick out one thing, the keyboard really drives things forward. For you, is the outcome driven by collaboration or are you finding people who can implement a sound you're hearing in your head?

Well, the live band is a totally different entity than the recorded music.  I work on the records by myself and the live band is its own thing. So yes, the live band is the result of collaborating with the talented musicians in my band. Recorded music and live music aren’t intended for the same acoustic or social environment. As long as they’re both good in their own right, that’s all I care about.

You once joked that Blonde Elvis was “me trying to sound like Teenage Fanclub,” but that does comes through. I also hear a certain vein of soulful rock'n'roll played with a bit of punk intensity, like Graham Parker, or a bit of Attractions-era Elvis Costello. Both of them were known at one time as angry young men. Do you think that fits in with your
musical persona?

I’m a fan of that kind of stuff for sure, though I wouldn't say that it's necessarily what I'm going for. I’m a huge fan of Nick Lowe and I really enjoy the sound of the records he produced for Costello. I think I'd take Jesus of Cool over My Aim Is True, to be honest. It’s less angsty, and in my opinion, bemused bitterness is more interesting than outright misanthropy. [Laughs] Anyway, we’re still a young band. We’re still working it out, though I would say that largely the looseness comes from the booze we consume. Getting drunk lowers your I.Q. by 10-15 points and ritualized dumb fun is an ecstatic experience. Drinking at a loud rock show is a sacrament.

For some perverse reason the band's name makes me think of the cover of Sally Can't Dance. Have you ever thought of going for that look?

[Laughs] One of the worst album covers ever! As far as our look is concerned, we try to dress in our Sunday best. Rich (Forbes) has worn a cape at least a few times. We have only one rule: no blue jeans.