Writer Dan Vierck had a chance to talk to Juiceboxxx before his show about the prevalent themes concerning his existence.

DV: Biggest influences?

JX: I listen to a pretty wide spectrum of music. I feel like all everything I listen to and really love comes through in my music in certain ways. I feel like rap music, or dance music, or whatever you want to call it, is kind of the centerpiece for what I do. I like a lot of different stuff, and I try to streamline what I think is the best about certain things, like, I grew up listening to a lot of punk music, and maybe I don’t listen to as much “punk” now, note the air quotes. I still feel like I’ve taken away the energy, or, how punk bands do live shows. And while maybe it doesn’t come through in this overt way in the music, I feel like it’s always there.

DV: I’ve never been able to figure out why so many rap or hip-hop songs have bits where the rapper or MC talks about themselves for a while. As a rapper, any insights into why that happens?

JX: Because there really is a limited amount of stuff you can talk about in music without sounding like a jackass. There’s a reason why most rock bands don’t print lyric sheets now and it’s because lyrics that might sound good in context, but read ’em on a page and it’s the biggest ... but I feel like most of my favorite music is music about music. Like most dance or rap music might have kind of vague lyrics, but it’s cool because it’s no bullshit, you know? It works. You’re not weighing down the listener with any stuff they don’t need to be concerned with. If you’re listening to rap music, or you’re listening to dance music, chances are maybe you want to party or maybe you want to let loose and rage, so it’s like f--- it, that’s what you want to hear the person talking about, I think.

DV: So, what inspired you?

JX: I like rap. I don’t know. I like to rap, and I like to perform. Doing what I’ve chosen to do has never felt unnatural at all. I’ve been doing this s--- since I was f---ing 15 years old. It’s what I do, and it’s what I’m gonna do and, you know, it doesn’t matter.

DV: So it wasn’t a conscious decision to go against the grain?

JX: No, I mean, I come from punk rock and the best thing about punk rock is that there’s never a point where everyone’s like, “oh yeah there was this point where I was like I saw this punk band and I realized I could do it myself.’ It wasn’t even a question when I was like 14, it was like “and this is what you do.” All my friends are in bands; we were all in bands. It’s just like, I rap, so I’m just gonna start rapping at punk shows. It wasn’t even a conscious decision. And that’s the best part about that community for me: you don’t sit on the sidelines; you contribute something.

DV: Do you think what you’ve done is the same as what people who’ve put together bands have done, or is it different somehow because of the musical direction?

JX: I think it’s all just like, punk rock. You know? It’s just some kid, I’m just making some beats on my computer and rapping over them at shows. It’s no different than some kid learning, it’s f---ing cliche, but it’s no different than some kid learning a few chords and starting a band. It’s all just kids taking control of what they want to do and how they want to live. It’s gonna come out in different ways, and I’m glad it’s coming out in different ways. I would encourage more kids to drop the guitar and try something a little weirder, or whatever, anyone can do it.

DV: A big part of the “indie” community refuses to take you seriously. Would you rather have them enjoy you but not take you seriously, or accept you as a serious hip-hop artist and not come to the shows?

JX: I don’t know, I think more than anything I’d like to have people come to the show and engage with me on a level while having fun and we’re all raging. And I feel like if you can’t take me seriously there’s always going to be this level of detachment to what I do. So it’s like, maybe you do have to take some sort of serious stock in what I do in order to truly have fun at my show. Ideally I would like people to come to shows and really just f---in’ go all out. That’s the goal I guess.

DV: How’d the collaboration with Japanther come about?

JX: It’s not a collaboration. It’s a split 7-inch. I have one song, it’s just two songs. I really admire them because they’re one of my favorite live bands and they’re an example of a band that’s just f--in’ doing it on every level. I’ve seen them play over 10 times ... To me Japanther is everything that is right about punk music in 2006. I’m just happy to be able to share a record with them.

DV: How long does it take you to put a song together, and how much of that is the music and how much is the lyrics?

JX: It’s all kind of interlinked and it all depends, you know what I mean? The process is always different. I have a 12-inch collaboration with, this is an actual collaboration, with Dre Skull from New York. We’re doing a 12-inch record together. It’s like a single, and we spent a lot of time on just this one song. But certain songs come together in a day or so for me, but especially for this record. I think it all depends on the circumstances. But the process is always kind of the same. It’s always the music and the lyrics are coming together at the same time.

DV: What do you see as the biggest difference between you and other artists in this genre?

JX: I feel there are a lot of artists I feel a lot of kinship with in the pretty small genre of what I consider I do. I think hopefully what I’m trying to do is bring maybe more of a punk rock element to dance music or to rap music, especially in how I conduct my live show. There’s a lot of hip-hop artists out there who are doing awesome live stuff, but in general, that’s the genre’s weakest link at this point. I definitely try to bring more of a rock or more of a punk energy to the rap show. Which is something people have obviously done in the past but I feel is lacking maybe now, that kind visceral, raw energy coming through live.

DV: What do you think you have most in common with other artists in the genre?

JX: I feel kinship with people like Japanther, who put on an awesome, kind of next-level punk show. But also people that I collaborate with, like Dre Skull, or Slow Jams Band, or Air Brains ... All that stuff is kind of people who are doing something cool with rap music ... But also it’s just kind of stuff I hear on the radio. That stuff really influences me.

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