Mon Khmer Interview : SXSW 2010

• Posted on Mar 10th 2010
  
• by Megan Koester

Courtesy of: www.spinner.com

Mon Khmer isn't just an "autochthonous language family of Southeast Asia" (thanks, Wikipedia!); it's a genre-dodging band from Brooklyn by way of Boston. The dudes in Mon Khmer test the limits of new wave with a sound that they are preparing to bring down to this year's SXSW. Vocalist/guitarist/fluent Mon Khmer speaker Hammarsing recently took a break from the band's exhaustive touring schedule to talk shop with Spinner.
Describe your sound in your own words.

I'd say it's somewhere in-between Steely Dan and Happy Mondays.

How did your band form?

We've been friends for a while and came together as a band a little over a year back. We all moved to New York to do our own thing and still have different musical projects. Lonesome Dave [Dave Kaye], who plays pedal steel, is the only one who lives outside New York. He's a loyal Connecticut-an.

What are your musical influences?

Bo Diddley, Kraftwerk, Prince, New Order, The Band, Nina Simone...really, too many to name. We all have our personal favorites.

How did you come up with your band name?

I grew up in India and spoke a Mon Khmer language. I thought it looked nice when written.

What's your biggest vice?

I can't quit smoking and I often overdose on chilies.

What's in your festival survival kit?

My Blackberry charger, inflatable pillow, and habanero hot sauce.

Who was your first celeb crush?

John Wayne.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

The Seebach Band, a Danish group fronted by a Eurovision Song Contest winner which is responsible for the delightfully titled "Bubble Sex".

Beatles or Stones?

Beatles. But I did spend two years of my life only listening to the Stones.

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

Grown men and teenage girls crying during a Coldplay set.