Hey everyone,
We got to do a quick e-mail exchange interview with Mr. Andrew Strasser the mastermind behind “Bad Brilliance.” In his own words, Bad B “wobbles around town looking for high society events so that he can be escorted out of them gently.” Bad Brilliance is a rap artist who has worked with Andrew W.K and Girl Talk. For more info you can check out his website or listen to some tracks on his myspace. You can catch him performing or wobbling through NYC, check out Santo’s Party House for possible dates. His EP “Red Carpet To Nowhere” comes out soon on Skyscraper Music Maker.
You may not know Bad Brilliance now, but (if this interview is any indication) you will soon. Enjoy:
What inspired you to create Bad Brilliance?
Outdoing all socialites and brands by becoming both in one.
How apart from Andrew Strasser is the Bad Brilliance character? Does Bad Brilliance have his own personality? Likes or dislikes?
Andrew Strasser is far more polite, Bad Brilliance gets more women.
Bad Brilliance likes being seen, and he likes being in the spotlight.
Andrew Strasser likes eating thai food and cuddling.
What projects do you have planned in the future for Bad Brilliance?
Bad Brilliance is unrolling his Red Carpet to Nowhere.
It will be an EP and also the live show. I am doing an Adult Swim event tomorrow where I will try it for the first time. It is very important to have event photographers to either side of the carpet. Anybody is allowed to walk on it and be photographed. They will feel quite glamorous.
How did your relationship with Andrew W.K develop?
I showed him some strange images on Myspace, and he responded the next morning. I was shivering, and when we spoke on the phone I told him I wanted to meet at McDonalds. After that it has been really cram packed with G Chat conversations.
The “strange images”
How does the ideal Bad Brilliance show progress? How is the audience? What is the overall atmosphere you are reaching towards? What should people be thinking as they leave your shows?
The ultimate Bad Brilliance show that I can think of when the budget for it rolls in will be to have a YELLOW HUMMER and a RED HUMMER on either side of the stage. Out of each car would leap an Afghan hound in opposite colors (died fur). When the door swings open you would notice Milfs seated in the car, fully covered with plastic surgery and with an abundance of fake fur coats strewn across their necks.
At that point you would hear the heaviest heaviest beat, the rest is for the world to find out.
Your website has a few mentions of Bad Brilliance being escorted out…can you share a story of Bad Brilliance running into security trouble?
It has happened twice. The first time was at the launch of an Andy Warhol inspired fragrance at a high end fragrance boutique in Manhattan. There were many older people and a few young society people, many had sour looks on their faces. A young man in a suit grabbed me by the arm and dragged me out “excuse me you have to go”, he just repeated over and over.
The second time was at the Guggenheim for the Young Collector’s Council Annual Artist’s Ball. I went with Sophia Lamar, and when she lost sight of me a beautiful woman held my hand – of course I followed her wherever she would take me. At that moment two goons flanked me and escorted me out.
In a previous interview you mentioned that you prefer “rap” over “hip-hop” because it has less “integrity” and gets closer to “just the pure syrup.” I found this ‘syrup’ concept very interesting. Could you explain it a bit more? Does this quest towards the purer syrup extend outside of music? Any advice on how to reach it?
Attached are three images of Lycopene, it is what makes Tomatos and Ketchup Red. One is a logo that I created using the Coca Cola font and the other two are the chemical extracts in a vile and in powder form. It is an Anti Oxidant. That is all that I can say for now.
Lycopene, the secret to the syrup?
Bad Brilliance is clearly a socialite. Who would be your top three celebrities to shmooze with for a night and why?
1. Kat Williams
2. Martin Lawrence
3. Pavarotti
I think it’s pretty self explanatory
How ambitious are your plans for Bad Brilliance? Is he a long-term project? What are your goals from this point?
Bad Brilliance will eventually become a franchise, you will be able to buy a costume and attend live events yourself. The cost of buying into the franchise is undetermined, but a foundation will be built to run it for however long, 500 years? 800 years? I’m sure the costume will evolve.
What artists are you listening to recently?
I am listening to dubstep remixes of female vocalists:
La Roux – In For The Kill (Skream’s Let’s Get Ravey Mix)
La Roux – ‘Bulletproof (Foamo Dubstep Remix)’
and
Adele – Hometown Glory (Chewy Chocolate Cookies Remix)
Clownstep you tubes:
here, here, here, here, and here
Where are you most comfortable?
Out of costume: Applebees/Outback Steakhouse/Cheesecake Factory
In costume: The Hamptons or Miami
Where are you least comfortable?
Out of Costume: with a girl (very shy)
In Costume: without a girl (bad b likes girls at all times)
Tell us about your song-writing process. What is your first step in writing a song and what is your main goal for the final product?
First I pick a bass drum and a hand clap, and I EQ each one and Compress it, add LFO to them until they sound just perfect, then I tap out a beat – the rest is up to chance.
My main goal for the final product is to make a Rap song that if you’d hear it on HOT 97 you’d be like “HOLY FUCK WHAT IS THIS?”
Lastly a two-part question that we try to ask every artist: Do you believe in true love? Do you believe in ghosts?
I believe that if you believe in true love, that you will also want to believe in ghosts so that you can meet your partner in the afterlife.
