Simon says Jump Jump Dance Dance

It’s unusual for an up and coming band to have a pedigree as impressive as that of Los Angeles electro rock conspirators Jump Jump Dance Dance. But as it stands, the duo of Chris Carter and Simon Lewicki had amassed a wealth of experience – Carter as an in-demand DJ and vocalist who has played alongside such luminaries of the LA scene as DJ AM and Tommie Sunshine, and Simon as the mastermind behind the celebrated club acts Groove Terminator, Tonite Only and Chili Hifly – before uniting to create Jump Jump Dance Dance.

Simon times time out to have a quick chat...

How did the JJDD project first come about?
I offered to help carter out with his demos in exchange for him playing guitar on some of my stuff.  We then started writing a few tunes as well which made both of us kinda realize that we need to turn this into a full time band.

What do you hope to achieve with the band?
World peace seems a fairly achievable goal.

How would you define your sound?
Without namechecking other bands it’s a mixture of white boy punk funk disco and indie rock.

Having been a successful DJ for years how does life in a band differ to life as a DJ?
I have to order from the top of the wine list now I'm a struggling musician and no longer a high flying jet setting DJ.

Earlier in the year you made your Australian debut with the national Future Music Festival tour, how did it feel to be playing your new music to such a large crowd?
It was totes amazeballs really, we had only just go our first song onto radio and so I'm pretty sure hardly anyone knew what they were looking at when we were playing but everyone seemed to dig it even in the crazy rain in Melbourne!! We really enjoyed the tour and made lotsa new friends on and off the field and would definitely do it again in a heartbeat.

What were some of the highlights from the tour?
Seeing Jesus walk across the racecourse in Sydney was pretty amazing (may not have been ACTUAL Jesus). Honestly just seeing as many of our fellow acts perform as much as possible was great especially some of the newer guys like Tim and Jean and Space Invadas

Any funny stories your care to share?
I'm not mentioning ANYTHING about a missing Tarago...

How does life in L.A. compare to life in Sydney? Is your day-to-day life akin to an episode of entourage.
Haha I would have to say there have been some VERY “Entourage-y” moments living in LA especially when I first moved there --and im not repeating ANY of those stories here but these days I actually spend most of my time in the studio avoiding all human contact unless absolutely necessary..hahaha

Carter DEFINITELY has a lot more “Entourage“ moments than me. You should ask him ;)

What can your fans expect from your album due for release in September?
A collection of songs that make you jump and dance hopefully

Do you have a favourite track from the abum?
It changes all the time however we just wrote the last one last week and I think its pretty special. I always return to “DO IT” as our kind of benchmark track though.

Who would you love to work with in the studio?
This is a VERY long list, but the short version is Stevie, Quincy, Soulwax, Daft Punk, Gorgio, Kanye, Timbaland, Timberlake, Dr. Luke, Max Martin.

Which famous person (dead or alive) would you invite for dinner?
Quincy Jones , Stevie ,MJ and James Brown.

And what would you cook?
Soul food or Italian cos EVERYONE likes italian.

Who is your all time hero?
Musically it's probably Quincy Jones, the guy is a bona fide genius.

What makes you happy?
Being able to pay my bills through the results of my musical endeavours keeps my pretty happy and motivated plus my friends doing well and my dog.

What pisses you off?
People with no work ethic and disloyalty

What do you spend your money on?
Really stupid stuff most of the time, oh and parking fines

What's the coolest thing in your house?
My Girlfriends platinum records are pretty rad to look at and are pretty hard to beat (so is she).

When was the last time you were really proud of yourself?
Haha really? This is turning into some sort of Dr Phil self help thing isnt it? I guess finishing an album is a pretty stellar moment I've done it a few times now and it’s a pretty great feeling.

Tell us something we don’t know about you?
I wanted to be a chef when I was little

:: QUICK FIRE QUESTIONS ::

Who or what is your favourite…

DJ :: I have a LOT
Live act :: Chemical Brothers for all time best live act and Fever Ray for the best show that blew me away recently also LCD Soundsystem is a damm good time also.
Album :: Public Enemy 'It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back' AND Daft Punks’ 'HOMEWORK' battle it out for top spot for me. Both records changed my life also I havent listened to any album as much as I have the Miike Snow debut in years!
Record of the moment :: Skream 'Outside The Box'
Gadget :: My Sony noise cancelling headphones are crucial for a good long haul flight (you thought I was gonna say ipad didnt u!)
Food :: Is either the popcorn shrimp at Iza-Kaya (LA) or the crab Spaghetti at North Bondi Italian (Sydney) OR the VIP pizza at Love Supreme (Sydney).
Vice :: A good bottle of wine is hard to turn down.
Restaurant :: See above food
City to play in :: Vegas or Sydney in the Summer is pretty hard to beat also.
Saying :: "I spent 90% of my money on booze and women, the other 10% I just wasted" - George Best
Piece of advice:: You just can't be good – you’ve got to be great.
Way to relax :: Walking the dogs or going for a surf
TV Program :: Madmen, Trueblood, Dexter
Movie :: All time? either Aliens or T2
Website :: www.hotchickswithdouchebags.com / www.PagesDigital.com /

Jump Jump Dance Dance debut album is due out in September but for those of you who want to listen to some JJDD goodness now check out the bands Soundcloud page.