A (ALDY): Happy Birthday Steve!

S (STEVE): Thanks. You should give me a cane for walking [laughs]

A: So… Where’s your sister, Devon? Isn’t She coming?

S: [laughs] She lives in LA. She’s in LA right now doing a movie.. We’re actually got together the day before that.. So.. She lives in LA. I have some family you know, My family spread out around the world. All over the places.

A: Aww too bad that She’s not here.. I’ve heard that your family owns the Benihana restaurant franchise.

S:It’s really complicated right now, since My father passed away this summer. I really don’t know the details. But he founded Benihana, he was in this family bussiness for a long time.

A: So you’re not interested in the cooking departement?

S:Naah, I can’t cook. When I’m 15 till about 28 I was totally vegetarian, so I don’t even eat there cause Benihana is a steakhouse, it’s not my kind of food I don’t eat any meat at all. But now I ate any kinds of food, I’ll eat anything, except dogs..

A: I don’t eat dogs too, but some people in Indonesia eat dogs.

S:[laugh] I had a dog, he was my bestfriend, I can’t eat my bestfriend.

A: Umm.. So How’s your Dim Mak records..

S:Well I’ve been doing the label since 1996, it’s been 12 years, we put out over 130 records. we’ve been through a lot of changes. I started putting out hardcore bands, emo, indie bands.  And some rock and roll bands. Now we’re putting a lot of electronic dance music, MSTRKRFT and Armin Van Helden, etc..

A: So You’re just basically sign the bands that You liked.S:Yeah. Pretty much my interest changed too, so I’m trying to do something different everytime. Now we sign many great bands.

A: So the genre is pretty wide-ranged too, from punk to instrumental electronics?

S:Yeah, from Mistery Jets to whitey, SHitdisco to The Icarus Line. We put out many bands from different genres..

A: How’s you’re the kids reception to your album (Pillowface and His Airplane Chronicles, 2008)? Any good reactions?

S:That’s a fun process, it took a long time to do (the album –ed). It’s very upbeat music. It’s kinda like a hybrid between American hiphop and European dance music. I’m hoping to do a new record next year.

A: I hear that blackmetal has new fans, and kids in the states are into blackmetal now..
S:I don’t know about that, but yeah, metal is so constant, it’s a crazy thing. it’ll never go away. Trends come and go but metal never go away, certain things is a trend, like electro you know? But metal is not a trend.

A: I read an article in Adbusters that say that Hipster is a dead culture. What are your opinions about the hipster culture?

S:The whole idea about the hipster culture, is a trend, a cycle. It such a vague terms, that the hipster to me are adbusters, the people who read the adbusters are the real hipsters. I mean I don’t know what really is a hipster to me hipster nowadays are defined by the fashion, the first thing to do is wanting to dress different, fashion-forward, unique and fashionable. And hype. Some sort of.. relevant to current trendy music. They know what MSTRKRFT and Justice are. They have Ksubi jeans, and the coolest sunglasses, the new pair of shoes.. maybe the terms will change. The actual idea of a hipster will actually change.

A: So that “Hipster” culture nowadays are pushed more into consumerism?

S:It can be called whatever. People will always want to looked like the part of 2009 era. They wanna wear the coolest trends, and know all the new songs. No one wants to look dated. A part of a culture is consumerism. In order to have a culture you have to consume, I guess there’s always this anti-consumerism aspect in every culture. It’s tougher for them to thrive and exist. Yeah man, that’s a pretty clever way of putting it. But I just don’t thing the hipster thing will go away. Even if it goes, then something else will pop up and replace that hipster thing. So the American apparel that someday no one will cares about isn’t gonna be the case, because they are a business that concern about the next fashion statement so it always a good thing. So if people are buying things and consuming, they will always be the next hipsters, no matter what, cause there are no such terms as dated-hipsters. This hipster conversation is a really good one. The demise of a hipster. Let’s just say.. let’s kill all the hipsters. The idea of a hipster and the theory of a hipster and let start over. Let’s kill the idea of a consumeristic fashion trends. I rather be friends with someone wearing a bad brains t-shirt like you than some million dollar fashion guy. That fashion guy is not a hipster, that guy also hates adbusters. He supports McCain too, maybe (laughs). Now Obama is the hipster type.

A: Ok, so what stuff are you gonna play tonight?

S:A lot of my own music production of course. I like your bad brains shirt, I love bad brains. I have a gorrila biscuits tattoo actually, you wanna see it? (Steve show his GB tattoo on his back)

[Interview.aldy kusumah / pics.yessi / from ripple mag #64]