Jucifer? has been defying expectations and blowing minds (as well as ear drums) for 17 years now. For about the last decade, Amber Valentine (guitar and vocals) and Edgar Livengood (drums) have been nomadic rockers, living in their RV while touring the country. They have earned a loyal following that continues to grow. The Jucifer? fan base flows across genre lines. Their shows are attended by everyone from punks to metal-heads to indie kids to noise freaks. Their recordings are dynamic; and live they (backed by a literal wall of amplifiers; see the current gear list after the interview!) are uncompromising (ear plugs aren’t recommended, they are required!). They have made themselves successful by doing it on their on terms. Jucifer? isn’t just their band; it’s their way of life. Amber was kind enough to answer a few questions from the road as they make their way south. They’ll be playing Crowbar on February 5th.

REAX: When I first saw you in 2001 (I was in one of the opening bands at what may have been your first show in Tampa), I was wondering how a two piece would pull off the material from Calling All Cars On The Vegas Strip'' (Jucifer?’s first album) but I was surprised and blown away at what I saw (the wall of amps left me speechless when I showed up to load-in) and heard. Calling All Cars is vastly different from the rest of the Jucifer? catalog. How did the sound evolve?
JUCIFER: Our very first show in Tampa would've been early in the 90's... but by 2001 we were signed, so our tours had better promotion.

That was actually about six years after we made Calling All Cars! The version that came out in 2000 was a reissue. By 2001, we'd finished I Name You Destroyer (although it wasn't yet released) and were touring behind Lambs?.

Even now, we don't see Cars as too far removed from our other records. We've been consistent at maintaining very different feels for our albums and our live set. Both have evolved over the years, but it's more a matter of accomplishing goals with greater ease or clarity than of having new goals.

Being a heavy band is our first instinct when we play together. We each like to write all kinds of music and play many instruments, but when I have a guitar and Edgar's behind the kit we just want to demolish. It's a thread that runs through everything we've done. On the records, we've kinda spread out the heaviness to leave room for other moods.

REAX: Was there a particular catalyst that led to the wall of amps and uber-heaviness?
JUCIFER: We were always "too" loud. (As if there is such a thing. HA!) It took some time for us to accumulate an entire wall of amplifiers, but fortunately we were both into doing that, so we did it as fast as we could.

REAX: There is a lot more to Jucifer? than just the sheer brutality that most people associate with the band. There are guitar hooks, crystalline vocals and melodies hidden in a wash of guitar. 2008's L'Autrichienne is a perfect juxtaposition of brute force and delicate beauty. How do you go about writing such a diverse album? How do you find a balance between such wide range of styles and influences? I guess what I'm asking is one doesn't just wake up and decide to mix The Melvins?, My Bloody Valentine? and obscure French pop together (or do you?), so where does that come from and is there a lot of experimenting before you feel it's right?
JUCIFER: Thank you! It's almost embarrassing to answer that question truthfully, because it's as natural as breathing for us to make an album like that. So yes... in essence, we just wake up and do it. We both have a lot of nuance to what we enjoy hearing and playing. And we write and play music for the love of experiencing it. Those traits combine to make us eclectic and introverted enough to execute ideas that most bands would shy away from, or might not imagine. As far as balance, that's something we just feel. I'm sure some people get frustrated with the range of moods, but for others like us who get off on records that aren't all one speed, it's awesome.

REAX: Tell me about the pros and cons of the nomadic lifestyle. It's seems that you've made the "rock and roll dream" work for you instead of waiting for someone to hand it over on a silver platter. What is a typical few days for you, on and off tour?
JUCIFER: There is no off tour in our world. There are short breaks--- the longest, a couple of weeks surrounding Christmas, which this year was spent recording. But there is no going home, no hometown, and no day job. What this means is that instead of a set schedule, we work at least part of every day; and often 20-hour days. There's no salary, no benefits, no pension plan. We work when we're sick and if our vehicle breaks and we miss a show, we feel terrible about letting people down. When bad shit happens we have to just deal with it wherever we are, with whatever we got.

On the plus side, we're totally immersed in being together, playing music, traveling: the things we love most. It can be dangerous, painful, or exhilarating, but it's never boring.

We're not a band who's likely ever to be millionaires. We like our integrity, our individuality of vision too much. That doesn't translate into epic sales these days. So we have to make our own path to exist. We're cutting the path with archaic hand tools, sweating and bleeding a lot in the process. But we're getting it done. Silver platters have strings attached--- make your own way and you can (literally) call the tune.

REAX: You recently recorded a new record. What can you tell us about it?
JUCIFER: The new album is called Throned In Blood and comes out April 6th. It's the closest to the feeling and pace of our live show that we've probably ever come on a recording. And in keeping with that, the production is more live. Excellent quality, but raw.

REAX: You've been at this for more than a decade now. Have there been any moments that being on the road has allowed to happen, something thing that you may not have been able to do had you chose a different career path? Do you have any stories or antidotes from touring that people just don't believe happened but really did?
JUCIFER: This is our 17th year being a band! And our tenth being on tour all year. I think pretty much every single thing that we've experienced in that time has been a direct result of not following a standard path!

We've seen so many strange sights it's hard to choose one to tell about... from a barefoot couple carrying a roadkill deer carcass down a north Florida two-lane at 4 a.m. to an old man with a Santa beard wearing a tie-dyed shirt and waving a black velvet top hat in greeting as we passed his rural Pennsylvania home.

We've been profiled by police, harassed by at least a thousand street people, and met some of each who were shockingly kind. We've had a gypsy woman help us comprehend Flemish-language laundry machines in Belgium. We've been helped and well advised by people from pretty much every walk of life, which is really uplifting.

I've had a promoter throw a water bottle at me while trying to get paid, and a sound man throw a folding chair at me after a show. And I’ve heard the same complaints about our equipment from hundreds of irritated opening bands (which makes you wonder why they'd play our show in the first place). But we're in love with what we do. And for every outrageous asshole, there's someone awesome who supports us and reminds us that it’s all worthwhile.

THE GEAR: Amber’s massive and ever-changing guitar rig currently consists of “two Ampeg v9 cabs, four Ampeg 810s, Sunn 118, Sunn 215, Distex 410, Behringer 410, Univox 212, homemade 212, homemade 215, Vox 112. Amps include Gallien-Kreugers, Oceanics, Fender BXRs, Peavey T-Max and Session Bass, Ampeg 5-Pro, and Marshall Monoblock.”

To compete with that, Edgar has some serious drums. This is what Amber had to say about them:“Edgar's kit is custom blue acryclic Zickos. Bill Zickos invented the acrylic drum. He was a big band drummer who started making them in his kitchen during the 1950's. He got a patent, but Ludwig took his idea anyway and was too big of a company for him to fight. Bill Ward, John Bonham and Keith Moon all played Zickos at one time. Edgar had a Ludwig Vista Lite kit before he found out about Zickos. He got an endorsement with them, which was a big honor, and they made his kit to order with a size 26" kick and a 24" floor tom.”



“The Mountain” from Jucifer?’s 2008 album L'Autrichienne

Friday February 5
Jucifer?
Essex?
& Special Guests TBA
+ Thrash Money Millionaires? 9pm | $8 | 18&Up
@ Crowbar
1812 N 17th Street - Ybor City - 813.241.8600