Har Mar Superstar |
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Thu. February 17.2005 12:00 AM EST |
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Bootylicious: Har Mar Superstar Is A Sex MachineIndie eccentric with the tighty whities and the jelly belly has built a career on doing the wild thing - or a least singing about it. by Jeanne Fury |
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(Record Collection Records) |
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Har Mar Superstar isn't merely a singer -- he's a performer. The difference? A singer entertains with his or her voice. A performer attacks the senses with an entire package of goodies - there's lots of action and drama in play. Not surprisingly, Har
Though he's hardly packing Usher's body or Timberlake's pretty-boy face, not a single young frontman flaunts himself like Har Mar, and it's not because they're not trying. They just don't have "it." When Har Mar performs, there are no dancers in matching uniforms, no elaborate sets, and no pyrotechnics, just a chubby, balding Midwestern boy with a penchant for both T & A and Stevie Wonder. Har Mar strides on stage in a robe, grabs the mic, and in front of sold-out crowds, shakes his booty and strips, while pretty young things stuff his briefs with dollar bills. He epitomizes the kind of grimy sexuality that gets you banned from Superbowl halftime shows. But things weren't always this steamy. Har Mar (born Sean Tillman) began his musical career in the mid '90s playing bass for the dissonant punk band Calvin Krime. His second incarnation was as the indie rock geek Sean Na Na. But when Tillman unveiled himself as Har Mar Superstar in 2000, releasing a self-titled album, his sound changed; it made equal use of '70s R&B gold, the panache of synth-sparkling disco, and the audacity of funk. Quickly, he became an sex symbol. In 2002, he released You Can Feel Me and then headed to London for a year; there, he was received like royalty. For The Handler he hooked up with members of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Northern State.The result is 12 songs fit for sexing all night long. And the fact that Har Mar's notions of beauty defy the norm, he empowers his listeners to be as freaky as they wanna be. VH1 spoke to him about requests to father fans' children and dining Thai with a snake on the table. VH1: Should I call you Har Mar or Mr. Superstar? Har Mar is good. VH1: After listening to The Handler, I can't help but think Usher and Justin Timberlake better watch their backs. You're the real deal Holyfield. Well, thank you. VH1: The smooth, sexual nature of your music must get you loads of women. What are some of the strangest requests you've had? Any Motley Crue-type signing of breasts and such? Well, yeah, you know, there's a lot of that kind of stuff but none of it's really that out of the ordinary. I don't get too crazy. Hmmm, I've gotten requests to father peoples' children. That's a little weird. VH1: Like JD Samson of Le Tigre, you're basically flipping the script on the standards of beauty and glamour. It's really punk of you to create your own sexual appeal. I've seen you perform and the ladies are positively wild for you. Where does this mojo come from? I think it's just from confidence, sort of knowing it's all kind of a myth anyway, what people think about peoples' looks. I think it's all in the way you walk, the way you hold yourself, being able to talk to anybody. VH1: The Handler is brimming with funky R&B soul. You're a big devotee of Prince, Michael Jackson, and Stevie Wonder. What was it about that sound that attracted you to them when you were just a little Superstar? The fact that Michael Jackson...like...the way he can move-it's just a quality that no one else has, this star quality. Stevie Wonder's voice is just amazing, and the way he shifts music notes, nobody else does that. It's amazing. VH1: After your last album You Can Feel Me came out, you spent most of 2003 in London. What was it about Londoners that made them more receptive to you than the kids in the U.S.? I think [Londoners] are just more into getting into a band early and following their entire career. And I guess they're a lot more open to sex and drugs over there at an early age. And they get into better art, too. VH1: You worked really well with producer John Fields on this new album, and the collaborations you did with people like Karen O, Nick Zinner, and Northern State sound seamless. But while Nick Zinner is a really talented guy, I wouldn't ever think to pair him with you. Oh yeah, I mean he just dropped by the studio to see what we were doing and ended up playing a bunch of guitar and bass and having fun. We did a bunch of stuff like that together - so did Karen and I. VH1: Your song "DUI" [dialing under the influence] is an ode to making drunk phone calls to the objects of your affection. Who's on your to-dial list? Probably Stacey Dash from Clueless. And um, maybe Christina Ricci would be pretty good. Yeah (laughing). VH1: Your live performances are really physical. You breakdance and sing standing on your neck sometimes. How do you prepare to get onstage and really knock 'em dead? I don't really have any preparation. I sort of stretch out for a couple of minutes. VH1: Then you go for it. Yeah. (laughing) VH1: Anything you'd like to close with? I'm trying to think here. Ah, I was just dreaming about this restaurant, this Thai restaurant. The twist is that there's this deadly snake that sits at the table with you while you eat. And I think that's a really good idea. It's frightening. Dining with a snake. |
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