Hot Action Cop |
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Wed. February 26.2003 3:49 PM EST |
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Hot Action Cop: Calling All CardsRap-rock boys from Nashville get way nasty on their new video. They talk BBQ, Chili Peppers, and funk flava. by C. Bottomley |
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Hot Action Cop (Linda Zacks) |
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It starts with a war whoop. Then comes a spidery guitar line with roots in Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Next a leering voice asks, "Do you think that I can get some chickie chickie? Maybe gets a little finga sticky sticky?" It's pretty easy to
The singer is Rob Werther. The band is Hot Action Cop, and "Fever for the Flava" is a walloping chunk of funk regarding the fine art of having f-u-n during s-e-x. It's a blatant call to promiscuity, a threat to the decency of our nation's children, and a pretty groovy rock-rap joy ride. Backed by its eye-popping boot-knocking video, "Flava" looks set to become this year's unavoidable Spring Break theme tune. Hot Action Cop might be huge. Judging from the other songs on their self-titled debut, the Nashville-based foursome have one-track minds, hairy palms and a wicked sense of humor. "Goin' Down On It" halts its praise of you-know-what to announce "This is the acid rock section of the song/ All you burned out acid hippies singin' along." "Don't Want Her to Stay" kicks an ex to the curb by twisting the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" riff. And just when "Busted" sheds a tear for errant humanity - "Swinging from a pole with a nipple ring/Tying off his arm with a nylon string" - Hot Action Cop hit the brakes to ask, "He fell in love with the club slut. So what?" Perhaps it's the end of civilization as we know it. Or maybe it's just being open-minded about sex. When Werther and bassist Luis Espaillat sat down to talk with VH1.com, though, they turned out to be more than a live-action Beavis and Butthead. Get ready to meet a Deadhead and a KISS soldier lost in Music City, searching for barbecue, the perfect party record, and a little flava. VH1: Where's a good place to get barbecue in Nashville? Rob Werther: I would've said Arnold's Country Kitchen but that's more of a "meat 'n' three" than a barbecue. Luis Espaillat: There's a fine line between a meat 'n three and a barbecue. Meat 'n three is pulled-pork barbecue, chicken fried steak, and other goodies like Uncle Ben's catfish, and a quarter of a roasted chicken. Rob: I'm from New York, and barbecue was a big deal for me when I first moved to Nashville. Everybody's saying, "Let's go get some barbecue." I was like, "Barbecued what?! Barbecue chicken?'' But it's just barbecue. It's shredded pork. [Watch Clip] VH1: Rob, how did a New Yorker like you end up in Nashville? Rob: Dude, you just can't get good pick-up trucks in New York! I've been working a while with the producer Michael Baker. He lives down there and he talked me into moving down there. So I got a couple of ruffies [i.e. Rohypnol] and I woke in Nashville! VH1: Experience any culture shock? Rob: In a suburban sense no, because Nashville's all about the mall. In terms of the music scene, though, it's a culture shock. If you play something that's remotely heavy or that suburban kids might be into, you get ostracized. Nashville is very Americana singer-songwriter based, like James Taylor. But there's a lot of insanely good talent down there, with Patty Griffin at the top. I love Patty. I've seen her live at least 10 times. For a small woman, she has got an amazingly powerful and large voice. [Watch Clip] VH1: You guys have said your music has a "Dirty South" mentality. What do you mean? Rob: Dirty South is the way of life, and the look of the landscape down there. A lot of the South is old and dirty looking. It's sexually oriented, too, because you get a lot of blue-collar people who, when the weekend comes, wanna forget about the week and go out and drink, and get laid. That's the dirty south. VH1: When you were growing up, what band did you want to be in? Rob: Originally it was Run-D.M.C. Then KISS. I've been into rap since Run-D.M.C. Dirty South hip-hop really got me motivated, because it's just a whole new rapping style. The flow is the opposite of what the real white boy rapping style is, like Beastie Boys when they were copping Run-D.M.C. Moving to Nashville inspired me to go for it. Luis: When I was a kid I wanted to be in KISS so bad I could taste it. It wasn't so much the music as the spectacle. It was a show. It was like "Look at this, look at me!" VH1: How does a love for KISS compliment hip-hop? KISS were willing to make fools of themselves, but rappers can't do that. Look at MC Hammer. Rob: MC Hammer's problem was he tried too hard to be cool. If you look at the Dirty South guys, humor is a part of their life. Blacks and Jewish people's sense of humor became a part of their lives because of how they were persecuted throughout history. Whether it was goofy or not, it didn't matter. Nobody judged it. It just worked and it was a way to release. You see that so much with the hip-hop in the south. Humor is a part of everything. They don't care about being goofy. That's part of being cool to them. Luis: Both styles bring forth a fun energy in a live show. If you go to a rap show, it's ballistic! Even though it's just a guy with turntables and a mic, he's working the crowd as hard as he can. That's the spirit of rock right there, too, like, "What can I get back from the audience?" [Watch Clip] VH1: Rob, how did you teach yourself to rhyme? Are you a veteran of freestyle wars, like Eminem in 8 Mile? Rob: We used to do a bit of that back in the day, gathered around the lunch table in the cafeteria. We were usually dissing other people's moms. Luis: It always goes back to 'momma' jokes. VH1: What makes a great MC for you? Rob: It's all about the flow and the delivery. Lyrics are next. Eminem is the best at it as far as white guys go. Definitely the best. His flow is uncanny. Luis: I wasn't that convinced. When I first heard "My Name Is'' I was like "This is cool, but he's rapping completely outta time." Then I realized when I listened to more of his stuff that it's meant to be that way. It's stylistically how he is. It's really genius. VH1: What's the glue that holds you guys together? Rob: Beer. And all of us hate musicians. They're way too serious. Luis: We hate any "uppity'' artist in any field whether it be acting or painting or whatever. There's always that group of people that are like, "You can't be part of my clique, because you don't play a certain way." Doing session work, a lot of guys are like "I'll hire you because of your reputation, not because of how you play or because you're a lot fun." It's never about that. I'm like, "Dude, how about we just have a good time and play some music?'' A lot of people don't think of it that way, and they should. Life has all the extremes from serious to totally goofy. So, you gotta have all of that. Our attitude is we're here to do what we love. We make mistakes and stuff, but we're not gonna get on each other about it. VH1: So what rockers make you guys laugh? Rob: The Red Hot Chili Peppers! Luis: They had more of a funk-R&B flavor, but for rock energy and showmanship, it's definitely the Chili Peppers, especially early on in their career. They weren't afraid to stick themselves out on the line and look like fools. They were like "This is what we are. If you like it, great. If you don't, so what?" VH1: How do you write a party song that you know will grab people at first listen? Rob: I use my friend Mike in Nashville as a sounding board, for everything that I write. So that's usually the first filter in the process. He'll say "Yeah, this is good - let's work on this." And I'll just go back and finish it up and then show it to the band and try to get it to be really nasty. By nasty I don't necessarily mean sexually. I mean that parts of it are gonna rip out of the speakers, parts of it are gonna groove, parts are gonna be laidback. Music needs to have a dynamic - the crowd needs to come low and high with us. The best songs take them through a roller-coaster ride. VH1: What's one record in your collection that nobody would think is one of your favorites? Rob: The Grateful Dead's American Beauty is my favorite record - hands down. It's a beautiful album. The songs are amazing. I discovered the Dead from records my mom's sister gave me. I played them on a Bert and Ernie record player. I didn't even know what I was listening to, but I loved the hell outta it. VH1: Your lyrics are all sexed up. What's your favorite porno movie? Luis: Oh my gosh ... there's too much to choose from! Rob: I don't watch porn. I go out and get girls! |
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