Artist Of The Week - Spork Kills

Most people know Louis Dorley as Louis Logic, the quick witted emcee who is a favorite among legions of underground Hip-Hop fans. This year, however, Dorley is putting his Louis Logic persona aside and introducing his latest musical creation, Spork Kills, which also acts as an introduction to a new genre of Hip-Hop, surf rap. The first single of off the Spork Kills EP Beaches Love Us is “Night of the Hip ‘N Dead” and it’s already getting airplay on MTVu. A complete album is in the works for later this year and this week I caught up with Dorley to find out more about the project, his adventurous musical ideas, and how he goes about putting together a set list with such a diverse range of work.

Adam Bernard: During your career you’ve been unafraid to experiment. Although you gained a name as an emcee you then went on to learn piano for your Kiss Her Stupid project and now you’ve created a whole new genre of Hip-Hop - surf rap. Where did the inspiration for this new style come from and how did it develop into what it is today?
Louis Dorley: Well, first of all, thank you for noticing! I don't mean to give the impression that it's all about spectacle for me, but then again, I have been known to create those from time to time. It's really always been my goal to apply the highest artistic ideals to my career decisions. To that end, I treat my music like I used to treat my sex life... it's more fun if you haven't been there before. In truth, I can't take responsibility for going surf. I prodded my fantastic bandmates, Laust and Rolf, to go as far as they were willing to go and then when they've gone that far, go further. This is what happened.

Adam Bernard: Why did you name the project Spork Kills?
Louis Dorley: With this project being hybrid, it was my initial instinct to call it Spork after everyone's favorite hybrid utensil. I found this especially appropriate given the goofy mood of the music. I did all the relevant searching and upon discovering that no one had such a band I unwisely closed my computer and waited a year to do anything about it. By the time I tried to sign up for the MySpace url, the .com, the gmail etc., some dorky death metal band from Utah had the name. Now, I'll be the first to admit, discriminating against death metal for being simply death metal is no different than the kind of discrimination that Hip-Hop artists have been experiencing for years, but these dudes even use umlauts over the “o.” I mean, come on! Anyway, I was bent on outgrowing these jokers and forcing them to change their name. I had to invent permutations of “Spork” in order to sign up for everything. I tried to think of cool adjectives, but last time I used that technique I got stuck with a moniker denoting a propensity for reason and a career in which I wrote songs about beer and sex (Louis Logic), so I went with verbs. I thought about Jerry Lee Lewis. I'm very fond of him. He was called The Killer. We commonly use language on tour to describe a particularly “on” night as a night we “killed it,” so I thought, what does Spork do? Spork Kills. Perfect!

Adam Bernard: Do you feel your audience grows with you each time you make a twist or turn in your career, or do you find yourself finding a whole new audience every time you release something new?
Louis Dorley: I think I get a little "he's a genius!" and a little "he's a jerk-off," "an innovator" and "an idiot." I try not to worry about it. I can't say that's always easy. Sometimes some really sweet person will literally create a profile with no means of contact just so that they can write me a detailed love letter telling me how I used to be great and now I'm just a faggot and the worst ever and they hope I die slowly in a hot desert. {laughs} I love how people are so frequently posing those two things opposite one another. “You were great, now you're a faggot,” like that's the opposite of great! Humans are hilarious. Anyway, no one ever makes one of those when they wanna come to my house and lick me up and down till I'm clean and hairless, and yes, sometimes I get those letters, but they usually come with mobile phone numbers, so I wouldn't characterize them as anonymous.

Adam Bernard: I have never received a letter like that (whaddup Adam’s World readers!?!). Staying with your audience, how do you feel being a child of adoption affects the relationship you have with them? Is it almost easier to become close with them?
Louis Dorley: I wouldn't know if it's any easier, I've always been adopted. If I had the opportunity to try out being the son of my biological parents then I might have an idea about this. I can tell you this, it's easier to get someone's attention. People are so curious about adoption. It seems like some sort of familial mysticism to them if they have no frame of reference. Most people know someone who's adopted, though. For the rest of you, I hope you're sitting down... I'm adopted.

Adam Bernard: Being that you have so many different types of music in your repertoire is it ever hard to put together a set list for your live shows?
Louis Dorley: {laughs} No one ever asks me that. I don't know why that wouldn't occur to a journalist. A lot of times they're even interviewing me at my live show. I think the glue that holds the set together is that my particular sense of humor is omnipresent in my work, even in the darkest songs. Somehow they all reek of my personality, so whether I’m playing solo piano, or writhing on the floor to the “Diablos” beat, it all seems very Louis, which is to say silly and somehow still very morbid.

Adam Benard: So is Surf Rap going to be your genre now, or is this simply another branch on the Louis Logic tree and we should all expect something else totally unique the next time you release something?
Louis Dorley: Well, more accurately, I would say that this is the first branch on the Louis Dorley tree, which, ironically, grew out of the Louis Logic tree. Every time I go over this kind of thing I feel like Marky Mark in that Boogie Nights scene where he's being interviewed and he says, "I’m Dirk Diggler, Brock Landers is just a character I play." You can expect that there will be more Louis Dorley projects than Louis Logic projects from here on. I will still do Louis Logic stuff; it's fun and I don't have to apologize for anything, I can blame it on him. Eventually, I think the two personas will grow fairly independent of one another and I will divide like cell mitosis.

Adam Bernard: Speaking of personas, I hear you’ve jumped into the world of acting. Tell me about the movie you just filmed, when we’ll be able to see it, and how having a mustache affected your life.
Louis Dorley: I acted in Jed I. Rosenberg's indie short film Four Little Piggies. It was really hard work and fairly hilarious. I just saw it for the first time. I was alright in a few of the scenes and I was not so great in a few, too. {laughs} It was my first time and much more challenging than I thought it would be. The people at the screening I went to seemed to like it. As for the mustache, it got me a lot more attention from gay men. Is that the kind of life affect you were wondering about?

Related Links

Spork Kills: myspace.com/sporkkills
Louis Logic: myspace.com/louislogic
Video: "Night of the Hip 'N Dead"