— by Corey Moss
SANTA MONICA, California — Louis XIV the king is considered by historians to be one of Europe's greatest-ever leaders.
Louis XIV the band is considered to be one of the greatest-ever rock groups by ... well, themselves.
"We're very much fans of our own music," singer/guitarist Jason Hill said unapologetically. "I think too many people make music for other people. And although we are aware and we want people to dig it, we're very selfish in that we want ourselves to dig it first."
"That's what we set out to do," guitarist/singer/pianist Brian Karscig added. "Let's just go be our own favorite band."
As it turns out, Louis XIV seem to have pretty good taste in bands. Less than two years after forming in San Diego, the band's "Finding Out True Love Is Blind" has become one of the most requested singles in Los Angeles and other markets, and their independent releases have sold more than 10,000 copies.
While their full-length major-label debut is titled The Best Little Secrets Are Kept, San Diego's best-kept secret is being discovered.
"We were playing in different groups around town and we decided to do a concept record about a boy that begins to think he's Louis XIV, but in modern-day time," Hill said of the group's formation. "We figured nobody would dig it."
The album, which Hill produced on a 16-track tape recorder, found its way to DJs in San Diego and the U.K., who began playing a song called "God Killed the Queen." With that momentum, the band, which also includes bassist James Armbrust and drummer Mark Maigaard, took on the name Louis XIV and kept recording.
"It made sense to make it a band," Hill said. "And soon after, James joined the group and we started playing live. And then we started writing a lot more about other things, like sex ..."
"Debauchery," Karscig added with a smile.
"You know, the things that we understand about life," Hill said. "The newest record's a lot more about sex. We wanted to do something I think that you only see in R&B and black music, but you don't see in rock and roll."
Louis XIV released two more EPs on their own Pineapple Recording Group, garnering major-label attention. However, it was actually a leaked demo that isn't on either record that took off on radio.
"It's about black women and Asian women," Hill said of the infectious "Finding Out True Love Is Blind," which producer/ Garbage drummer Butch Vig recently called his favorite current single at the moment. "I could make up some existential thing, but it's just about girls, and I personally am sort of addicted to them. I love 'em. I give in to that addiction. And I respect 'em. It's appreciation really."
The tune sounds like a duet between a man and a woman, but it's actually Karscig. "Whenever I write a song, I usually leave 10 or 20 percent open, knowing that Brian will come in and knock it home in a really cool way," Hill said.
"Finding Out True Live Is Blind" is available on the just-released Louis XIV EP, Illegal Tender, and will also be included on The Best Little Secrets Are Kept, due March 22 on Atlantic Records. The EP features four other songs that sound like four different bands. One is even an instrumental with violins.
"The one thing that you can't say to us is that we sound like anyone else," Hill said. "We don't. Nobody. People compare us to T. Rex, but most people that are comparing us to T. Rex haven't even listened to T. Rex."
Louis XIV also bring to mind the Strokes (more for their contagious rhythms than overall sound), although it's the White Stripes whose archaic studio habits they emulate.
"We knew going into it that we needed to not overproduce anything," Hill said. "The statement was, 'Don't overthink it.' Four takes was the most we ever did of anything on the first record. There's no things like reverb on our albums, no effects, no plug-ins from ProTools or any of those sort of junk things that make everybody's record sound the same. It's just straight and raw and done our way."
The iPods in Louis XIV's pockets are packed with the Beatles, David Bowie and Bon Scott-era AC/DC. They're so unhappy with the sound of current music they went to Paris to make their first album in an attempt to avoid it. They are, however, fans of the Killers, and not just because the Las Vegas rockers took them on tour last summer, before Louis XIV were signed.
"[Singer] Brandon [Flowers] heard 'Louis XIV,' the first song we ever recorded, and he said by the time it came to the chorus he was sold," Hill said.
It was compliment fit for a king.
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