We recently had the chance to sit down with bay area rapper MC Lars during his hometown stop on Vans Warped Tour. Check out the interview below and pick up his latest single “Dragon Blood” here! Check out exclusive promos here.
The Vinyl: You are set to release your 4th studio album The Zombie Dinosaur at the end of the summer.What can fans expect from the new album?
MC Lars: Thank you for asking!It’s got a lot of pop culture songs and a lot of literary songs. It has a lot of collaborations as well with Watzki, Less Than Jake,Suburban Legends and Leftover Crack. It’s very unique in the fact no album has ever had collaborations like this. Shout out to Benny from Less Than Jake is putting it out on vinyl.
The Vinyl: You self funded this entire album by using Kickstarter. What was that process like?
MC Lars: That’s a great question! Kickstarter is cool, it was successful because I have been touring for so long. We surpassed our budget, the album has taken awhile but I know it will be worth the wait. The fans have been very supportive. The fans will love what they hear, I put a lot of heart and soul in this album! Kickstarter is great because I do not need a label to put out an album, Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman was telling about 80% of the bands on this tour are DIY(Do it yourself) artists.That is the new culture, Shout out to all the DIY bands out there.
The Vinyl: Would you recommend that route for other artists?
MC Lars: With Kickstarter it is different then indie go go because if you aim to high you do not get any of the money. I would say look at your options. My first one I asked for 3,000 and ended up with 23,000. Ask for low and it is good to be humble. One thing I will say shipping is more than you think. You don’t want to go into debt for something as little as shipping. I do want to give a big shout out to everyone who pre-ordered the album! Love You!
The Vinyl: The kickstarter was successful and you are releasing The Zombie Dinosaur under your label Horris Records, what makes it easier and what are some challenges you had to over come?
MC Lars: These are great questions by the way! I have teamed up with Paper + Plastik for vinyl and Olio will be helping me will physical distribution. Press and radio it’s hard to do on your own, I outsourced with Rey Roldan who is a great publicist. Biggest advice keep track of every dollar. It is easy to spend 10,000 on a video and wonder what happened. However that 10,000 grand could have reached people and create an fan base.I believe in this record, then I do not have fear with running my label. Running your own label is like throwing the dice everyday and placing all of your chips in a smart way.
The Vinyl: Apple Music just announced it will be looking to get artists and fans more connected, Have you thought about releasing exclusive content?
MC Lars: I am not to familiar with Apple Music yet, but we do have an B-side coming out called 22 concepts. It could be cool to give them the exclusive.
The Vinyl:You have played warped tour in the past, what advice would you give to those on the tour for the first time?
MC Lars: Camel Bak is great! You are never dehydrated! I bought a bike at Target, it is hard to get around. Getting around quickly that way your whole day isn’t thrown off. Keep your production/crew small you do not need to take too many people on Vans Warped Tour, this tour it is me and my drummer. I am tour managing as well and that’s a good way to save money.
The Vinyl:What can we expect from MC Lars after Warped Tour ?
MC Lars: I will be doing an fall headlining tour! We are working on a puppet show with rapping puppets that will be out next year. I just have so much gratitude and I am so happy!
The Vinyl: If you were in Game of Thrones which House would you belong to?
MC Lars: Targaryen! But that like just because Daenerys has a lot on her plate(politically) I’ve been there and try to make everyone happy. When you do that you piss people off. You can piss of your dragons or get stabbed in the pit!
Interview & Photos by Amy Wolff