828. - Imogene Strauss

All right, this episode of How Long Gone is brought to you by Stateside with Kai and Carter, a new podcast from The Guardian. And they are using this podcast to slow down the news and wrestle with the questions that we all have about what's happening in the world. And they do it three times a week. Jason, does that sound familiar to you? We don't really talk about, you know, a lot of international global news items and climates and cultures and sports and things like that. We do talk about fashion and wellness, but for everything else, Kai and Carter are a great place. All right, so who couldn't use more news? Listen wherever you get your podcast. or watch on YouTube. How long gone? It is Chris Black coming to you from New York City, the center of the world. which is currently on fire, them jeans. How are you? New York weather. Just getting my Google on. 94, 37% humidity. And I ain't going to hold you, as our friends on the Joe Budden podcast say. That is a tough one, brother. I'm sorry. It's okay. I've got the appropriate. I've got the appropriate clothing for it. I ain't scared. I was just out in it yesterday and have to be out in it again today, so I'm mentally preparing more than anything. Right now, Glendale, it's a crisp 69 degrees. You said you are dressed for the part, and the part is being super hot. Let's do a little fit check. Chris, what do you got? The strategist is paywalled. I can't see what your picks are. GQ, paywalled as well. You know, what are we doing to beat the heat? Thin shorts? Not even. Just regular. I'm wearing my J. Crew broken in t-shirt in navy. I'm wearing some vintage polo single pleat chino shorts. And actually, I just went to run an errand in the Mont Bell sandals.

That Caroline and I both have. Oh. Because I couldn't even be arsed to put on a shoe. But I have a meeting after this that I will have to put on hard bottom footwear for, but I let my colleagues know that I'll be wearing shorts and that they're going to have to deal with that. Okay, so BlackRock was cool with it. BlackRock said, hey, come on down. We're still going to have to put you through security, but shorts are fine. The single pleat Chino vintage, you said it was rowing blazers? What was the brand? Fuck you. No, I said polo. I'm just playing. I'm just playing. I ever had no rowing blazers touch my body, first and foremost. First and foremost. Yeah, of course. Of course, Chris. Come on. That goes without saying it. It's a shame that you even had to say it out loud. Is your meeting after this podcast a cool one? Is it a serious one? Yeah, it's a cool. No, it's both cool and serious. But I think that there's an understanding among New Yorkers when it gets to this level that all bets are off. I mean, last night, Alex and I went to dinner with Tish and Tom and I had to wear pants to San Vicente because it's that kind of place. i can't do that like i can't really i'm hot i can't stop once i get hot i'm hot that's it for the rest of the day unless i have two hours in air conditioning so you know what i'm saying so it really sets it it really sets a tone i know exactly where you you hit the point of no return and then as soon as that hits especially as a sober person there's really nothing that you can do to even to your physical no i can't have manifestation is overheating but you can't mentally Drink your way into forgetting that you're hot. Can I have an ice-cold lager? An ice-cold lager in a chilled glass? Are you kidding me? You can't have a nice, large deli container filled to the brim with ice, a little splash of Libby's pineapple juice, a couple jugs of Tito's, and crack open a La Croix Pure over the top. That does sound good. Sounds good. You can't do that.

No, I can't do that. But I made it through. I drank my weighted water, I think, throughout the meal, which did keep my body temperature down. But I'm just not happy. I've got to get out of here. It's too much. Well, we're leaving soon, bro. We're going to go to Shaw City. We're literally leaving tomorrow. I know. Have you been there? I'm getting up at 5 a.m. to go back to Chicago. Chicago, two of three visits this month coming up next. But, I mean, I'm actually excited. Chicago in the summer. It's very nice. And I've learned to love it. So I'm looking forward to it. And I think that we'll be in good shape for those couple days. And I don't think our lift at Lollapalooza is going to be too heavy so I can do my regular Chicago stuff and accomplish our goals work-wise. We're going to accomplish our goals work-wise. We're going to interview The Dare on stage on the 31st, 5 p.m. How long gone in The Dare? We're just going to have fun. Chris, maybe, I mean, hopefully he's not wearing a suit because I'm not bringing a suit. I'm not. Hell no. I mean, can I, do you think I can ask Harrison, maybe we should do a track star style indie sleaze test. Go on. You know what I mean? Where them jeans digs into his crates. Harrison gets to hear, you know, whatever. 15 to 30 seconds of the song and then has to identify artist and title. Artist is fine. Title is on us. It'll be that thing where we just put the headphones on him and the crowd just has to be silent while he listens to it. I think this is Does It Offend You Yeah? from 2000. I feel like Harrison, sadly, could ace this quiz, even if them jeans was so deep in his digital crates, he could see the bottom. I could pull out some shit where these MP3s that have such a patina on them, because there is a theory and a literal, people do believe, and there is research and data behind it. That MP3 files can literally degrade over time and get worse. This is cool. Like a vinyl record or a cassette tape. Because it's like a compressed digital artifact and blah, blah, blah. And they're always flying around on this server and here. And moving from device to device, they will eventually wear down. So I could pull out some shit that truly nobody else has. And Harrison will be like, oh, the...

I know who mixed and mastered this one. I know who did the artwork for it. I can give you the booking agent's name who booked the tour when this Fleet Foxes Passion Pit mashup was released on Hype Machine. I listened to Passion Pit the other day. That shit slaps. That song is still really good. When you say slap. I'm just saying it holds up better than I thought it would. Because now that AI technology exists, you can remove the vocals from a song? I just think that that keyboard hook that I just hummed is the hook of the song. I don't think the voice is the best part. I'll say that. You're a hook chaser. I'm a hook chaser. You fucking know that. That's a good name for a fisherman. I think that there's also a world where we could do just... them jeans re-edits which could make it extra fun and personalized if you have all of those you know organized in a folder i do and they're on a computer or a hard drive that's locked far far away in the garage away from me you're like luckily chris doesn't know how to get to that folder even if i handed him the computer so those remixes well i could go on youtube and find at least five so you know what i mean i get i get messages once a week from some guy who's like Bro. Or a person who wants like a mixtape I made for the hundreds when fucking, you know, Ronald Reagan was in office or whatever it might be. Yo, this mix where you mashed up Soulja Boy with Justice Saved My Life. I need it. I need it. Do you have it? I was like, bro, I burned that long ago. Dude, I tried to forget. I tried to forget. Oh, that's funny. That's really funny. No, I'm looking forward to it. I think Chicago will be fun. And I'm really happy to pack again as well. I think I'm becoming an artist when it comes to the pack. I mean, my suitcase has just been open the whole time. Carolyn loves that, I'm sure. There's nothing more. Well, it's a competition in a household. Who can leave the suitcase in public view?

uh, the longest trip. I mean, I'm saying as far as guilt goes, it's not a, it's not a competition. It's not a victory. It's more of a loss. Um, but I, my, I'm looking at my suitcase right now. Um, so I, I can, I can attest to what you're saying. We got, yeah. Okay. Well, I'm excited. It's going to be good. I'm getting ready for London. I'm excited to pod about Oasis and pod about all of our adventures and have a live chat with everyone. even have an after party and i'm excited to dj in copenhagen for our friends at sunflower i got to put together a mix yeah i wondered i wondered if that process is starting we got time now you got you got some plane rides to put that together i have a little bit of time i i was talking to the sunflower person on instagram whoever it may be i was like what kind of music should i play at your after party and he's like you're the dj bro i don't fucking you know like in he didn't say that he said in a nice way like bro do your thing the most calm and collected you know, Copenhagen way possible. He's like, uh, I make the clothes. So, uh, I'll get, I'll get the orange wine and I'll get a giant sculpture made out of butter. But you, you bring the DJ music and play the music and we're all done. You're responsible for the music. If you put on a song and the crowd doesn't like it. Change it to a different one and you'll get it. It's all good. We'll get there eventually. Yeah, I think that there's nothing I love seeing more than kind of being on the plane with you, looking back and knowing that you're not editing this podcast or watching TV or reading a book, but you're in the mix. You like that. You got the big headphones on. You're going through the archives. I come alive in the nighttime. I think that's when you're firing on the highest level. I think it really is. I see you locked the fuck in. Honestly, and because of my schedule right now, that airplane is probably, for tomorrow's airplane ride where I wake up at 3 a.m. to go to Chicago, I'm going to be editing the pod. But then when I fly from ORD to LDN, oh, brother. Mate. I'm going to have four and a half white wines.

Four and a half chunks of a Xanax, and I'm going to put songs that go together for the first time so hard that they're going to have to alert security. I'm going to have to have my hands zip tied. They're going to fly. He's creating too much fire, sir. you're gonna flag your ass for starting a fire on the plane um all right yeah we'll see you in london august 4th at the 100 club and in copenhagen um we'll see you if you're if you're there for the sunflower party um there's a few tickets left for london howlonggone.com um you should be able to get them there shy city we'll see you at lala i don't know if we'll have time to kick it but you know we'll see we won't have time to kick it i'm just looking i'm just i'm just super busy unless we're unless i'm unless you're inviting me to to the rl restaurant with a prime reservation or i then i'll be able to make it out i guess today imogene strauss an old friend of ours but currently a uh creative director du jour as well as a regular director, stage designer. She is working with Charlie XCX, Troye Sivan, Tate McCray, Demi Lovato, Polichek, Claro. Even down to Solange, where she got her start managing, I believe. We're going to get all into it. I can't wait to hear how Solange did something bad. Okay, let's give her a call. This episode of How Long Gone is brought to you by Squarespace. Obviously, Jason, you and I spend a lot of time on the World Wide Web. So do all our peers, our listeners, our friends, our colleagues, maybe even your parents if they're freaky. And if you're doing anything in the world, writing, taking pictures. I do topless boxing. You need a website. Exactly. A website that works, that does what it's supposed to do, that allows you to be creative but also business-minded. Jason, there's one place to go for that, Squarespace. Yeah, Chris, I'm over here. I'm modifying calculators and putting Claude inside of them so you could cheat at school. And I just want a place where I could have everything all in one place. I can have the SEO tools so those future graduates can find me. And I'm able to accept, quote unquote, donations for my services that might be gray area.

You know what I mean? And then email campaigns. Hey, I got a new 2.3 version upgrade. Boom, boom, boom. Get the analytics going. Raise some money. Show your investor all of your cool analytics of what's going on. They're going to want to get in early. And we can use Blueprint AI to make your website look as professional as your competition, if not more. So head to squarespace.com slash howlong for a free trial. When you're ready to launch, use offer code howlong to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or a domain. All right, this episode of How Long Gone is brought to you by Quince. Jason, the temps are warming up. It's getting hot out there. Summer always changes how I get dressed. I need pieces that feel lighter, more breathable. And they're just easy, but still put together. I don't want to look like a slob. That's why I keep coming back to Quince. They focus on high-quality essentials that feel and look amazing. Breathable linen and soft organic cottons. Well-made basics, but without the luxury markups. That rare balance where everything feels elevated. but still effortless. Yeah, Chris, linen season is here. I wore a linen blazer to dinner a few nights ago in the warm California sun. But, you know, you got that Italy trip coming up this summer and quality European linen pants and shirts. Upgrade that look starting at just $34. You know, if you get a nice linen suit, a little t-shirt underneath it, some chill shoes, you're looking good, but you're staying cool. The inside of your special areas are nice and dry as you turn up with your besties. So elevate that summer wardrobe. Go to quince.com slash how long for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns, even on a nice holiday now available in Canada. That is Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash how long. That'll get you free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince punto com slash how long. This episode of How Long Gone is brought to you by a new podcast from The Guardian stateside with Kai and Carter. This is covering a lot of our bases, Jason. It's trying to slow down.

The news and wrestle with the questions we all have about what's happening in the world. And I know you particularly have quite a lot of questions. A lot of questions, but how often? Because we do this podcast three times a week and that's a sweet spot. How many times do they do? Three times a week. And I have a feeling just based on the platform and these talking points that they're maybe going to be covering different stuff than we do. That's just a guess. The Guardian is not some billionaire owned. They're not afraid to say what they want to say, brother. Yeah, Rupert ain't sniffing around in what journalists Kai Wright and Carter Sherman are up to over there at Stateside. But yeah, listen wherever you get your podcasts. You can watch it on YouTube. It's three times a week. And who couldn't use more news? Especially when it's not from here, let's say. Give it a listen. Give it a listen. I'm sorry for this early start time because I feel like you're a bit of a night owl, or am I wrong to assume? Actually, no. I'm up early always. I wake up at 6 usually, 6.30. Oh, wow. I'm impressed. Well, she's dealing with London, Chris. Dealing with London. I have a dog. I'm on the phone with London, babe. I'm on the phone with London, babe. Walk the dog yourself. I'm on the phone with London. I did go to Lady Gaga last night, though, so I did have a little bit of a late night. Okay. Were you next to Nancy Pelosi or were her seats better? Her seats were definitely better. Are you a little monster or are you going for professional reasons? Professional reasons. I'm a little monster. I'm a little monster. Are you? I don't know if I need to go to that, but I might if somebody offered it to me. Yeah. I mean, I did pay to go. Oh, yeah. But if you're going there to admire the stage direction, it's a write off, right? Yeah. Which over the hill queen did it? Do we know? Paris Scoble, who's not an over-the-hill queen. She's a choreographer. She did the whole... Boring! And as Devlin, I think, did the stage design. Could you rate it on a scale of 1 to 10? I really enjoyed it. It's not a show that I would make, I think. Wow, you're a pro. So it's cute for Gaga, is what you're saying. Yeah, it was perfect for her. Not for me, but I loved it.

How long is a Lady Gaga show in 2025? Couldn't tell you because I didn't stay until the end. All you need is an hour of Gaga. You know, we have a lot of gay guys listening right now, Imogene. This is, use your words wisely. Yeah, I mean, I think I want to leave every, we're going to Oasis next week and I'm worried because I leave every show early because I'm a professional. You have to, the charm. traffic is i mean especially in la you can't you can't not in new york i would stay to the end because you just get on the subway it's fine but in la no i might never go to the i might never go to the kia forum again if i can help myself and unless there's a helicopter i say that every time and then somehow i'm always there yeah you're you're being paid to be there i'm just checking it out it's a different it's a different you're not sticking around for the fourth weekend uh encore yeah you've had enough you're already at in and out no i no no so gaga was fine Was it packed, though? And what was the crowd? Is it what I would expect? Walk us through the Gaga outfit as well. Did you and your bestie group all do a coordinated Luke? No, it was me and my manager Reed and then Molly Hawkins, who's Harry Styles creative director. It was a very like, you know, critical. Oh, wow. You motherfuckers just went to talk shit. That's crazy. So it's three people with their arms folded like this. Y'all spent 500 each to talk shit. Apparently some of like the drag race cast was behind us. I didn't know who they were. I was told by other parties that I was with. And AJ from the Backstreet Boys was also sitting. A bunch of queens. AJ's facial hair makes me think he gay now based on the manicure level. I honestly didn't know who he was at first. I had to be told. Which one is the cast member from RuPaul's Drag Race? Which one is AJ from NSYNC? It's anyone's guess. They were taking a photo together and then somebody explained to me who was who. That's a big link up for everybody. I would love to witness AJ from the Backstreet Boys and a cast of Drag Race.

taking a picture together that's fun yeah that's as good as the show for me i think if i hadn't been if i hadn't been told i would have been like random people just taking a selfie i don't know sure which is a normal thing to happen in a lady gaga concert so so as you 100 other similar people just getting your kind of curmudgeon on at a no we had fun we had fun you were you were obviously having fun i'm exaggerating but i'm just imagining everyone just like oh okay so oh strobes on uh song three already okay well that's where the power and then and then i think of like the show in um sorry french i think of the show in brazil where people are like crying at you know just being able to hear it from like the street yeah street corners yeah we're different i i saw it at coachella too so i kind of knew everything that was gonna happen but it's the same lady gaga can lady gaga still move like she could back in the day yeah that's good she i mean she did the crutches thing like three times hell yeah she has a menacing movement you know it's spider-like yeah She's got her distinct style. It's cool. It's good for her and her fans, if that's what they're into. She has a distinct walking style that requires crutches that I really appreciate. But I think that she, yeah, I just, you know, after years of performing at that level, I'm sure feet are destroyed. I bet she's got some back problems. I mean, wearing 15-inch fucking heels, like, I'm sure it destroys your body. Yeah, definitely. Touring is a nightmare for... The artist. How many artists that you work with have a masseuse on tour? Or is that not common? I think when you're doing a show that involves dance, it's more common, but like... I've had it on some tours, but it's not often. No one recent has had a masseuse on tour. Once Tate McRae puts on the fucking motorcycle jersey, the massage is happening. Tate McRae's got a staff of 12 because her show is mostly dance. She probably does now. Not when I was doing her show. I feel like a masseuse, I feel like it's like a...

pretty it seems like an easy expenditure in my opinion yeah i mean even if you don't have one on tour you get one like every three shows or something you know you do like that kind of thing i want my guy locked in i want him only thinking about my body you know what i mean focus on me i feel like back in the day like i think the xx had a masseuse on tour which was sick to me i'm like damn y'all don't even stand up on stage i could be i could be misremembering that but i kind of remember like that was like one of I mean, I believe it. Why the fuck not? Do that. I was like, whoa, that's crazy. I remember thinking it was crazy when people would have all the gym equipment on a tractor trailer and like a trainer and they would set the gym up every day. And I'm like, I would want that too. I want that. I want the masseuse. I want the rock doc because I need the steroid shot. I need it all. Yeah, yeah. None of my tours recently have had anything like that. Wow. Nobody's had the gym ever. No one's had the gym ever? I guess that's kind of like a Maroon 5 thing. I feel like it's like a Maroon 5 thing. That's true. Like, Clara was definitely not bringing the... She has ankle weights. She has ankle weights in her carry-on. Clara's like, I put up 175. What do you mean? I just put up 175 before the third song. I mean, I would feel so bad if I was like, oh, I went to Gaga last night. I don't feel like working out. And like... Your whole staff set up a full gym in the parking lot in Denver, and you're like, oh, I'm just not feeling it today, guys. Not feeling it. I think that's how a lot of people are with their trainer in general, even if they're not on tour. It's like I'm paying for it. I don't need to go if I don't feel like it. It's a mental thing. I've never been to a personal trainer ever in my life. Yeah. I don't go to the gym. I don't like the gym. It's not for me. What do you do besides? Lay in the sun. I walk my dog. No, you celebrate the art of dance. I do. I dance once a week, but I wish I could do that. If I could do that more, I think I'd be in really good shape. What's the vibe at these independent dance studios where you go to get your little groove on? What do you mean by independent dance studios versus what? There's a lot of... We see them online where independent CEOs go into a sweaty room and kind of...

move their body and they let it all out. It's so fun. They let the stress out. It's so fun. I've been trying to get Carolyn to come with me, actually, but she's scared. It looks fun, but it also looks like there's too many people in the room, and if you're bad, you're going to feel bad about yourself when you leave. You stand in the back. You stand in the back. No, sure. I understand how we tear it out. I'm just saying I think the idea of letting loose is a lot more exciting if you're really good and you're hitting your steps. It feels a little more. You've got to start somewhere, Chris. I'm good enough. I'm good enough. I've been dancing since I was like a kid and that's like, I can get by, you know? What kind of music would you, are they playing the genre of hip hop? No, this weekend we did Bieber, Daisies. So it's like you learn a routine, like one song. Yeah. Oh, I didn't realize that. Okay, okay. Yeah, well, it's like 40, it's 45 minutes of like cardio, working out, crunches, stretches, and then 45 minutes of learning a routine and then doing it over and over again. And then you do the routine two weeks in a row and then you do a new one. Wow. So like next weekend, I'll do Bieber again and then I'll be better and then I'll probably post the video. At the end, is there a show? do you do a show for your parents at the end of the month? Is there like a recital? No, but my mom was visiting me last weekend and she wanted to come and she came to the class and did it and it was really cute. That is cute. I'm interested, are men allowed or straight men allowed or are they kind of frowned upon that? Men are definitely allowed. I don't know how many of them are straight, but there's definitely like a good amount of men. Are ugly people allowed? Totally. Yeah, definitely. Yeah, definitely. Oh yeah. I've looked in the window. Because I've seen some of them only on social media where some of them are like, this is like a class that anyone can sign up for. And then some of them feel like, if you know, you know, not invite only. but like semi-private, you know what I mean? Like very clean. Yeah, I mean, there's definitely ones that are more for like professional dancers, which is not what I'm going to. So do you black out and like close your eyes and think you're on making the band and you're like fucking in the studio? Making the band. And you're in the studio, just you in the mirror, you verse the mirror with one choreographer? Definitely not. I'm like so...

in my head self-conscious about what's happening. No, it's an insane thing. It looks so fun to do if you're good at it, but I also know how hard it is to be good at it, and I don't know how long that takes. Being a dancer would be my dream job. If I could be really good at anything and just turn it on, I would love to be a dancer. That seems like the most fun. Yeah, but you're too much of a bag chaser. Yeah, you're a bag chaser. That's true. Being a dancer. Yeah, it's a labor of love. Yeah, the pay isn't great. Even at the highest level. There's definitely like a cap on where you can go with that unless you become a choreographer, I think. Yeah, sure. We ain't getting a defender with that cap, are we? No. Okay, we'll move on from dancing. Of all the songs that you guys have done, what has been the one that was your favorite to dance to? Was there a Carly Rae Jepsen in play? That's a tough question. I think, I mean, my... dance teacher now was charlie's choreographer during the crash era so he does some charlie songs which is fun when he did the welcome to my island remix that was really fun all my girls together that's nice not the welcome to my island remix like what about janet jackson like wow i haven't heard this song enough let's do it run that back turbo i've only heard this 7 000 times i can i can listen to the songs that i work on like infinitely i have no i'm not like a person who like needs to not good for you that is good you should dj in vegas i don't have that mental capacity i'm i'm done when it's when i listen to a song 200 times i don't give a fuck if it's good it's good same that's why that's why i want to forever when they do a killers class let me know and i'll come to that one i think that's the one i'll really be hitting my steps yeah love the killers that was one of my first concert not first but i went to that concert with my dad at irving plaza and david bowie was standing right next to me and i like my dad was like that's david bowie and he was like say hi and i was a little kid and i like tapped him on the shoulder i was like i'm a big fan

Did he respond? Were you a big fan? Yeah, he was so nice. He, like, gave me a hug and was really sweet. I talked about this recently with someone because he lived in that building on Lafayette, like, across the Old Supreme with Iman for, like, years. So you would see him, like, at the grocery store and shit. And it's just so... Yeah, he had a mustache. I didn't recognize him. He was incognito at the Killers show. I'm in disguise, darling. No one was more excited than Brandon Flowers that he was at the Killers. He definitely outpaced you on excitement. Definitely. So your dad... is a dj that i've known of for a long time legendary nyc dj when he took you to the killers was he like i'm a little too cool no he loved the killers okay he's into it no he has good taste like like anyway i mean some people you know he's a he's a respected i wouldn't call him a snob but you know he's got high taste in music he's a snob okay he's a snob you're like no we can say it it's a coin toss if you're gonna think that the he's like i gotta go to the fucking killer show at irving plaza god damn it i should be the killers playing at irving plaza and david bowie being there is a different time of their career i would say yeah i don't know if my dad would be like rushing to go to a killer's concert now but maybe honestly he's pretty loyal he's pretty loyal i like that that's a good quality to have in a dad i agree loyal to his favorite musicians yeah not you or anything just his favorite musicians yeah i saw france ferdinand at glastonbury and he was like really he was actually at glastonbury also my dad but he missed the france burden and he was pissed hold on your dad was at glastonbury And of all the things he was bummed. Fucking pissed, bro. His friends. Did he DJ or was he just there to kick it? Yeah, he DJed at Block 9, like the big after thing, like at 3 in the morning. So your dad's going on at 3 a.m. And how long is the set? I think it was probably like two hours. I missed it because he played on Sunday night and I had to fly back for a music video. So I saw him the night before after Charlie's set and we hung at NYC Down Low. And then he played the next time. You didn't get to see him bless the stage, though. Unfortunately not. Yeah, because I feel like when you were first going out, was it ever a thing where you're embarrassed by your dad being in the club and now you're of an age where...

You guys are both old people in the club? A little bit. I feel like... I'm not saying you're old. Before I had a... I'm old. Before I had a fake ID, I could only go to the clubs that he was DJing at. So I'd bring my friends to Submerser. That was my favorite one that he DJed at. How could we forget Submerser? Submerser's still there. Is it? Yeah. What happens there now? Does it look the same? I haven't been there since. I haven't been there, but I feel like Mark Ronson will DJ there still occasionally. That place was sick. Yeah, it's the coolest. I think it's the same. I think it's just like the same as it ever was. I could be wrong, but it's definitely still around. We should bring it back. We should go. I'll go. I'll go anytime. Okay, so we were going through all the artists that you've worked with. I think you just, we're rolling out the new Tame Impala right now, as well as the Demi Lovato. Is there anything else I'm missing that's currently in motion? I feel like I'm working on one million things, but I guess those are the main things. And then Portola, the festival that I do in San Francisco, and then working on the Addison live show. Okay. And then there's always some Charlie stuff going on in the background, but right now nothing at the... Yeah, the new... And Carolyn worked on some of the Tame Impala stuff with you for styling. And I think a lot of people are loving the... Seem to be loving the new song, yeah? I like the new direction. Yeah, it's so good. Interesting. Well, the... No, I'm joking. Have you heard it, Chris? Yeah, of course I heard it. I heard it because... Carolyn, because they worked on it, I wouldn't have listened to it otherwise. And I also, I'm a big Julian head, so I support his, anything he does, I appreciate. Yeah. Yeah, I love Julian. Chris is more in the, he's more in the Demi Lovato space, though. Oh. Well, I'm in the Demi Lovato space as in, is she just, so she's just like, I'm hot again? Is that the vibe? She's bringing it back old school style? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. She's hot and she's healed.

and you know I just I don't mean to get into her personal life of course but didn't she wasn't she married to some like MMA guy and then I honestly I don't know the details of that kind of stuff but she's single is what I'm asking or is she married she just got married to like a regular guy. Yeah, he's a musician. Chris wants to know if someone's bringing her joy. He's a musician, so not a regular guy. Yeah, he's a musician. He just played Warped Tour last weekend. He's very supportive. Chris is back. I would love to know what band he played at Warped Tour, but I'll find that out myself. Yeah, you can do your research because I don't really know. But when someone like Demi Lovato, who has had a... very long career and very many phases is she coming to you with a fully baked like this is what i need or is she coming to you like mama help me neither i think it's i think it's more of a i mean she's not gonna tell us the real answer so you could do a media one if you want imaging yeah please go ahead it's a collaboration it's a collaboration you know everything's see somewhere in the middle anti-collaboration if i'm fucking at a certain if i'm at a certain level i'm like Oh, are we hiring her? All right, go crazy. I'm paying you how much, bitch? You do everything. I'm going to be at the pool. Yeah, literally. You do everything. I'll show up. I'll show up when I need to, but I'm going to be at the pool until then. I'm with Jason on that. I would say most artists don't do that. I know they don't because they're control freaks and they think they're the ones with the good ideas. And they do have good ideas in the recording studio. But sometimes outside of the recording studio, they have to engage someone like you to make it translate. Totally. I think all the artists I work with are collaborations. And I think that's part of why I choose them. Yeah. No, that makes sense. No, that makes sense. job yeah i mean i didn't even know what it was till i became one well no one still knows what a creative director does so that's never going to change but i guess yeah i guess that i'm saying there's a point in i feel like music specifically though now it's like you have to no matter who you are someone's doing this job for you i mean it's it's kind of almost like a logistical thing like the artists don't have time to

do the amount of work that's required to like maintain all the creative there's just like so many assets and things that constantly need to be made and looked at and approved and you know like the spotify banner for this thing and you know it's just like one it's like one million things actually so we need a video a visualizer and visuals a spotify canvas you know it's just like a movie album cover on Apple. Bro, what is up with the moving Apple? What are we going to do for Last FM? The Deezer phone call at 3. We got Deezer at 3. I mean, the moving Apple cover is mind-blowing to me because every time I'm an Apple Music user, every time I see it, I'm like, I know that someone had to sit down and do this, and it doesn't matter at all. I feel like when I do them, it's like the most subtle. It's like... you can't tell if it's moving or not is kind of those are the coolest ones those are the coolest ones that are very it's like a high trick i don't even understand like why are we doing this then like this is all it just has to be like a little subtle like a pixel shift we're doing it because we all have the brains of a three-year-old and we're like oh it moving i like it well i think it i think it's a symptom of the sort of the shift to video that we experienced where like even now when you go to like a big new york times story it's all it all moves it's all like interactive like that's it's what people it's like somewhere between video and not video it's not even full on it's yeah it's confusing keynote i i get bummed because like on spotify it's like when you play the music you can't even see the album cover on most artists because it's like some visual like you click it and it's like everything's like some blurry vhs style well look luckily luckily all of your three second looping gif all of your hard work gets synthesized down to a one by one square and that's it's still a w you would prefer to just say brat in green but no it's gotta move it's gotta move i can't i can't remember what the brat moving album cover was

I feel like it was like scribbles or something. No. Well, we're kind of post-album cover as anyone can just change it at any time. So, you know, it's basically just an NFT. Actually, an NFT is more legit than an album cover nowadays. Yeah. Because album covers are now fungible. Definitely. I mean, vinyl covers. Well, you can still make like 17 different ones, I guess. Yeah, we just saw the fuzzy Sabrina Carpenter. You saw it in person? No one's seen it in person unless they're under the age of 15. But I was into it. I thought it was cool because, like we talk about all the time, no one that's buying that kind of shit is listening to it anyway. So you might as well just make it insane and cost $100. Like, who cares? For sure. I mean, I don't even have a record player, which is kind of embarrassing. But I left it in New York when I moved. I was just like, I'm not bringing this. Don't tell your dad. Yeah. Hey, neither do I. You don't have a record player? I was a vinyl DJ. No, get rid of it. You don't have a CDJ's rule. You don't have a single 1200 in the storage, bro? I might. They're just around. I mean, I still have records that I care about that I'll never play ever in my life, but. I was thinking about album covers and vinyl records specifically, and I feel like now because they're just creating these collectible items to juice the first week sales and nobody has record players anyway, they should do two tiers of vinyl. One where it's just like, here's the record. It's $12, $20. You put it on your record player and you play it. And then there's the $70 version where it's just crazy and fuzzy. And it doesn't even, the vinyl is not even playable. It's just ornamental. It doesn't have any grooves on it or there's no record in it at all. It's just a framed piece of square artwork. And that counts as a sale. Not a bad idea. No, it's not bad. But I don't, I mean, people are willing to pay. That has been proven. So I don't think the price point would scare them. Oh, this is huge for me personally. This episode of How I'm Gone is brought to you by TaskRabbit. Oh, baby, let me tell you something. This is not a joke. I use TaskRabbit a lot because I can't do anything. You need some art hung? TaskRabbit. You need a fucking something put together? A cabinet? Got to reach that cheese grater on the top shelf? TaskRabbit. Anything you need, TaskRabbit can take care of it for you. And I mean, it...

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yeah i'd be curious if if they did that like how many of the like you just do like a white label for the actual music like how many people actually that would we could do less numbers on those i think that could be a smaller run or the not the non-playable records are cheaper and then the playable ones are more maybe i don't know But no one would ever do that because of charting. So if you're going to sell it, they just put the grooves on it anyway. Just put the grooves on it, man. What is the kind of... I haven't opened a vinyl record since I can remember. Are people doing intricate inserts and shit? Or is it all about... It is. It's not just all about the outside. Everything is customized. Yeah. Though there is still like... I don't know. Some of the artists I'm working with, they're more like... the labels like make it really simple so we can make the price point as low as possible and sell as many and then it's just like a single versus most of the ones i'm doing are like gatefold with like a booklet and like special like package special like paper and stickers and stuff vinyl has cocaine inside of it and blood and you know well i mean to be fair that's 47 different colors and glitter that's what hardcore records used to be like and that's why now i mean We've talked before about the buzzsaw die cut 10-inch on this podcast, or like a heart, like American Nightmare did like a heart. Yeah, it's not uncommon, but I guess it just all drives the price up. It really does. It's like a price thing. You don't want Grammy from just doing a single. Insert. Yeah. Why aren't you drinking a cup of orange juice out of your Grammy right now for us? What are you doing? It should be. I have to do a shot out of it. Is the Grammy in the room with us? The Grammy's in the room with us. Okay. Right over there. Okay. So this is, how does it, how long does it take? How much did it cost you and who paid for it? I honestly didn't expect to win just based on looking at the previous. Bitch, do not. Do not. Look, the time for a speech is over. Yeah.

She pulls out some crumpled paper. Actually, I have a few people I would like to thank. We're trying to bring you back down to earth by asking you how much you had to pay to get an award and who paid for it. Or at least your manager or the label or Charlie. I was not expecting this, you guys. All the other nominees are so talented. No, I mean, based on the people that I've won in the past, I was like, I don't know. Who has won in the past? I know a guy who won for a Wilco album cover. Well, what was the award that you got exactly? What was the award you got exactly for our listeners? Best album packaging. Who was the competition, though? Like, the only one I even knew was Post Malone F1, and then there was, like, a Kate. Bush re-release, and then a bunch of stuff I've never heard of. Because it was like international or was it just like stuff you'd never heard of? Just stuff I've never heard of. I mean, if you haven't heard of it, then it's most likely that we also haven't heard of it. No, I'm sure you probably haven't. Okay, so, but you were there. Did you go? Well, Charlie performed, so I was there working anyway. And then at the regular Grammys, but then at the like, the album packaging is like in the... So I actually had dress rehearsal. I wore my old outfit to dress rehearsal and had my hair and makeup done. And then I ran in the most uncomfortable shoes ever to the other area and got there five minutes before they announced. our award okay and so and so did you get to give a speech or you just go up there and grab that shit and sit down i just uh i had like a two sentence who else was who else was up there with you uh brent from special offer oh okay yeah yeah okay okay so is you and brent on now did brent talk or was it did you kind of take the reins well i mostly we we both talked it was we kept it short and sweet though we weren't like doing a whole Yeah, I got to be honest. We don't need to hear that much from the best packaging winners. No offense. I mean, it's an impressive feat, but I'm just saying, I don't know. We don't. But they sent us on like a two and a half hour press journey after that. Like you literally had to go back. You go backstage and you just are like on a. It's like a junkie. All these like little YouTube.

interviews for i don't even know never saw them don't know where they went and they're asking you do they are they asking you good is it like a real interview or is it sort of like tiny micro just checking off a box because lots of tiny microphones you just won the grammy for the best recording package can we get a tour of your apartment yeah basically that a lot of the same question over and over again type of thing you know i get that i get that that's fine okay so you got so how long did it take from victory to having it in your house? I just got it like a month ago. Okay, so it took a while. Yeah, it takes a while. And they spelled your name right and everything? Yeah. That's nice. That's nice. And now I'm in the academy. Oh, great. So now your ass gets to vote. Yeah, now I get to vote. And you get to recommend other people to be in the academy. So I'm trying to, you know. I don't want to kiss your ass too much, but I'm available. Okay. I have one more. I have one recommendation left. That'd be great. Yeah, I do want it. Don't waste that shit on Demi Lovato. She has enough of these awards, okay? Yeah, she's got plenty. I think she's in the Academy, so I think she's good. would be my guess yes you see that's the thing you don't have a lot of friends that aren't in the academy so this is think of it as a make a wish kind of situation so true so true yeah speaking of make a wish i mean i feel like i was thinking about this earlier when i when i was realizing you're going to be on the pod somebody like you in your position you have it's like such a dream job for young people like you're you're a young cool person And you're the creative director for all the biggest artists in the world doing all this crazy shit. If this were like the 90s or early 2000s, you would have like a Disney Channel or like a Nickelodeon show about you or there'd be like books about your career path. And it's a bummer that now all you can do is talk to us really. But I think you should have a Disney Channel show or something like that. The Adventures of Strauss. That's true. Your name is even Kid Show.

friendly you think oh very yeah yeah very imaging explains it all type shit you know yeah is disney channel do they still make shows i don't even know about what happens i bet i bet it's i bet it's bigger than it ever has been and it's just not really on our radar yeah it's just you know it's like bluey yeah i needed like a youtube series maybe or something that's more yeah that's what that is we're showing our age we need bluey but with the little solange well i mean i i feel like you know creative directors nobody knows what they are what they do but a good one gets the job done from what i've seen and it doesn't really necessarily mean that they're the most creative person in the world just you know who the most creative people are you're able to contact them put everyone together get a budget and get it done on time and that's you know just finishing the job is nine tenths of the work is is what i've seen what do you think yeah i mean i was being a manager before i was a creative director definitely like helped a lot in like i think being someone that managers actually like to work with like i am pretty like professional i understand the music industry really well i know how every aspect works i know how labels work i know how managers work i know how live shows work i know how touring works like i know i understand all the bits and pieces um of how it all works and i'm not um i think like the best creative directors are probably like really good at something else before they become a creative director it's not like uh you go straight into creative direction like people are always asking me like i get emails and dms and stuff being like how do i be what you are and i'm like honestly don't try to be what i like i don't like i don't don't you don't want to do that you don't want to do that let me tell you no i think you're absolutely i think you're absolutely right but i think that i think that that title is sort of i don't think people fully understand what it means and if you're 22 you think it's that's just what you want to do you don't know that stuff has to come before when you're 22 you think you open your gmail and nike's like yo do you want to be in charge of the new michael jordan shoes and you're like yeah finally i know what's cool yeah but it really has nothing to do yeah and i think it's it's very like glamorized obviously there's like so many fun parts of it like i'm very lucky i know but like it's also hard and

annoying and there's all the normal things that come with the job yeah you're dealing with fucking lunatics all day long it's a fucking that's 100 it's no that's no joke there's a fire to put out every day it's definitely better than management though so i'm never going back speaking of let's let's talk about let's talk about solange my friend you were telling me the story about how you started working with her And I found it to be interesting. And I was like, oh, when Imogene comes on the pod, I want her to talk about that. Yeah. So how'd you start working with her? Well, I actually started working with her because I was working with Dev Hines first. And they were both being managed by, I was 21 when I first started working with Dev. I just graduated college. Did you say you were interning at Roc Nation, or is that what it was? No, I was interning at DFA at the time, actually, and then I was also interning at MoMA PS1. DFA is the Roc Nation for white people, Jason. I also worked at Roc Nation, but that was later. Okay, got it, got it. It's R-A-W-K Nation. Sorry, go ahead. Yeah, I was interning at DFA and interning at MoMA PS1. during the warm-up summer music things. I met Deb there and started working for... They both had the same manager in the UK. And then they both ended up leaving her. And they were like, you're our manager now, basically. Solange went to Roc Nation and I went with her. And then Deb, I started doing on my own. And then Solange left Roc Nation when I was like 22 or 23. And then I... met with every management company under the sun and was like i have these two artists and they all were like great we can pay you five dollars and you can do all the work and i was like i was gonna do it um but i had a friend and he had done some management stuff before and he was kind of trying to get out of music and go into crypto but he was like i'll help you set it up and then we ended up starting a company together and uh so i did that from when i was like 23 till 20 and then

yeah so you you grew you were at what age did you become an adult um am i an adult now spiritually i would say 15 16 probably based on a new york race i mean growing growing up in new york city being raised in the city you're managing two you know worldwide renowned artists at the age of 22 yeah i think 15 16 sounds about right You're still a kid at heart, of course, through the spirit of dance. I feel like I weirdly skipped a lot of... I definitely partied and stuff. I partied a lot in college. I went to Wesleyan, and it was just one constant party. What choice do you have, really? That was the point. That's the education you deserve. Yeah. Most expensive party of my life. Artisanal Molly water. Yeah. But yeah, I feel like I worked really hard in my 20s to the point of I was not partying like everyone else was. When people are like, oh, were you at the Jane? I was like, I went to the Jane maybe twice. I wasn't that New York kid in my 20s. I was in Dubai doing... the fashion week dj game i don't know which one's better to be completely honest but i'm glad that you found a path that worked for you yeah okay so so you're 22 you're solo and you're working doing day-to-day management with solange And then you're just learning as you go along. Definitely learning as I go along. I didn't really have like a mentor, I would say. I kind of had to just like figure it out. I think managing salon is kind of getting, salon just getting thrown into the deep end. Definitely. Yeah. Did you have to ever, Chris had a meeting with Miss Tina one time. Did you know that? I had some meetings with her too. She's definitely, she's had more than one meeting. I have to find that screenshot of me and Miss Tina on Zoom one-on-one. What was your meeting about? It was just a general baby. Parkwood wanted somebody to help with this and that. And it was like, all right, sure. You know, let's talk about it. And they're like, well, the final boss obviously is Miss Tina. And I was like, yeah, okay. And I thought they were, I don't know. I just didn't think it would actually happen. And then they were like, all right, tomorrow at three o'clock you're getting on. And she's got like the, just the ornate like Houston mansion behind her. Like it's a, it's like a marble foyer is what you could see. Yeah.

I wouldn't want my parents involved in my business like that. Me either. Definitely not. No shade to my parents. You know, they're great. I don't think the Knowleses have a choice, right? Yeah, they don't. And obviously, Miss Tina turned them into greatness. I've always been a Solange head, personally. She's amazing. I mean, she taught me so much. We're still, like, friendly. I don't speak to her that much. But, like, I think she's incredible. And I would not be. She taught me a lot about chairs and lamps. That one Solange song is an all-timer. And I think that that was the peak. Which one? Losing you? Yeah, losing you. Or later? Losing you. That was my era. That's as good as it gets. I don't know if you can do better than that if you're her. Yeah, that song is sick. It's a classic. Let's talk about artists you don't work with. If OVO called you today and said, we need to fix whatever's going on with Drake, what are some things that you would do? I've actually worked for them before on what was called Certified Loverboy. I worked in the office for a bit, but nothing I ever came up with. happen oh you were at the dream crew world headquarters in los angeles they're cool i was down it was chill i came up with a bunch of crazy ideas nothing ever happened sure they're big on paying a lot of people to come up with a lot of ideas and then using one that someone that was already employed came up with is what i totally that was very yeah that's okay but right now if you were oh right now i'm gonna i'm in a big no phase just because i'm feeling um ride honestly i'm like i need i have not been on a vacation and really in like two years i just like need the power of saying no yeah even when i have been on short vacations it's like i'm on my phone i'm checking you know it's like i need to you better ride this way well you need to ride this wave while it's crashing i mean this this shit might go away no you got to be on it for sure i'm locked in for now but i i think next year keeping the roster tight so you're saying you're in your say no era yeah

Okay. Well, hopefully people listening that are trying to hire you will come with so much money that you can't say no. That's what the goal of this podcast is. Totally. You don't have to say who it is, but has there been somebody where it was a big ass bag and you said no and it felt good? Or you were like crying while smiling kind of thing? No, this is good for my mental health. Not really. I think that, honestly, that's what's cool about your job is that you can do it for anyone and make an impact. And it's fun to do that. I think it's like that's a bigger, like Demi Lovato is a bigger challenge than Charlie or whatever. You know what I mean? Because it's a different thing. She's trying to. sort of like remake her image or reappear a different way and i think that's yeah fun of the job is that like nothing is off limits really yeah i think it's interesting too because she has such a different audience that i'm not like super tapped in with but like with charlie it's like i am a fan you know like i understand the fans because you are a 20 you are a 24 year old gay guy on poppers you're absolutely right literally i am so but dimmy's dimmy's fans are just younger i assume like and they've been with her the whole time no they're not younger they're like her age like they grew up with her it's like disney camp rock but how old but how old is she she's younger than me she's 30 three i think oh okay yeah but i think it's it's a little bit more mainstream it's like it's a lot more mainstream it's just like everybody it's like everybody you know like it's like middle america it's 155 million followers on instagram that i'm just like wow bro what wow well it's cool because like with with charlie it's somebody that you already know somebody who's cool so it's just like here's a cool person making good music you love just don't it up and with another artist It's kind of like, you know, making Demi Lovato cool, my words, not yours, is a more impressive feat. Like I always told Carolyn, like anyone can just be like, I'm going to make this model du jour look hot again. It's not that impressive. But if you take somebody who's a stinker and always has dumb photos and they look bad in clothes and you turn them around. Don't talk about Seth Rogen. Don't talk about Seth Rogen like that. They keep trying, but all that Cuccinelli ain't going to do it. It's like, wow, the clothes fit.

Lily Rose Depp again. Wow. Amazing. How did you pull it off? She looks so amazing in those photos. I don't know how you did it. Jon Hamm looks good for once. But like you said, Seth Rogen or just a random person where you're like, this is a trend. If Amanda Bynes, whoever turns that ship around, they deserve the Grammy. Imogene, that's the job you need. That's the next. That's the ultimate. I need Bynes. Give me the Bynes account. I think with Demi, it's like she's so nice and chill. easy to work with. Like, she's very, like... She's been through it. She works so hard. Like, you... I tell her, I'm like, we're gonna... Here's an idea. She's like, okay, I'm gonna work so fucking hard to, like, achieve that thing. And that's, like, that's, like, a necessary component of who I'm working with, too, is, like, they gotta be driven and down for it. Kevin Tame, also, like, on that music video shoot, like, he was fucking... We put him through hell, like... it was like a dusty ass train yard it was a hundred degrees he's sitting on top of a hundred year old train tanker and we're like blowing wind at him there's like bird flying all over him and he's just like taking it it doesn't appear that way he's too rich he's too rich for that i would have been like let's let's come up with a new concept no he was so he was such a trooper it was very julian was like i've never seen an artist like be so down for literally everything i mean that is refreshing to hear though because it is like that's why people like that get to where they are. That attitude is what I think people respond to. Yeah. I mean, Charlie in the Von Dutch video was another one like that, where it was like fucking freezing out. She's on the plane of an, the wing of an airplane. It's like wet. We didn't know that it was going to be slippery. So she's like, it was so stressful. It was four in the morning and Paris to go and Charles to go on Paris. Like we're all like, but she fucking. that dedication is like what you need yeah i mean i get i think that it's the you have to be those people are just wired different that's why they roast the top yeah honestly i think i think it's just like a mental thing like you can have there's a lot of talented people that no one gives a fuck about and it's because

they don't have that dog in them. Yeah. I mean, Charlie's knees after that Von Dutch video shoot, they were like black. Like she just bruised the shit out of herself. I'm scared. I'm scared of her. Honestly, I think she's, I think she's a powerhouse. I think she, yeah, I think she could really put Chris in his place. You know, if it came down to it in a way that would humble me. Don't make me. Yeah. Don't make me exactly. Don't make me. Are you going to have time to go to the wedding? Yeah. Yeah. Good. So we'll all be there. That's so fun. Maybe the three of us can do a three by three DJ set. Who knows? I'm bringing my USBs for sure. I was hoping you were going to say choreography, but I guess we could do some TikTok dances. Yeah, Imogen's like, instead of a speech, I actually prepared a small dance. If there's one... If there's one TikTok dance, I have amazing rhythm. I know it doesn't look like it, but I do have good rhythm. So it's not out of the question that if you found a rudimentary TikTok dance and taught it to me that I could achieve, I could get over the hump. Have you done the apple dance? I haven't done the apple dance, but I need, I mean, I haven't been asked. It's the most rudimentary. I've done it in my head a thousand times, it feels like. Yeah, I've done it in my head. I've practiced a lot. Can you do the first move? Do the first move. Oh, I don't even know. I can't. Not off the top of my head. I have to see it first. My favorite one is the big diagonal swipe down. Love that swipe. Well, there's a hip touch and then the heart thing, right? Yeah, the apple splitting. Yeah, sure. The apple splitting. The metaphorical apple splitting. more of a heartbreak it's a heartbreak to me okay i think it's an apple let's talk about um stage stage design direction all that stuff we have musicians on on the pod all the time we're talking about pyro this and and all that stuff what are some you know when you go see a show like gaga last night are you are you think are you thinking like oh that's tired i want to do this or i'm going to steal that or like are there new

Are we moving into a new direction with staging? I feel like, you know, for next year that you're thinking about. My inclinations are always more stripped back than most of the things that I see. Just like I, like you guys saw Sweat Tour and The Brat Show. And obviously there are like big staging moments, but most of it is just like Charlie as a performer, lighting, like smoke, camera. It's not like, you know. roll out the big inflatable whatever don't talk about don't talk about katie perry not when she's not here to defend herself don't do that we don't bring out the marching band we don't bring out a gospel choir well it's refreshing because i think a lot of people need that because they ain't got nothing else yeah i guess I've been lucky, and I guess it's specific to the artists that I've been working with that haven't needed that. So that could change on future things, for sure. And I would be excited to do a show that felt really crazy, too. Watching the Gaga thing, it's like, oh, I've never even had the opportunity to make something this extravagant and over the top. It just wouldn't fit with the type of artist that I'm working with. Don't say that. Claro could definitely go that way. I think that's who I could see, really. That's my favorite, though. I thought that set, I thought it looked so cool. I thought it was so good and cool. Thank you. Yeah, I love that one. Different, but also really familiar. You know what I mean? As far as it just felt like something from a different era, kind of, that you sort of recognize in a nice way. Yeah, it feels very classic, I think, that one. And both me and Clara have been like, ooh, we could just like... that's a third tour I've done with her. And we were like, this one could be the one we just like keep forever kind of, or like, you know, maybe we variate on it, but it just has this like classic feeling to it that we just, we loved. I think of all the shows I've done with her, we, I think we really felt like we nailed it on this one. Yeah. I think because there's a lot of other shows where it'll be like, what if it's like seventies vibe and, and, or like the John Mulaney Netflix show. It's like, you know, funky old furniture. Actually, I haven't seen that.

hell yeah should i watch that but that it's an exact you know like we'll have like an old mahogany table and like some like those glass grapes that you'd see from this you know like and they'll make it look vintage and kitschy and stuff but it never really feels exactly right and i feel like the claro stage show pulling that off authentically is is more difficult than you think it is because most examples i've seen of that like let's do it throwback vibes This just doesn't feel right. Yeah. So good for you. Yeah. I think like marrying the influences from like the seventies and like the conversation pit and all that stuff, but like making it feel modern and not. Not too stuck enough. What's up with the cans on stage? The cans. You know what I mean? Yeah, she wears the big headphones. You know, the Frank Ocean wears them. They're more comfortable for her. No, I get that they're more comfortable. Look at Jason. He's not wearing any shit in his ears. Well, you mean compared to the in-ear monitor. That's what they're using. I'm saying with Claro, it's stylistically correct. To me, in that setting especially, where it looks right, most people it does not look right, is my point. Most people aren't cuties, Chris. Yeah, but I mean, who else is doing it? What? Who else is doing it? Frank Ocean, he looks like a dork. Who else? No, he looks good. doing it but he also hasn't performed i don't know i don't know if the shows actually started or finished but he was wearing the headphones he was wearing them frank when frank is wearing them it's sort of like when you have the the kid with tourettes at the airport and you have to just put the things on them and let them be on the ipad like it's giving autism my words not yours but with claro it's like you know this is how i like to listen to my music and It works and it looks good. And also when you get the in-ear monitor, it's always some dumb color with like sparkles on it. You get to pick your color. So I think that's the choice of the... I know, but it's always wrong. It ends up looking like a fishing lure. Never forget Drake's with Aaliyah's face on them. Those are my favorite of all time. Damn, that's crazy. I've never seen that. Thirsty ass. I need to look that up. Damn, that's crazy. It is crazy. It was crazy at the time and it's still crazy now. Damn. Okay, so when is the next...

uh break are you going to get a vacation is that ever going to actually happen um i think i have two weddings in september and i think like a week in between i'll do in they're both in europe so in the week in between i will hopefully i need so many outfits guys i'm stressed i feel like you know that's funny you mentioned that because i feel like i've only seen you in casual clothes In a good way. And I can't even imagine what it's like for you to go shop for like something more formal. It doesn't seem like your natural inclination, I guess. It's not natural for me, definitely. Like wearing heel, like dress that's long doesn't, it's very weird for me. Dress that's long. Yeah, you're going to walk into sacks. Do you guys have dress that's long? Y'all got any long dresses? here well maybe i mean you're a busy gal out can we outsource this yeah personal shopper yeah you can outsource it's tough to outs i'm very particular so i don't most things even like my friends have been like oh where this where that i'm like no i need to just go do it myself but there's no shops on the east side there's no shops in li period so it's like i have to So, like, make a whole day about it. You got to do everything yourself, though, Imogen. You got to do everything further together, faster alone, as they say. You're going to have to sew it yourself. Do those words ring true? You got to sew it yourself. Have you cut a pattern? How good are you in it? I have so many outfits I need to. So, I'm going to start a clothing company. And then, because I've got a couple of weddings coming up. I don't have a choice. I need a body con ASAP. Actually, speaking of fashion, have we done any fashion show production? Have we done any stage director? I did an H&M. You came to that, I think. Yeah, I think that's... Big ass party. What was the budget on that one real quick, Imogene? I have no idea. She's like, they didn't let me see that number. It was too big. I couldn't see. No, literally, I wasn't allowed to see that number. Robin got paid $150 for three songs. Yes or yes? I have no idea. I mean, that seems reasonable. That seems pretty reasonable to me. That's a fair deal. When it's a big corporation. Plus, that's reasonable. Oh, wow. Damn.

that's not the person that gets a deal no no definitely not yeah that was a great party great lineup well done i mean obviously that's a different kind of fashion than like fashion fashion but it was fun because there was budget and they were kind of like do whatever you want and i had never really been in a position like that before i didn't three other jobs with them but all attached to an artist so like two with charlie and one with troy and even with those they were like super supportive and just like yeah do whatever you want but this one was like designed for the brand as opposed to the artist i feel like if people are coming yeah i feel like if people are you got like like i said earlier you got to do let them do their thing yeah that's a great example of being like well we came to you so here's the money go do it yeah and it was such a positive experience that i i don't know if they're all like that but i'm like i could do more of that for sure like it was it was cool yeah there was no like oh this isn't gonna work it was like yeah we'll figure it out type shit so we love it we love a say yes you're spoiled say yes you're in your say no moment but we're in our say yes moment i want everyone else to be in the say yes and i'll be in the day now sure yeah yeah yeah different rules apply you're working your way there okay well thank you for taking the time to chat with us my friends well done thanks uh anything coming up you want to plug i guess the new The new Demi and the new Tame Impala. Anything else? Come to Portola in San Francisco. It's going to be so fun. I would take you up on that if I liked any of the music, but it's just not for me. The Prodigy? Moby? Underworld? Oh, I do. I'm big on Moby right now. I think Moby's going to have a real... Moby Live. He hasn't played live in forever. Okay, that... Moby Live. I'm back, actually. I'm very interested in this. I'm very interested in this. What is it? Creation, Chris? Creation? Creation or... Creation. Creation. Well, you know, How Long Gone has been doing a lot of...

festivals lately. We're going to be in Lollapalooza tomorrow interviewing The Dare. So, you know, just something to think about. Oh, The Dare is playing Portola also. I'm sure he is. That motherfucker can't say no. He's in a Say Yes era. The Return of the Rapture. Return of the Rapture. That's huge. Okay, hold on. This is actually sounding way better than I thought because I feel like last year it was a little, I was like, I don't even know what half this is. My girl Arca. I got COVID last year. It was on my birthday. I had a Claro show in Dallas the night before. I got COVID. It was the first Claro show of the tour. I got COVID. Couldn't go to the Claro show. Couldn't go to Portola. Nightmare. So this year, I'm coming back. Well, your first mistake is that you tested, and hopefully you learned from your mistakes. I was forced to. Wait, also Christina Aguilera? Christina Aguilera? Are you back in? It's just a wild mix, but I'm very bullish on Moby play era return. So I think that this is interesting. What are the dates? Can you make sure Christina and LCD are playing at the same time so I can make sure to miss LCD completely? What are the dates? The dates are September 20th and 21st. Unless we get COVID, I might need to come up because we've been planning a trip to San Francisco. We want to go eat at Chez Panisse. We're going to build this around Portola. Do it. We're going to go camping on the way up. You lost me on that one, but yeah, Moby sounds great. Come on, bro. I don't camp either. I like literally only slept in a tent once, but now that I got this new car, my boyfriend's like, you have to camp because you can't be the person with this car and not camp. It's embarrassing. You want no stolen valor. He's never been in LA, I guess. Like no one uses those cars for what they're for. Yeah, truly. It's a creative director car. It's not a camping car. He's holding you to a higher standard, and I appreciate that. The only thing in the back are Gelson's bags, baby. Yeah. No fucking, no hammers in here at all. Not even, I don't care. Dave, you got it all figured out. All right, thank you for joining us, and we'll see you soon, for sure. Don't work too hard. Get yourself some nice clothes. I will try. You deserve it. Thanks. Later. Later.