Adventures in CRAZYTOWN… WILLY WHOMPA Interview

I spent part of my Halloween weekend this year at Sumthin’ Wikkid This Way Comes.  The festivities were held in the mountains outside of Santa Cruz at Lupin Lodge,  a clothing-optional resort with hot tubs, a sauna, pool, sundeck, bar, yurts, tent spaces, etc. In the last year or so, Lupin Lodge has been home to lots of one to three-day electronic parties and Burning Man gatherings.  I love it there- it lends for a hassle-free, nature-oriented experience that is simply not available when attending festivities in an urban jungle such as San Francisco. I caught up with the show’s headliner Willy Whompa, an up-and-coming producer based in Denver, and gave him a CRAZYTOWN Questionnaire………..

LiS: How would you describe your music?

Willy Whompa: Dope, glitchy bass beats.

LiS: Did you play an instrument when you were younger?

WW: I tried multiple instruments.  Piano, guitar, tambourine.  I wasn’t very good, so quit around 12 or 13.

LiS: How did you get into recording music?

WW: Prefuse 73- Vocal Studies & Uprock Narratives.  He is the reason I make music.

LiS: What equipment and programs do you use?

WW: Livid OHM, Ableton 8, Massive, Vangward, Virus TI, Logic 8, and Octopus.  Oh yeah, and sometimes my Monome 40h.

LiS: What are your three favorite venues to perform at?

WW: Beta Night Club (Denver, Colorado) Root Society (anything they do) and the Fox Theatre (Boulder, Colorado).

LiS: What cities would you like to perform in next?

WW: NYC, New Orleans, and Portland, Oregon.

LiS: What were you listening to in Junior High?

WW: Boards of Canada, some West Coast rap, even some punk and ska.  But my brother helped me stay into good music.

LiS: Which three artists (that you have not performed with yet) would you like to share a stage with?

WW: Opiuo, Vent, and Nero.

LiS: What festivals do you want to perform at?

WW: I have loved slaying camps at Burning Man the last 2 years, so – Burning Man, Shambhala, Lightning In a Bottle, Coachella, and Decibel.

LiS: Which one do you prefer, Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin?

WW: Led Zeppelin.

LiS: Tequila, Whiskey or Vodka?

WW: Whiskey.

LiS: Circumcised or Uncircumcised?

WW: Circumcised.

LiS: Bars or Underground Parties?

WW: Underground Parties

LiS: Dancing or Singing?

WW: Dancing.

LiS: Slash or Axl Rose?

WW: Slash.

LiS: Being Really Rich or Being Really Smart?

WW: Being Really Rich.

LiS: Getting dirty with:

Rosie O’Donnell or Barbara Walters?

WW: Barbara Walters, then I can go for Rosie….

LiS: Lisa Turtle or Jessie Spano?

WW: Lisa Turtle. Don’t know who she is but I like Turtles.

Since answering the CRAZYTOWN Questionnaire, Willy was flown out to New York to perform at Adventures in CRAZYTOWN and Abundae, two events held at the end of November.  He will be returning again in the late-winter or early spring..

Soundcloud.com/willywhompa

Myspace.com/denverbasssquadron