Interview: Beastie Boys Round-Table @ SoHo House [08.09.07]

You can forgive The Beastie Boys if they're a little beyond this shit. Staring out as us from their press-conferency table, it's hard not to see the hint of incredulity. Who are we and what are we all doing here? Not that they would ever admit to it but sitting here in a roomful of obscure bloggers, off-the-beaten path journalists, and painfully thin blond girls - it's just kind of a weird scene.

Jewish Guy: Hey, so I write for the Jewish music blog...
Mike D: What did you say?
Jewish Guy: Oh. I write for the Jewish music blog and I was wondering if you feel like you've inspired other Jewish artists?
Mike D: There's a Jewish music blog?
Ad Rock: Wow.

The boys from Broadway look fit and lean and dressed to kill. They admit, in entire seriousness, that they started wearing suits in the studio. Suit buying and suit wearing have become something of hobbies and there is banter about where the suits are from and if they are special suits. They're from friends and thrift stores and, you can be sure, maybe a designer and they are all special suits. Adam Yauch looks the most comfortable in a suit, followed closely by Michael Diamond and finally, looking less than relaxed and maybe in need of some tailoring around the shoulders, Adam Horovitz.


Nervous Brown-haired Kid: Hey guys, um, amazing career, great stuff, you're musical legends. After all this time, um...do you still you need to fight for your right to party?
Ad Rock: ...
Mike D: ...
Yauch: ...
Ad Rock: Do you need to fight for your right to ask that question?
(silence, followed quickly by nervous laughter)

There's something of a defensive tone in the room. The Beasties are out promoting an album with no words and that seems to be a big hang-up. They repeatedly say that they've always made instrumental music, they just usually went on to add words. This time they didn't. Maybe it was the suits. Maybe not. Mike D and Yauch focus on how much they were enjoying making the music and they didn't really mind where it ended up. Fact is. The record has no lyrics. You either can handle it or you can't.

International Music Writer (heavy accent): So, do you feel like being white rappers has been inspiration to other rappers or do you feel that besides Eminem that the white rapper has not become popular like you thought?
Mike D.: Well, what about Vanilla Ice?
Yauch: Or Marky Mark?
Ad Rock: He did very well with those underwear ads.


The guys are definitely tolerating us despite our eclectic reasons for attendance. They seem gracious and engaged and even a little interested. When their publicist starts wrapping things up, Horovitz almost seems sorry. Mike Diamond is joking about the rumors that have surrounded his career and how he is not related to Dustin or Neil Diamond, despite his vague respect for Screech's sex-tape. Even in the stuffy confines of the SoHo House, the room seems warm and full - without a hint of the awkwardness and trepidation that seemed so irreversible 25 minutes ago.

Mike D.: I mean, people spread rumors that I was dead. That's been going on for 20 years and it doesn't seem to have affected me.
Ad Rock: You're better than ever!
Mike D.: ... Let's not get carried away.

[photos by mina k]