Every "Atomic Dog" has his day: You(genious) and George Clinton. Woof! Photos by anotherlevelphotography.com
There were rumors floating around this week that You(genious), Houston's parenthetical Misfit of R&B, had died during Hurricane Ike. We gave him a call and he took a few minutes to address the rumor, its origins and the possibility of writing a song about all this nonsense.
Houston Press: Hey, bro. We got an email in our inbox saying that you had died in Ike.
You(genious): Yeah? [laughs]
HP: So, is it true? Are you, in fact, dead?
Y: [laughs] No. I got an email myself. I had a bunch of friends call me and I'd answer the phone and they'd be like, "I thought you were dead!" It reached all the way to New York. I got a homeboy that lives in New York. He thought it was a publicity stunt.
HP: Do you have any idea how the rumor got started? It was Perez Hilton, wasn't it? That guy is such a douche.
Y: I don't know how it got started, but it sounded like some shit I'd do.
HP: What? How so? What do you mean?
Y: Oh, [the email] said that it was 4 a.m. and I was in dress socks and a bathrobe yelling obscenities at Ike and I got mad at the hurricane and took my Cognac glass and threw it and the wind picked it up and hit me in the head and sent me into a coma-like state. Then I died in the hospital.
HP: Wow. So you were, in effect, trying to fight a hurricane. That's great.
Y: [laughs] Yeah, I was trying to fight a hurricane. Well, it said I was mad at the hurricane and that I was under the influence of cannibus and prescription drugs.
HP: So where were you during the hurricane, then?
Y: I was, I was drunk and high off of prescription drugs.
HP: Oh. Okay. You were in Houston then?
Y: I was in Houston, yeah. I was at Steve Torrez's house, the drummer from Spain Colored Orange.
HP: So can we expect a song from this whole Hurricane Ike thing? If so, can we suggest some titles? "There's a Tropical Storm Brewing in My Pants" could be good. Or maybe "Gettin' You Wet Like Ike"?
Y: [laughs] You mean like an actual song? Oh my God. Maybe I'll do a mashup of me and Ike Turner. - Shea Serrano
Catch You(genious)'s "Resurrection Show" opening for Spain Colored Orange at Boondocks this coming Thursday. Until then, enjoy his sexy, seXXXy sounds on MySpace or download his latest CD for free at www.thelovemachine.org.
