INTERVIEW MONSTRE STARR AND THE CZARS: "We are also exploring shows in Europe in Autumn 2026. So please get in touch if you want to book us!"

 

Voyant la composition du groupe: Peter Greenberg (DMZ, Lyres, Barrence Whtifield & The Savages etc...), Jake Starr (Adam West, Delicious Fullness...),  Mike Lewis (DMZ, Lyres, A-Bones, Zantees etc...), Sean Crowley et Nathaniel Osgood (tous ex Delicious Fullness et Hall Monitors), l'annonce de la sortie de l'album de Starr and The Czars nous faisait saliver d'avance. L'écoute de l'album nous a comblé, à tel point qu'il a été classé N°1 de notre Top Monstres de rentrée.

C'est peu dire que nous sommes particulièrement honorés que Jake ait accepté de répondre à nos questions.

Taste question: Which artists have influenced you the most, and can you tell us examples about this influence? Who is the artist you dislike and why will he/she never influence you?

Jake Starr : Well, I was lucky to grow up in a house full of music. My dad liked classical, jazz, and rock-n-roll. My mother loved Motown, Stax, and doo-wop. So, I was exposed to music as a baby. Plus, growing up in Philadelphia, bands like the O’Jays were local heroes. That was my foundation. Later when I was 10 years old, I bought “Kiss Alive” and Aerosmith “Rocks” and those two albums changed my life. From there as a teenager, I was voracious for rock-n-roll of any genre. Bands that again changed my life were MC5, Stooges, Radio Birdman, Misfits, Damned, Sex Pistols, Sonics, Monks, and all 1960s British Invasion and garage bands. Of course, DMZ was one of my favorites once I heard their major label album, so now playing with Peter Greenberg (guitar) and Michael Lewis (bass) is a dream. I started my first punk rock band when I was 16 and have been singing and dancing ever since! The artist I dislike? So many of them! I guess I’d have to say Kid Rock and any nu-metal bands. That shit is horrible.

 

 Intellectual question: Which non-musical artist (filmmaker, writer, painter...) played an important role in the way the band evolved…

Jake : I’d have to say Charles Bukowski and Arthur Rimbaud for me. Both pushed the boundaries of « acceptable » behavior. Haha. Sean mentioned Phillippe Petit, who is a reminder that there can be beauty, depth, and magic in the very simple seeming things. 

 

 

History question: Can you sum up the life of your group?

Jake : I’m going to try to make this short. I was the singer in Adam West and there was another local Washington DC group that I loved called The Hall Monitors lead by singer/guitarist Sean Crowley. After I broke up Adam West, I asked the Hall Monitors to be my backing band for my first solo 7" in 2010 : « I’ve Got Mine » b/w « Sorry ». It was so much fun that we decided to try the collaboration as an actual group and became Jake Starr and The Delicious Fullness. After many 7"s and an LP, we played our last show in 2019 right before the Covid pandemic. When we discovered that Peter Greenberg had moved to DC from New Mexico in 2023, we asked him if he wanted to play with us. It felt great, so we ended up playing a few shows in DC before we decided to hunker down and write/record a new album. By then, Michael Lewis joined us on bass. We took on the new name Starr and The Czars, recorded « It’s the Bad Times » and got Chaputa/Ghost Highway/KOTJ Records to release the vinyl LP. Now we’re the local heroes of Washington DC ! We are also exploring shows in Europe in Autumn 2026 so please get in touch if you want to book us!

 

 

Champollion question: What is the meaning of the band's name?

Jake : Don’t let anyone tell you differently : The hardest decision any band can make is agreeing on a band name ! We didn’t want to keep going as Jake Starr and The Delicious Fullness, so after a brutal voting process, we settled on Starr and The Czars because it kinda rhymes. Haha.

Buddy question: Who has helped you most in your band's adventure and without whom you wouldn't have had the same evolution?

Jake : I’ve been lucky to have met and stayed friends with many rock-n-roll celebrities over the years. I cannot name just one, but nearly everyone I’ve met in the European rock scene has supported me… and I am incredibly grateful.

Spinal Tap question: What's the most stupid thing that's ever happened to you?

Jake : I have so many stupid tour stories that I cannot choose just one. But if I had to, I would say that when Adam West played Drammen, Norway, in the middle of a blizzard in 2005, no one showed up. We loaded in, set up the equipment, sound-checked, and literally no one showed up. So we had to pack everything up into the van and keep moving. That was really stupid.

 

Question Happy Few: What's the biggest benefit you've derived from your band, and can you tell us about it?

Jake : Being able to work and write music with such talented people is my biggest benefit. I love to perform on stage, so anything that gets my creativity and songwriting going to produce an amazing album and perform it for fans is marvelous. I’m lucky I get to do this.

Art question: What book, film, record and current band do you really like?

Jake : Speaking in the contemporary: book is the Debbie Harry biography “Face It: A Memoir”. Film would be “Bugonia”. Record and current band would be “Purgatory” by The Mystery Lights.

Funny question: What's the funniest thing that's ever happened to you?

Jake : I tend to have several life-defining moments that occur as I’m just a witness/bystander. One is I was walking to the DC Metro and I saw a homeless man sitting on the wall talking to himself. Coming towards me (and him) was a woman with enormous breasts. I knew he was going to say something, so I made sure I was lined up with her and him as she passed. As expected, he screamed out, “You takin’ those titties to work?!?” She kept walking nonplussed while I nearly fell to my knees laughing.

Camembert question: What's France to you, apart from the land of wine and cheese? (you're allowed to Google it, the theme is rock and underground culture).

Jake : I adore France. I have been lucky to have toured all over France with Adam West in the early 2000s. I go to Nice every year to visit close friends. It’s truly one of my favorite countries. And Les Grys-Grys were an amazing French band before they broke up!

 

Sponsorship question: Who can you sponsor for Les Monstres Sacrés, and how can you convince us to talk about them?

Jake : I assume you mean ‘How can I promote a band I like for Les Monstres Sacrés ?’ I mentioned The Mystery Lights earlier (and you probably already know them). Sean likes the new Token Hearts album (featuring the Woggles’ Buzz Hagstrom), so we can promote them.

 

Patriotic question: Make the list (between 5 & 10) of the top records made par artists of our country.

Jake : I love French Yé-Yé, so Francoise Hardy, Sylvie Vartan, and France Gall all get a spin in my house. On the male side, Jacques Dutronc is amazing. Other French garage bands I’ve liked are Les Grys-Grys, French Boutik, Les Thugs, and Les Playboys. Maybe I’ll do a French Yé-Yé album as Jake Dutronc ? Haha.

 

 

Patriotic question 2 : Make the list (between 5 & 10) of the top records made by artists of your country. 

Jake : Once again, this is hard to narrow down. But certainly albums by MC5, Stooges, Sonics, Love, Doors, and one million garage bands in the USA. 

 

 

Thanks so much for the opportunity to talk ! 

Here are links to follow Starr and The Czars and Chaputa Records:

Follow Starr and The Czars for music, updates, and live news: 
Instagram @starrandtheczars 

Facebook facebook.com/StarrAndTheCzars

Bandcamp starrandtheczars.bandcamp.com

Follow Chaputa Records for more Garage Rock bliss:

Website: chaputa.com

Bandcamp chaputarecords.bandcamp.com/music

Facebook facebook.com/ChaputaRec/

Thanks a lot Jake !