About four months ago I blindly emailed Rob Lee asking If I could have a copy of his live teaser track on his myspace.  Without a hesitation he replied yes.  I recently caught up with his alias Wax Stag to discuss his many musical hands, and found us mostly discussing raving, sex and politics.  Actually we did not discuss politics.  But what I did find was that this man was about as down to earth as one could be.  I am honored to have my first interview for my website with this eclectic musical force from St Albans United Kingdom.

Falty   Oi Stag!  Oi Tack Till! Oi Rob Lee!  Oi sometime drummer for Clark and Bass player for Friendly Fires! What some people don't know about you, however, is you are also an acclaimed television actor. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0498099/  Elaborate.

Wax Stag  Well, I do love my acting. I used to be a professional footballer, too, but times have changed, and the only game I play now is the raving game.

Falty And well you do! I do my best raving on trains.  Preferably mid-day, underground on the way to Harlem.  But is ‘Raving’ a game? How does one lose 'to rave'? Transversely, win?  And did I use the word 'transversely' correctly?

Wax Stag  Look on www.dictionary.com. When the 808 and the 303 are writing your tunes for you, you're losing.

F  That’s intense. Flying Lotus and Machinedrum are playing not to far from where I  ive tonight, should I go?

WS  Yes. Or, plan to go at a specific time, and then fifteen minutes before you leave your house, start mucking about with some beats or something. Then spend the rest of the evening trying to decide whether to carry on writing the amazing tune you've started writing or whether to go out. That's a good way to spend a Saturday night; I've done that a few times.

F  Yeah, but that inevitably turns into me masturbating prank calling my ex girlfriend, then complaining about there being no good electronic shows in the states the next morning.  Has your Saturday night ever turned into that?

WS  No, but I'm sure there will be future Saturday night opportunities that will meet that description, should I wish to indulge.

F  New York is crazy.  The subways are so erotic.  Everyone is eye fucking everyone.  How is the public transportation similar or different where you live?

WS  Sounds sexy. The public transport here is positively non-erotic.  Everyone looks at the floor. Or into their lap - which is kind of erotic, I suppose. But nine times out of ten, I'd take the floor over a stranger's lap.

F   I'm just catching up and listening to your recent WFMU set... sick! Your a minimal hybrid of violin slides and pop and lock breaks.  I'm starting to understand the inner aspirations of Wax Stag.  With this recent swell of interest in your stag material, will you start to invest more time into this moniker?  I seem to remember you telling me once that Tack Till was going to remain your #1 project.

WS There's a Tack Till EP out in the new year. It's going to be on 7" vinyl and download. I hope there's going to be an album one day. One day far away... And I just split up Wax Stag. It's over, ok?  Not really. Yes, I'll be spending more time wearing my electronic pop hat (along with some other hats). There should be a Wax Stag album out in 2008.

F  What is it about Short Road that makes people dance? About 500 a day I might add on myspace?

WS Don't be fooled. It's me and my 500 computers. I'm computer crazy!!!  I don't know why people dance to it. I would ask them, but I don't want to interrupt their dancing. And obviously the more they dance, the more money I get - the more computers I can get! So everyone wins.  Remember that earlier question about losing or winning the raving game? Well that's how to win it, right there.

F  I get this warm fuzzy feeling inside listening to Wax Stag material.  When I listen to my own music I mostly beat myself up for not taking the time to really tweak it out.  But Stag makes me feel ok to just chill out and watch the many colored rainbows that are painted on the back of my thin eye-lids.  Eventually I wake up and realize I have not eaten in days.  Computers make me forget to eat and things like that.  Clearly you have some power over them?

WS Well, I just try and keep it simple. I don't use too many plug-ins or too much crazy automation. The computer doesn't feel as though I'm working it too much, so it lets me stay in control. That way, I get to take regular breaks, to eat, make cups of tea, etc. So I feel for you and your rainbow eye lidded bouts of computer-controlled starvation, or whatever. Well, I hope that answers your question.

F  It did answer my question, but I was hoping for an etc. somewhere in there...  So tea it is then, no coffee.  What you got planned in the coming months show wise?  Supporting Clark or Friendly Fires in the near future as well?  I really dig their Paris demo.

WS Tea at home. Strong tea - the stronger the better. And no sugar, ever.  Coffee if I'm out. I do it like that because I've never had a decent cup of tea outside of my own home (or that of a friend or relative).  And because I don't have the proper equipment at home required to make a proper cup of coffee.  Show wise, I'm going to Iceland next week with Friendly Fires, then back to the UK for a show with Clark, then there's a load more Friendly Fires shows - interspersed with some Wax Stag live shows - lined up until the end of the year. The final show I'm playing with Clark is in Rome, a week before Christmas. Friendly Fires are threatening to be super busy in 2008. I'm hoping to get rich off the back of songs like 'Paris'. Although, as the hired hand, I'll need them to be playing stadiums before that happens. Fingers crossed, etc (happy now?)

F Indeed yes.  By the way, slipping Helmet into your set on WFMU was a dope decision. So you're really seeing the world with these guys.  I play bass, I wield an MTD535 and some sweet epifani 2X10's and an Edan world traveler.  Your axe?  You gonna come to the states and play Giant stadium? (editors note, Falty does actually own this equipment, however how he acquired it is a mystery to himself and everyone he knows.)

WS Yeah, Helmet are it. Were it, at least.  My bass is a cheap Fender Jazz copy. Yes, I hope to be brandishing it in Giant stadium - or indeed, any giant stadium - soon.

F Sick.  Yeah Bass was my first Love, i've abandoned it at the moment though : (  So Final words my man, I'm rounding out the end of your WFMU show at the moment in the beautiful crescendo that was the genius of whether report.   Where do you see yourself in 5 years?  And does or does not that include you doing a split 12" with me...

WS  In 5 years? Oh, I don't know. Proofreading? Yeah. If this music thing doesn't work out, then I'm definitely up for a bit of proofreading. You can earn good money doing that stuff.  We can talk about the split 12" nearer the time. Although bear in mind that it's going to be 2012, so it'll all be MP3s by then - split MP3s.  I'll take the left speaker, and you can take the right.

F  Rob, thank you so much man!  Peace peace, and I will take you up on those split MP3’s ; )

WS  Pleasure, it's fun to talk the shizzle and all that! Speak soon, Rob.

There you have it, the man, the myth, the legend.  For all your needs go to http://www.myspace.com/waxstag