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Dustin Schoof

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Electric Six, fronted by singer Dick Valentine, pictured, performs tonight at One Centre Square in Easton.  (Courtesy Photo)

Electric Six, fronted by singer Dick Valentine, pictured, performs tonight at One Centre Square in Easton. (Courtesy Photo)

INTERVIEW: Electric Six's Dick Valentine on 'abstract' approach to rock 'n' roll

July 12, 2017

If the suit makes the man, then rock 'n' roll is in need of a major wardrobe overhaul.

In fact, Electric Six front-man Dick Valentine has made it his mission to bring style and sophistication back to the stage. 

"I need to see men in suits. I want men to look good" Valentine said during a June phone interview. "One thing I'm trying to do with our band is to make men look better again."

Sharp-dressed men they may be, Valentine and his bandmates know how to deliver a show that would make the stuffiest of the suit and tails crowd break into a dance floor sweat. That rock-til-you-drop attitude will most certainly be on display tonight when Electric Six headlines One Centre Square in Easton. 

Just don't expect Valentine to quickly point out Easton on a map. "When I saw (we were playing) Easton, Pennsylvania, I didn't know where the (expletive) it was. I thought maybe it was a suburb of Philly and saw that it wasn't and hen I stopped researching."

Since the release of their 2003 debut album, Fire,  Electric Six has cultivated a sound that is equal parts disco, punk, New Wave and garage rock, peppered with Valentine's brand of tongue-locked-in-cheek humor and social commentary.

Fire spawned the singles "Gay Bar" and "Danger! High Voltage"; the latter features guest vocals by Jack White. In the nearly decade-and-a-half that has followed, the band has released 12 studio albums, a live recording and two compilation albums -- all while shapeshifting between musical styles. (Their forthcoming effort, You're Welcome, is due out in September.)

"I like Billy Joel because he doesn't just have one sound," Valentine said. "I always like to be a bit abstract... A song about the devil, I'm not really talking about the devil, maybe I'm talking about Tiger Woods instead."

Valentine -- whose real name is Tyler Spencer-- said the Detroit natives are not out to win a Grammy any time soon. Their mission is to continue to deliver the kind of you-should-have-been-there performance that has kept fans enthralled for 15 years. 

"Literally we could play to 10 people one night and 10,000 (people) the next night," he said. "We just need 15 people to come into the door every night. Everything's got to be word-of-mouth. I want to have a direct conversation with the people in the club."

Electric Six performs tonight with Dear Anna at One Centre Square in Easton. Tickets cost $15-$18. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Tags electric six, one centre square, easton
← Acoustic Kitty Project to headline 'fan appreciation' concert at Riverside ParkVIDEO: Dear Anna's Lorenzo Bubba on new LP, opening for Electric Six in Easton →

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