Starfucker's Vowel-Free and on the Dancefloor

Sluggish after a night spent driving from Portland, Oregon, to Oakland, California, Starfucker's lead singer, Josh Hodges, was still happy to talk about his electro-dance trio's unique vision and provocative moniker, one that's gone through quite a few changes in just the last year.

Starfucker

Location Info

Map

The Prophet Bar

2548 Elm St.
Dallas, TX 75226-1420

Category: Bars/Clubs

Region: Downtown & Deep Ellum

Photos

2 user reviews	Write A Review
Save to foursquare	0

Details

Catch Starfucker Friday, January 13, at the Prophet Bar. Painted Palms and Alexico open.

Related Content

• Murder by Death's Matt Armstrong on The Cure, SXSW and John Congleton
  March 13, 2012
• David Walker Built Cabinets For The Stones, Saw Devo Melt Down and Witnessed Freddie Mother Fucking King
  April 17, 2012
• Keep Austin Fun Fun Fun
  November 10, 2011
• Here Are Some Photos of the V Spot
  October 27, 2011
• One Week From Tuesday, Relive Rolling Stones' July 1978 Show at Will Rogers in Fort Worth
  October 9, 2011

More About

• Josh Hodges
• Portland (Oregon)
• The Rolling Stones
• Nine Inch Nails
• The Postal Service (Band)

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Music Newsletter: Keep your thumb on the local music scene with music features, additional online music listings and show picks. We'll also send special ticket offers and music promotions available only to our Music Newsletter subscribers.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

"The name didn't come from that Rolling Stones song," Hodges says. "Besides, that's not even a very good song. There's a Nine Inch Nails song called that as well, but it's purely coincidence that we are called Starfucker and those two songs have that title."

Though the name was already taken by an all-girl punk act from Belgium, Hodges said it just felt right. "Thankfully, the girl band broke up so we didn't worry about a lawsuit," Hodges explains. "But I don't think you can even copyright a name with the word 'fuck' in it."

And even though the name Starfucker felt right to the Portland-based group, their label thought otherwise. On promotional material, the band is often referred to simply as STRFKR. Seems the all-caps version is a lot easier to sell.

"We get so much grief from some longtime fans when they see that," says Hodges, "but STRFKR is just easier and looks really cool on posters."

Absence of vowels aside, Hodges and crew still create colorful, dance-friendly electronic pop to go along with the aesthetic. Their most recent Polyvinyl LP, Reptilians, features edge-of-disco songs such as "Death As a Fetish" and "The White of Noon," which have drawn comparisons to The Postal Service and Passion Pit, though Starfucker's dance DNA goes back to NYC in the early '80s. Hodges certainly doesn't mind the more modern comparisons.

"There are certainly worse bands to be compared to," he says. "People are always looking for something tangible to relate our music to, and if we play a smaller town where people aren't familiar with us, it's always cool to bring up those bands."

While some dance music is written off as just a thumping beat without a melody, Hodges wanted to make the beat simply the byproduct of a great song.

"I just wanted to write dance songs that could stand up as regular songs with choruses and verses," Hodges says. "But if you're at one of our shows and you don't like the music, you can still always dance."