In September, ALT CITIZEN hosted an electric run of 6 live shows throughout New York City to celebrate our 15th anniversary as a publication. At our first show, I was introduced to our headlining band that night, “Lulu Van Trapp,” in the green room of Nightclub 101. The four-piece was unpacking their gear, shooting the shit in French, and being cool as hell off the rip. Lulu Van Trapp consists of Rebecca Baby (vocals), Maxime “Max” Rezai Rashti (vocals, guitar), Manuel Depond (bass, keys), and Nico Baez (drums).
Their East Coast tour took them to Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, and, of course, New York, both Upstate and in the city. I fell in love with them so quickly that I ended up at three of their five NYC shows.
With just a few days left in the States, I sat down for an interview with the two founders of the band, Max and Rebecca, at a dimly lit dive bar in Williamsburg. Manuel and Nico had gone home the day before, and Max and Rebecca decided to stay a few more days.
Max wore a beret, just as he had on each time I saw him, so classically French. Rebecca had her effortless, cool, wavy red hair out. Both of these looks are what I had come to know from the two of them. Gorgeous people, truly. Loud 80s music blasting and violently strong margaritas in hand, we began recounting their time touring the East Coast and, more specifically, what they thought of NYC.
Gianna Dallman, ALT CITIZEN: So, to start, hi!
Max: Hi!
Rebecca: Hey!
You’ve been all around New York this week. What’s been your favorite venue?
Rebecca: It wasn’t really a venue, it was [our friends’] place. I really like a funky stage like that; we played on a balcony above the crowd, and it was super DIY – we couldn’t fully stand because the ceiling was so low. Lots of crawling and fucking around… You really feel like you’re supposed to be as an artist in those kinds of spaces because you are there to create the soundtrack to the peoples’ party. We were there on that balcony like troubadours and we’re just playing for the crowds’ good time. It doesn’t put us on a pedestal, we were just [there] for the party.
Max: I would say the same. I like an unconventional venue; it’s fun. To me, when you’re touring in France, all the venues are kind of the same and you get no surprises. So this venue was so fun to me.
This show was my favorite show I saw of theirs, too. The space was adorned with fairy lights, a makeshift bar covered in solo cups on a folding table in the kitchen, a woman performing acrobatics from a hula hoop hung from the ceiling, and an actual blow-up kiddie pool with someone swimming around in a full leather outfit, because why not. There was a creaky spiral staircase that led upstairs to a loft where the bands played. Above the crowd, they were hunched over playing because of the low ceiling. It was no problem because the band literally ended up hurling themselves off the balcony into all of us down below. While it was slightly terrifying to have people intentionally jump from the second floor and launch themselves down into the pit, it was pure rock and roll. Gotta love Brooklyn.
Rebecca: That’s what’s great about DIY, you’ve gotta keep it alive.
Rock and roll, man.
Rebecca: Exactly!
What’s been the most surprising thing about American crowds?
Rebecca: I wouldn’t put a New York crowd and the rest of America in the same bag; it’s definitely two very, very different vibes. Like, as Parisians, the New York crowd is very similar to the ones we might have in Paris… People here are a little better dressed and a little crazier… Fun is not very Paris, I feel like New Yorkers are more fun.
Crazier didn’t shock me too much, but “better dressed” was not at all what I ever thought someone from the fashion capital of the world would say. Big shoutout to NYC.
How about you, Max?
Max: I would say the same. One thing that I like, especially when you play in America, is even if you play in front of 10 people, at the end of the show they’re all going to say [that the show] was amazing… In France, they don’t do that a lot.
Rebecca: We’re just shitting on France right now. [Americans] are very outgoing. Rock and roll is very in popular culture here. Our shows are not just about the music, I feel that people can connect to it.. Here, people are just rooted in rock and roll, whether we play to 300 people or three people, it’s like so good.
Best thing about America, and strangest or worst thing about America?
Rebecca: The worst thing is your government.
Max: To be less cliche, if we don’t talk about guns or government, the 21+ concerts are strange. I don’t understand the 21+ stuff… When we played in Upstate [New York], it was all ages and crazy.
Rebecca: So crazy.
What are you going to miss about America?
Rebecca: Ugh, everything.
Max: Yeah, the vibe in general. You need to adapt a bit when you arrive, like the food and the way to live across different states. But I am really going to miss the vibes.
Rebecca: The best thing about America might actually also be the worst, apart from the government. The fantasy of America. You can get caught living in a dream; fantasy is such a huge part of everyone’s perception of everything here. It’s a land of fantasy, it’s very exciting but also very confusing.
Would you ever live here?
Rebecca: One-hundred-percent. The whole world is fucked anyway. What’s worse, the fascists or the ones [sucking up to] the fascists? Here, at least when you’re a rock and roll musician, the country is made for it, and the people want it.
Max: [America] is a country where rock and roll is very legit, here we feel very legit.
Max then asks Rebecca for clarification in French on how to say something in English. Every time he speaks French, I love him and his beret more. Following that clarification, he tells me something that really made me smile and appreciate how they viewed Americans — a rare find these days, given, you know, everything.
Max: I don’t feel like a misfit [in America.]
Rebecca: It’s a country of misfits.
That’s kind of our thing.
Rebecca: The average level of musicians here is also insane.
It quickly starts to be astonishingly loud at the bar; someone next to us starts to sing along to the jukebox that was playing Tears for Fears’ “Head Over Heels,” and we lose sight of the conversation for a moment and began cracking up over the very much interesting and very much loud rendition of the song. It was also time for margarita number two.
I love interviewing you guys. This is so easy, I am going to miss you!
Rebecca: We love interviews when they’re clever.
I guess my half journalism degree was doing a good job! Nice.
What is one thing you want your audiences to know about you that they might not know? How would you tell someone who has not had the pleasure of seeing you yet about Lulu Van Trapp?
Rebecca: I read something that one of the guys from Kneecap said in an interview. I am kind of stealing [the idea] from them, but the aim of “Lulu Van Trapp” is to create a safe space for protesting. A safe space for rioting. A safe space for women. A safe space for expressing whatever you feel that is more and more censored. A Lulu Van Trapp show is a safe space for that.
What is one thing you’re gonna take back from New York back to Paris?
Rebecca: A shit ton of ALT CITIZEN socks.
Max: Maybe not how much alcohol I had.
Rebecca: Not the weed either.
Max: Maybe the weed, no, but actually just the vibe. I think we improved the concert a lot… When you’re touring in your own country, you are in your comfort zone a bit. We are a bit shy and stuff, but now we are more aggressive. We will bring this back to Paris and never forget [that energy.]
Rebecca: The fact that when we play in France, we have expectations… The industry knows us better. We’re not dazzled [in France] anymore, well, we are less dazzled. We need to bring back that feeling of astonishment [from touring in the US].
Do you feel inspired?
Rebecca: Yeah, so inspired. We want to go back in the studio straight away.
When can we expect new music?
Rebecca: Soon. We have six or seven new songs and started recording demos of them. We are all independent [from a label] now, so we have a lot of stuff to do.
When are you coming back?
Rebecca: We’re coming back for [not-yet-announced awesome festival] in the Spring.
I am going to miss you guys. When will you be back in New York?
Rebecca: We will probably come back here before [not-yet-announced awesome festival].
So we can look for you in, like, March?
Rebecca: Hopefully. I am manifesting it by saying it in an interview. It is going to be written, so it is happening.
Any final thoughts? ALT CITIZEN is sad to see you go.
Rebecca: We love ALT CITIZEN.
Max: Exactly.
We spent the next hour together, hanging out and reminiscing. I kept feeling a genuine, profound sense of sadness that the band was leaving the US. My favorite moments ran through my mind as we spoke. Every time I saw them play, they lit up every crowd; from breaking strings at Nightclub 101 and hanging from the ceiling, to jumping into the audience at the insane loft show, to a stripped-down set at Silverlinings Lounge at Scott Lipps’ “Lipps Service” show series, I fell in love with them more and more every time. They awestruck every single person at every show. It was amazing to see. I am so grateful they let NYC have so much of their precious time in the US. “Lulu Van Trapp” truly are the ones to watch, and ALT CITIZEN can’t wait to host them as many times as possible, forever and always. We said “au revoir” and off they went. An unforgettable set of shows, unforgettable memories, and unforgettable people.
Photos: Jenna Murray
Stay tuned for what the band has coming up next…
FOLLOW: @LuluVanTrapp
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