LMFAO

With opening electro sets by DJs Lucky Lou, IKON and KSM
» Where: Pipeline Cafe, 805 Pohukaina St.
» When: 10 p.m. Wednesday
» Cost: $35 ($32 presale tickets available at Pipeline and all Local Motion and Prototype stores on Oahu)
» Info: 589-1999 or www.groovetickets.com
» Note: LMFAO will also perform at 7:30 p.m. July 2 on Maui at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center’s Castle Theatre; tickets for the all-ages show are available at www.mauiarts.org

After having one of their “best shows ever” at Pipeline Cafe last October, professional party-rockers LMFAO return to Honolulu next week for a mid-summer sexytime session at the Kakaako nightclub.

While it’s only the second time Kendal “Redfoo” Gordy and Skyler “Sky Blu” Gordy (Redfoo’s nephew) will have performed in Hawaii, the two have visited repeatedly over the years with family, which includes their father/grandfather, legendary music industry executive Berry Gordy. The Star-Advertiser caught up with them via cell phone last week while they were on tour in Ohio to chat about their recent success and upcoming plans.

Star-Advertiser: The last time you guys visited was your first time on stage here, right? Do you remember that show?

Sky Blu: Yeah, (it was our first time) to perform, but we’ve been out there many times … to catch some rays and surf it up.

Red Foo: It was like, packed. Sold out. It was amazing how crazy the fans were. After we did that, I had a feeling it was one of our best shows ever.

SA: Is LMFAO still ‘Party Rock’-ing around the world with the dials turned up to 11?

SB: Oh, it’s up to 15 now. We’ve got a drummer and a guitarist added to our show.

RF: We’re on the road now. I just woke up. We were in Columbus, Ohio, and now we’re in Cleveland. We’re taking two buses for the next two weeks.

SA: Can you give us a ranking of the top three party cities in the United States?

RF: You gotta say Miami.

SB: And you gotta say Vegas, of course.

RF: Yeah, and you gotta say Vegas. And you know what you gotta say? You gotta say Honolulu. And I’ll tell you why.

It’s because all those places have one thing in common — the weather is better. I can jump in at the beach — or you can go into the pool in Vegas — but I can jump into the water in my drawers, and that’s what makes it a party. Less clothes.

SA: You two started as DJs/clothing designers. What got you to that next level and opened the door to music?

RF: We were piranhas. We had a very clear goal of what we wanted to do, what we set out to spread the party vibe. So we had to make songs that would work in the clubs, and then DJ and perform.

There was no real hesitation at all, you know. You might have some DJs who say they’re a DJ, but they don’t get on the mic. But we got on the mic, we got on the T-shirts, we were making drawers, you know?

SA: It took a minute for the relationship between you and your father/grandfather, Berry Gordy, to come out. Did your family take your music seriously when you got started?

SB: We just let our music speak for itself. That’s something that’s a truth about us. It’s gonna come out sooner or later, but we’re not gonna say this or that. We’re RedFoo and Sky Blu.

RF: You know, I don’t think they were judging the music, at first, because they actually loved the music. But they always judged our career decision to go into music.

The music industry was, before we got in, we were in a bad time, you know? The record companies going out of business and stocks going down. We were destined to figure out how to make money doing something we loved.

All we knew was that we loved to do it and there had to be a way to make money. And they couldn’t see that. They wanted us to go to college and do the normal route. But we didn’t have faith in college or the normal route … and so that was part of our plan, too.

We loved it so much it was all we wanted to do, so we had to do it at the highest level.

SA: How do you keep the momentum going when you’re partying so hard?

SB: Earplugs and alcohol!

RF: I think the secret is exactly what we were talking about before. It is the balance between the business and the creative. It’s the respect of the business aspect, the respect to take that phoner, like we did today. It’s easy for us to say, “I’m tired,” or, “I’m drunk.”

I mean, Sky Blu is probably still drunk from last night after the Lakers did what they did. A lot of shots going on, you know? But the respect for the game, you know. It’s like the Lakers. No matter how much they want to party, they still gotta go to the parade.

We’re lucky because we kinda love it all.

SA: And you gotta credit your family for the work ethic to some extent, after watching them succeed in the entertainment business.

RF: That’s exactly true. The legacy is so strong, and it’s all been fun.

We’ve seen the parties. Pops will throw a party, and the party is like a concert. There will be musicians freestyling in the background while we’re eating and you know, if they hit a note wrong, he’ll throw down his t-bone and get up on stage and start conducting.

There’s a level of execellence there.

SA: Are you in the studio right now? Will there be a new LMFAO album in 2010?

RF: We’re doing our best to finish it. We’re on the bus and making it right now.

SA: Will the new album have the same vibe — still party rockin’?

RF: Hell yeah… and that’s a good title. ‘Still Party Rockin’.’ It’s definitely gonna be more of the same — but evolved, of course.

SA: But it will still feature the same sound.

RF: Yeah, it’s still gonna be the same sound. You might hear some fusion … after we got the drummer and the guitar player. The rock sound fits naturally. You’ll probably hear some distorted guitar, some live drum energy fused in with it, you know what I mean?

When you see the new show, you’ll get an idea of what we’re talking about. It’s heavy. It’s aggressive.

SA: Will Honolulu fans get to sample new songs at this show?

RF: We might do some new stuff. We’re trying to keep it kind of a secret.

SA: What’s the latest with Mitt Romney? Is that done with?

SB: We’re all friends. We didn’t kiss (and make up), but through our people we’re definitely cool. He’s an official party rocker.

SA: Was Sexy Dudes really the first name of the group?

SB: Oh yeah. It was a little too obvious of a name, but it’s what we started out with.

RF: It’s what our girls around the neighborhood would call us. It’s like, if you walk around the neighborhood and someone says, ‘Hey Red,’ because you got red hair, that becomes your nickname, your moniker.

So if you walk by a group of girls and they’re like, ‘Hey sexy dudes,’ it starts to take over. We didn’t know. We thought it sounded funny at first too, but then we were like, ‘We’re sexy dudes!’ But Grandma set us straight.

SA: Any last words for your fans in Hawaii?

SB: I can’t wait to come down, man. And we will be moving there. Eventually.

RF: I can’t wait to get out there. Actually, we’re gonna be hanging out. We have a whole Party Rock company retreat. And we want to do some big fishing. I’m talking about marlin. I need me some big tuna!