Fans of Jimmy Century is a electronic/alternative dance band coming to a TV set near you.

Their songs have already appeared on the shows Samantha Who and Ugly Betty, but it’s that unforgettable scene on Showtime’s The L Word that really caused a buzz for the San Francisco-based duo of Alicia Peron and Victor James.

“There are a lot of dance club scenes on The L Word and even more steamy sex scenes, which is what we had the pleasure of being placed in,” Peron says.

“They played our whole Hot Sahara song during a threesome. It exploded on the Internet and our iTunes sales went nuts. Radio stations started wanting to play the song,” James says.

Listen for more of them on your favorite TV shows and a growing fan base online for the eclectic two-some, whose rock/new wave look got attention at the recent Winter Music Conference in Miami. With Peron’s fiery red hair and James’ black goth attire, these two might have fit in better at a Motley Crue concert than dance music’s premiere gathering, but at WMC in 2007 their sound was identified by journalist DJ Ron Slomowicz as the Newest Musical Trend to Watch.

Savvy wanted to find out why we should become fans of Fans…

Savvy: Victor, this look you have going on is sort of Nikki Sixx meets Criss Angel. A bit out of the norm at a convention where DJs are trying to see who has the cooler T-shirt, eh?

James: We once toured with the Goo Goo Dolls and Smashmouth. They cleared the area backstage for the Goo Goo Dolls and the first night we played with them, security chased everyone out except for me. So Goo Goo Dolls singer Johnny Rzeznik comes walking in and security flips out asking me what I’m doing. I said, “I’m waiting for him.” They told me, “We thought you WERE him!” They tried to get me out but then Johnny grabbed me and told the security guy to take a picture of us. I don’t know if I’m a poser or what, but I’ve always had this look.

Savvy: How did you get into the music biz?

James: I started touring when I was 14 just because my cousin’s bass player went to jail. They taught me to play and stuck me on bass.

Peron: I was one of those girls who grew up holding my microphone hairbrush in front of a mirror. I sang all of the Olivia Newton-John parts from Grease at every slumber party and was a lounge singer in college - Fabulous Baker Boys - style. When I got out of school, I got really into new wave.

Savvy: So you’re bringing the new wave and alternative rock groove into dance clubs?

Peron: We’ve been described as an electronic version of Siouxsie meets Goldfrapp meets The Eurythmics, with a little bit of Dee-Lite and Dandy Warhols.

Savvy: Even without a sound, you would probably get comparisons to Anne Lennox and Dave Stewart with a red-headed vocalist and the musician/composer there beside her.

James: We have similarities to those bands with an energetic show. We come from a modern rock background so we love to perform. Our last band, Simon Stinger, was signing to Elektra Records but that ended when the label folded into Atlantic. We’ve been performing for years, but we were in a modern rock band doing it. Now that we’re in dance music, many think it’s a new and different concept. We can play with a full band or as a duo and with dancers in some productions.

Peron: We’re definitely of the thought that the ticket is more DJs and live artists working together onstage. It gets your blood pumping. The DJs are bringing in huge crowds and I can see why. They pump up the adrenaline and it’s exciting. If you mix in the live performers too, it’s the best of both worlds.

Savvy: Your song Hot Sahara is pretty cool.

Peron: Thanks. We’re hoping to see some Billboard charting soon on that song. And we’ve had excellent remixers to work with – Cato K., Eric Kupper, and Lenny B. who’ve taken the song to another level with their own visions.

Savvy: That scene on The L Word can only help. The episode was called Let’s Get This Party Started – I know our readers will be searching for the clip.

Peron: The L Word people have been nothing but great to us, and the show’s fans are such avid music lovers. They’re passionate and committed to discovering the best music out there. We have all of these new friends that we talk to on an ongoing basis, and they turn us on to the most amazing music we’ve ever heard. The L Word is the best place to discover new music, and I’m not just saying that because we had a song on the soundtrack. Aside from our placement, the music is stellar.

Savvy: We imagine that getting a song on TV is a huge boost, especially when mainstream radio just plays a small roster of pop bands.

Peron: Song placement in a show is premium exposure, especially for an independent band like ours. TV & film is the new A&R.

Savvy: What’s the secret to getting on a TV show?

Peron: We have a very good friend & talented licensing agent named Gerard Talbot in LA. He’s the one that does the pitching to these shows and then we work with him to get him what he needs. I can’t say enough about him. He’s lifted us up. I think you need someone with a really hot British accent like Gerard has to get you through the door.

(Laughs)

James: It helps to record and produce your own music because he can call you up and ask if you can change part of a song and then you have an hour to change it before he pitches the song. You can email the altered version back to him so he can pitch it. If the show producer doesn’t like any part of the song, you can make other changes quickly and send it back to them on the spot.

Savvy: For real? That’s pretty sick what you can do with technology these days.

James: We worked on a Dove internet commercial where I probably changed the song about 8 times in a thirty minute period.

(Laughs)

Savvy: Unlike a lot of the artists in the dance music scene, who seem to have multiple versions of the same song on a CD, you have a full album here. Are you overachievers?

James: We didn’t know this because we come from a modern rock background so we recorded a whole album over last summer, but in dance you typically can record a couple of singles and hire great DJs to remix them for alternate versions that will fit into alternate radio station formats and club nights. As far as show placements go, you can make upwards of 5 grand every time one of those remixes is placed on a show. It’s an investment because once you pay the DJs to remix it, and you get it placed, you’ve already made your money back.

Peron: There are also remixers we’ve worked with more than once that we’ve shared in publishing as well. With collaborations, it is more exciting when you can share in the success of it together rather than it ending for them once they’re paid for their remix of our song.

Savvy: How did you come up with the name for the band?

James: Jimmy Century had a spy edge to it, which we thought was cool.

Peron: Nobody else had a “fans of” in their band name. The only problem is sometimes we get called Friends of Jimmy Century. And if you look it up online, it’s always Fans of Jimmy Buffett. We get his fans emailing us saying, “I thought this was a Jimmy Buffett site.” Phonetically I like how Jimmy Century rolls off the tongue.

Savvy: Now that’s funny. But I’m guessing you two have no objections to wasting away again in Margaritaville.

James: We hope your readers will check out our website and request to hear Hot Sahara on the radio and at dance clubs.

Peron: Meet us in Margaritaville.

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On the Web:

http://www.fansofjimmycentury.com/

http://www.myspace.com/fansofjimmycentury

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