Arsenic and DJ Elixir will tell you everything they don't like about the social and political turmoil in the United States. But far from complaining, this Mesa duo wants to enlighten its listeners so they wake up and start living on their own terms.
"My words are exactly what I see," says Tyler Larsen, whose MC name is Arsenic.
Larsen's fierce honesty is characteristic of journalist Hunter S. Thompson, whom Larsen says is his favorite author. Arsenic and DJ Elixir's latest release, "Gonzo Journalism," was named after Thompson's subjective style of writing that incorporates fact and fiction with the goal of more fully illuminating a story.
"It's hard to find people that are blunt and tell you exactly how it is," says Larsen. "Thompson lived his life to the fullest and did what he wanted."
Larsen, wearing a shirt emblazoned with the band The Doors, says some of his favorite artists are Neil Young and Alice in Chains. Richard Perez, known as DJ Elixir, professes his fondness for Wu-Tang Clan and Bob Marley.
Far from clashing, these diverse preferences find balance in the group's style, which shifts from elements of classic rock and hip-hop to touches of smooth grooves like those of the '60s psychedelic era.
"I don't consider what we do rap or hip-hop," Larsen says. "We mix pieces of all types of genres and try to make our own sound."
"We're like the yin and yang," Perez adds.
The two met playing football in middle school and became best friends during high school. After graduating, they brought ska and hip-hop flavor to a punk band they were in.
"Even then we were trying to break musical boundaries," Perez says.
During live shows, nothing is scripted, Perez adds.
"If Tyler isn't feeling a song, he'll give me a sign to skip to the next track," Perez says. "Our listeners experience something not a lot of people can make them feel."
"We leave people drained when our show is over," Larsen adds.
Perez and Larsen say they want to make music that lasts through time and that people "can relate to even if they've never had the experience."
To expand his knowledge, Larsen says he began reading books by beat poets such as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg.
Influences from these literary free-form philosophers creep into Larsen's lyrical style, which Perez says doesn't have a specific structure or rhyme pattern.
"I'm a hippie at heart," says Larsen. "I believe in peace, free-thinking and free-living."
"Life is love," Perez adds.
Reach the reporter: leah.duran@asu.edu.