UPDATE: It seems our favorite animal-dressing Montréalais rockers can’t seem to stay out of trouble — either that or their reputation precedes them. Regardless, last week they had to cancel a series of tour dates when they failed to show up at a St. Louis show. Well, it turns out that was because they were arrested in Kentucky for possession of a controlled substance.

According to the Kentucky New Era:

“Police arrested Arish Khan, better known as King Khan, or Blacksnake, and his tour manager, Kristin Klein, at 2:20 p.m. Thursday. They charged both suspects with possession of a controlled substance, and Klein on a charge of driving with a suspended license, a spokesman at the Christian County Jail said. Hunt said he knows little about the band’s situation. “They’re really hard to reach because only one of them has a cell phone, and it’s like almost out of batteries,” Hunt said. “The charger is in the car that got taken.” Khan was released after 3 a.m. Friday, a jail spokesman said.”

According to MTV Iggy, Khan & BBQ’s booking agent, Sam Hunt, is “as baffled as anyone: ‘I have no idea,’ [Hunt] said, adding it was still unclear how the arrest would affect the rest of their tour. ‘They had nothing going on between Nashville and St. Louis. Maybe they stopped to take a piss.’”

Allegedly that controlled substance was fungus of the magical variety, altho that hasn’t been confirmed by police. Their tour manager Kristin Klein should be used to smoothing over legal rough patches, given that she’s also the Black Lips tour manager. Man, someone give homegirl a raise, stat. We wish them the best of luck, and heard they’re out of Kentucky and probably kissing Canadien soil. Good luck guys! In honor of their current rabblerousing, we’re reposting our interview with the guys from last week…

Hit the Jump to read our Q&A with Mark Sultan, and to peep a 25-minute live video which will shed some light on the antics these guys must get into…

The King Khan & BBQ Show‘s latest full length, Invisible Girl, will be on our shortlist for Album of the Year. If you’ve heard them, or any of their various incarnations and collaborations, they need no introduction. If you haven’t, well it is simply bad ass garage rock throwback with more stones than a gravel pit. Mark Sultan (Aka BBQ Show) and King Khan used to play together in Montreal in the late 90s as the Spaceshits, then on a European tour Khan fell in love with a girl from Berlin and moved there, getting married and making babies. And records, mostly with his band The Shrines. Sultan and Khan got back together and recorded their self-titled debut in 2004, then What’s for Dinner? in 2006, and Invisible Girl is their 3rd long play. Whereas a lot of King Khan & the Shrines stuff is cemented in soulful crooning, King Khan & BBQ Show swerve deeply into Doo-Wap — imagine a slightly deranged Kingsmen covering The Ravens in a beer-soaked backwoods bar.

And their live shows are infamous spectacles of legend, unfortunately we’ve never caught them live. Their partners in crime, Black Lips, got so live recently they got chased out of India for acting gay on stage. When they escaped, where did the Black Lips run to? Why Berlin, to the studio of King Khan, where they caught their breathe, regrouped, got drunk, and together with Sultan/BBQ recorded the awesome Almighty Defenders project, also on our Album of the Year radar. Now King Khan and BBQ Show are on tour, so we decided to ask them some questions and this is what they had to say…

Most of your music seems fairly revivalist in nature. Did your parents listen to a lot of Doo-Wop and Soul, or was that a self-found discovery?
Mark Sultan/BBQ Show: My parents kinda just gave up on music when they got married, it seems. But I found their old albums in a box. Some good stuff that touched upon that kinda shit, but not quite it. There was a good radio show that they would listen to on Sunday mornings, though, that played shit like Chuck Berry, Sam Cooke, The Coasters and others… I only really got into that stuff later. Through listening to covers bands I liked did, or checking out where those original bands drew their inspiration from.

If you had to pick a villain from film history that represents A) Almighty Defenders, B) King Khan & BBQ, and then C) The Shrines who would that be and why? Who of the three would win in a fight?
No idea. We aren’t competitive jocks.

Ok then. Have you ever placed a curse on a club owner, road manager, or booking agent?
Khan has done this in public; I have done it in private.

When the Black Lips returned from India, and found sanctuary at your studio, did they need consoling? Where they legitimately freaked out, or was it just funny to them?
Me and Khan were recording our new album Invisible Girl when they called. It was a really fun surprise. We all crashed together and decided to record at Khan’s ‘studio’ where our stuff was already set up. They were fine. Just kinda bummed about their India situation; they weren’t in shock or fucked up. We all had a laugh.

Anala – King Khan & BBQ Show

Third Ave – King Khan & BBQ Show

Was that madness the impetus for the Almighty Defenders record, or did you guys plan on recording that album beforehand?
The actual impetus was the fact that we had always talked about doing some kind of recording and we were together with time and a 4-track at our disposal. But that album was never planned. We all had a few ideas and we all wrote shit. Contrary to blabby webdicks, we were there for less than a week and created something. It is a testament to fun and friendship, not an attempt at a classic disc.

You said Invisible Girl “includes a song so vile that it cannot even be mentioned.” Was it “Anala”?
I was referring to a song called ‘Tastebuds’ which you may not have as it only appears on some promos. Anala is not vile at all.

Tastebuds.mp3 – King Khan & BBQ

Well, her name is Anal-a and it does include the line, “I love her (w)hole”, but maybe it was just in my head. Anyway, is it weird I find “Third Avenue” beautiful?
I don’t think so. I wrote it, and despite its melancholy, it makes me happy.

If you were lost in a supermarket, in what aisle would we find you?
Dairy. And Diapers.

Lastly, what albums or tracks would you recommend to introduce neophytes to Doo-Wop?
Lemme just say that despite what has been written and despite what we ourselves may have even said (to simplify things), I personally prefer R&B vocal group sounds and post-gospel to Doo-Wop, which to me is more novelty-like, white or ‘safe’. I like some of it, though. I would say just get some 5 Royales or Falcons to start. There are a million things. Ask the folks at Norton Records. Get a mailorder catalog there and order away.

So there you have it. Check out Invisible Girl, it really is something special.

Upcoming Tour Dates:

11/20/2009 Dantes, Portland
11/21/2009 Chop Suey, Seattle
11/23/2009 The Red Room, Vancouver
11/25/2009 The Warehouse, Calgary
11/26/2009 Pawn Shop, Edmonton
11/27/2009 Amigos, Saskatoon
11/28/2009 Royal Albert Arms, Winnipeg
11/29/2009 Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis
12/01/2009 Mad Planet, Milwaukee
12/02/2009 Logan Square Auditorium, Chicago
12/03/2009 Northside Tavern, Cincinnati
12/04/2009 Lees Palace, Toronto
12/05/2009 Babylon, Ottawa

And below, a great live show from Chicago…best quote:

“If you feel the need to fuck someone tonight who looks like an animal or a zombie, then King Khan and BBQ fully support your decision to have anal sex tonight.”

Remember when Black Lips were thrown outta India for being gay? Apparently, after fleeing said country, Black Lips headed to Berlin, Germany and ended up making some sweet, sweet music with King Khan and Mr. BBQ man Mark Sultan. That might not sound too innocent, but you know what does…The Almighty Defenders. It’s raw and all the more charming for it. Peep, “Bow Down and Die”. This is what it sounds like when you get drunk in your garage with a few talented buddies and make music you love…it sounds like you love doing it. Hurray for guiltless music. Look for the new album on Vice at the end of September.

“Bow Down and Die”

Here’s a video for their first ever live performance. They now have a new fan over here at LIAS.