Start checking humidity levels, buying painfully-priced sunscreen and regretfully cutting your jeans on account of the fact that you! don’t! own! shorts! Welcome to June everybody. We all have to make sacrifices for summertime.

But, try not to sweat it because THIS June brings more hope than that. Endearingly emotional Brooklyn-alt bands Vagabon and Bethlehem Steel are pairing up this month for their first tour together as fellow Miscreant Records artists. Traveling friendship? Tour dating? Sharing cars? Whatever you label it, there’s a lot of love between these groups as they hit the open roads of the east coast.

In anticipation for their stop in Boston this Friday (6/5), we caught up with Laetitia Tamko (Vagabon) and Becca Ryskalczyk (Bethlehem Steel) to talk about that love and what it takes to plan tours as a duo.

Allston Pudding: First off, can you guys describe each other’s band and why you like each other’s band?

Becca Ryskalczyk: Sure. Vagabon makes a lot of very heartfelt songs. They’re just good rock ‘n roll jams but they also have really great dynamics, which are both really important. Laetitia’s vocals are really strong, and you can always hear the emotion in her voice.

Laetitia Tamko: Hey thanks! I like Bethlehem Steel because Becca’s voice is insane, and I tend to gravitate toward what people do vocally, not necessarily extreme vocalists but just what they decide to do with it and how they play around with their voices. You know? Wow, that’s not articulate at all.

But, I think Becca’s voice really captured me as a fan, and as a band Bethlehem Steel’s also great. I like to see her solo and with the band because they have very good bass lines too, which sticks out for me. The drumming’s perfect. They just all compliment on another really well.

BR: Oh thanks!

AP: Cool. So, when the decision came to tour together, was it love at first listen?

LT: Becca and I are on the same label, which is Miscreant Records.

When I heard Bethlehem Steel’s music, and I was thinking about doing a first Vagabon tour, thinking about who I wanted to spend time with and who I would enjoy watching every night, I just thought “maybe I should ask Becca.”

We’d seen each other around at shows and never really bonded other than hearing each other’s music. But, I knew I would have wanted to spend time with them on the road. I knew if we went on tour, neither of us would be upset about it [laughs].

AP: You already brought up Miscreant Records. Can you tell me about the experience of being on a small label? How have you benefitted from that?

BR: It’s been really great. Jeanette [founder of Miscreant / member of Band Practice] is really great. Since it is so small, she’s been able to give a lot of time and attention to us. We get to play a lot with bands on the label and get to know them.

AP: So this is a June tour with a fair number of stops. What are three things you want to do aside from playing shows?

BR: We’re gonna play a lot of ninja.

LT: [laughs] I don’t even know how to play ninja so Becca’s gonna teach me I guess.

BR: Yeah. You’re gonna learn because we’re gonna play every day.

AP: You mean the camp game with the hand-hitting?

BR: Yeah! …What else do we want to do?

LT: [laughs] I think I wanna do some outdoor stuff, maybe when we’re in North Carolina or Maryland. I’m really excited to be heading to Vermont because I like Vermont a lot. It reminds me of a lot of nature-y stuff.

BR: I’ve never been to Vermont or Boston. I’m very excited about both of those places…Also eating new food. We wanna do that.

LT: That is so important to me: finding good vegan places to eat.

AP: Just to make sure, that was Becca talking right?

BR: No. That was Laetitia. I’m gonna eat a lot of meat [laughs].

AP: What are you most excited about for when you come to Boston?

BR: Being in Boston, making new friends, teaching some people ninja who don’t know how to play ninja!

LT: I’m excited to hang out, and I’m excited to explore what’s it’s like to play every night. Like…we’re gonna be so good after tour [laughs].

BR: So much practice.

AP: This is a weird question, but New York seems like a hub for shows just because there’s a lot of people there. Can a band grow just by staying in that city, or are tours like this kind of necessary?

BR: We’ve definitely grown by just playing here and meeting new people because there are just so many bands and so many friends to make and different venues to play at. A band can definitely grow here.

LT: Yeah. And I think our friends are really supportive, and people in the community are really supportive of our bands and each other. You go to really good shows, and you meet all these really great people.

Being away from New York is important for me because I like seeing how music is different elsewhere and how it varies from city to city. It can be oversaturated in New York, and sometimes you don’t want to go to these shows so I’m really excited to see how other people view our shows.

AP: Are there any underrated bands in New York that you think we should know about?

BR: There are so many amazing bands: Downies, They’re just putting out a new EP. They’re insanely underrated. Ronnie Stone & The Lonely Riders. There are a lot of other bands our friends are in that have their shit together.

LT: PWR BTTM is amazing. What other bands are there?

BR: I don’t know. Painted Zeros–

LT: Oh! Painted Zeros are so underrated. It seems like they aren’t, but they are and they’re so good. People should listen to them more.

AP: How are you guys travelling? Planes, trains or automobiles?

LT: Automobiles. It’s not gonna be a van thing. We just can’t afford to rent one so I think we’re taking separate cars and maybe split up gear.

AP: For those of us that aren’t in bands, what the amount of planning that goes into booking a string of shows like this?

BR: Oh god…yes.

LT: Becca and I have been working on these dates for months now. Becca, do you remember when we started?

BR: Yeah [laughs]. It’s been a long time.

It’s really important to have good friends, and we’re so lucky to be a part of such an important community where people are really willing to help you. I’m so grateful and it’s amazing. It’s still frustrating, but the people help.

LT: Yeah. And booking is not too bad since we both live in Brooklyn. A lot of bands come through here, and you can make friends from out of town. And, when you’re in their city, you can ask, “Hey, do you can to play together?” Something usually can happen out of that.

AP: When you speak of this community that’s of value to you, are you talking about the DIY community?

BR: Definitely. All the people at Miscreant [Records], Shea Stadium, David Blaine’s The Steakhouse and Silent Barn are really important people to all of us. They really help and look out for each other. It’s amazing.

AP: that’s awesome. So, before this tour even starts, do either of you have any informal name ideas?

BR: Oh, I haven’t thought of that. We’ll probably name it after something that happens on tour.

LT: Yeah, it can be based off of an experience.

AP: Last Question: For the phrase “apple of my eye,” plug in each other’s band names.

LT: That’s a good question.

BR: Vagabon is the “whiskey to my empty glass of whiskey.”

LT: Bethlehem Steel is the “nutritional yeast to my popcorn.”