I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, a region where the aura of the 90s music scene still hangs like the constant gray clouds. These artists are icons in many places, but only walking down the dreary streets of downtown Olympia is “I bet Kurt Cobain touched this” heard as a partly ironic, partly hopeful saying. For a lot of people, this distanced deference or actual nostalgia felt listening to old records is the last they will get of the era. But last Thursday the 21st, a packed room of fans at The Sinclair got to live (or re-live) some of this energy as The Julie Ruin performed.
Frontwoman Kathleen Hanna, joined by guitarist Sara Landeau, bassist Kathi Wilcox, keyboardist Kenny Mellman, and drummer Carmine Covelli, make up the “punk-pop-dance feminist” band The Julie Ruin. In 1999, Hanna created the original Julie Ruin record alone in her bedroom after Bikini Kill broke up. The Julie Ruin proper was put together in 2010, and Hit Reset is their second record and tour circuit.
The night opened with a performance from Seth Bogart (of Hunx and his Punx). His set was fun, colorful, and elaborately costumed and outfitted with props. 80s-style ads for products like “mantyhose” and fake PSAs asking “where did all the daddies go?” interluded his performances. His stage presence was fun and overtly sexual, but it was the visuals accompanying his entire set that rounded out the performance into a smart, snarky commentary on materiality. Bogart, who collaborated with Hanna on “Eating Makeup” on his solo album, was an exuberant and sweet start to the night.
The wave of feminism Hanna is associated with was about speaking out, about standing up, about being angry at a world that makes life in a female body inherently dangerous and difficult. While The Julie Ruin carries some of the 90s feminist-punk sound, they stand strong and fresh amongst their contemporaries. From their well-received Courtney Barnett cover to screaming lines like “start a Kickstarter for your heart” during “Planet You”, it was clear that The Julie Ruin embraces and riffs on the unique culture of 2016.
Lyrically, The Julie Ruin falls right alongside the brutally honest, arrestingly raw style of Bikini Kill, but the electronic elements are a lot more like her intermediate project Le Tigre. Still, watching Hanna perform the raw, angry monologue verse of “Be Nice” felt like a flashback to her raw punk performances.
Hanna and keyboardist Mellman (of Kiki and Herb) maintained a natural banter throughout the night. The small size of the venue and candor of the performers created a safe intimacy to the night, as Hanna discussed the stories of abuse and healing her music deals with, drawing the crowd into “Hit Reset”. Their music felt like a vital release in world that still feels like a battlefield for so many people.
Though Hanna took a performance hiatus from 2005-2013 to take care of herself while undergoing treatment from Lyme disease, she shows with The Julie Ruin’s album and tour that it’s never too late to make a comeback—and that her fans will always be there.
Krill may have split up about ten months ago, but that doesn’t mean the old Boston-based bbs immediately stopped making their brand of mumbly, hazy, experimental rock. And they’ve just released an EP to prove it.
The trio has given us just five more songs, just about 25 more minutes of their lo-fi, slacker sound. Still, the band insists that they haven’t reunited, but just wanted to share the music made in the band’s final days. On the EP, simply called ‘Krill,’ they cover subjects ranging from violence and cowardice on “Happy,” to ~the void~ on 6.5 minute-long “The Void.” And the EP’s last track, “Billy,” barely hits the seven minute mark, and lingers.
But listen to the five song-long EP for yourself below. And if you’re not quite ready, that’s ok. They’ll be here. Krill forever.
Coming off of a stacked tour with Mitski and Jay Som, Japanese Breakfast will hop back on the road to tour with Porches.
Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast has detailed her experience with the loss of her mother through the band’s cathartic debut album, Psychopomp, and recently shared an essay on the topic for Glamour. Zauner’s live performances have proved to be nothing less than painstakingly beautiful and Boston will be lucky enough to catch her on this Porches tour at The Sinclair on October 5th.
9/4 – Washington, DC – Rock and Roll Hotel 9/5 – Richmond, VA – Strange Matter 9/6 – Durham, NC – The Pinhook 9/7 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade (Hell Room) 9/10 – Houston, TX – Walter’s 9/11 – Austin, TX – Barracuda 9/13 – Phoenix, AZ – Rebel 9/15 – San Diego, CA – Irenic 9/16 – Los Angeles, CA – Echoplex 9/17 – Berkeley, CA – UC Berkeley 9/18 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent 9/20 – Portland, OR – Analog Theater 9/21 – Olympia, WA – Obsidian 9/22 – Seattle, WA – Crocodile 9/24 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court 9/26 – Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge 9/27 – Omaha, NE – Milk Run 9/28 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th St Entry 9/29 – Madison, WI – High Noon 10/1 – Detroit, MI – El Club 10/2 – Toronto, ON – Horseshoe Tavern 10/3 – Montreal, QC – Bar Le Ritz 10/4 – Burlington, VT – ArtsRiot 10/5 – Boston, MA – The Sinclair
Over the weekend, Regina Spektor announced her first new project since 2012’s What We Saw from the Cheap Seats. The album, titled Remember Us to Life, will be out on September 30th. Her new single “Bleeding Heart” showcases her distinct airy-but-strong vocals over electronic samples and signature piano turns.
The new album features 11 tracks, with three bonus tracks on the deluxe version.
1) Bleeding Heart
2) Older and Older
3) Grand Hotel
4) Small Bill$
5) Black and White
6) The Light
7) The Trapper and the Furrier
8) Tornadoland
9) Obsolete
10) Sellers of Flowers
11) The Visit
12) New Year (Bonus Track)
13) The One Who Stayed and The One Who Left (Bonus Track)
14) End of Thought (Bonus Track)
The album is available for pre-order on her website.
She hinted today on Twitter about a message coming out on her mailing list soon–let’s hope it’s a tour announcement!
Joyce Manor, one of the bands fueling today’s pop-punk revival, will be hitting the road this fall. The California four-piece will playing 20 dates across the country alongside fellow emo purveyors, The Hotelier. The tour will kick off in October, following a run of dates Joyce Manor has scheduled with New Paltz duo Diet Cig in August, and will feature support from the chip-tune punk outfit Crying.
This will continue a busy year for both bands, as they are each fresh off their own separate tours that saw them come thru Boston. Joyce Manor played the House of Blues in June as part of Modern Baseball’s ‘Holy Ghost’ Tour, and the Massachusetts-based Hotelier recently headlined the Sinclair on July 14th in support of their acclaimed 2016 release Goodness. Anticipation is high for their return to the city, as they will be playing two dates at the Sinclair on October 19th and 20th.
Check out the full list of dates below:
Joyce Manor 2016 Tour Dates:
* with Diet Cig
^ with the Hotelier
& with Crying
08.11 – Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups*
08.12 – Louisville, KY @ The New Vintage*
08.13 – Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle
08.14 – Atlanta, GA @ The Wrecking Ball
08.15 – Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theatre*
08.16 – Nashville, TN @ Third Man Records
10.05 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall^&
10.07 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater^&
10.09 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile^&
10.10 – Missoula, MT @ The Badlander^&
10.11 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby^&
10.12 – Denver, CO @ Marquis Theatre^&
10.14 – Burnsville, MN @ Garage^&
10.15 – Chicago, IL @ Metro^&
10.16 – Detroit, MI @ El Club^&
10.18 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg^&
10.19 – Boston, MA @ Sinclair^&
10.20 – Boston, MA @ Sinclair^&
10.21 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church^&
10.22 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church^&
It’s time to gear up to head to Fort Adams State Park for Newport Folk Fest 2016! The storied festival returns for three days of music, sun and plenty of Lagunitas beer on deck.
For newcomers to the fort, it’s hard to sum up what makes the festival worthy of a trip — and, inevitably, fanaticism. Sure, Newport is a beautiful setting for a music festival. It’s also not a daunting, sprawling festival — capacity is limited to just 10,000 attendees per day. A string of mind blowing bookings — Jack White, Roger Waters and more — in recent years also play a role in making it a huge attraction. It sounds ridiculous and cultish to say, but there’s something intangible about Newport. A simple list won’t do it justice: You just need to go.
This year’s lineup is no slouch either: Patti Smith and Alabama Shakes anchor the weekend, along with a Flight of the Conchords set that seems likely to be full of surprises. Couple the headliners with an undercard full of tried-and-true folk faves, as well as artists waiting to be discovered.
Newport Folk Fest has a schedule released [pdf link] for the weekend. As with any multi-stage festival, there are bound to be heartbreaking choices to be made. I’ve decided to step in and try to sort out the schedule conflicts for you, in one handy guide.
(Note: I use the Newport Folk Fest app to help me navigate the schedule, but once inside the festival grounds, I tend to abandon all planning and intent. Is there really any point to this guide? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)
Julien Baker
When/Where?: Sunday, 1:30 p.m. – Quad Stage
Who’s Julien Baker up against?: Son Little, Glen Hansard
Whoa, really?: Nevermind the fact that Glen Hansard hasn’t played the Boston area in almost a decade: Getting a chance to see Julien Baker at this point in her meteoric rise trumps just about anything else. Her debut solo album, Sprained Ankle, is something to behold. Besides, Glen Hansard finally has a tour date in Boston in October.
Still not sure, dude. What song do you recommend?: “Something” is a beautiful song.
Frightened Rabbit
When/Where?: Saturday, 2:55 p.m. – Quad Stage
Who’s Frightened Rabbit up against?: Lady Lamb, Ryan Adams with the Infamous Stringdusters featuring Nicki Bluhm
Are you kidding me?: It is a cruel twist of fate that I’ve literally campaigned (ok, tweeted) for both Lady Lamb and Frightened Rabbit to play Newport for years, and even I have to make a choice. Frightened Rabbit has turned in passionate, gripping festival sets over the years. They also happen to be playing in the same time slot and on the same stage as Courtney Barnett played last year, and her set was one of the undeniable highlights of the fest. It’s a perfect middle-of-the-day set time.
You seem like a diehard fan, idk if I trust your word alone: Say no more. Give Midnight Organ Fight track “Old Old Fashioned” a spin.
You’re messing with me.: Ruby Amanfu is a truly wonderful singer, and her latest album Standing Still is a gem. It was recorded in just six days and includes a reinterpretation of Kanye West’s “Street Lights.”(I maintain that Kanye West is on Newport Folk Festival’s aspirational booking list.) Amanfu has also worked with the likes of Jack White and Hozier, both Newport Folk Fest alums.
Hmmmm. Still not sure: Seriously — check out “Street Lights.”
Raury
When/Where?: Friday, 1:35 p.m. – Quad Stage
Who’s Raury up against?: St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Fruit Bats
You are insane: Raury is by all accounts the first hip hop artist to be booked by the festival. But that alone should not get you to the tent, of course. Raury makes protest songs that are fiery. It should be the perfect thing to get the Friday crowd going.
I’m not convinced: Raury made his debut performance on Colbert. It also happened to be the night a presidential candidate appeared on the show. Here’s that performance, of “Devil’s Whisper.” Talk about an apropos song for the guest.
Basia Bulat
When/Where?: Friday, 12:25 p.m. – Quad Stage
Who’s Bulat up against? Please don’t say The Staves: The Staves, Freakwater
What gives you the right?: Basia Bulat’s latest record Good Advice sparkles with electropop flourishes. It’s the kind of music that fans of Lucius might find themselves enjoying.
Lucius? Why’d ya have to say Lucius?: Yeah. Give “Fool” a listen.
Newport Folk Festival gets underway Friday, July 22. Tickets are still available if you can travel back in time to December 2015. Then again, you wouldn’t need this list to begin with if you could time travel.
Ovlov’s Steve Hartlett has us in a constant flurry of emotions. After the band’s most recent hiatus, Hartlett comforted us with a new project, Stove, which put out one of our favorite albums of 2015, Is Stupider. In 2016, we find ourselves fortunate enough to have a reunited Ovlov and a Stove EP, Is A Toad In The Rain, on its way.
Stove has lent us some insight into Is A Toad In The Rain with a new song, “Graduate and Congratulate” and a video for the song to boot! You can get your copy of the EP through Exploding In Sound on August 5th. Preorders are also available.
On July 8th, Compton rapper ScHoolboy gave us his long awaited Blank Face LP. The album gives Q fans what they’ve been waiting two years for since his last effort Oxymoron debuted at No. 2. The record, although not selling as well as his debut initially, is arguably the better work. Blank Face LP has a very good chance of really taking off with this tour, beginning in Indianapolis at the end of August. Joining ScHoolboy for select dates will be Joey Bada$$, who will be just wrapping up his current tour with Pro Era. ScHoolboy will make his way around the World and come to Lowell at a ‘TBD location’ (likely the Tsongas Center) on September 9th.
Check out all of ScHoolboy’s tour dates along with his third installment for his short film Black Thoughts from the Blank Face LP.
ScHoolboy Q Blank Face World Tour w/ Joey Bada$$:
07-22-24 New York, NY – Panorama Festival
08-30 Indianapolis, IN – Egypitan Room at Old National Centre
08-31 Royal Oak, MI – TBA
09-01 Toronto, Ontario – Sound Academy
09-06 Wallingford, CT – Oakdale Theatre*
09-08 Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory* 09-09 Lowell, MA – TBA*
09-14 Fairfax, VA – EagleBank Arena*
09-16 Raleigh, NC – The Ritz*
09-17 Myrtle Beach, SC – House of Blues Myrtle BEach
09-18 Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore Charlotte
09-19 Atlanta, GA – The Tabernacle*
09-21 Louisville, KY – Louisvlle Palace*
09-23 Nashville, TN – TBA*
09-24 Memphis, TN – TBA*
09-25 Chattanooga, TN – TBA*
09-27 Orlando, FL – TBA*
09-28 St. Petersburg, FL – TBA*
10-01 Austin, TX – Zilker Park
10-02 Oklahoma City, OK – The Criterion*
10-04 New Orleans, LA – House of Blues New Orleans*
10-05 Houston, TX – Revention Music Center*
10-06 Dallas, TX – South Side Ballroom*
10-07 San Antonio, TX – Aztec Theatre*
10-08 Austin, TX – TBA*
10-09 El Paso, TX – TBA*
10-10 Albuquerque, NM – TBA*
10-11 Phoenix, AZ – TBA*
10-13 Oakland, CA – Fox Theater*
10-14 San Francisco, CA – TBA*
10-15 San Diego, CA – Observatory North Park*
10-16 Las Vegas, NV – TBA*
10-18 Los Angeles, CA – TBA*
10-21 Seattle, WA – WaMu Theater*
10-22 Vancouver, British Columbia*
10-23 Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium*
10-24 Kansas City, MO – TBA*
10-25 St. Louis, MO – TBA*
10-26 Clive, IA – 7 Flags Event Center*
10-27 St. Paul, MN – Myth*
10-29 Milwaukee, WI – The Rave/Eagles Club*
11-03 Auckland, New Zealand – Logan Campbell Centre
11-04 Sydney, Australia – Hordern Pavilion
11-05 Newcastle, Australia – This That Festival
11-08 Brisbane, Australia – Eaton’s Hill
11-09 Melbourne, Australia – Festival Hall
11-10 Perth, Australia – Metro City
11-21 Helsinki, Finland – The Circus
11-22 Oslo, Norway – Sentrum Scene
11-23 Stockholm, Sweden – Annexet
11-24 Copenhagen, Denmark – Falconer Salen
11-25 Hamburg, Germany – Docks Hamburg
11-26 Warsaw, Poland – Klub Progresja
11-27 Paris, France – Zénith de Paris
11-30 Luasanne, Switzerland – Les Docks
12-01 Nimes, France – Paloma
12-02 Zurich, Switzerland – Komplex 457
12-04 Esch-Sur-Alzette, Luxembourg – Rockhal Club
12-05 Brussels, Belgium – AB Main Hall
12-06 Frankfurt, Germany – Gibson
12-07 Cologne, Germany – Live Music Hall
12-09 Utrecht, Netherlands – Tivolivredenburg
12-11 Manchester, England – Manchester Academy
12-13 Glasgow, Scotland – O2 ABC
12-14 London, England – O2 Academy Brixton
12-15 Birmingham, England – O2 Institute Birmingham
Three years after the release of Bitter Rivals, Brooklyn noise-pop duo Sleigh Bells appears to be picking up momentum. The band released silky new track “Hyper Dark” late last night, just over a month after the release of single “Rule Number One“. While there’s no official confirmation of an album in the works, the quick succession of new releases suggests that hoping to hear more soon isn’t completely ridiculous. Until that day comes, we still have the two piece’s just-announced fall tour to look forward to, complete with a stop at the Sinclair on September 19th. According to the band’s Twitter, the announced stops are an initial run, with additional tour dates to follow.
Give “Hyper Dark” a listen and check out the announced tour stops below.
8.31 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
9. 1 – Detroit, MI @ EL Club
9. 2 – Chicago, IL @ North Coast Festival
9. 3 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
9. 4 – Denver, CO @ Riot Fest
9. 7 – Washington, DC @ U Street Music Hall
9. 8 – New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge
9. 10 – Asbury Park, NJ @ House of Independents
9.12 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
9.13 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
11.11 – San Diego, CA @ Observatory North Park
11.15 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
11.18 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
11.19 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos
Upon first listen Brooklyn band Big Thief’s debut album Masterpiece might sound merely like a straightforward folk and rock n’ roll album, yet somehow they’ve become one of the most revered new acts of 2016.
What makes them so special is a sound that stands out without a definitive single song but their debut album’s overall completeness. It’s start to finish movement without gimmick or trend or even anything remotely hinting at a desire to fit in somewhere. Its just plain good and plays perfectly on long summer drives, sleepy Sunday mornings, and everything in between.
Its straightforwardness doesn’t make it simple, however. There are layers, textures, and a rollercoaster of emotions musically laid out on the album that when you start to peel away at it track by track you’ll realize how passionate and gut wrenching it is below the surface. Dig a little bit further into singer-songwriter Adrianne Lenker’s story and you realize the 24-year-old has been preparing her whole life for this moment, and the only part that might she might be able to chalk up as luck or maybe more accurately fate was the day she met her guitar player and musical muse Buck Meek.
Lenker’s story in music begins in Minnesota where she was able to dabble into the world of music and in particular recording at a very young age. However, it would take a journey to Boston and a stint at Berklee for her to become a true musician confident enough to stake her claim in the indie rock world.
By the time she reached New York it would be safe to say she was equipped with all the tools required to be a singer, songwriter and crafty guitar player. Her voice expertly rides on the edge of vulnerable cracks while dictating lyrics and melody up and down the musical scale with ease. Her observational approach to songwriting describes the world she sees around herself one glance at a time, touching upon all the senses and detailing time and place.
Lenker is also noteworthy, and perhaps under appreciated until you see her live, as a crafty of a guitar player. Her control of the instrument while drawing feedback, playing intricate chord substitutions and overall tonal sound all offer proof that she more than knows her way around a six-string.
However, all of this preparation comes at a time when talent doesn’t necessarily mean success and finding a supporting cast to call your band and dive into the rigors of reckless early career touring doesn’t always come so easily. That was when fate stepped in.
Lenker’s musical partner Buck Meek’s backstory is one that parallels Lenker’s; their musical tastes and lust for the road the same. Meek’s off-kilter, piercing guitar licks and solos are the perfect juxtaposition to bring Lenker’s melodic and stirring vocals and lyrics to fruition.
In 2014 Lenker released a solo album called Hours Were the Birds, but it was A-Sides with Buck Meek that would solidify the potential of the their new musical relationship.
Shortly after, they were able to use the combination of the two early self-released records to do the second most important thing to them besides making music, travel and play shows. A year later, after recruiting drummer James Krivchenia and bassist Max Oleartchik to join them, they became a rock band called Big Thief and recorded their first record as a full band, completely on their own along Lake Champlain. This time the results were a little different. After sharing the video for the title track “Masterpiece”, buzz began and competition from interested indie labels ensued. Nebraska’s Saddle Creek, a label where the likes of Bright Eyes and Hop Along found homes, ended up winning over Lenker and company and upon its release became one of the most raved about records of the year.
Now, with the album finally out almost a year later, their lust for the road is on full throttle, which brings them to Boston this Tuesday on a boat cruise chartered by Boston Harbor Cruises with Providence’s Deer Tick at the helm. We were lucky enough to catch up with Lenker before the show to chat about her time spent in Boston, growing up as a musician in Minnesota, and most importantly the fateful day she met Buck Meek.
Allston Pudding: I guess I’ll be obvious and ask how did you and Buck initially meet?
Adrianne Lenker: Initially we met at this market the first day that I moved to New York. I was just moving my stuff in and I went over to this corner market called Mr. Kiwi and I saw him standing outside. I recognized him from Boston, although we had never formally met…because he played in a band in Boston that I would see around sometimes. The first day I moved to New York. Then we started playing songs together.
AP: When was the first moment you guys realized you had some great musical chemistry?
AL: We started out learning covers- playing John Prine songs, Michael Hurley songs, and just learning and singing songs together. I guess that’s when we realized it, just through hanging out and playing guitar in the park. It was just very natural to spend time making music together and that evolved into playing our own music together.
AP: You guys had to sit on Masterpiece for quite a while, how long ago was the album made?
AL: Well, we made it in July of last year and then it finally came out May 27th, after mixing and mastering and getting the vinyl pressed, which takes a little while these days. It’s been less than a year, almost a year, which is not that long relatively?
AP: Were the songs written long before that though?
AL: Some of them I wrote during the session. There was one that I wrote on the way to the session. There are few that I definitely wrote right around the time that we recorded so a lot of them are only like a year old. I guess the oldest one is maybe three years old. “Vegas” and “Paul” were some of the first ones written for that record.
AP: When you finished recording , was it something immediately that you knew you wanted to start shopping around to labels, or that you had a confidence in it that it would get picked up?
AL: No, we were kind of like…we had been booking our own shows for about three years. Buck and I had been touring as a duo before the band. Then we met our band mates and booking as much as possible and running everything ourselves. Up until Masterpiece we had just put records out through Bandcamp, just to release some stuff ourselves.
We didn’t really have a plan for this record. We were considering just releasing it ourselves, because we made it ourselves with our own resources. We brought a bunch of gear and borrowed some from friends. We brought it to this house near Lake Champlain and set up our own recording studio and all of us as friends and bandmates just made the record for very little. We thought there was a big possibility that we would just release it ourselves, but it just kind of happened that our minds were open to the possibility for finding a label, and it happened pretty naturally.
So at a certain point we were like “Yes, it would be a great idea to get support for this record.” We had just taken it as far as we could and, y’know, instead of having like five hundred people hear it, have like a few thousand people hear it. So once we learned and started studying about the business, because I didn’t really know anything, like what a publishing company for music was for or anything. I didn’t know about publicists and having an agent, and a label and a manager and all these people in different roles on a team. I’ve learned so much in the past year about it. I feel like we’re lucky that we found a really great crew.
AP: Were there labels competing for it? Was it just Saddle Creek or did you have to make a decision based on a bunch of interest from people?
AL: Yeah, it kind of happened where once one label showed interest we didn’t just jump on it right away because we had so many questions and we didn’t just want to sign onto something immediately. Over the course, we were contemplating this one label that was interested and asking a lot of questions and sort of taking our time, other offers definitely popped up and it was kind of weird. But yeah, we had to decide between a few; it was kind of a weird thing to have to do, because we were simultaneously learning. So we had to decide which would be the best home, the best fit for our record. All the labels were really sweet people so it was a hard decision.
AP: You mentioned spending some time in Boston at Berklee. How would you describe your time in Boston as a person and as an artist?
AL: I would say it was kind of felt like a big resting place for me, like a pause between the craziness of being a teenager and growing up and then going out into the world and trying to figure out how to live and survive. Being in college more than anything, more than just the curriculum, just being in Boston, living alone and learning how to live. Having the luxury of being able to just make music with people all the time and having that be my only focus while I was in Boston. I mean I had jobs — I worked at restaurants and stuff — but just having this heavy focus on just learning and creating and having an open time frame and space to have that be my only job. I was just constantly playing. I put a band together and just played and jammed. I did a lot of biking, man I had so much fun. I have a really soft spot in my heart for Boston. I lived in Jamaica Plain while I was there. It was great, I learned a lot about being a human being.
AP: I think I kind of discovered that you had some sort of experience being a kid pop star?
AL: I couldn’t really say I was a pop star. I wouldn’t go as far as saying that. I made music from the time when I was 13 onward and I did a couple of projects with my dad. Those are things, when you’re that age you’re just learning so much and the visions that you formed, my creativity, the difference between at that age and someone else was that I had all this support and backing for my music. So it became like a formally produced thing that exists now. But I still consider Hours of the Bridge, which is my first solo record when I moved to New York. I consider that to be my first record. But yeah, I grew up in recording studios and playing a lot and playing bars from that time I was 12 and doing open mic nights. Writing songs, hanging with a lot of older musicians and learning that way.
AP: Do you think that experience helped shape the way your write and play music today, like an antithesis of that?
AL: I don’t think about it that way. I don’t about it as wanting to be the opposite of that. I look at that as sort of my education and not really representing me creativity. But who looks at a drawing or a song they made when they were 13, 14, 15 and it represents them creativity? I look at it as basically my education. Getting to be in studios all the time and seeing how professional musicians worked and being in that creative environment and just getting a feel for it at a young age and getting the feeling of just walking around the city with my guitar and playing open mic nights. I’ve always known that this is what I’ve wanted to do but when I was sixteen I decided I wanted to go to school and slow things down a bit and then I kind of just started on my own as a woman, when I was 21 and moved to New York. And the day I moved to the New York was also the day I met Buck so that started the duo thing too.
AP: You’ve already toured a bunch before Masterpiece was out and are an incredibly tight live band. Was it important to you to play those songs out live before the record came out, to maybe build a reputation up before the record?
AL: Maybe more so before we recorded them. When we started playing the songs out live in front of people they change a lot and we wanted to tour the songs before recording them. So we did tour a good amount before recording Masterpiece, so when we did record them we basically just went in and played the songs. There so much a focus on touring a lot before the record came out to get tighter, but more so because we just wanted to be on the road. We just want to be on the road all the time, we just love doing it. It’s fulfilling.
Big Thief is supporting Deer Tick this Tuesday, July 19th on Boston Harbor Cruises. Tickets are $35 but you’re on a boat!
