So this is the second show of the tour, how are you feeling?
Noah: Good! Good! We did our first show ever as a four piece last night so we all had the jitters. But we just had to get through that first show with everyone and it was great- so we’re excited about the next show as a four piece.
What are the major differences playing as a four piece instead of just two?
Noah: I feel like we get to do something more true to the record that we couldn’t do before with just the two of us.
You guys had a bit of an unorthodox start, meeting at the house show, and you (Alex) weren’t even really doing much of your own work yet?
Alex: Yeah I’ve never been in a band before- the first songs I ever wrote were for this band. So it was really exciting to kind of learn how to be an artist and musician. I felt like all of a sudden we were really playing a lot of shows and had people listening to our music that it felt like- What?! We’re a band?! So definitely it was really cool to learn as we went. I learned a lot really fast and am a lot more confident than I was a few years ago. It’s cool to feel now like we’re really doing it.
What have the biggest changes been when going from just starting out making music to now- touring internationally?
Alex: I think realizing when we recorded our record that- Oh, shit! We got this. When we did our EP I could hardly even play the guitar, but when we did our record I was like- Yeah! Woo! We’re nailing this. We know what we’re doing now.
Noah: We also learned each others strengths during tour.
What’s your biggest inspiration when writing or recording your music?
Alex: I think our biggest inspiration is 2000’s top 40 hits, things we grew up listening to. Nothing that our music really sounds like, but just songwriting structure or tones. A lot of music we grew up with we really keep referencing. I feel like we’re inspired by a lot of artists that are part of our scene right now as well.
What advice do you have for women or femme-identifying people in the music industry?
Alex: I would say don’t let anyone make you feel like you have to make yourself smaller and that’s it okay to take up space and make people uncomfortable with your art. It’s ok to talk about sex and being pissed off or being girly- everything that women and non cis men are told “oh, that's not a money maker, that makes people feel uncomfortable”- just never make yourself feel smaller for someone else.
On the same note- what can people in the music and arts industries do to make these more inclusive spaces for everybody?
Alex: I think there are a lot of ways. But one specific one that we really try to enforce at our shows is that we want them to be safe spaces- we love when people dance but we don’t want people getting shoved around, because maybe a younger person who’s not as able bodied or large in size can be deterred from going to a show again. We try to keep our show spaces safe and respectful- where everyone takes care of each other. We really want to have a space where women, femme folks, non-binary folks, trans folks- can be themselves in an authentic way and not feel like they don’t matter. We really start on the ground at our shows and make sure everyone feels welcome.
So what’s next?
Alex: Record! A record.
Noah: That’s definitely our plan.
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