How are you today and what is the view like?
Right now I am hungry, and it's kind of rainy outside. I'm moving into a soundproofed 1-person cottage this week, which I'm very excited about.
How long have you been playing and performing and what was the spark that sent you down this musical career path?
I've been playing out since I was 15. I wrote a song for an English project and my English teacher, who owns a restaurant, offered to let me play. The show was acoustic, and my voice was so quiet that I don't think anyone could really hear me. But that was my first show. Will from Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin came, and I was elated (they're from our hometown).
How would you describe your music for people who have not yet heard your songs yet and how does the music of ‘Ings’ differ from that of ‘Plaid Dragon’?
It is lullaby rock. My voice is pretty quiet, but on the same token, I like mean synth and guitar noises. I am very drawn to metal and stereotypical 80s guitar noises. I'm just discovering the electric guitar and I'm at the tip of the iceberg. Most of the album still sounds pretty mellowy and alternative, like the EP, though. I wrote and arranged both the EP, Dog Physics (with the exception of a few collaborations, which are meticulously credited), and the full-length, so Ings and Plaid Dragon are pretty much the same sound, because it all came out of my brain and soul and stuff.
Your EP ‘Dog Physics’ has just been released digitally on bandcamp. What do you think of the bandcamp format for getting your music heard and how is the ‘Pay what you like’ working out in respect of the EP?
Bandcamp rules. I firmly believe in cutting out the middleman.
The title track on the EP ‘Dog Physics’ has a freak out moment mid song, was that the band finally ‘stretching their legs’ after some quieter tunes? Who is in the band?
Musically, it's fun to freak out sometimes. My touring band consists of a pretty consistent crew: Jonathan James (who engineered and co-produced the full-length, plays guitar), Brooks Burrell (who is only 20, but one of the most musically gifted humans I know, plays drums), and Sam Gibson (knows everything about audio equipment and engineered the EP and parts of the full-length). Also, my friend Colin Turnbull plays guitar for in-town shows, he doesn't tour with us yet because he's still in college. He's an outstanding songwriter in his own right. I had them all play on the full-length, and I had lots of other local musicians play on the record, too.
When writing and composing what is the process for you, do you have to be in a particular place or mood? What comes first, music or words?
It's about 50/50. Sometimes I'll have the lyrics around for years before they make sense musically- I wrote the lyrics to Dogs are Aliens in March of 2011, and never thought about it, and then I found them written down on a scrap of paper and was like, eh, I should finish this.
Sometimes it comes to me on my bike or in the car. I have a lot of material on my computer that I am doodling on all the time. For the past several months, I've been trying to be my own manager, which takes a lot of time. I am overflowing with ideas, and I have this feeling that I might just shut myself away this winter and try to bring some of them out.
I used to make it my priority to record an idea as soon as I had it- now I open my computer, have to answer that email or confirm this or that, and I get distracted. I'm learning to be more disciplined, though.
What was the music you listened to back in School/College days that blew you away and do you still sing those songs when playing the records today?
Heatwarmer's first debut (it has since been taken down from bandcamp) is simply amazing. Outstanding. They are this super goofy prog-rock band. Another album that I dearly love is Coralie Clément's Bye Bye Beauté. Beautifully arranged. Also, Feist has good arrangements. Immediately after watching her documentary Look at What the Light Did Now, I went downstairs to the basement and layered all the tracks for the first song on the EP, SoND.
Any bands from your hometown that you can tell us about that we should be checking out?
Kids and Chemicals. Two siblings. Patrick and Liz Carney. Sweeping production from Patrick, and ethereal vocals from Liz. They just put out an EP, and I can't wait to see what they do- they have a glittering, dark sound. Fun fact: their dad was an opera singer in San Francisco.
What has been your favourite Record of 2013 and why?
I opened up for San Fermin at a festival this year, and the performance made me cry. Ellis Ludwig-Leone is an interesting songwriter/arranger. Their record is beautiful. Heatwarmer (from Seattle) is my absolute favorite band of all time, and they put out a record in September. They are also incredible live.
How was your SXSW experience this year and any plans to head to Europe when the album is released next year?
It was kind of silly and hectic and rushed. But I'm glad I went. I don't have solid Europe plans, but I'm going to Japan next Fall, which is cool.
