Interview with Theresa Wayman of Warpaint

moodgusic got together for an interview with Theresa Wayman who performs vocals, guitar and occasionally drums for Warpaint. We discuss Warpaint's upcoming debut LP The Fool which is out this Monday October 25, Hallowe'en, first Ireland show and her favourite records of 2010 thus far. Warpaint played at the Crawdaddy venue in Dublin Ireland on Thursday October 21.

moodgusic: This is Matthew Larkin here with Theresa Wayman of Warpaint. Warpaint drop their first full length album on the October 25, this Monday. They are playing Dublin tonight at Crawdaddy and they’re about to embark on their UK tour. So, how are you doing this evening? 

TW: Very good.. Very well.

moodgusic: Is this the first time you’ve ever been to Ireland?

TW: Yes. First time any of us have ever been to Ireland. I think we’re all falling in love..

moodgusic: Slowly, yeah?

TW: With Ireland..

moodgusic: So-

TW: Not slowly. hmm?

moodgusic: What do you think of it so far; what have been the most ‘stand out’ things you’ve seen?

TW: Well it’s got a nice, peaceful atmosphere, which is- I didn’t really expect that, and um, the people are all really nice. There’s not the same pretention that you see, sometimes in London, even though I love London and England. But, it feels a bit, in Dublin it feels a bit like London, like you were saying. I noticed that as well. But without that- it’s not as hyper-active and it’s not as- the people are much kinder, softer, and we’ve had some interviews here and it’s been like, not the standard sort of- I don’t know people just seem like more interested in things rather than asking us the same questions.

moodgusic: Really?

TW: Yeah.

moodgusic: That’s good.

TW: No pressure. [laughs]

moodgusic: So we’re days away from your release of The Fool, your first LP. How has the journey been so far, since the release of Exquisite Corpse in 2008?

TW: Well, it’s like- it’s been a pretty steady, up and up and up- as far as like, I guess the timeline goes. In the last year things have really changed a lot, when we signed with Rough Trade, about a year ago, and then did our first tour, ever, really, around the United States, last October. Since then we’ve recorded an album and we’re about to release it, then over here, not to Ireland but to the UK and Europe, like twice and on three large tours and a bunch of little ones, maybe more than that, four or something. I don’t know it’s- it just all makes sense I guess, we’ve been a band for so long that I feel comfortable with what’s happening and the trajectory that we’re on. 

moodgusic: Does it seem.. to sound cliché: like a dream, does it?

TW: Yes. Definitely. It definitely does, I um, y’know this is what we wanted and what we were aiming for a long time ago, but also, nothing we pushed unnaturally for either.

moodgusic: Yeah.

TW: Like, I mean we’ve- people are astounded that we’ve actually been together since 2004, off and on, we definitely took a break but- that we took that long kind of baffles people and to me it only makes all of this make that much more sense, and I feel that much more comfortable with it because I feel like, we weren’t ever trying to be too hasty or, push into something that isn’t deserved, so the fact that it’s happening now it’s like, okay well- makes sense.

moodgusic: And it all began with that Valentines day where you guys got together and just jammed?

TW: Yeah, that’s true.

moodgusic: And-

TW: I don’t know why we were all hanging out on Valentines day, but, I think only one of us had a boyfriend at the time so-

moodgusic: Oh yeah so it was that old story?

TW: [laughs] like oh, let’s hang out together. And cry.. Just kidding. No we made music, instead.

moodgusic: So what’s the story now with you guys, do you each have side projects right now?

TW: No.

moodgusic: So it’s all just focused on Warpaint- 

TW: Yeah. I mean, Stella kind of plays for this guy she has always played with, off and on. Just, if we’re home she’ll do a show with him. His name is um, why did I just forget his name.. Andy Clockwise, he’s cool.

moodgusic: So Exquisite Corpse was really well received, it’s an amazing EP if I may say so myself.

TW: Thank you.

moodgusic: Was there ever any pressure to live up to high expectations that were put upon you guys?

TW: No because weren’t like, y’know I don’t know. No I didn’t feel that way at all. I only felt like “Oh yeah I’m excited to do better than that.” y’know ‘cause that was the first thing we ever did and it’s like you learn so much and you grow, we’ve grown so much since we recorded that EP. That EP happened, when that was recorded we had only played a live show probably five times around 2004. Five or seven times, that’s like nothing. Right when that was done and we started playing live around LA we averaged about a show a week, for that entire year following. We changed a lot, ‘cause we started actually playing live. So I felt like it only made sense to do something else and it never seemed like it was even like that kind of thing where you compare- y’know I can imagine that maybe, if it was like we just had released ‘OK Computer’ or something and it was phenomenal record, mid life span, like then how are we going to follow that up?

moodgusic: It didn’t dwell on you guys at all then.

TW: This is like a completely separate thing that was so long ago and we have a different drummer, I don’t know it just seems like we were just really excited to just be able to get these songs out, and a lot of these songs could’ve been on Exquisite Corpse, well not a lot, but some of them were sort of, were written before Exquisite Corpse. But they definitely have a new life now, we’ve fleshed them out differently now but, yes a lot of them started ages ago. 

moodgusic: You talked about Stella, Warpaint’s drummer. How important was it for you, for you, Emily and Jenny to find ‘thee drummer’? 

TW: I mean, how could you.. 

moodgusic: It’s the core of the band? 

TW: Yeah I mean like.. 

moodgusic: You’d work around ‘that beat’? 

TW: We all work around each other, we don’t just work around her beat, or something, but it’s like beyond important. It’s massively important to have all the members, all the important members- I already felt like I had my dream other two members. And to have a fourth that completes the circle or the puzzle when we’ve been like really dying for that and wondering if it would ever come. That’s like, it’s phenomenal.

moodgusic: Would it be compare to almost like a relationship, find that one aspect of-

TW: Yeah the whole thing is a massive relationship, it’s like being married to four people, plus the music; five and then you have your family and whatever, a boyfriend that you have. I don’t know I’ve like so many relationships I feel I have to consider that i’m just like “wow!”. I don’t even want to have a boyfriend [laughs].

moodgusic: What’s the writing process like for you guys now musically and lyrically. Is it different from what it was maybe before Exquisite Corpse?

TW: No, it’s just the same. The lyrics and the melodies are mostly whoever’s singing it, is the one who’s like pretty much written it, the melody or the lyrics. We all, we come to songs in a lot of different ways. Like, someone might bring a song that’s completed start to finish just of guitar or bass and then everyone adds their parts and we all kind of, we can give each other suggestions and stuff but we don’t really meddle in, I don’t meddle in like other peoples affairs really and let Jen kind of come up with her own ideas. That’s the cool thing with all of us, is that we generally like what’s going on. But we definitely like piece songs together mutually, like “Okay how should we get from point A to point B, we could either go this way, this way or this way, try all three?” we’d usually come to a consensus on which one’s better and sometimes it takes a little while to come to a consensus but not usually.

moodgusic: What are the direct influences that mould the Warpaint sound?

TW: Just feel, and moods. I mean there’s not like, I never really get an idea from like- I mean I do sometimes but not really like I get ideas from other music and go “I want to write a song like that.” We listen to all kinds of music and we just, if we’re jamming out like- we just did this thing on tv, for.. I forget what it’s called, a tv show with Elton?

moodgusic: Was it here in Ireland?

TW: Yeah, it’s like. Fuck what’s that tv show called, when with, under ether or something like that. It’s a tv show, late night music tv show.

moodgusic: I don’t know if we get Irish programming-

TW: In Northern Ireland? Why?

moodgusic: I think we do.. But I mean, I usually don’t watch tv at all.

TW: Yeah I don’t either. But anyways ahh, we’re just like, Jen was playing a bassline and I just started a new bassline that I never heard, she just played something and I started playing to it and I liked what was going on. But like that could become a song, and it just like came from a moment and I was just like hearing something and just playing whatever I wanted to play. It’s not like I go “Oh yeah, that bassline is perfect for me to play like Jimmy Page type riff.” Y’know it’s like it doesn’t happen like that.

moodgusic: You’ve talked about how important it for your releases to have a really live sound, maybe not so studio, maybe not going lo-fi but how important is it to have that sound be so raw for the listener?

TW: Well, it’s pretty important

moodgusic: Maybe to make a pun on the new album, but to not fool them, of what it might sound like, y’know if you listen to some studio, really high end studio music, it’s not going to sound the same live, unless it’s maybe lip-synced.

TW: Yeah. Well I don’t know like, I’ve never, I don’t know. It’s hard I mean I definitely like music that’s sometimes recorded-

moodgusic: That sounds, more true?

TW: Yeah that, but I also enjoy music that sounds like produced sometimes, but a lot of times, no. It’s really important that the recording process like the way we play it embodies like some sort of like live feel. And we didn’t even get to do that as much as we wanted on The Fool. Because we had only just met Stella like three weeks before we recorded, and it ended up needing to be that Stella and Jen really locked down and figure out the parts because, to figure out Stella’s parts ‘cause there’s not very much time to write an album and like Stella just jumped right in y’know? Therefore we needed to go “track by track” kind of, they played and recorded live together, but we did one song live which was ‘Warpaint’, the song ‘Warpaint’. But other than that we had um, I don’t know I think the next album we’ll definitely like- I am a fan of presenting the music the way that it is played live. I don’t, there’s a different art to this and this is like a totally valid thing as well like going into a studio and doing a lot of overdubs and getting all crazy and I think that could probably be fun, but I just, for the most part like I want to use the pedals that I use and the amp that I use and like make it sound the way it sounds live. It just seems like the most natural way I guess.

moodgusic: A thing with Warpaint is that you don’t have a definitive vocalist, you guys all share the vocals-

TW: We don’t all share the vocals-

moodgusic: Oh, Stella

TW: Me and Emily sing most of the stuff and Jen does a little bit. There are a lot of harmonies on this album but there’s live like, Jen probably sings once, or twice like maybe sings a little bit of backing. 

moodgusic: So it’ll really be you and Emily then?

TW: I think that could change and I’d like that to change. I’m totally open to that changing but as of right now that’s like sort of an inaccurate statement, but we like to sing together and make harmonies. There’s like a couple of songs where Jen sings but it’s not her singing anything on her own and it’s like to fill out the space.

moodgusic: What are the plans for 2011, Where can people expect to see Warpaint?

TW: We’ll probably do a lot of the European and UK festivals, that whole circuit in the summer, all the way to September. We’re going to Australia at the end of January.

moodgusic: Oh yeah to do Laneway, isn’t it?

TW: Yeah.

moodgusic: Will you be doing any side shows in Australia?

TW: Yeah we are going to be doing that, yeah I don’t know where yet. And we’re going to tour the United States again.

moodgusic: So you’ll be very busy then.

TW: Yeah.

moodgusic: On Hallowe’en night you’ll be in Belgium, have you guys all brought costumes?

TW: Yeah I brought some face makeup.

moodgusic: And what are you going to dress up as?

TW: I don’t know. [laughs] I don’t know yet, I’m going to try and figure it out. I definitely like, I definitely want to paint my face white and uh, maybe I’ll just be a ghost.

moodgusic: You guys should trick or treat.

TW: Yeah, we should. ‘cept I don’t really eat candy, so then what do I do? Save it for my son.

moodgusic: Or go to places that give you nuts, peanuts and stuff like that you know?

TW: What places are those? [laughs]

moodgusic: That’s a big problem over here, we’d usually egg, y’know throw eggs at the houses that would give us peanuts and wouldn’t give us sweets..

TW: Oh yeah [laughs]. I’d like to do that.

moodgusic: So you will celebrate Hallowe’en as a band then?

TW: Yeah, I kind of wish we were playing a show. We played a show in Texas last Hallowe’en and it was really fun.

moodgusic: Did everybody dress up?

TW: It was odd, there weren’t that many dressed up. There were a couple of people dressed up. Um I have to go soundcheck very soon.

moodgusic: So I’ll just ask you one more question, what’s been the record(s) that have kept your attention the most in 2010?

TW: There’s a record by Conan Mockasin, and I love that album. There’s a new PVT record, and the Ariel Pink record’s really good as well. Just ones that came out in 2010

moodgusic: Yeah in 2010, that’s it. Thanks very much for the interview. 

 

Warpaint's debut LP The Fool is currently streaming in it's entirety, go have a listen ~ http://www.warpaintwarpaint.com/

interview recording ~ [audio http://moodgusic.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/76a98-interview_with_theresa_wayman_of_warpaint.mp3]
interview_with_Theresa_Wayman_of_Warpaint.mp3

Interview with Jake Duzsik of HEALTH

moodgusic interviewed vocalist Jake Duzsik of HEALTH just before the Californian noise rockers took the stage at Belfast's Mandela Hall.This interview took place 08/10/10 

moodgusic: This is Matthew Larkin, interviewing Jake from HEALTH, who's playing tonight at the Mandela Hall with Crystal Castles. So how’s it going Jake?

JD: Uh, all right. I’m kind of tired.

moodgusic: Yeah, you just played Moscow last night?

JD: It wasn’t last night; we were just kind of travelling all last night. So we played on the night of the 6^th, I believe. So today is what, the 8^th?

moodgusic: The 8^th yeah, so it was two days ago.

JD: I’m all fucked up.

moodgusic: That’s no problem.. All right so your latest release: DISCO2, it’s a remix album. What is the remixing process, do you guys approach another band or do you get offers for bands for the remixes?

JD: It pretty much always goes the former on that one, like we find people that we like or are interested in like.. We take it really seriously; it’s very hands on. We don’t want to, um, you know we had the idea to release the first remix record to a company like basically a noise album and that seemed like an interesting way to-‘cause we were listening to a lot of electronic music, but we wanted to work. Like that the albums could stand alone in themselves and sound like fit aesthetically. So it’s not like, we’re not a band that’s trying to like cash in on remix albums or saturate the market, I mean it’s cool that we have four releases, y’know rather than just two. Um, but so the way we approach it is very much like trying to craft, like we’ll say we really like this artist and before even sending them the track, we’ll thing well like what’s the right track for them to remix based on like what kind of music their making. Like if it’s going to be more droney or if it’s going to be more like a club banger or something. So yeah, and we give them notes, you know we’ll say “hey we really like this part, but this part’s shit, so maybe you could take that out or fix something”. So yeah it’s a pretty involved process, but I mean it is them. You know that’s what’s great about it is you can also feel proud of a song without feeling too, like too much hubris or egotism because it’s someone else. Y’know but you get a song back, it’s like you get it in your inbox and you’re like “oh shit that’s good, that’s better than the original” or whatever. So yeah it’s fun.

moodgusic: You said that it’s good that you have four records out, the really good thing about HEALTH is that you release quite frequently. So you have a record come out more or less every year. Should the fans worry about you guys wearing yourselves out maybe burning out and having a big long break?

JD: I don’t think you can afford to do that these days as a band unless you’re Radiohead or something. Y’know like you can’t, um I don’t know what we’d be doing. We’re able to do that because of the remix records though, because it is tedious for us to write and I think we’re getting faster at it now. But y’know we didn’t just like, have a manifesto and figure out our sound, it was like very painfully discovered through lots of experimenting and trying to write songs that were atypical in terms of structure or melody or lack there of. And so we write slowly, so hopefully-we try to have-we try to not go longer than 2 years between full lengths. And that’s why it’s nice for us to feel like we can release-and that’s why on this last remix record it was important to us to also have a single, the lead of track is an original song so but it’s a bit of a hybrid y’know it’s more electronic by nature but we wrote the song entirely ourselves and recorded it. So that way we’re sort of also saying “here’s a remix record and here’s some new material” and maybe a little more of what things might sound like.

moodgusic: So, USA Boys’ the track you’re talking about. It fits very well with the dance aesthetic of DISCO2. Can the fans take as perhaps a look into the future sound of HEALTH?

JD: Yeah I think so, I mean in as much-I think when we released GET COLOR with the single Die Slow like, a lot of people were like “oh wow is this going to be what the record’s going to be like?” and it’s like “no”. Because we weren’t really ready at that point to make a transition to like a really melodic record. And now I think we are, but at the same time, there’s going to be super crazy shit on the record too. It’s not like we’re just going to just make a pop album. But there will be a continuation of things like, certainly those two songs are the most, I guess, immediately gratifying.

moodgusic: So, outside of music what kind of influences do you guys take? Maybe from movies, places you’ve been-

JD: It’s just music-

moodgusic: Just music then..

JD: Yeah. I mean, I guess like-someone asked me this the other day in Moscow and whether or not there was-I guess for me growing up, like I was really into skateboarding and the music surrounding that was basically you know-and there’s this element of like machismo in it, like it’s adrenaline based. I listened to a lot of punk rock, but ultimately it’s just a means to an end of like getting into music. I think what inspires us is music. We’re not very-I consider myself an intellectual guy but I don’t like it when bands pontificate about like y’know “oh yeah well I was reading a lot of Fuoco and I wrote this song” it’s like “fuck you, it sounds like a fall song” y’know, it’s like you know where you got excited and were about to write that song. It’s not because you like meditated or-I don’t know, for some people that works but I think a lot of times that’s hyperbole. So for us we’re inspired by music.

moodgusic: Compare the shows you did when touring your debut self titled record with the shows you were doing last year when you were touring GET COLOR. Was the crowd more receptive to either album?

JD: The crowd was definitely more receptive to the second record, but that may well also be due to the fact that we had been a band for longer and had been building a fan base. Y’know so it’s like when you come out with another record you make more fans and then you have the existing fans that are excited to see you. But I guess I would say that there are certain elements on some of the newer songs that people, I think can latch onto faster. So, crowd responses were much more physical, they were more like excitable than the first record where I think a lot of people, when we toured that record just didn’t know what the hell we were doing.

moodgusic: In 2009 you opened the final shows for Nine Inch Nails, what was that experience like?

JD: Well we had actually already toured with them before, so it was in some ways kind of mellower. Because, y’know we did these intimate shows in various small venues for them. And they were in our hometown, and we already had, like made all those connections, like we knew the crew, we knew Trent Reznor. Before when we toured we did a stadium tour, which was really like-y’know we played hockey arenas and shit, which was really weird for us. To have like 40 tones of lighting rigging. So we had got over that, and the cool thing was we just kind of came in was like “oh we’re going to play another show”. But that experience was amazing, I mean that whole organization and Trent has been nothing but like welcoming to us. Y’know like the last show we played with them like they had us, we played on stage with them and we did like a Gang of Four cover and like I sang with Gary Numan and Trent Reznor. So it was pretty cool experience, yeah it was amazing. That’s uh, everything we’ve done that’s associated with them has been nothing but really, really positive.

 moodgusic: It’s coming up to the end of the year, so for you what have been the records that have came out in 2010 and really held your attention?

JD: Um, I really like the Salem record. I mean I like that band, but it kind of all sounds like it’s one song –

moodgusic: They’ve got a lot of bad press, did you see the show, the live show you did with the rapping? 

JD: Oh yeah, yeah they got like booed off stage and everything. Yeah I mean those guys did a remix for us. I mean I like to listen to their record.. It’s been kind of a rough year for me. Uh I’ve listened to a lot of classic rock lately. Sabbath, um a lot of Thin Lizzy actually, Irish band. Um, I like some of that other witch house stuff, the darker shit like um the band White Ring, have you guys heard of them? They don’t have a proper full length. But yeah they’re really good. I’m trying to think, in 2009 I knew what releases I really liked, I do like the Crystal Castles record quite a bit this year. Like last year I thought the Pictureplane, we took them on tour, like that was my favorite record last year. Last year you kind of had a bigger year, you had like Animal Collective and bands like that.

moodgusic: GET COLOR?

JD: Oh yeah, that’s my favorite! Yeah I like a lot of that weird-we got turned onto a lot of this kind of-the term witch house is already getting this really negative association with it but there’s bands like this kid we got turned on to ‘cause he sampled USA Boys in a song called Rituals. That shit’s really good, White Ring’s really good, um we’ve been kind of listening to a lot of Ministry, but obviously that’s not a new release. I used to listen to that shit a lot when I was a kid and it’s so goofy, but now it’s just kind of like, whatever I’m enjoying it so yeah that’s about all I got for that one.

Interview recording~[audio http://moodgusic.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/b428a-interview_with_healths_jake.mp3]
INTERVIEW_WITH_HEALTH'S_JAKE.mp3

Interview with John Famiglietti of HEALTH

moodgusic interviewed bassit John Famiglietti of HEALTH.

This interview took place on 07/10/10.

moodgusic: How was the show for you tonight?

JF: Pretty awesome. First time playing in Moscow. Kids were
stoked. Pretty great time all around.

moodgusic: Your 2010 release HEALTH::DISCO2 is your second remix record, will the
pattern of studio/remix studio/remix that's emerging be one that
continues for your future releases?

JF: Sure. Well as long as its good. Don't wanna put out anything
shitty, but yeah we'd like to keep it going.

moodgusic: You recorded the first record at The Smell (which was notoriously

difficult for you) and then the second in a studio. How much of a
difference was the process?

JF: Pretty different, however the "studio" we recorded GET COLOR at
was pretty janky and not as much of a step above as we would have
liked. After doing USA BOYS in a real studio, were really looking
forward to doing a new album with that level of production.

moodgusic: The impression I get from GET COLOR is that it was a more cohesive and
melodic album than your self titled debut, GET COLOR definetly strayed
more towards an electronic style, most notably in the closer 'In
Violet'. Was that the blueprint you had before going into the studio:
to take it more in that direction?

JF: Melodic yes, cohesive...perhaps. Yes there was an effort to
make the music more melodic and a little more repetitious. We would
like our music to do what it does without translation or direction.
Still working towards that.

moodgusic: Do you think you'll delve into another style with the next album but
revolve it around the core noise sound?

JF: Yes, and then some.

moodgusic: If there would be anyone right now in music that you all would like to
work with, who would that be?

JF: We had a pretty good pedigree on USA BOYS. Would'nt mind doing
that again.

moodgusic: It's coming up to the end of the year, for each of you, what has been
the record you've been listening to the most this year?

JF: White Ring EP, Gold Panda - Lucky Shiner, Captain Ahab - The End
Of Irony, Crystal Castles II

 

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!