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