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INTERVIEW WITH DEAD SARA
INTERVIEW WITH DEAD SARA
LA band talks blowing up & their varied influences
LA band talks blowing up & their varied influences
May 7th, 2012
Ben Gill
Category: Interview
4 Comments
Dead Sara are a local Los Angeles band whose self-titled debut album was released last month on the band’s own Pocket Kid Records via Fontana/Universal. Currently wrapping up a string of dates with Chevelle before heading back on the road with The Used and playing as a featured band on the legendary Vans Warped Tour this summer, the hard-rocking quartet has been building a considerable amount of buzz on the strength of their electric live performances and the growing popularity of their single, “Weatherman.” I recently sat down with Dead Sara — comprised of vocalist Emily Armstrong, guitarist Siouxsie Medley, bassist Chris Null, and drummer Sean Friday — in advance of their hometown show with Chevelle at Club Nokia.
I first saw you play at South By Southwest, at Opal Divine’s and later Rusty’s — both small clubs. You guys are the perfect club band in the sense that you’re physical and raucous but capable of dialing it back for more intimate, singalong moments. Presumably with Chevelle you’ve been playing larger stages than you’re used to — how has the adjustment been?
Siouxsie Medley: Awesome!
Emily Armstrong: It took a few days, for me at least.
Chris Null: Tour’s just a whole other animal than just playing shows in your hometown or even at South By Southwest. Being on tour is a different thing — the travel and the wear on the body and all that stuff.
EA: It’s hit or miss.
SM: The different venues, the different crowds, different cities. Everybody reacts differently.
And how are you adjusting to life on the road? How do you spend your downtime? Seen any good movies lately?
EA/SM: [in unison] Sleeping.
SM: We haven’t seen any movies.
CN: It’s been busy.
EA: A lot of overnighters. Driving overnight, sleeping in the van to get to the next venue.
Eat. Sleep. Rock.
EA: Exactly.
CN: Repeat.
One of the things I really dug about your sound is that there’s a very organic character to it, both live and on record. The album was produced by Noah Shain, who has previously worked with Atreyu, Skrillex — still heavy artists, but with a slicker, more polished sound. Is that rawness something that you were consciously going for?
EA: Yeah. But he already kind of understood us. He’s known us for years. He’s been coming out to shows and stuff.
Sean Friday: He felt the same way about it.
SM: Yeah, he wanted it to be like our live show.
EA: When he came out to see this group as it is now, he was like, “Okay, cool,” and he really saw it, and we discussed it, and it basically came down to being the raw, organic energy.
One of the things that I mentioned in my review of the album is that it’s refreshing to see a raucous, hard-rocking band fronted by — if you don’t mind my saying so — two attractive women that doesn’t feel the need to play up the sex appeal aspect. There’s no vamping. I was wondering if that was a deliberate choice on your part and if that’s led to any challenges along the way.
SM: It’s just us. We’re not going to go out of our way to do something that’s not us. We’re just being us. That’s how we are.
EA: We’re musicians.
SM: I think that definitely comes with the territory, but it’s not necessary to do that to be a good musician or a celebrity or anything like that. I think you should be yourself.
So there’s never been any kind of pressure in terms of playing up a certain image? You’ve been fairly free to just do what you want to do?
SM: It’s on us two. It’s how we dress.
Naturally. I kind of wanted to shy away from that. I thought it might be a touchy subject.
[laughter]
SM: There’s plenty of sex appeal in the rhythm section.
SF: I like to drum naked.
SM: We don’t let him though. In rehearsal we do, but not live.
SF: I play naked in rehearsal.
You’ve got to save something for the headlining run right?
EA: He’s a nudist.
[laughter]
I appreciate your restraint. It’s admirable. Listening to your sound there’s a definite nod to the grunge era, but even throwing further back to classic rock and even Americana in some places. Now that you’re booking some high-profile support and festival gigs, is there anybody in particular that you’d really love to share the stage with at some point?
SM: At the Drive-In. We’ve kind of talked about that — that’d be so rad.
EA: The band that we all like right now is The Joy Formidable.
SM: Foo Fighters.
SF: I always thought Queens of the Stone Age would be fun.
CN: Or if Rage Against the Machine can get their shit together. That’d be insane if they did an actual tour.
EA: I think it’s a band that we’d love to just watch after. We could just every night get pleasure out of watching the band.
I guess that becomes a big concern when you’re out on tour and you are seeing them every night. It’s interesting that you mention Rage because in “Weatherman,” that riff is almost pure Tom Morello. It’s just driving in its simplicity, but it carries the song. Are there any touchstone musicians like that — Morello, Dave Grohl, Josh Homme — for you?
SM: Definitely Tom Morello.
EA: For all of us.
SM: We all love Rage, all that stuff. A lot of ’90s.
CN: And ’60s artists. Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix. There’s a lot. Any great rock & roll artist or band out there, we all kind of dig. As long as it’s not too cheesy. I wouldn’t say we all sit there and listen to AC/DC. Not that AC/DC’s bad or cheesy, but it’s different from listening to Led Zeppelin.
Anybody from the less rock & roll, more folky arena?
SM: A ton of folk from the ’60s.
EA: Tons and tons.
SM: Melanie Safka, Joni Mitchell.
CN: Cat Stevens.
SM: Neil Young.
EA: Of course Bobby [Dylan]. I just call him by his first name.
[laughter]
‘Cause you’re tight like that.
Dead Sara Tour Dates:
05/08 – Varsity Theatre – Baton Rouge, LA*
05/09 – Concrete Street Amphitheater – Corpus Christi, TX*
05/10 – Backstage Live – San Antonio, TX*
05/12 – Town Hall – Buffalo, NY ^
05/13 – Northern Lights – Albany, NY ^
05/15 – TLA – Philadelphia, PA ^
05/16 – Paramount – Huntington, NY ^
05/18 – Lupo’s – Providence, RI ^
05/19 – Comcast Theatre – WCCC Big Gig 2012 – Hartford, CT
05/21 – Irving Plaza – New York, NY ^
05/22 – Crocodile Rock – Allentown, PA ^
05/23 – Fillmore – Charlotte, NC ^
05/26 – KLAQ Balloonfest 2012 – El Paso, TX
05/27 – House of Blues – Orlando, FL ^
05/30 – Fillmore – Silver Spring, MD ^
05/31 – Bogart’s – Cincinnati, OH ^
06/01 – The Rave – Milwaukee, WI ^
06/03 – Garrick – Winnipeg ^
06/05 – Starlite – Edmonton ^
06/06 – Macewan Ballroom – Calgary ^
06/09 – Vogue – Vancouver ^
06/10 – Showbox at the Market – Seattle, WA ^
06/11 – Roseland Theatre – Portland, OR ^
06/16 – Utah State Fairpark – Salt Lake City, UT +
06/17 – Sports Authority Field – Denver, CO +
06/20 – Plaza Hotel & Casino – Las Vegas, NV +
06/21 – Great Park – Irvine, CA +
06/22 – Fairplex – Pomona, CA +
06/23 – Shoreline Amphitheatre – Mountain View, CA +
06/24 – Seaside Park – Ventura, CA +
06/27 – Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre – Chula Vista, CA +
06/28 – Peoria Sports Complex – Peoria, AZ +
06/29 – New Mexico State University – Las Cruces, NM +
06/30 – AT&T Center – San Antonio, TX +
07/01 – Minute Maid Park – Houston, TX +
07/03 – Gexa Energy Pavilion – Dallas, TX +
07/05 – Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre – Maryland Heights, MO +
07/06 – Silverdome – Pontiac, MI +
07/07 – First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre – Tinley Park, IL +
07/08 – Canterbury Park – Shakopee, MN +
07/09 – Sandstone Amphitheatre – Bonner Springs, KS +
07/10 – Klipsch Music Center – Noblesville, IN +
07/11 – Blossom Music Center – Cuyahoga Falls, OH +
07/12 – First Niagara Pavilion – Burgettstown, PA +
07/13 – International Centre Arrow Hall – Mississauga, ON +
07/14 – Parc Jean Drapeau – Montreal, QC +
07/15 – Comcast Theatre – Hartford, CT +
07/17 – Darien Lake Performing Arts Center – Darien Center, NY +
07/18 – Toyota Pavilion – Scranton, PA +
07/19 – Comcast Center – Mansfield, MA +
07/20 – Susquehanna Bank Center – Camden, NJ +
07/21 – Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum – Uniondale, NY +
07/22 – Monmouth Park – Oceanport, NJ +
07/24 – Merriweather Post Pavilion – Columbia, MD +
07/25 – Farm Bureau Live – Virginia Beach, VA +
07/26 – Aaron’s Amphitheatre – Atlanta, GA +
07/27 – Central Florida Fairgrounds – Orlando, FL +
07/28 – Cruzan Amphitheatre – West Palm Beach, FL +
07/29 – Vinoy Waterfront Park – St. Petersburg, FL +
07/30 – Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre – Charlotte, NC +
07/31 – Riverbend Music Center – Cincinnati, OH +
08/01 – Marcus Amphitheater – Milwaukee, WI +
08/04 – Marymoor Amphitheatre – Redmond, WA +
08/05 – Washington County Fair – Hillsboro, OR +
* with Chevelle
^ with The Used
+ On Warped Tour
More info on Dead Sara
Photography by Christine Perez
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