During their recent stop in Portland the band took the time to answer some of BLS's questions.
BLS: The release of Want to Give in November was your first full length album. Other than the basics how did the recording process differ than your EP Show Pony?
CO: For this record we did some of the recording ourselves and some at Bunker Studios in Brooklyn. This whole year has been on the road, so it was all recorded quickly and mixed at The Bunker. We did sparse overdubs like doubling guitars here or there or redoing a vocal. Pretty bare bones and live though, and mixed to tape.
BLS: So how does a skater from California and a woman from New Hampshire find two-part blues?
CO: Hah, well when you are very into rock & roll you run smack into the blues, country and folk music. I personally found the blues thru Robert Johnson and Bob Dylan. I got really into slide blues from lots of the delta blues greats and some electric players like Hound Dog Taylor from Chicago.
BLS: I’m sure that you grow tired of comparisons to the White Stripes, So how do you see that you differ from them? What other musical duos do you appreciate?
CO: Well yes we get a little tired of the comparison, although we really dig the White Stripes. We differ from them in as many ways as we are similar. We are very rooted in 50's music, surf guitar and more rock & roll than blues. When I play blues its coming from the country blues, the open tuned acoustic stuff, I just electrify it. Also, Meg and Moselle could not be more different drummers. We really dig Meg's style but the two are like night and day. Another duo we love is the Dex Romweber Duo, they really rip. Other musical duos we love are Everly Brothers, MGMT and Bruiser Queen from St Louis.
BLS: How has your music been shaped by elements of your individual backgrounds?
Frank: I grew up in Southern California around a lot of punk rock and hip hop. Skate video soundtracks shaped my taste in music early on. Just so much diversity from Motown to Beastie Boys, Wu Tang, Beatles, Black Flag, Stevie Wonder etc. I think this is why I like to jump around in genres, I could never play one style or kind of music.
BLS: Moselle as a former Junior Olympic athlete how has the discipline you learned in your training translated to being in a band?
Moselle: I think being 'body aware' is the biggest thing I gained from being so involved in sports as a teenager. I also cross country skied and ran long distance. Now being a touring musician, drumming for an hour sometimes 6 nights in a row is very athletic too. You need to take care of your body, stretch, eat right and not drink alcohol every night otherwise you will crumble after a month!
BLS:The musical world is filled with some amazing female drummers, Moselle are there any female percussionist that you sight as inspiration? Beyond gender, who are drummers you truly respect?
Moselle: For female inspiration, Sarah Romweber of the Dex Romweber duo, hands down. Beyond gender, I love the theatrical antics of Keith Moon, and while I clearly don't drum in his style, I've been inspired to be more of a show person and at times outrageous personality behind the kit.
BLS: Frank, as part of the band the Messengers your father learned the ups and downs of the music industry. What are the greatest lessons you’ve learned from him about the industry and music in general?
CO: Well the music industry couldn't be any more different from then to now, so honestly not much. I guess I learned not to sign with Motown!
BLS: What are some benefits and drawbacks of being both a band and a married couple?
Moselle: No drawbacks for us. We don't think we'd be doing this if we were not a couple.
Frank: The couple part makes it easier. We just sometimes wish we had backup singers and people to help us load in the gear. The benefit is we can share our lives and creativity together. And we don't have to be apart if we don't want to.
BLS: This last year has been filled with some great highlights for your band including opening slots for Social Distortion? Which highlights were your favorites? What about 2013 are you looking forward to the most?
Moselle: We've been honored to open for some killer acts in the past year. In 2012 we opened shows for The Gories, Band of Skulls and the John Spencer Blues Explosion. Then we kicked 2013 off opening 3 sold out shows for Social D! For 2013 we are looking forward to the infinite possibilities of the universe. We hope to continue to be surprised.
Frank: The Social D shows were a highlight for sure. Playing to a packed house of that size was really eye opening. That kind of energy changes you, you rise higher than you knew you could. We are really looking forward to 2013 as we'll have more time to be creative, write new songs and incorporate some new sounds.
BLS: Name 5 bands you love but who few people have heard of ?
CO:
The Weber Brother
Feral Foster
Shilpa Ray
Caged Animals
David Mayfield
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