Dot to Dot Festival 2011 interviews
Colourmusic, Allie Moss and Braids all performed at Dot to Dot Festival 2011. To follow are exclusive interviews from all three artists. Our sincere thanks to them for taking the time to talk to us. To go back to the feature on the festival itself, click here.
COLOURMUSIC
So, were you pleased with your set?
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, any time you can play to a full house of people, that's fucking great, right?
Have you done many gigs in the UK so far, or is it a new experience for you?
We came over here two years ago; we played at the same festival as well. The last time, we got a bit of a crowd response. There were quite a few people there but it was kind of like, “what the fuck is that?" But this time, I've been told that the first four rows of people knew the words and we thought, “whoa, this is great!”
So, for those that haven't heard your music, how would you describe your style?
I say the best way to do it is to buy this record right here [points to CD of album My _____ Is Pink] and listen to it. I dunno. Live, we're loud. Otherwise, everyone has YouTube and shit, just check it out!
What is the blank in My _____ Is Pink? You must have been asked that before, but what is it?
The idea of putting the blank in there, I think it's to just leave it up to interpretation. It's obviously a record about sexuality, but not maybe in the most Hustler/Playboy sense or whatever. It's more about how sexuality drives what we do every day. It's a cognitive for the things we do, the work that we do, the playing that we do and all that sort of stuff. So fill it in with your own. I don't know, I don't want to give it away...
So you have a word? You know what it is?
I think Ryan [Hendrix] has a word, that he knows what it is. But I don't know, I much more enjoy just being open-ended. I will give you this though – when we type it out, when we put it on the record and did all the layout for the record, it's five underscores. Which is not the word that he [Ryan] had in mind, it's not. He had more letters in the word.
Are you getting the opportunity to check out any other bands whilst you're playing here this year?
Yeah, I'm gonna go check out Dom right now, at 8 o'clock, at Thekla. I've heard they're gonna destroy it. I like their record a lot so I'm gonna go check them out. And we met Zebedy Rays; we've been on tour with them and they fucking killed their show at like, 3 o'clock, which is really great.
So what's next for you? You've obviously just released the album a few weeks back...
We're playing two more of these shows [at Dot to Dot], we go to Forbidden Fruit [festival] and then we go home and we start working on our next record cause we're pretty close, about half-way done. But we do wanna hit it again pretty quick so I think we'll be back here [in the UK] in the fall.
And where can we check you out, where are you going to be in the US?
We're gonna do a mid-western tour in July and then I think, in August, we're going to do some dates on the East Coast. And we might do some stuff on the West Coast in September. And then we're gonna spend some time working on the record, then probably come back here [to the UK].
And are you appearing at any more festivals over the summer?
No, not really. Everybody's been asking if we're gonna play Glastonbury. So, if they have any spots open, maybe you should make a thing and they can vote for us? We did this thing with Lauren Laverne and everybody asked us “Are you gonna be on at Glastonbury?” And we were like, “no, it'd be fucking nice, but no, I don't know...”. But no, I'm pretty sure it's too late.
ALLIE MOSS
So, it was your first gig on a boat?
It was!
How has it been in the UK so far for you?
It's been really, really wonderful. The weather's been nicer than when I was here in the fall, when it was freezing. And the audiences have been so sweet and you just can't ask for anything more than that.
How did you get involved with Dot to Dot? Did you have to apply or did they come and find you?
I do have a booking agent in the UK, so he hooked that all up.
And you're playing the Nottingham and Manchester dates of Dot to Dot festival as well?
Yep, I'm playing the Rescue Rooms in Nottingham and the Deaf Institute in Manchester.
And have you played in any of these cities before?
I have played in Manchester, but not Bristol or Nottingham.
Is the UK what you thought it was going to be?
You know, I think that I expected people to be a little more reserved than they are. You guys are quite keen!
That's probably the Americans general impression of us Brits though, right?
Right, yeah.
Have you had any really memorable gigs whilst you've been over in the UK?
I played a little village called Wendlebury in Oxfordshire. They put on a show in their village hall. This guy just emailed me, and it was really sweet and intimate...and I don't like the word intimate, eugh! It was just so sweet.
Will you have chance to see any of the other artists that are playing at Dot to Dot over the three days?
Tomorrow [at Nottingham] I will, and I'm really looking forward to seeing Darwin Deez.
He's a fellow American, isn't he?
Yeah, from Brooklyn, I think.
Do you have an upcoming UK tour or will you be at any other festivals in the UK over the summer?
I will be back in July, so those dates are just being finalised. If people go to my website, the details will be on there.
And are those dates for your own tour?
It's for festivals, mixed with tour dates, filling in some cities that I didn't get to this time.
And in the US?
Yeah, I'm opening eight shows for this band called Ivan & Alyosha in the mid-West, and then I have my own New York City release show on June 17.
BRAIDS
So, how was your set, did you enjoy it? You looked like you were having a lot of trouble up on stage.
I was having a lot of trouble, the monitors were a little bit difficult. I couldn't hear my voice, I was just hearing it in the mains. So it was a bit rough. I don't really enjoy myself so much when I can't hear what I'm singing.
And do you get that a lot with the smaller venues?
No, it's more venues where it's really on the fly. I don't get it too often. But it becomes a very different set for me; it becomes a lot about my guitar playing and that's something that I haven't put as much time into as my voice so yeah, it becomes a bit of a different thing for me.
On a more positive note then, what do you think of the UK so far? You're from Canada and you've done a lot of gigs out there supporting Deerhunter, amongst other people. So how's the UK, is it a good place to play?
Yeah, I love the UK. It was funny - going into playing these dates, we'd heard a lot of people saying things like “in the UK, they just treat you really nasty” and especially in London, but we've been treated so well here. The people here are so lovely and we've just been getting amazing riders that have so much fruit and we have so many cheeses! Our first show in London was at Heaven nightclub and there were probably, like, 600 people there. And I swear you could've heard a pin drop. It was amazing. I've never felt that kind of attention from an audience.
Is that your favourite gig that you've had in the UK?
I think so, in the UK, yeah. Also, there was another gig where we played in Brighton, where we played on the pier. You know, like, pictures of Brighton? I feel like there is no other place like that in the world.
Don't you get piers in the States and in Canada?
You do, but they don't have amusement parks, and they don't have fish-and-chip stands and cotton candy. The whole thing was very picturesque and kind of otherworldly. It was lovely. Playing on the pier was really special.
Have you had chance to see any other bands at Dot to Dot? Are you going to, at Nottingham or Manchester?
I'm sure we'll see something. I know that usually, it's kind of busy for us; we have a lot of interviews and stuff. But I really want to see ...Trail of Dead. But I'm not sure what the others want to see. So that's on the radar.
In terms of future gigs, both in the UK and overseas, what can we expect from you? Lots more festivals over the summer?
Yeah, actually. We're doing quite a lot of summer touring in Canada. Just like, festivals; Calgary festival...
North by North East?
Yeah, we're doing NxNE, in Toronto. And then we're coming back in July to do a big festival tour in Europe, so we're doing Slovakia, then we're doing the UK again, Ireland... just more obscure places than those we've done on this tour. This tour has been France, then Germany, and kind of, “the standards”.
So have you been to Slovakia before? It's really beautiful...
No! And I never thought I would!
There are some good perks with being in a band!
Yeah, especially right now. It's kind of coming together. Especially after four years of playingso many different places that are very cold or very dingy. And now it's kind of all making sense a little.
And when can we expect another album from you?
We're shooting for summer 2013. Or January 2013. It takes us a while so we'll have to see, but that's what we're shooting for.
31 December, 2010 - 23:00 — Craig Stevens