Pedestrian TV

Warpaint talk radiohead, pumping and rotating drummers  November 25, 2009

Not to be confused with so many other fleeting all girl, all American bands, ‘Warpaint' won't gyrate your television screen but they will make love to your ears. We advise you keep a firm eye fixated on all things Warpaint in the coming months. If their dashing good looks aren't enough to persuade you on board the Warpaint train their rung of physcadelic tunes, gorgeous vocals and amazing melodies will undoubtedly win you over.
Drummer of the L.A threesome, Theresa Wayman chatted to Pedestrain.tv about getting signed, the launch of their debut album, going on tour with a bunch of chicks, their rotating drummer problems, being poor and most importantly their desire track down and marry any member of Radiohead with or without his consent.

P: You just got signed to Rough Trade Records how did that happen? We went on a mini tour up the West Coast with another band Jen (guitar) plays in and we went to Portland where an ARNI guy came to watch us play and he loved our show. That pretty much got the ball rolling right away because we were in negotiations with another label and those negotiations were slowing down but we were anxious to get signed because we wanted to start recording. I guess within a month we signed a deal with them.
But there was a clause in our contract in the beginning that if the head of Rough Trade Records came and didn't like our stuff or heard our album and didn't like it he could say no it was like a first right refusal sort of thing. That was because we signed the contract without him having seen us play. That was in there to project him. Then we met them in New York a few weeks later and got along with them all really well and they loved our show so now there are no clauses.

P: Does that mean you have free reign to make whatever type of music you like? Yeah they're amazing. They are a type of label that loves a band because they love the band. Not because they see something they can shape or something they can capitalise on. They like what we're doing so they trust us to keep doing what we're doing.

P: Now that you've been signed, when should be expect your debut album out? Probably end of December maybe January.

P: Everything running smoothly in the recording process? Well we actually haven't started recording as of yet, but we have probably three quarters of the album already written.

P: Is there just one song writer in the band or do you all have a go? We all do. Sometimes together or sometimes one of us will write a song and bring it to the others and we'll change it or leave it depending on whether we all agree on it or not.

P: You re-released your debut EP in October? What was the move behind that? Well it was a self-release in March and we re-released it with new art and a sixth song in October. We were on tour of the entire perimeter of the United States when we re-released it so it was pretty good timing.

P: Woah the entire perimeter of the US, was that tough for you being first time tourers? It was amazing but also so tough being in a car so much with the band. But I loved playing shows every single night. I could live like that easily forever. But it's kind of strenuous, I'm not that I'm complaining or anything. We're lucky we can do that at all, not that we were making loads of money though. But to have that option to do it I feel really lucky. It is strenuous. You have to get up really early after late nights and drive all day to get to the next place in time for sound check. It ends up being pretty strenuous and stressful and wears you down a bit. It's hard to get enough sleep and the right nutrition but I'd do it forever if I could.

P: Any funny first time tour stories? We had a million in side jokes, nothing would be super funny to you. But there was chick at a gas station in the middle of Montana somewhere and she was standing next to the car while her boyfriend pumped the gas and she was like ‘Pump It Justin - Pump It'. So from then on of course we then proceeded to mock her and ‘Pump It' was pretty much a standard comment in our daily conversation. Things like that made it fun. Being on tour can be pretty wild at times, but it can be pretty mellow at the same time.

P: How do you deal with cabin fever? Yeah there are always arguments, but we got along really well in general. Sometimes when you've got the shits and your nerves are shot.

P: How long has the band been together for? We've been together for five years.

P: How'd you get together in the first place? You've lost and gained a few members a bit since you started, why is that?
WP: We started with Shannyn Sossamon in the band and she was starting to learn the guitar and Jen had been learning the bass. They called up Emily and I and asked us if we wanted to start a band. We were like ‘sure that sounds really exciting and we played the first time on Valentines Day and it was so much fun and we worked really well together instantly. The same sort of way we still work really well together. We knew them before

P: Why did Shannyn leave? Well her acting was getting pretty crazy at that time so she decided she wanted to pursue that only. She left and came back and recorded the EP and then left again. She comes and goes.

P: You've had a few drummers come and go lately are you looking for a permanent drummer these days? After Shannon left, basically we've had different formations of this band with the original formation where I would play drums on some songs and Shannyn would play drums on other songs. Then after she left we were a threesome, I became the drummer because it was really difficult to write songs without a drummer and I became the only drummer. Then Shannyn came back in the band and reformatted the band again, basically saying she will be the drummer and I'd be on guitar. Then she left again and David Orlando came in to replace her. He lasted for about a year and then Josh came in for and now we don't have a permanent drummer yet. So we're back to square one.

P: Are you looking though? Yeah the girl we're looking at is an Australian drummer her name is Stella. Hopefully she'll be it. She's a good drummer she's played with all kinds of amazing professional musicians. She doesn't want to be a professional drummer anymore she wants to have a project in a band to focus on. She has to be poor while we get everything off the ground, but she's fine with that now. She wants something she can really poor her heart into, instead of just partaking in other peoples projects. I'm hoping she's our permanent drummer.

P: When will that be finalised? We should find out later this week, because she just got back from touring.

P: You've said while you're trying to get the band off the ground things are pretty tough money wise, do you guys have to have other jobs besides the band to get by? At the moment it's better because we got the Rough Trade recording advance, so we've got a little bit of money there to live off which is nice.

P: So you don't have other jobs at the moment, but what were you all doing before that? I was designing clothes for a clothing line, which I'm still kind of doing. But it doesn't seem like a job anymore. Music is more focus at the moment I don't have to really do anything during the day except for that. But I like doing creative things for work. I find it really hard to work in a cafe just to pay the bills. But Jen was working in a café so maybe that's just me. Emily didn't even have a job at all, so I don't really know how she made money, which now I think about it, is kind of strange.

P: When you get the album together do you plan on taking your tour overseas? Well we're going on tour in February which throughout the US, but hopefully after that Europe. But nothing planned for Australia so far. But I want to go their badly so who knows.

P: Have you been to Oz before? No, but I really like Australian people and all the people I know who are Australians are some of the nicest people I know so I'm guessing I'll like the country.

P: Who would you most like to play alongside? What are your dream outcomes for the band? My absolute goal would be to play alongside Radiohead. That's huge I know. My goal is to have that kind level of musicianship that have. I see their fame as a really calm level that I aspire too. The drive isn't to be famous the drive is to have audiences and have a lot of people listening and being affected by the music. Just like how I'm affected by music I love. The more the better that usually means what fame basically is anyway. The way Radiohead handle it with so much tact and grace is awesome. They are who they are and there is so flashy thing going on but it's all about making music they want to make and having people respect it.

P: So was Radiohead an inspiration for when you got into music? Yeah I find inspiration in literally all types of music in the same way. I just feel like there is something I can see right now which other generations don't like. I can see what they're doing and relate to me. I would love to open for them. That is the kind of place I would love our band to be at. That is the aspiration I have for our band. Something cutting edge and conceptional at some point, something like that. I'd like to marry them. That would make is easier.
There are other bands that are hugely successful that aren't huge and don't have to deal with the fame which can be a disgusting concept sometimes. Like Blonde Redhead who have a great following and affect a lot of people but I don't even know if anyone knows who they look like.

P: So you want to be big but too big? I guess, but I don't know if that is what is in store for us as a band. But what I want for the band and where I want the band to go is to have audiences listening and to affect a lot of people
I might be naïve to want that now, considering we're not a huge band or anything but I want that to stay our aim. I want people to come and watch our shows because they love our music and love what we're about and hopefully more and more people start to feel like that as we put our sound out there.