Austin – Three years ago I watched Lindsay Troy and Julie Edwards Pirrone take the stage for their first time as Deap Vally. Both had other projects, for Pirrone the most notable was The Pity Party and for Troy it was her sister act, The Troys. As They strummed, drummed, and belted the first note, our jaws dropped. We knew this two-piece was something special and we knew they were going to be huge. Sure enough, they’ve moved on from The Silverlake Lounge and now grace the stages of major music festivals like Coachella and open for major artists such as The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s. The story of the two meeting in a knitting class at The Little Knittery has been told over and over again as new fans fall in love with their rock sound on a daily basis. Journalists love to portray a hard partying image, and sure they sound like the type that would be swigging jack in the back of a van, but these are two of the hardest working women in the music industry. Their first time at SXSW as a duo was a success, playing seven shows in four days while gaining new fans at every venue they shredded. I sat down with the girls over some late night Whataburger (a Texas tradition) to learn more about their journey over the past three years. Of course, I also had to ask about their custom made sequined garments—as a rock tradition from the 70’s.
Ilyse Kaplan: This was your first time at SXSW as Deap Vally, how was your time here overall?
Lindsey Troy: It was hectic, sweaty, fun, social, exciting, stressful, and it was an adventure, it was awesome.
Julie Edwards-Pirrone: Honestly, it was a little anti-climatic. I think we played good shows and we had good audiences but it’s hard to summarize what it was.
IK: Was it a different experience for you, Julie, coming with Deap Vally rather than your other project The Pity Party?
JEP: Definitely, I got a lot more free shit this time and there were a lot more people at our shows. When I came with Pity Party, we had more time to go see shows. We were so busy when we came this year. It was a lot of work. It’s fun to come because so many people we know are here, that’s the best part.
LT: Yeah, and just meeting other artists and networking with other artists, making those connections is one of the most fruitful aspects of it.
IK: What were some of your favorite new acts you got to see or meet?
JEP: The Strypes and Cosmonauts.
IK: What was your favorite showcase to play this year?
LT: For me, it was the Amazon/Dickies show. I liked the venue.
JEP: That was mine too.
IK: Your album has been out since last year, what has been the most exciting aspect of your success?
LT: This is so nerdy and 2014 but anytime a celebrity or someone I look up to follows us on Twitter or Instagram, I still get excited.
IK: What are some you’ve gotten excited about?
LT: Cat Power started following us on Instagram and I was pretty excited about that.
JEP: Boy George.
LT: Courtney Love tweeted about us. It just feels good when people you’ve idolized for so many years like what you’re doing or recognize you.
JEP: Also, I think the way we’ve seen our stage style kind of show up other places, the way it seems to influence other things is really interesting.
IK: On the topic of your stage style, I like that you take the old school approach of having costumes specifically for your shows, was that something you always planned to do or has it evolved overtime?
LT: It happened really early on. Once we met Kittinhawk, who’s a designer and started to design some shit for us, that’s when the more conceptual shit started to come together. It’s been a process that’s grown. Our stage fashion has evolved and continued to change, as it should. It’s interesting; you want to keep it fresh. It’s awesome that we have our friends that we work with, Michelle Rose and Kittinhawk, because they’re both so creative. It’s really fun to collaborate with our friends and other artists.
JEP: It’s so valuable to have totally unique pieces for stage.
LT: Having something new to wear for stage makes me feel really confident and excited.
JEP: The golden age of rock n’ roll was so glammy. Keith Moon used to wear jumpsuits to play drums. David Bowie obviously had incredible stage wardrobe, even up to Prince and Led Zeppelin. It’s part of the tradition.
LT: Getting stuff custom made for the stage—once you do that you can’t really go back. You get to imagine something up that fits our needs exactly. I remember my whole life trying on a million things and not knowing what to wear for each show and feeling gross and insecure, now I have a suitcase full of stuff and I know anything I put on is gonna be fucking amazing and glamorous and over the top. We don’t really have to think about it, anything in that suitcase is gonna look good.
IK: You recently recorded at Sonic Ranch with Nick Zinner of The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, what came out of the session?
JEP: It was so fun, it was like boot camp. We’ve never written and recorded in that short period of time like turned songs around. It was definitely a challenging growth experience. It was the first little in roads we’ve made in to writing our second record. Sonic Ranch is an amazing, magical place.
LT: It was incredible. It’s nice to work somewhere isolated like that, it really helps you stay focused. We were kind of in the middle of nowhere, out on this beautiful, expansive, pecan orchard. You’re just there to make music everyday with no distractions. Nick is so cool, so easy to work with, so mellow and funny. He’s been one of my musical heroes for many years. Its kind of a dream come true to work with him.
IK: How are you evolving your sound for this new record?
LT: We’re definitely still figuring it out.
JEP: Primarily, we’re going to stick to the instrumentation we used on “Sistrionix” and expand outward organically from that. We’re not gonna add keyboards or add more people.
LT: We’re open to adding more instruments if it’s something we can play live. So if Julie can play a tuba while she’s playing drums, it’s gonna make it on the next record.
JEP: Rock tuba.
IK: Have you ever found challenges working just as a two-piece?
JEP: It’s limiting but I think what limits you gives you style and point of view. I think what we do is pretty badass. We don’t rely on extra people; we don’t rely on technology or tracks being played. We have a very purist live approach that I think makes us stronger musicians and performers.
LT: In my life in general, I need to have limitations because I’m too indecisive. For me to work within those limitations is easier for me. I don’t have a huge pedal board because it kind of seems unnecessary. When you’re trying to create your sound and define that, it seems logical to have less to work with. Obviously we want it to be new and fresh, we don’t want to do the same album over again.
IK: You’re two very empowering female performers who show their femininity in their wardrobe and use it to empower other women, have you run in to any naysayers so far in your career?
JEP: I don’t think we’ve run in to naysayers, some people are just uncomfortable with our sexuality—like really really uncomfortable with it. We’re fully realized musicians with a vision who work hard and we dress provocatively. Part of our empowerment is body empowerment and letting it all hang out and being proud of your body, some people can’t roll with that. They just see bodies and they feel shame.
LT: Well, tell them the belly-dancing story that happened at South By. I think that’s an interesting perspective.
JEP: I was getting ready at Bangers and these two women came in the bathroom and were like “I love your shirt” so I said, “you should see what I have underneath.” I showed them my crazy costume and they’re like “Oh my god are you a belly dancer!” I’m like “no, I’m gonna play drums. I’m playing in Deap Vally.” They were so disappointed they wanted me to be a belly dancer. Something about me being a drummer just didn’t resonate for them.
LT: I think that’s an interesting metaphor of how some people feel about it. You see a woman dressed up, and not that there’s anything wrong with belly dancing, but you have to shake around to be cool?
IK: There are some very hard-core Deap Vally fans, what have been some of your strangest or coolest interactions with fans?
JEP: My favorite thing is look-a-like fans that come in pairs.
LT: My favorite is other people covering our songs. That’s one of the coolest feelings in the world. Like, finding them on YouTube, it’s crazy. We had this little girl that was six years old singing “Bad For My Body,” that was the cutest thing in the entire world.
JEP: When we hear from fans that they’re gonna start playing guitar or drums because of us, that’s amazing.
IK: Julie, you have a hand in setting up Desert Daze festival that’s coming up in April, tell me about that unique experience.
JEP: Desert Daze is a festival that me, my husband, and my friends put on. This is our third year and we have a bigger line up than ever. Deap Vally is playing and it’s an honor to be playing this line up: Blonde Readhead, Autolux, The Raveonettes, Diiv, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Liars, Vincent Gallo, Mystic Braves, Cosmonauts, Mr. Elevator, JJUUJJUU. It’s really beneficial to be in a band and also plan a festival because you have this amazing perspective from which to plan a festival. In a band, what kind of a festival do you want to play and what kind of a festival do you want to go to? In traveling with Lindsey, I’ve found that I like the smaller festivals. I like to see a lot of bands and not from really far away. I don’t like to walk endless distances; I don’t like to feel lost and overwhelmed. That’s the kind of festival for planning for Desert Daze. It’s April 26th at Sunset Ranch Oasis in Mecca Valley, CA. (http://www.desertdaze.org).
IK: Where do you want to take Deap Vally from here?
EP: To the moon! We’re really hoping we can put out our new record this year. We want to get it written, get it out, start playing the new songs. We’ve been playing the same songs for three years now so it would be nice to add new ones to our set.
For more on Deap Vally go HERE, HERE and HERE.
Top Photos By Ilyse Kaplan, Julie Edwards Pirrone Photo By Evan Clark, Slider Photo By Tim Snow
Ilyse Kaplan
Latest posts by Ilyse Kaplan (see all)
- Goodnight Tonight Is Ready to Take Over - July 10, 2014
- PAPA At Austin’s Red 7 - June 26, 2014
- Interview: Potty Mouth - May 23, 2014
Pingback: Foals - Live At The Fox Theater - Best New Bands