LadybiRdS are Teeter Sperber and Tyler Pursel a new hyperactive, brain dominating, infectous electro pop duo who could have a blind cripple up and dancing a la Corky St. Clair. Lead singer Teeter (I should really have asked about THAT name!) rambles on about shyness, myspace and breaking into the UK market.
HOLV: Teeter how are things?
TS: I'm A-ok, thanks. I just left NYC for a month long drive cross country, so I am way psyched. And the day before I left I got to kiss the face of a boy with a perfect afro. I mean really, what more could a spazzy lady ask for?
HOLV: Indeed! Anyways, you don’t play live? Ever! How do you get exposure when you don’t tour?
TS: Myspace is pretty important in terms of creating awareness about our band, second only to Tyler being in Gym Class Heroes and kids being super committed to that band and all of it's musical offshoots. And yet, neither Ty nor myself do much to promote our Myspace page. If you take a look at it, we have like 8 friends, 5 daily plays and 3 total comments. I'm not sure why - I think it's mostly because he's perma-exhausted from being on rock and roll tour and all I care about in life is listening to this song by The James Boys called 'Shoog Shoog.' It was recorded in the early 70's by two pre-teen brothers with these amazing shaggy bowl cuts and faded denim overalls emblazoned with Rolling Stones patches - it's the catchiest, happiest, bubble gummiest superjam my ears and noggin have ever once known. I play it on loop while staring at the ceiling. It takes all I have to even step outside.
HOLV: I normally ask bands when are they coming over to Scotland to perform . . . but like I said before you guys don't really do live shows. Is this because the type of music you make is too difficult to perform out with a studio or are you just being shy?
TS: Well, for starters, I'm totally bananas and the mere thought of playing live makes me want to crawl into a corner, wrap up in the foetal position, rock back and forth and cry giant apocalyptic tears. But there is good reason for my neurosis! Ty and I used to be in this fake-not-fake mall-punk band called Ley Royal Scam and we were forced to play live waaaaaay before I was ready. (I had never been in or intended to be in a band.)
We opened for Taking Back Sunday in front of thousands of kids and I totally choked. Like, couldn't hit a single note, was a total on-stage deer in headlights crazy lady snoozefest, an insecure hot mess. I even cursed at some teen girl while on stage. Bad scene, Teeter's fault (SUP, Jawbreaker reference!?)
I promised myself shortly after that that I would never ever play live again. Don't tell anyone the true story, okay!?
HOLV: Absolutely, LadybiRdS have collaborated with a few other artists, is there anyone else out there you'd really love to work with?
TS: The one person that I would love love love to work with more than anyone on earth - and I can't be sure that this would ever happen because his music is so serious and intellectual, while ours is so cheesy and Atari-tastic - is Will Sheff from Okkervil River. I think he is the most poignant songwriter, storyteller and lyricist of our generation. Okkervil makes me want to beat my pillow with a tennis racket in like, the best possible way. I haven't loved a contemporary band so much since I first discovered The Get Up Kids in 1998. I am a very chatty person, as a general rule, but when I met Will recently I COULDN'T EVEN FORM A SINGLE SENTENCE beyond 'Hi, I'm Teeter.' I am just so impressed by his skills and melodies and thoughts and words. Do you know him!? Could you ask him to record with us? I'll pay for all the snacks and beer while we're in the studio! And yes, I am indeed embarrassed by having reached this level of superfandom. It's not my usual style.
HOLV: Do Postal Service comparisons bug you? They must bug you?
TS: Oh my gosh, no way! Ty is secretly, or not so secretly as of this moment, OBSESSED with Jimmy Tamborello; thinks he is such an incredible talent. He even silently dedicated the skippy drums at the beginning of our song, 'All Love for the Oregon Coast' to Jimmy. I think that's super funny and Ty is certainly going to kill me for saying as such.
In a strange small world scenario, Jimmy's lil' brother Brian was one of my best buds when I was in college. So when Jimmy would come to visit, I'd be all starstruck, even way back when, because he was like this cool, super aloof indie rock older brother. I really liked his band Strictly Ballroom, would listen to their album incessantly, so that definitely added to the pedestal that I put him on in my brain and heart.
We all went rollerskating once. I was flailing about and being loud and par-for-the-course Teeter style mega-dramatic and Jimmy told me I needed to lower my intensity level. In retrospect, this memory gives me a real chuckle because I am 100% hyper and he was one of the first people to ever call me on it. Viva keeping it real, JT!
So long answer even longer, no no, Postal Service comparisons totally don't bug us. In fact, they stoke us out alot! The only thing that could make them even radder is if a little Cyndi Lauper comparison action got tossed in. Cyndi #1.
HOLV: Your music is, like yourself quite ‘energetic’ . . . where is the best place to listen to it?
TS: In the comfort of your bedroom after buying the album or downloading all tunes from Soulseek or Limewire or Oink. Listen with friends and small pets and snacks in the immediate vicinity, natch! Unfortunately, as far as I know, we don't have a page where the whole record can be streamed.
On the subject of the best places for our tunes to be the soundtrack to your real life: dance parties, roller rinks, pinball matches, cat shows or on your Ipod while travelling on the NYC subway - to keep you from feeling extra sad about living in the toughest urban environment ever and also about the melted gum you just stepped on while wearing those sweet new kicks.
HOLV: Ok cool, so you’re making it gradually in the US but what about over here? Have you guys lined up UK distribution yet or are we going to have to wait a few months before that happens?
TS: Dang! We're crying tears of blood on this here question, cracking the whole UK musical glass ceiling is somewhat mystifying to us. You can get us on Amazon though, I believe . . . Anyway, we are about to release our record in Japan on a super cool Osaka-based indie label called Flake Sounds. I am way excited about it! Flake commissioned this up and coming Japanese band called Paraele Stripes to do a remix of our song 'Maxim and the Headphone Life' and it turned out so perfect that it makes me feel more sensitive and insane than usual. That says a lot! Clearly, I'm biased, but I think it really says something when as the maker of music can say they like the remix as much, if not more, than the original song.
HOLV: Lastly what sort of stuff are you guys listening to any favourite albums at the moment?
TS: I can only answer with my three absolute favorite albums of right now, as they have me caught in a total musical vortex from which I cannot escape.
1) The James Boys 'Hello Hello' - featuring the previously mentioned jam, 'Shoog Shoog.'
2) Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy
3) Okkervil River - The Stage Names
(At this point Tyler Purcell interrupts with his favourite albums)
TP: It's difficult to name my favourite album of all time, but I will say that I owe my entire musical career to early Hawthorne Heights. But my truly favourite album of all time has got to be Neutral Milk Hotel's 'In the Aereoplane Over The Sea‘. As you can see, I have really excellent taste.
LadybiRdS album 'Regional Community Theater” is out now. Probably on Amazon.
