Today we talk to Laura Lloyd from the group No Joy about SXSW, their year on tour, and twitgrets.
Laura Loyd: Hey dude.
Postcard Editor: Hey lady.
LL: Is this like… a conversational type interview? Have we started?
PE: We can start now if you like, but yeah, very laid back is the style.
LL: Ok cool. SHOOT.
PE: Ha, ok, so you just returned from SXSW – was that your first time there?
LL: Yes, first time. We weren’t really a band this time last year actually.
PE: Well I didn’t know if one of your other bands had made the trek down from Montreal before.
LL: Nope, never. I’ve been to Austin a bunch, but never for SXSW.
PE: Well, what did you think of it?
LL: It was the most hellish experience of my life. I don’t know if we did it the right way. We played eight shows. I guess that’s what people do now… play as many shows as possible? We found out the hard way that its not that fun running around in 30 degree (Celsius – Laura is Canadian) weather carrying heavy gear hoping to make it to your next show in time. It’s a dumb concept for a festival, but it seems I’m the only one that thinks that. The shows themselves were all awesome though, I will say that once you’re settled in and on stage everything is cool. It’s the in between that makes me wish I was dead.
PE: It’s always been a hectic thing for most bands, because you’re trying to maximize your exposure while there, but this year it seems like it may have jumped the shark. So many bands are complaining about it this year – all the hassle side of it. Venues and staff not really cooperating, etc….
LL: Yeah people were assholes. I tried to go to the Kanine showcase cause a friend of ours runs the label and we couldn’t get in. No guest list, no nothing. He had to pay to get into his own showcase. That’s insane. We ended up sneaking in though.
PE: Crazy – but let’s focus on the positive. Did you stumble across any new bands that you fell in love with?
LL: We didn’t really have time to see anything. I got to see J Mascis for the first time though, and he was so great. I also saw this lil dude from LA, Speculator, at a house party at 3am. There were about eight of us there. He plays a strat and has a bunch of pedals and stuff… its really great. Droney, psychedelic a little shoegaze. All for one dude it was pretty impressive, I’m sure you’ll be hearing about him this year.
PE: Sounds cool, and maybe a bit like the No Joy sound – that love of the hazy shoe gaze, right?
LL: Ha, yeah. Oh, also, wish we caught them but we didn’t.. Ringo Deathstarr. We heard them when we were in the UK and fell in love… same kind of sound ha!
PE: And a great name.
LL: Yeah, not bad.
PE: So before SXSW you were on tour over in the UK right? How was that?
LL: THE BEST EVER. We did 10 days supporting Surfer Blood over there. It was honestly one of the best tours of my life. Just going overseas itself is exciting. I didn’t know what to expect, we don’t have a record out over there or anything yet. I thought no one would know who we were, but we were really fortunate and had a surprising turnout to our headlining shows, and now I cant wait to go back.
PE: Excellent, so is the band still transcontinental? Are you still in Montreal and Jasamine (White-Gluz) is still in LA?
LL: No!!!! That whole thing kinda got misconstrued. Our label had put it in our bio and everyone thinks that now.
Jas was living in LA at the time we started the band. She only lasted a few months there.
PE: So no songwriting via Skype?
LL: There was writing. We definitely sent songs back and forth, and over the holidays she came back and we pieced them together and played a show. She was going to go back to LA but then decided to stay and see what our band would become.
PE: Glad we could set the story straight. And also glad she made the wise decision of Montreal over LA – no contest between those two cities in my book.
LL: I like LA! Seriously, it’s a rad place when you stay away from Hollywood and all that crap. The people I know who are born and raised there are all super rad and down to earth. They’re not assholes like the people in Montreal are.
PE: I have good friends who live in LA, but as a city, man probably one of my all time least favorites. Maybe I was spared the asshole vibe of Montreal by not being able to speak French. They were being assholes to me, but I didn’t understand.
LL: C’MON! REMEMBER THAT ASSHOLE? (Laura is referencing a time we hung out in Montreal about five or six years ago) In that band…wtf was his name? I still see him around. I hate that guy. He’s banned from playing our shows.
PE: Oh yeah – but that’s one guy. He’s not the whole city.
LL: Most people are like that here.
PE: Ok, so city preferences aside, how is your time back home going?
LL: The best ever. We’ve been gone since Jan 12, and we ended this stint of touring at SXSW, which was probably crazy. So it’s nice to relax at home and not have to sit in venues every day. Ironically though I’ve been writing a lot of music since we’ve been back. I thought I wouldn’t even want to look at my guitar.
PE: What are the new songs like? More of the same kind of sound, or are you finally working a little Bieber into it?
LL: Honestly, I’m kinda getting into the whole Manchester new wave dance thing. A little gothy. Still dark, but there’s only so much you can do with Garage Band. Demos sound infinitely different from anything we ever release, so it’s hard to say what the end product will be.
PE: True, but sometimes there’s a cool kind of simple beauty to a demo. Especially after you know the full polished version as a fan, to hear it stripped down to the bare parts.
LL: I don’t think anyone wants to hear my demos. They are hilariously bad. You should hear this techno beat I’m working with.
PE: I would love to hear it. And share it with the world via this blog. EXCLUSIVE!
LL: NO WAY. No one will hear it.
PE: (sigh) ok. So – what’s the plan now? I know you have some more tour dates starting in April right?
LL: Yep. We head out on tour with Vivian Girls in May, and before that we’re playing a few headlining shows
and doing Austin Psych Fest which will be awesome.
PE: Have you started talking about recording the new album yet?
LL: No plans. I cant even think about recording when all I’ll be doing for the rest of the year is touring.
I think once I get touring out of the way is when we’ll sit down and really start working on the next album.
PE: Gotcha – so it really is the rest of 2011 on the road then huh? Going to come back through the midwest on the Vivian Girls run so we can converse over beers and shots instead of internet wires?
LL: Oh yeah. There’s a Bloomington show!
PE: Hooray!
LL: Yep, May 14.
PE: I just put it in my phone so there’s no double booking/missing your show nonsense like last time. Ok – so let’s talk about your growing celebrity as a must follow Twitter account.
LL: HA. I don’t know how that happened. I have total verbal diarrhea. Why anyone wants to follow me is beyond me.
PE: Well I think the reason why is because you don’t sensor your self. You like to party, you talk about it.
LL: Yeah and I really should. There’s a lot of twitgrets. My dad is my #1 follower and sees everything and reads everything people write to me.
PE: Hahah – has he ever asked you to delete a tweet?
LL: No, but sometimes he’ll email me something like “hey Laura, I don’t think your fans appreciate you exaggerating on this topic…” – “remember, branding yourself is important. don’t say something you’ll regret” – little tidbits like that. It’s funny.
PE: Awesome. What does your dad do for a living?
LL: He works for an environmental organization called the CEC.
PE: Was/is he a rocker?
LL: Not at all. He’s just in front of a computer all day Googling me.
PE: Driving up your Google rating. Well, we always wrap by asking our guest to name three things that are currently rocking their world. Could be anything.
LL: Ok.
1. Gorgonzola (the cheese)
2. Bubble Baths
3. Clean laundry
PE: Please tell me there’s a band called Gorgonzola, and that’s why you had to specify.
LL: I wish. I’d be in it. Ha.
PE: We’ll start that one together.
LL: i’m just not sure if everyone knows its a cheese!
Laura Lloyd is one of our favorite Canadians and one of the main reasons we don’t think Montreal is only comprised of assholes. She also rocks out in the band No Joy, whose music you can check out here, and soon in a town near you on their endless tour.
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