Vivian Girls Interview February 2010
By: Liane Escorza
Rockfeedback’s ever-intrepid Liane Escorza caught up with recent RFB.TV stars the Vivian Girls during a fleeting visit to Oxfordshire. She asked these questions, they gave these answers...
RFB: Where and when did you form the band?
Cassie: “We’re all originally from New Jersey but we started the band in New York, in Brooklyn more precisely. I’ve been living there for five and a half years so I consider myself from NY; well, all of us I guess.”
RFB: And while you were living in NJ, what triggered you to pick up a guitar and start a band?
Cassie: “Personally, it happened to me when I was eight, when my parents and I moved from Hackensack to Richwood – big move! – and we were unpacking and all my toys were still in boxes, but there was this radio, and I started fiddling around with it until I got a few channels working and that’s when I realised that I wanted to make music and write songs.”
Ali: “My parents have always listened to music so I guess it was something that came naturally to me.”
RFB: How did you meet, the three of you?
Cassie: “Katy and I met in high school. I had been f*cking around in different bands but Katy wasn’t playing music yet. We were into going to a lot of shows in the city and that’s how we eventually came to start a band together.”
Ali: “And Katy and I went to college together and so I met Cassie through Katy.”
Cassie: “The thing is, we were playing with other people here and there and so eventually we came to play together, as it tends to happen.”
RFB: Numerous new bands come from the area of Brooklyn and there seems to be a lot of collaboration between artists. What are the best and worst things about the area?
Cassie: “The greatest thing is that everybody is really nice and supportive and it’s great to be surrounded by friends who all do the same things as you do, play music, inspire each other… the not so great thing about it is actually the fact that media and press (no offence to you!) name it as a ‘scene’ and I feel like it is being misrepresented, where people try to put labels to things that don’t need them. That is weird to me.”
RFB: Yet in any city, however large it is, different communities form and when they get too comfortable, they can get quite introverted, staring in to their own belly buttons?
Cassie: “(laughs) Yeah, I know what you mean. But I do not think it happens so much in NY. It is more of an open scene. The problem is the a small amount of bands get a lot of attention and press but there is a whole bunch of others that have been and keep playing music without any kind of exposure. Different styles, different genres…”
RFB: What do you think you would be doing right now if you were not playing music?
Cassie: “I feel that even if he hadn’t been brought together, we would still be making music but if we each had a job, I feel like I would be a freelance illustrator and perhaps would fail at it (laughs) and now would be working in a coffee shop. Katy would be a physics teacher.”
Ali: “I would go back to school I guess!”
RFB: Do you think this other part of you that you’re not using now as a profession influences your life or crosses over?
Cassie: “Well I kind of help with merch and illustrations and all the art for the band. And Katy does all the math! (laughs).”
Ali: “I studied German at college so when we tour Germany I am the speaker. I translate for them (laughs).”
RFB: Did you feel any pressure when making this second album of yours from others or yourselves after the popularity achieved with the first album?
Ali: “There was no label pressure, that’s for sure. And I don’t even think we were so concerned about it or thought that hard about it.”
Cassie: “Yes, there was a good vibe when Ali joined the band. We wrote a lot of songs and it turned out we ended up with too many for the record. It felt more like we wanted to get it all out of our systems than the other way around! (laughs).”
RFB: How do you judge when to stop fiddling around with a song? When do you decide it is safe to stop, the song is perfect enough?
Ali: “The more you think, the more you think…”
Cassie: “We all are very precise at working on every part of the song, to make sure it flows and that every part is really good for what it is. But we also try not to overdo it. I think the three of us have a good instinct at saying ‘stop looking’.”
RFB: What would you recommend to kids starting a band and wanting to play music?
Cassie: “I’d say they should definitely be true to themselves. Make the music that you want it to be. Take opportunities but only if they agree with your ethics and don’t over-think things to death.”
Ali: “And tour a lot!”
RFB: Summer is the time of festivals, but also big charity events, music for causes… do you think that music can change the world?
Cassie: “Making music that influences people is one of my life’s greatest goals. Every song that you hear makes you feel something and it is good emotions; that is very important.”
RFB: What do you like about playing festivals?
Cassie: “Festivals are challenging. It’s always a very interesting motley crew of characters, so it’s a lot of fun.”
Ali: “And you get to meet your idols…”
Cassie: “Yeah, that ones that you grew up loving… well, I guess in general, you meet a lot of interesting people. Oh! And they always give you really good food!”
Watch the Vivian Girls performing at the 2009 Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona on Rockfeedback TV below:
Artists in this article: Vivian Girls