Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Interview: Matt Chrystal Talks with LG of Thelma & The Sleaze Who Play Baby's All Right on 7/4 & Mercury Lounge on 7/5

Thelma & The Sleaze at The Saint

SleazeCloud, Wave 1

By Matt Chrystal

Earlier this year, two of Nashville's biggest independent bands, Thelma & The Sleaze and Birdcloud, embarked on a joint trek through the U.S. on the aptly named SleazeCloud tour. The tour was a powerful statement of empowerment for the feminist movement in rock n roll as well as for independent bands in general.

The SleazeCloud combo made some big noise and drew in some big crowds, thanks to their combined DIY work ethic as well as through a grassroots campaign that generated a reverberating buzz on social media platforms as and by word of mouth.

While the joint tour may have recently wrapped up, the SleazeCould party continues on into New Jersey this week thanks to the efforts of Little Dickman Records, who are celebrating their fifth anniversary this summer by bringing both bands into Asbury Park in two separate hard hitting waves.

Wave 1 hit when Thelma & The Sleaze rocked the Saint on June 30th. Frontwoman, Lauren Gilbert aka LG, captivated the crowd with soaring guitar solos, hilarious anecdotes between songs that ranged from vulgar to ridiculous, and led the band on an all-out rock n roll assault on the senses.

I caught up with LG of Thelma & The Sleaze just a few hours before she took the stage at the Saint to talk about her favorite moments from the SleazeCloud tour, the long road to releasing TATS latest album, Somebody's Doin' Something; and we also touch on her sobriety, her love for spandex, and her thoughts on politics.

CoolMattyC: Thelma & The Sleaze are known for live shows that are a mix of punk attitude and full force rock n roll; but your new album, Somebody's Doin' Something, spotlights your vocals and shows a bluesy side of the band. Was that the intention with this record?

Lauren Gilbert: I don't think there was really all that much intention behind the album. I had to write all of those songs really fast because Dave Catching from Eagles of Death Metal offered to record us, and he only had two weeks open to do it because he is super busy. So I had about two months to put it all together. I decided to just go for more straightforward, classic rock songs. "Lucy" and "No Time" were the only songs I had ready at that point, and so I wrote the rest of the songs in less than a month so that I had something to take out there.

I wanted to leave the arrangements open so that we could add in the textures and also focus on the vocals, because I actually sing more on this record than I usually do.

I made a Spotify playlist of bands that I really love like Tom Petty, Thin Lizzy, Eddie Money, and just some cool rockers and gave it to the girls that were playing on the record, and I was like everybody needs to listen to this before we start recording.



CMC: Somebody's Doin' Something was recorded in 2015 and was finally released in June 2017 on Last Hurrah / Burger Records. Can you talk about the long road that led to its eventual release?

LG: Basically, being in a band is a lot of fuckin work, dude. It sucks sometimes cause I put so much time and energy into it. But once the record started coming together I was like, "Whoa, this is pretty fucking cool;" and I felt like it really needed to be put out there. I could have done it myself a long time ago, but I wanted it to get put out there by a label.

At the same time, I also did not want to compromise my integrity or my ownership over the record. I tried to pick a label to work with that were cool with that and supportive of me so that we could both make some money and, oh yeah, put out a cool record!

So yeah. We thought we were getting signed by a certain label and this label would put the record out but then that fell through. Then our van broke down. Then the drummer and the bass player who played on the record both left the band, so I had to deal with that. Then came a whole debacle about the mixing and the mastering of the album in terms of money, so I had to pull that money outta my ass. Then there were delays on the production end. That's the thing with trying to work with a label to make a record: If somebody brings something up, it takes a month to resolve that shit. People have to go back and forth about it then send it up to someone else then redo it and it gets sent back to some other person to get talked about.

So, I had to get a new van. I had to find new girls to play with. We did a movie, and just a lot has gone on and by the time I looked up it was like two years later… and I was like, fuck.

But that's just the way it is, and I'm glad it didn't work out with that original label because it wouldn't have come out the way I wanted.

I think the record is special, and I am just hoping it just gets more of a grassroots buzz going around it because I really want people to hear it.

CMC: You mentioned a TATS movie, could you share some details on that project. Is it a documentary, concert film, erotic thriller, action movie or what?

LG:  It's called Kandyland: The Movie. We played 31 shows in 29 days around Nashville at spots ranging from music clubs to laundromats to laser tag places. At each gig, we handed out raffle tickets; and, at the final gig, we raffled off our tour bus. [Seth Graves] offered to film us, and we are hoping to show it before some of our shows on this tour.

CMC: The previous leg of tour in support of the record had TATS paired up with Nashville's Birdcloud and was aptly dubbed the SleazeCloud Tour. From following along with you on social media, it seems like the pairing was a perfect match and also seems like a lot of fun…

LG: I thought that more would be said about that tour while it was going on, but it really wasn't. We have both been on larger tours as support acts and paid our dues in that respect. But this tour was two, independent, female-fronted bands playing really good sized venues to some really big crowds and clearing some substantial money. Neither of our bands are on a label. We were doing all this on our own. As women and being musicians who have worked really hard for a long time, this was a pretty big statement. That was a huge deal for both of us.

CMC: To keep the party raging, the SleazeCloud tour also included Brooklyn's Ex-Girlfriends for support on some of the dates …

LG: Yeah. We were able to bring out Ex-Girlfriends for a couple of shows and they were able to eat, get paid, and kick ass. I was just really fuckin proud of the whole thing.

The whole thing was a fucking blast. We all went with the theme of taking things to the next level. Each band was trying to set the standard for the night, and we all were just throwing down. There was no faking it. Each night, we were all trying to top each other. It was awesome.

CMC: Now that it just wrapped up, what are your favorite moments or reflections from being on the road with all those ladies?

LG: At the end of Birdcloud's set, we would come out with them and cover "Zombie" by the Cranberries.

We did it because one of their songs sounds kinda like "Zombie," and I was joking that we should all just do "Zombie;" but then I realized that is a really topical song to be playing during these times. Ya know, 'cause there are capitalist fuckin pigs starting wars and killing people for no reason.

After our set, Bircloud and Ex-Girldfriends would join us for Leslie Gore's "You Don’t Own Me." I also realized that song is like one of the first ever female punk rock songs. It is totally punk, down to its core.

People were freaking out, because no one ever sees twelve badass girls out on stage just belting out a song together. It was all just really cool.

There was also some really cool, really sleazy, really dirty things going on that I am not gonna talk about now. Once the check is in the bag and the van is in the driveway, shit happens! That stuff will all be in my autobiography, How Many Fingers?

CMC: Looking forward to that! So speaking of sleazy, dirty stuff…  Similar to your pals in Birdcloud, TATS material is often tongue-in-cheek. Live performances can be in-your-face, and stage banter may be best described as "locker room talk."

Do you ever experience audiences that just "do not get it?" And, if so, does that become motivation for you to win them over or does it become fuel to make you go at it even harder as "fuck you" to them?

LG: In my own way, I am up there being very genuine. All of my songs are about actual experiences that I have had. My stage banter makes me comfortable, and I think it actually draws people in. It's like I'm stroking them on the arm before I punch them. I get people that come up to me after a show, and they tell me that the show was really funny, or it was really sexy or that it was really balls to the wall. That's because people will always take away what they want from the performance and I don't get to choose that for them but I do give them a lot of options.

All my songs are basically about fucking, and I am up there baring my soul so it just makes it a little more comfortable if I can say, "Hey guys, have you ever been in 1976 RV, listening to some tunes while getting head from a girl in a cashmere sweater? You have? Cool! Well that's what this song is about."

I'm not writing songs about coming of age. That's not what Thelma & The Sleaze is about. I have played in a lot of other bands, but I love Thelma & The Sleaze because I love the content, the personas, and the energy. I don't think you get that anywhere else.

Thelma & The Sleaze at The Saint

CMC: In addition to the joint tours, there is much social media love and promotion shared amongst TATS, Birdcloud, Margo Price, former members of Those Darlins, etc. Do you feel this is the emergence of an all new "girls club" that is tearing down walls and breaking through the glass ceiling of the "boys club" of the Nashville music scene? Or are you of the idea, that artists should simply be called artists?

LG: I think the numbers speak for themselves. Margo Price is doing incredibly well. BirdCloud is doing great. We are doing great. I don't think it's all about gender. I think it's more about camaraderie. We just play shows, and we are out there fuckin doing it. We all worked our asses off and look where we are, so we should and do support each other.

I have never equated any success I have had to Nashville or being from the Nashville scene. Sure, we have a lot of southern elements to us; but, at the end of the day, we do well because we are out there touring.

I do well because I am out there touring not because I am in Nashville sucking somebody's penis.
Musicians like Birdcloud, Those Darlins, Margo Price have done well because they don't sit around Nashville and only play at the 5 Spot.

I think Nashville used to be more supportive and, at one time, was an incubator for badass ladies; but some of the girls who play there now are not like the bands we mentioned and they choose to be competitive and don't have that camaraderie, and it is stifling. And so I thought the SleazeCloud tour was a great statement to say to all of them "Bye! See what can happen when you work together!"

CMC: If this is too personal, we can move along, but I noticed you made a social media post touting your sobriety, which -- I have to be honest -- came as a surprise just because it might appear as if the non-stop party that is Thelma & The Sleaze would include some indulging in spirits. With all that said, how has sobriety impacted your writing and your performances? And is it a challenge when being out on the road as relentlessly as TATs have been?

LG: It's not too personal. No one has ever really asked me about it because I think most people do assume when they see me naked and crawling around on things that I am drunk, but I have never mixed touring and drinking. I do not need booze to be sexual or confident.

I have been sober for five years now and that's a pretty good amount of time. I originally got sober when I turned 17 and was able to stay sober until about 25. But then I drank for about a year and quit again. Drinking is not reflective of anything in my life except for a short period of time during that one year when I would get blackout drunk and stick things in my… nevermind.

But, really, drinking has never been a big part of my life because I am just really bad at it. I really like being sober more than I like being drunk. I wish I could have just one beer when I am out, but I just never can. They are delicious and make me feel like Super Woman on the inside, but on the outside I look and act like an idiot.

It's really hard on the road because I am constantly surrounded by booze, but I always try to remember a simple thing that I learned in AA which is to tell myself if I still feel like I need to drink, then wait and have that drink tomorrow. Every time I do that, I wake up the next day and am so thankful that I did not have a drink. I have to be on point and stay focused. I have put in too much hard work and I do not want to spend my life in a bar.

CMC: On a less serious note, I have to ask about your Bruce Lee / Uma Thurman-inspired jumpsuit. I assume it's an homage to the badassness of Uma Thurman's character "Beatrix Potter" in the film, Kill Bill. How hard was it to track down something like that or did you have it specially made for you?

LG: I had it specially made by my friend Maria. She is a seamstress that makes really badass stuff. I called her up and told her I needed a Kill Bill suit. I only wear it for super special occasions. On the Eagles of Death Metal tour, there were a bunch of sold-out shows; so I wore it often on that tour.
Come to think of it, we sold out two shows on the SleazeCloud tour; and I should have brought my suit to wear. Shame on me for not thinking higher of myself that we would sell those places out!

But yeah, it fits like a glove and I love it. I either want to be naked or in a spandex suit. I want to be comfortable on stage and be able to climb shit. I don't wanna worry about jeans falling off or ripping when kicking or jumping around on stage. I need to either be naked or in spandex!

CMC: Ok back to being serious. With the July 4th holiday looming, I was wondering if you could share your thoughts on the current political climate in today's America and what are your hopes for the future?

LG: People would rather see a dog be president than a woman, and that is fucked up. Sexism is real. Donald Trump is an idiot dog. Don't get me wrong. I do love dogs. I have a dog named Waffles, and he is very sweet. But the dog I am talking about is a guttural, sexist, capitalist, old, saggy, bald motherfucker running shit; and that is just bad… all because people did not want to see a woman as president.

And, lately, it seems like it all boils down to fear. People are trying to make people scared of other people, and that is making shit get dangerous. These are scary times but we cannot let fear dictate how we treat each other.

People like to go on about how proud they are to be free, but they do not realize that if they are not open to other people and not open to diversity, then they are really repressed and ignorant.
Don't be scared of your neighbors. Don't be scared of your brothers or sisters. Try to reach out to people. Try to treat people well, and try and be as self-sufficient and non-reliant on pigs as you possibly can.

You got me all fired up now and should have cut me off a while ago, but I will just say this:
As an artist, as a performer, and as southern woman, I am going to continue use my voice to preach love, diversity, acceptance, and hope, and not fear. Just be good to each other.

Somebody’s Doin’ Something is out now on Last Hurrah/Burger Records.
Thelma & The Sleaze will be performing:

July 4th Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn, NY
July 5th Mercury Lounge in NYC (w/ Ex-Girlfriends)

For more info go to: www.ThelmaandtheSleaze.com

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