HEY IM BACK. Here is an interview with Tara Cohen from Rattlesnakes and Fur. She and her husband Brian rule and let Black Wine sleepover when we played Portland, ME. ENJOY.
1-Where
did you grow up? What are/were your parents like? Did they encourage
you as far as music is concerned?
I
grew up in South Jersey…don’t judge me please..lol. My Mom was cool
when she wasn’t totally preoccupied with her full time job as a small
business owner. She was a member of that mail order CD thing in the
90’s where you could send for a bunch and it only cost a penny or
something. She would let me pick out the ones I liked. She also bought
me a keyboard for Christmas when I was like 10. My real father was an
asshole and always tried to squash my dreams of being a musician. When I
was 7 I begged for violin or piano lessons but he refused, saying I
wasn’t a good listener.
2-What bands influenced you as a kid? Do you remember a song or album
that made you want to play music specifically rather than just listen?
When
I was real young I remember watching Madonna and Debbie Gibson and that
really inspired me to want to sing. In High school I was in a band
called Therapist to impress boys. We were really into Bright Eyes,
Fevers and Mirrors era. I was also trying to be a hippie girl and was
obsessed with Pink Floyd, Dark Side Of The Moon in particular. In
college I found a cassette of Surfer Rosa by the Pixies at the
Farmington thrift store. Listening to that tape made me feel so
inspired and cool. I remember showing it to the hippie guys I played
music with and them being so confused and like hating it because it
wasn’t Ratdog. That’s when I knew I wanted to play more than
acoustic/electric twelve-string. I evolved, cut my dreadlocks, then
started the Rattlesnakes shortly after that.
3-What instruments do you play? What musicians made you want to pick
those instruments? Do you have specific musicians whose style helped
shape your style?
I
started out playing acoustic guitar singer/ songwriter style. Joni
Mitchell’s Blue was really inspiring. I love finger picking guitar.
When I started the Rattlesnakes I played Bass. I was obsessed with Kim
Deal. Now I play drums in Fur. I love simple, fast and steady beats.
Sometimes I like to pretend I’m a drum machine. My Drum influences are
Bonham, Dave Grohl, Gary Young from early Pavement, and Martin Rev’s
drum machine.
4-Talk about your current songwriting process in comparison to the first
songs you wrote. Talk about writing in Fur vs The Rattlesnakes.
When
I first started writing songs I would come up with a couple guitar
chord progressions I liked then add lyrics. When I wrote lyrics they
would be fragments of arbitrary phrases that sounded cool. I would make
it up as I went along too. Now it’s more organized and has flow.
Writing with my husband Brian has taught me a lot. In Both bands we jam
on stuff he’s thought of on guitar to get familiar then later we refine
and write out the lyrics. The songs I write for Fur I usually come up
with a bass line and vocal melody and then write a drum machine part
then Brian will add guitar. We add lyrics last.
5-What influences your lyric writing? What singers inspire you?
I
am inspired by the human condition, getting older, being pissed,
nature…I’m actually really bad at writing lyrics. Currently my friends
in bands here in Portland inspire me. The singer of Foam Castles, Tyler
Jackson and the singer of Metal Feathers, Jay Lobely have been really
inspiring for me lately. Also, I LOVE Boston band Fat Creeps singers
Miriam and Gracie. I have WAY too many famous favorites to mention…Brian
Cohen will always be my favorite song writer, though.
6-I kind of don't know you at all, but I felt an instant kinship with
you. Not necessarily with me, but do you feel like that happens
sometimes to you with people? What the hell is that?
Aw
that’s awesome. Ya, I can totally say that happens to me. When it
happens I always just attribute it to being unpretentious, kindred
spirits but I don’t know. I’d like to think it’s something more
mystical than that.
7-Do you think that growing up in the 90's was helpful in cultivating
your interest in music in general? (Because it was in a sense another
"punk" renaissance where it seemed like anyone could and anyone should
be in a band...)
I don’t know…probably a little subconsciously. I was
in kind of young for most of the 90’s and out of touch with the indie
stuff happening. I do remember feeling a little suspicious of all the
mainstream music I listened to and purposely hating bands like Nirvana
(even though I think they are pretty great now). I think if my parents
were more in tune to the indie or “punk” stuff happening and exposed me
to it I might have been even more influenced (either by loving it or
hating it in an attempt to rebel against them). But anyway all I had
access to was like sneaking to watch MTV. I know the 90’s are really in
vogue right now and I wish I could take more credit for being a 90’s
child but I’m just not that cool. I didn’t really get into the good 90’s
music and stuff (that I think you’re talking about) until I was a like
18-19. I feel like my interest in music would have been there no matter
what period I grew up in.
8-Do you think where you live influences the type of music you make and
it's overall sound?
Oh yea definitely! In so many ways! I think you’d
have to try really hard not be influenced by where you live. I think if
you’re depressed because it’s winter in Maine and you haven’t seen the
sun in a while it’s going to come thru in your music.
9- Do you have any heroes (musical or otherwise) whose personal life is
embarrassing but whose art is amazing and you kind of have to stand up
for that art and ignore their personal shit?
Courtney Love… maybe a little I don’t know! I liked
early Hole. But, yea she is a dickhead! Have you seen that documentary,
Hit So Hard, about Patty Schemel? (She was an amazing drummer!) Court
does not make herself look good in it.
Pink Floyd too just cause I’m embarrassed I was so obsessed with their
most popular album for a large portion of my adolescents and it’s
associate with this burnout, stoner-hippie stereotype but it was like
more than that!
10-Besides that you are very good at it, what makes you want to keep
making music?
I want to leave some kind of legacy.
11-Do you have any paranormal experiences you'd like to share?
Ha! Sometimes I feel like I have ESP and I can feel
when other people are thinking about me. Also, I love coincidences. I
feel like it’s so much more then happenstance.
THANKS TARA :)
Rattlesnakes Fur
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