Montreal's Pale Lips play fun, hyperactive, stripped down rock 'n roll music with hints of 60's garage rock and girl groups, power pop, and late 70's punk rock. As soon as you put it on it makes you want to dance to it at high decibels. They just released their delightful debut EP Got A Sweet Tooth earlier this year on the famed No Front Teeth recording label with more on the way. So make sure you floss and brush twice a day because Pale Lips are here to stay!
Interview by J Jordan Castro
Let’s
start out with introductions! Who are
Pale Lips and what does everyone do in the band?
Pale Lips are
Ilona Szabo - guitar
Jamie
Radu - bass
Lynn
Poulin - drums
Jackie
Blenkarn - vocals
How
did you all meet and decide to play music together?
PALE LIPS: Ilona used to play with her band Dagger Eyes, and
when Lynn saw them play she knew she wanted to start a band with Ilona. Jamie
was recruited by Lynn at a party after they bonded during a conversation about
music. None of the three girls wanted to take on the role of lead vocals, but
Ilona and Jamie were friends of Jackie, who happened to be a karaoke
connoisseur...and voila! Pale Lips was born.
What
band, musician or songwriter first inspired you to want to pick up and learn to
play an instrument?
ILONA: The Cramps
JAMIE: Kim Deal from The Pixies and Matt Freeman from Rancid
LYNN: her brother Stevie Kicks from The Briefs, The Cute
Lepers
JACKIE: I can’t
actually play any instruments, or sing really, but I’ll say Ronnie Ronette
(because “Be My Baby” is a go-to karaoke song for me).
How
would you describe Pale Lips “sound” to your Grandparents?
PALE LIPS: Rock and roll you can foxtrot to.
 |
| Got a Sweet Tooth 7" released May 7th 2015 on No Front Teeth Records |
You
came out with your debut EP Got a Sweet
Tooth on No Front Teeth records. Can
you tell me a little about the record (where was it recorded, who helped out
with it etc.) and how you hooked up with No Front Teeth in London?
PALE LIPS: We recorded at Raven Street Studios in Ottawa,
Ontario with Rey Sabatin. Rey is a friend of Ilona’s who wanted some experience
recording and mixing bands, so he gave us a great deal and did an excellent job
with our debut EP. We had only been playing together for less than a year at
that point, and we recorded five songs in two days (the three on the EP plus
two others that we put up as demos on our Bandcamp), so it was definitely an
interesting experience and poor Rey has the patience of a saint. No Front Teeth
was suggested to us by Lynn’s brother Stevie, who had put something out on that
label with his band The Cute Lepers. Once we got in touch with Marco at No
Front Teeth, he was super stoked on the songs and more than happy to put the
record out.
Tell
me about the song “Rock n’ Roll Dipshit”.
Was it inspired by an actual person or just the idea of the typical rock
n’ roll lunkhead?
PALE LIPS: Rock n Roll Dipshit was, indeed, loosely inspired
by a real-life person, but the song itself is less about an individual and more
about the rock and roll dipshit archetype.
There
have been a lot of bands lately speaking out against their audience using their
phones during their performances. What
sorts of things annoy or distract you when you’re playing?
PALE LIPS: Probably the only annoying or distracting thing
is when people stand too far back from the stage. We definitely play better and
have way more fun when people are really getting into it. Everybody should
always move closer!
 |
| Pale Lips Demos released December 2014 |
PALE LIPS: Music doesn’t have to say anything to be
relevant, if it did we wouldn’t be considered relevant at all. Music can
inspire any range of emotions, it can say something or nothing at all, and it
just has to be enjoyable to listen to. Mostly we just want people to have fun
when they’re listening to us.
What’s
your favorite LP to play from start to finish and tell me about the first time
you heard it, where were you and how were you introduced to it?
ILONA - King Tuff Was
Dead. I was anticipating a big change in my life that didn’t end up
happening.
JAMIE - Attack in Black Years
(By One Thousand Fingertips). I had just gone through a breakup and was
living in my friend’s apartment. I would just flip this record over and over
again.
LYNN - The Monks Bad
Habits. I briefly had a band way back in the day called Inner City Kitties,
and my friend in the band introduced me to this record. I fell in love and
still listen to it all the time, it’s one of my all-time favorites.
JACKIE - Ramones Leave
Home. I first heard this album in the back of my friend’s car when I was
about fifteen. We would drive around all the time listening to it on repeat. To
this day it’s my favorite Ramones album, and probably my favorite album of all
time. I never get sick of it and can sing it by heart.
What’s
the best piece of advice you’ve read or someone told you that you still follow
to this day?
ILONA - My dad always says, “watch and listen.”
JAMIE - “Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six
impossible things before
breakfast.” A quote from Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland.
JACKIE - My mom was a Scout leader so she taught me to
always be prepared. Very practical.
LYNN - My brother always tells me, “Stay in your zone, breathe and
have fun.”
Where
can people go or log on to hear and buy your music?
We have sold out of our 7” entirely but digital download
(and streaming) is still available.
What
lies ahead for Pale Lips, any more records or touring news coming up?
No comments:
Post a Comment