PYT meets... Allo, Darlin'

Hello Darling. How are you?

Very well, thanks. Feeling a little worse for wear this morning though. I played a benefit show last night where they were selling gin in teacups. It was lovely but I don’t normally drink that much…but last night I made an exception…

For those who don't know who you are, who are you?!

I’m Elizabeth, and I play under the name Allo, Darlin’. I used to have a band called the Darlings but I was forced to change the name by a Californian pop punk band. Sometimes I play with friends, it just depends who’s available on that day. On record I play with a full band.

Last time we saw you was at the tweepoplove-in that was Indietracks. That place was ace wasn't it? What have you been up to since then?

It was amazing, one of my favourite weekends since I moved to England. Or ever in fact. I’ve been up to lots of things since then. I’ve just come back from 6 weeks in Australia writing and recording my new EP. I’ve also been recording a couple of covers for different compilations that are coming out all over the place, one is a Springsteen record, another is a Ramones one. And there’s a Jonathan Richman one in the works too. Apart from recording I’ve been playing shows in London and I’m just about to go off on mini-tour around England in Scotland.


In the true spirit of Christmas you are releasing a new EP. Have you looked into making it chart eligible? I'm sure we could get you into the top 40 at least!

Ha ha, that’s very sweet but I’m not sure about that. It would be nice though. I do have a soft spot for special Christmas records though, like the Beach Boys one, the Phil Spector one, the Low Christmas album. They’re always a little bit different, a little set apart. I wanted mine to be like that, so I’ve recorded it all on ukulele and just me playing. It’s very simple and lo-fi and imperfect, which is different for me, because I’m normally quite a perfectionist. I think it suits the mood of the songs though. But it means it’s a long way from Christmas Number 1!


Seeing that you recorded said wintery songs whilst back home in Oz, what is the deal with you guys calling flipflops 'thongs'? That is just plain messed up. You don't wear a thong on your feet.

Well, the space between your toes is kind of a crack, isn’t it? You should check out what Aussies call “double pluggers”. They’re really classy thongs, only worn for special occasions. Funerals, weddings, that kind of thing…
What kind of things influence you when song writing? It always feels like there is an honest, natural sense of self in your lyrics. Are you generally singing about yourself/experiences, or are their elements of storytelling in there?

I wish I could say it was storytelling, but that wouldn’t be the truth really. Most of the time I’m writing from my own personal experience, sometimes a little too much so I think. Like my song Emily, I really wish that I hadn’t put her name in the song, because I think she found out about it and was embarrassed. That wasn’t my intention when I was writing it, I just didn’t think that anybody would ever hear it. I guess it’s also because Emily is such a nice word to sing, it just bounces off a melody. My name is rubbish to sing, the only song I know with Elizabeth in the title is a really depressing one by the Eels about his sister who committed suicide. There’s lots of songs called Emily though, and I think it is because it’s so nice to sing.

How did you find working with the lovely folks at WeePop? How important do you think that label is in giving people like yourself and folks like Little My (another PYT bestest friend) an outlet?

WeePop is amazing. Camila and Thor, who run it, are the most enthusiastic and supportive people ever. They’re the best people to have at gigs, especially Camila, because she always stands right down the front and dances, even if nobody else is. The little community that has sprung up around the WeePop bands is really nice too – I think some of the Little My kids will be sleeping at our flat when they come to London soon. There’s so many of them, they don’t all fit at Camila’s house! But things like at Indietracks when Let’s Whisper, The Just Joans and I played a little impromptu show on the train platform – that was a show just for Camila really, but other people found out about it and came down. That’s the kind of nice thing that happens when you have a little community of bands, and WeePop has really fostered that.
As we are dragging you to Manchester, do you have any particular feelings for the city?

I can’t wait to come to Manchester. So many of my favourite bands come from there, and I’m really curious to see what’s in the water. I know things have changed a lot since the 70s and 80s, but I’m still fascinated. It’s going to be super fun.

What other things have you got going on at the moment? Read and good books, seen and good films/tv? Who are you listening to at the moment?

Er, at the moment I’m reading the Bandini Quartet by John Fante. We have a lot of DVDs in our flat, my boyfriend’s collection is pretty intense. Last week I saw the Bergman film Cries and Whispers, the Korean film Old Boy and some surfing movie called Riding Giants. I fell asleep in the surfing movie but it was pretty. I’ve been listening a lot to Taken By Trees lately, that’s Victoria Bergsman’s project, since she left the Concretes. She’s lovely. I think you either love or hate or style of singing, and I can’t get enough of it.

What are you hopes for 2009?

Oh so many! I’m very optimistic about the future. I’m so excited about the election of Obama, although I’m trying not to pin too many hopes on his election. It’s nice to feel that finally change is in the air, and I will allow myself to feel that excitement. In terms of music, I have lots of things coming up that I can’t wait for. I’m recording a new EP for WeePop which will be a 7 inch record, and then I think I’ll be ready to make an album straight after that. I’m not sure if that will be a self-release yet or on a label, I’m just trying to work that out now. I’d like to get together a full band and play some shows in Europe. I just want to keep learning things, more instruments, more about writing songs, more about singing and recording. I’m pretty excited about everything.

myspace.com/allodarlin

PYT meets... Nat Johnson

Hello Nat, how are you?

Fine and dandy thanks

For those people who don't know who you are, who are you?

I used to be in Monkey Swallows the Universe but we broke up at the start of 2008.

How is being a solo artist treating you? Do you miss the dynamics of being in a band full time?

Half the time I’m playing solo but the other half I’m playing with a band again so I’m getting the best of both worlds. Playing solo was scary at first but I enjoy now I’m used to it. It’s always more fun being on stage with a band though.

Has your songwriting taken a different form as opposed to when in MSTU? Are you drawing on any influences which maybe you hadn't touched on before?

It’s hard to say. I haven’t really changed my methods of songwriting but it’s nice to be able to write some louder stuff!

How important has working with Thee SPC been to you? To those of us outside of Sheffield it seems to be a great label, and wonderful at encouraging the music of the city - is this a fair assessment?

They have good taste don’t they, ha ha! Yeah, they’re great at finding the best stuff in Sheffield to let people know about.

Is the Sheffield music scene still on the up? Is everyone still trying to sound like the Monkeys or is the success of people like Richard Hawley encouraging people to craft more well thought out ideas?

There’ll always be someone trying to be the Monkeys but that’s only a small part of it. There’s tons of stuff going on in Sheffield, as always! It’s a great city for music.

Who are the best new acts you've seen/heard recently?

Fight Like Apes are brilliant. I really liked Laura Marling at Green Man. And Caribou. Just discovered Lay Low, a girl from Iceland, too, she’s great. And Thomas Tantrum.

Given that you are coming over to Manchester for us, do you hold any particular fondness for the city?

It’s not somewhere I’ve spent a lot of time to be honest! I use to have friends at uni there but that was a long time ago. I only tend to come over to either watch or play gigs - I’ve seen the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Spinto Band in Manchester in the last few years.

What other things are you up to at the moment? Read any good books/watched good tv/films etc?

I recently read Stephen Fry’s ‘Making History’ which I really enjoyed, and also Nabokov’s ‘Pale Fire’ which is excellent. I’ve been watching a lot of horror films.

What are your hopes for 2009? Both personally and musically.

Well I want to try and get an album finished and released for a start!


Thanks a lot Nat, hope you have a lovely Christmas and New Year!!

www.myspace.com/judybeat

PYT meets... Jam on Bread

Hello Jam on Bread. Who are you then?

Hiya! My name's Steve and I make 'ukulele pop,' at least that's what I say when I'm begging people to give me gigs. I've been going for about a year now and have been lucky enough to play gigs with musicians who are much better/more famous than I am, which is nice.

Just you and your Uke is it?

Yeah! It's a lot easier that way. If I want to play a show or go on tour I don't have to mess about making sure the rest of the band are available. Also, the Ukulele is about as portable as it gets so I don't have to lug around heavy bits of equipment. I'm really weak so I'd probably cry if I had to haul a real instrument around on public transport.

Who are the people/bands that have influenced you and convinced you to write popsongs?

Argh! Far too many to mention. Bands like The Middle Ones, The Deirdres, The Empty Set, The Shrieking Violets and songwriters like Pagan Wanderer Lu and Pete Green inspire me. They make me want to write pop songs just so I can get the chance to play gigs with them. I'd be happy if I was half as good as them on that list.

Non band wise, people like John Brainlove from Brainlove Records have influenced me a lot. He's really enthusiastic about everything he does and I'd like to say I have the same enthusiasm for what I do. I'm being a brown nose now aren't I?

Can the term 'pop music' ever be rescued from 'chart music.' Obviously chart music is popular with a lot of people, but surely pop is more like the Labrador stuff which we both love.

I dunno! Maybe there should be a distinction between Pop music and pop music. I'm not sure which one would be which, but I'm not a fan of capital letters so I reckon the good kind would be the all lower case 'pop'. Yeah. One day I'd like to see pop music being Pop music too; have Suburban Kids With Biblical Names selling out the Apollo while The Enemy or some crap like that are playing at Dry Bar. Having said that, The Enemy would probably go down a storm at Dry Bar.

what are you up to at the moment? any plans for a proper jam on bread release? oh, and did the isopods cd ever come to fruition? i totally forgot to finish my song for that before the deadline...

there's supposed to be a 7" coming out at some point but it's a bit up in the air at the moment. i'll probably release it myself. diy by default! i need to get round to recording it first though...

i don't think the isopod compilation ever got finished. i'd say it was a shame but my contribution was awful. genuinely awful. it was the first song i ever wrote and recorded and it was called 'isopod in my bathroom'. i don't think i even have a recording of it anymore!

Seeing that you are just as much a fan of the internet as us, can you suggest some good blogs to be reading? I see we share a love of swedesplease - I love that site.

I really like Vegan Yum Yum, but that isn't a music blog, it just has lots of recipes and stuff on it. It's entertaining even if you can't stand cooking 'cos the photos are so nice. I'm making tofutti cream cheese tomato sauce with spaghetti tonight and it'll look nothing like what it looks like on the internet, but still, yum!

Music-wise I'd go for Death to Music, Skatterbrain, indie mp3. Probably some others I can't think of right now. I have a swedesplease t-shirt! I bet you don't have one of those! I was so happy when they wrote stuff about me on there. I'm not even Swedish!

what other things are you into right now? read any good books, watched any good films/tv?

we don't have a tv but i'm pretty hooked on illegally streamed episodes of gossip girl, embarrassingly enough. house as well, although that's much less embarrassing. i love house so much.

a friend lent me adam gnade's novel. so far i'm about twenty pages in and already we've had a dog chewing on a dead baby and a lorry load of bunnies crashing, leaving a road full of screaming fluff. apparently they scream like babies when they're in pain. the thought of that made me do a sad face for about a whole hour after i read it.

What are your plans for 2009?

There's supposed to be a 7" coming out at some point but it's a bit up in the air at the moment. I'll probably release it myself. DIY by default! I need to get round to recording it first though... I'm also in the middle of arranging a tour with Mat Riviere in February which'll be nice. Mat Riviere's ace. Other than that, I dunno really! Play some more gigs with people I like and meet even more lovely people. Anything else would just be a bonus!

thanks a lot, we hope you have a great christmas and a happy new year!

www.myspace.com/jamonbreadyay

Read all about it...

So this week has been ace. First up we were made CityLife's club of the week, which was amazing. We are so happy that they wanted to write about us, and it makes for rather nice reading. We will probably give you a full taste of our answers at some point in the new year.

Off the back of the CityLife piece we welcomed a lovely audience to Fuel on Monday night for our Rockin' Around The Christmas Twee gig. We had three of our favourite acts playing, who were all brilliant. We had a great time, and it seemed that everyone else did too!

As you may have seen in the current issue of the Pull Yourself Together zine we took some time out to interview Nat Johnson, Allo, Darlin' and Jam on Bread in the lead up to the gig, abridge versions of which are in the zine. Well, starting today we are going to bring you the full versions! Check back soon for the first installment...