I'm proud to present, with another interview, an amazing band out of Sacramento CA. I cannot stress that these cats are wicked cool, and not to mention very nice people as well. This quartet is known as Sister Crayon. Enjoy.
B-Sides: Tell me a little about Sister Crayon.
Terra:Sister Crayon originally started out as a solo project of mine a few years ago. It was really quiet stuff, just me and a guitar. I always wanted a bigger sound, so when I met Dani Fernandez I was incredibly happy because she I both connected on the hip-hop level. She was also really amazing on the MPC, so we just clicked. We started playing shows for about a year and then added Genaro Ulloa, who added a lot of texture on the songs that we previously had. All three of us clicked and we were all into the epic, ambient sound that we were starting to create. Our last member, Nicholas Suhr was added in the beginning of summer and the full band sound is amazing. I feel blessed to have not only amazing musicians in the band, but also friends. We all connect on a level I've never had before (with band-mates) so it's a pretty amazing experience to get to create and play music with good people.
B:I must ask, how did you get the name Sister Crayon?
Terra:The name for Sister Crayon came randomly, to be honest. I was a bit intoxicated and was sitting in my friend's loft in S.F. and I was writing Bianca Cassady from Cocorosie a letter. I signed the letter "sister crayon" and 2 weeks later, I started going by that as a solo act. I don't really know where it came from.
B:Every band goes through phases with their music; do you feel like what you are doing now is a continuation of what you have always done, or do you feel like you are pushing into new territory with your band?
Terra:I feel that with this band, we are all definitely pushing and challenging ourselves creatively. I know, that we are always trying to push ourselves in the way that we write. I feel that as a band, every time we play a show, we grow a bit more. It's exciting to see what we can create (being that we are all still so new to this band). I feel that we push each other, we are also inspired by so many different bands and genres of music, so that helps us bring new elements to practice.
B:I see a lot of very positive buzz going on around you all, and in a short time of this most recent release. How do you feel about the attention you receive?
Terra:I think we are all a little taken aback by all of the attention that this new EP has been receiving, to be honest. It's a bit overwhelming but at the same time, we are so grateful for the support. We hope that people continue to support us and keep on coming out to the shows. We are very excited for the Spain tour and for Borne Recordings! to be putting out the album. Their support is amazing. We just feel very grateful. Everyone has been so supportive so far.
B:If I may say, you guys have a very engulfing presence on stage. Its very captivating. A lot of bands are very much into the whole "rocking out" thing on stage, to be more entertaining.On the opposite end, You guys seem to be very much comfortable and calm on stage.Are you aware of the crowd when you play? or do you try to stay focused on the music and your own thoughts when you play?
Terra:I don't know if I can really answer for everyone else in the band but I think we are all pretty calm on stage for the most part. One thing I love about all everyone in the band is that no one is trying to be the center of attention, the main one, you know? We all just love the music that we are playing, so we just go out and play shows and if people come, that's amazing, you know? So far, Sacramento has been really supportive and the shows are really fun.
B:I'm very curious what the song "Here We Never Die" is about. It definitely has a very haunting feel to it. Can you, if you wouldn't mind, explain what the song is about to you?
Terra:Um...the song "Here We Never die" was written about a year ago, last summer. It's basically about that moment or span when you are infatuated with someone and you kind of want to just shut the world out and be solely with them, just you and that person...with nothing to get in the way, with nothing to distract you from that attention of that one person.
I was pretty heavily infatuated with someone at the time (still am, luckily) and so that song was pretty much me telling her, in a semi-discreet way. It's also about death and the way that I saw it and still do, at the time. I think about death a lot, i read about death a lot...it was just a way of talking about it , making that subject less painful. To be completely in love with someone, so that finally, for once, death doesn't seem so scary nor finite.
B:There is so much music going on these days, and about a million movements of music going on all over the world. Do you see yourself inside a scene or movement, or do you think of yourself as an outlier to a lot of what is happening around you?
Terra:I think that with there being so many scenes/movements in music worldwide, it would be really hard to try to tell whether or not we fit into one, if any. I think that because we are into so many different kinds of music, it helps us not fit into exactly one kind of genre or scene. I'm not really sure what we are doing really, but I like it. I think that we would never want to be classified as one type of genre, to be honest. We are all into so many different things. When I started as a solo project, it was more "folky/wierd" type of stuff, more personal quiet songs. Then when Dani and I started playing, hip hop was a definite influence and the songs were still a bit simple, still a bit bare but had a heavy hip-hop/trip hop influence.
When Genaro joined, we all focused on more ambient, textured styles. Nick just pulls the whole sound together.
B:What are you plans currently for the band, musical or otherwise?
Terra:Our plans for the band are to just tour as much as possible.
We just came back from a 2 week North West tour in August and are planning a Europe tour for about 2 months with Borne Recordings! as well as possibly a UC California college tour. We just want to get out as much as possible and keep playing for new people. Three members of the band are in school right now, so that is also a priority this semester, so it's been a bit exhausting balancing the two but next year is going to be full band mode.
B:Any interesting tour stories? I'm sure you guys must have seen some interesting things on the road.
Terra:Oh my god. Our last tour was insane. We had some pretty amazing times and met some really cool people, but our last 2 nights of the tour were the most bizarre. So, we ended up playing a random show in Pomona, CA (which happened to be the best place on tour! we love the kids in Pomona!).
Anyways, we end up meeting these beautiful people who let us stay at their house. There ends up being a house party there and we end up meeting this guy named Chris who owns a mansion 5 doors down from Snoop Dogg. No lie. We end up staying up til 5 am and so, when we wake up, we can't find our keys. We eventually find out that Chris accidentally took our keys, so we end up driving and hunting him down for nearly an hour. Chris owns a liquor store, so when we find him he tells us to grab anything we want in the store for the trouble.
So, here we are (all broke...the tour was called Broke Bitches Tour 2009) and we just start grabbing food, alcohol, candy, etc. etc. So, he takes us to his mansion (where our keys are) and it is the most beautiful house we've ever seen. It was incredible. So, we go from hanging out at a mansion next to Snoop Dogg to staying at a farm house the next night. The farm house was extremely bizarre, with all of us (Agent Ribbons toured with us too) either sleeping outside with goats or in the backseats of our vehicles.People were singing out in the fields until 4 in the morning. It was weird. Those two nights were crazy.
B:On the topic of Tour, can you tell me about the Europe dates that I see as "TBA" on your site? will those be solo or with other bands?
Terra:Our Europe tour is still in the works but it is being booked by Borne Recordings who will also be putting the album out in January 2010. We will be playing for 2 months in different places in Spain, Italy, France, Switzerland, and Germany. It's pretty crazy and still hard to fathom. We will be touring with Chelsea Wolfe and her band as well.
B:What is the Next show that everyone should check you out at?
Terra:We have 2 pretty cool shows this month. Our friends from Los Angeles, Voices Voices will be coming to Sacramento to play 2 shows with us in September. The first show is September 18th at The Hub, it's going to be all ages. I love the Hub because it's a pretty small and intimate space, really chill. The other show will be Sept. 21st at The Press Club. That night will be really fun because we are sharing the bill with a regular dance night that they have every month.
B:Any last words for the readers?
Terra:Um...sorry guys if this interview sounds very matter of fact. I'm at work right now and I work at a hotel, so all I hear is elevator music.
With that said, I leave you to ponder and listen to the dreamy and rhythmic music of Sister Crayon!
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