NEW NOIZE MAKERS INTERVIEW: THE HOT TODDIES

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665647244986970475.post-12348264822892922232009-03-17T23:13:00.002Z2009-03-17T23:20:32.221ZNEW NOIZE MAKERS INTERVIEW: THE HOT TODDIES<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l_8Myg7NlCs/ScAvB8J_KdI/AAAAAAAALUQ/1gO3nw-2qks/s1600-h/THE+HOT+TODDIES.PNG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 0px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 192px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l_8Myg7NlCs/ScAvB8J_KdI/AAAAAAAALUQ/1gO3nw-2qks/s200/THE+HOT+TODDIES.PNG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314299270671575506" /></a>Host to a Mediterranean climate, it’s easy to see how Oakland, West-Coast USA influences all-girl troupe The Hot Toddies to be so goddamn happy. In the bleak climates of England, their h-a-p-p-y approach to EVERYTHING seems almost alien, but that doesn’t mean The Toddies won’t manage to win us all round. You can almost hear the Pacific Ocean lap upon the Californian coast in ‘The Surf Song’; they’re the little sisters The Beach Boys never had, the 60s hipsters forty years later. Better late than never though, and showcasing themselves in support slots with those such as Art Brut, when they finally reach the UK in April you know that all you indie fans with a penchant for “chorus’ so sweet you can lose your teeth to them” will fall head over heels in love. We caught up with The Toddies before they travel over the pond; to chat album, tour and climate… NOIZE: First off, who's in the group and what do they do within The Toddies? THT: The Hot Toddies is made up of: Heidi Bodeson (bass, guitar, and vocals), Erin Skidmore (guitar, bass, and vocals), Sylvia Hurtado (drums and some vocals) and Jessica Wright (keyboard, guitar, and some vocals). We are an all-girl indie rock band and we live in Oakland, California. N: You recently completed your debut album 'Smell The Mitten', how did you find the recording process and the outcome? THT: Smell the Mitten was great. It was a lot of hard work but of course very satisfying to finish it all. We recorded the drums in a regular studio but finished the rest in our engineer's apartment - which was actually really fun! We got to drink a lot of whiskey and wine and play with his cats in between takes. The vocals were even recorded in a closet that was converted to a recording booth. So yeah, we had a blast! That was over a year ago now and [we] are already working on the next one which should be finished sometime this spring/summer depending on how fast we are. N: What influences your music? The dee-wop, surf pop of the 60s shines through for me... THT: Most people definitely notice the "oldies" style of our music, probably because of all the harmonies. Overall though, our influences range from older stuff like the Beatles and the Ramones to newer bands like The Decemberists and Mates of State. In between, each of us have been into pretty much every style of music - punk, metal, classic rock, classical piano, even some country. If it's got harmonies, we've probably sung along at some point! N: You'll be supporting Art Brut for your Exeter date in Britain, are you fans? THT: We're REALLY excited to be playing with them! It was totally unexpected and fantastic! N: What American acts would you suggest for us British readers, and simultaneously, which British artists are you feeling right now? THT: Some of the bands we really like from the US are good friends of ours: Audrye Sessions from Oakland play beautiful indie rock melodies, Judgement Day is an amazing classical metal trio of drums, cello and violin, and Tea Cozies from Seattle are 3 ladies and one gent who play awesome garage girl rock. Dr. Dog is another recent favourite from the East Coast that has killer harmonies. We're super excited to meet a lot more British bands along this tour like Foxes! from Brighton who we're touring with, and also Town Bike who looked like so much fun that we had to email them to play with us in Liverpool. Oh we've got a thing for The Magic Numbers too. N: How do you think the optimistic out-look in your music is for the new America, post-Obama election? THT: We love Obama and we're very optimistic about the future of America right now. Musically, we haven't written any political songs (so far, maybe we'll write a song for the Obama’s) so there's not really a direct connection to The Hot Toddies music. One thing we do have in common with him is that we like to keep it real. Some people seemed shocked that we sing about things like sex and drinking, but really most girls feel the same way we do. Why shouldn't we talk about it? N: This is you're first time coming to England as a band, how do you feel about the trip? Expecting anything from an English crowd? THT: Well, as you may guess, we're really excited about the beer and the whiskey... and hoping it will be mostly free, with the economy the way that it is. We love travelling, and drinking, and music so whenever we can combine all three it's definitely going to be a great time. We've heard some rumours that the English can really hold their booze? So we've been training for the tour just to make sure we can keep up with you guys. Really can't wait to get on that plane and come visit! N: Coming from the 'Orange County', you must be dreading the classic British weather... THT: Well actually, we come from a bit further north - the San Francisco Bay Area, which gets its fair share of fog and rain in the winter. We do love the sunshine though and hopefully it won't be TOO dreary the whole time we're there. There you have it, the band so up-beat you’ll think you’re on a pogo stick while you listen to them. Forget our low-swung grey skyline and catch The Toddies on their ‘Binary Tour’ with Foxes at the following dates for some auditory sun, surfing USA style. 2 Apr - Latest Bar (formerly Joogleberry) Brighton 3 Apr - The Lexington - White Light London 4 Apr - Edge of the Wedge - Wedgewood Rooms Portsmouth 5 Apr - The Phoenix Exeter 6 Apr - Mother’s Ruin Bristol 7 Apr - Bar Fresa Liverpool 8 Apr - Mad Ferret - HED Preston 9 Apr - The Cellar Oxford 10 Apr - Met Lounge Peterborough By Nicholas Burman <a href="http://www.myspace.com/thehottoddies" target="blank">www.myspace.com/thehottoddies</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5665647244986970475-1234826482289292223?l=www.noizemakesenemies.co.uk' alt='' /></div>noizenoreply@blogger.com0