Interview with Laura Stevenson & the Cans
If you’re a fan of female-fronted, heartfelt folk-rock, it’s time you check out Laura Stevenson and The Cans. The band is part of QuoteUnquote Records, run by Jeff Rosenstock [Bomb the Music Industry, Kudrow, Arrogant Sons of Bitches], and, like their label mates, showcases a flawless brand of DIY-tunes. I personally had the pleasure of asking the talented Laura Stevenson a few questions, and here is what she had to say.
Who are you and what do you do in The Cans?
I’m Laura, I write and sing and play guitar.
What is your writing process like?
That definitely varies, if I have the luxury of being totally alone
with a guitar with no roommates around then I sit and play and sing a
melody over and over until it transforms itself into some sparse words
and then eventually into a song. That is my preferred way of working
but it’s intensely private and hyper-emotional, my eyes tear, it’s a
big mess.
Are you currently writing any new material? If so, how does it differ
from A Record?
Yes indeed. We’re working on writing the next record as we speak. I
had a lot of songs written and some that were unfinished that I’ve
been gradually bringing to practices and showing the band and we’ve
been doing a lot of work on them together which is really nice.
Because I started out playing the songs on A Record before The Cans, I
had pretty much fully realized and arranged those songs myself which
was kind of limiting. But now we have this group writing environment
with a bunch of different brains contributing and… it’s pretty
awesome so get ready.
The song “Landslide Song/The Dig” displays an entirely different side
of the band than the rest of A Record. Any particular reason this
track has a more upbeat vibe?
Yeah, that’s the song people circle-pit to. And by that I mean, 3
people did. Once. But it was really exciting for me. That song may
be different from the rest of the songs on A Record but it’s not a
stretch for us to play or to write. Most of us come from punk rock
backgrounds, I know I do, Mike does, Jeff, Alex, Chris, Matt…
How did you become involved with QuoteUnquote Records and how has your
experience there been?
Well, Jeff from The Cans runs QuoteUnquote. He is a relatively new
Can but I’ve been playing in his band Bomb the Music Industry for
maybe 5 years now? Off and on, I don’t go on every tour. Anyway, the
two of us have been friends forever and we respect each other a lot as
writers and he seemed really psyched about putting out A Record.
Having our first real record on QuoteUnquote was a really awesome
experience. It’s a digital and donation based label so it was very
easily accessible and that’s all we wanted, we just wanted as many
people to hear it as possible with no pretense. We weren’t looking to
profit off of it, you know, it was 8 songs that we were proud of.
What sparked the idea to cover the Bomb! the Music Industry song “It
Ceases to Be Whining…” and to have Bomb cover “A Shine to It” on the
split EP?
I forget who’s idea that was, either Jeff or Mike. I think Jeff knew
all along that he’d cover A Shine to It but I was really up in the air
about which song I would cover and it was a source of anxiety for a
while. Jeff writes such good songs, really it’s insane how good he
is. I knew I wanted to “pretty-up” a fast song and I guess the title
and all the “fucks” deterred me for a little bit but the melody is
really beautiful so I just took it and ran with it, recorded it on
GarageBand, and then Mike added the clapping and the fun.
Who are your biggest musical and non-musical inspirations?
Hmmm… that’s a tough one. I really like Courtney Love. Is that
okay? I think she rules. Mike had to stop following her on Twitter
because apparently it was crazy.
What is a typical Laura Stevenson & the Cans show like?
We’ll play you some songs, we’ll make stupid faces at each other, I’ll
try to make jokes between songs and do some high-kicks, 3 kids might
circle-pit… we have fun but play really sad songs.
What is it like for you being a female on tour in a van?
Probably what it’s like to be a male in a van… except that I get my
period which is not so fun on tour. Then again, I don’t wake up with
a boner- also not fun on tour. Otherwise, you know, we all treat each
other with a lot of respect, we’re really lucky to be a part of a
group in which every single person is just really, really awesome and
really kind and good at what they do.
Do you have any funny or outrageous tour stories?
Oh god, I never do when people ask me. Once, we went to Subway. It was okay.
Name three artists you’re currently really enjoying.
Let’s see… Cast Spells, Archipelago, and Hard Girls. All great
bands and very nice people.
What would be a dream tour lineup for you?
Neil Young, Archers of Loaf, C + C Music Factory, … can we open?
Is there anything else you’d like to add or say to your fans?
Thank you for being great! A Record plus 3 additional songs is being
released by Asian Man in April so, keep an eye out!
