Interview with Batwings Catwings

Heya Clay and Dana!  How’re you doing?  I was just listening to your recent Peacock Collection EP at work when my boss walked in – awkward! – but the indefatigable energy of your awesome songs got me through the work day.

Word! Thanks!

I love how you combine controlled guitar discord, dance-along melodies, dynamically propulsive drum rhythms, and Dana’s shouty ‘n’ commanding, but tuneful vocals.  Who plays what in the band and when did you get Batwings Catwings together?  Did you all know each other a while before forming this band?

Dana:  Whoa, thank you!  I didn’t really know Clay and Pepper before, but when our respective bands split around the same time in late 2009 we just got together and started this new thing.  And then my buddy Josh joined when our old bassist left.  Clay is like our team captain on drums.  Pepper is essentially the main songwriter – and he has such a cool, distinctive guitar style that I think kind of defines our music.  Josh is actually a guitarist and lead singer in another band so he has a presence and he has a really cool energy on bass, really understated cool but he’s super creative – he does a lot of our visual stuff too.  I write lyrics and melodies (if you can call them that) and of course sing/scream.

Speaking of Batwings Catwings, what’s the story behind the name of your band?  I like it because it’s easy to do a search for you online and it’s fun to think of a cat with wings, but it also seems to have goth or black metal connotations (Well, at least the ‘batwings’ part), but is that really what your music is about?

Dana:  The name doesn’t really mean anything, it was just a random choice from a long list of band names we were rattling off.  But now I think it is kind of descriptive of our music – we have both a dark side and a light side.  Mostly light because we are all about fun and hanging out and we’re in California, but we all definitely have influences rooted in black metal and even goth culture.  It wasn’t a conscious band-naming process but now that I think of it, it really fits us!  Contradictions are fun.

Your 4-song Peacock Collection EP was released digitally by Indian Gold Records in January.  Is it (or will it be) also available in CD and/or vinyl format?

Clay: Yeah, those dudes are our homies and it was nice of them to put it out and give it some press.  They have a neat roster over there.  They are based out of Mexicali, Mexico, we love playin down there.  There are no plans to put it out on CD or vinyl right now, we do have it on tape though, through Slanty Shanty Records Tape Club.  “Endless Summer” and “Peacock Collection” are also on Deathbomb Arc’s Digital Singles Club too.  When you sign up for it you get two new tracks from awesome bands every Monday for a year!  We are writing new tunes now though, some of which will be released on a 7″ on Gravy Records out of the UK.

I’ve seen some video clips of you playing live for KXLU 88.9 radio in L.A. and at the Bow and Sparrow.  Your live sound and studio recordings seem to be pretty close in spirit, with the same raw energy and intensity.  When you recorded the songs for your EP did you do them all in one take?  What was the recording process like?

Clay: We have recorded so many ways, this time we did it pretty much live except for some little overdubbing.  We recorded at Infrasonic in L.A.  It’s a legendary place in the making. Pete runs it and helped us out with setting everything up.  He has worked with Best Coast, Abe Vigoda, Mars Volta, among countless others.  He rules.  Daniel Haworth recorded it and he suggested we do it live.  He is great, and has done worked with a bunch of people like Bi-Polar Bear and Tim and Eric.  Four songs were done in a day and mixing took about a month then we released it.  Pretty easy-going. We were pumped on the way it came out.

You were at the SXSW Festival in March, playing gigs with Japanther.  Where did you play and what were the vibes like?  What was your whole SXSW experience like?

Dana:  OMG, SXSW was total good vibrations the whole way through!  We played 6 shows in 2 days, all buzzed with all the free beer everywhere.  It was madness but we managed to make it to every show.  There was everything from a pancake and beer party at Cherrywood Coffeehouse, to an official showcase with Japanther and Zoobombs (from Japan, they were my fave band I saw at SXSW), to the Redefine Magazine house party at a commune, to the Smell/KXLU showcase with a bunch of our bro bands, and ending it all unwittingly at a leather bar where Pepper, Clay, and Josh all played with their shirts off and got tons more free drinks for it.  We got along really well and were all smiles the whole tour.  This is one of the funnest bands to be in!

You also just played a benefit show in L.A. for the ongoing crisis in Japan.  How did that go and what other bands were on the bill?

Clay:  Oh man! It was so damn fun!  We raised $2,300 bucks for a relief fund that Shinji from The Boredoms/DMBQ set up.  It was the best day.  The line-up was dreamy, some of the best L.A. locals played with us: Big Business, 400 Blows, Foot Village, Skull Tape, Moses Campbell and Djs Jacob Safari from Wavves, Vice Cooler from XBXRX, Hawnay Troof and Kyle Mabson from Brohammer.  SPOBRA played right before Big Business, they are a performance group from Japan.  So funny, they reenacted a scene from E.T. that got everyone rollin.  By the way, you can still donate at dmbq@dmbq.net.

Dana, I’m really into your sing-talking to forcefully shouted vocals.  I also noticed that you change it up on parts of your songs where you slip into a dreamy mood, like on the chorus of “Endless Summer”, or a melancholic tone, like on sections of “Peacock Collection”.  Who are the singers that you admire and did any of them influence how you wanted to project and inflect your voice?  Would Kathleen Hanna be a reference point for you at all?  Just curious.

Dana:  For sure Kathleen Hanna!  She is the all-time coolest.  I’ve actually wished before that my voice was more like hers but I can’t imitate it, it’s too special.  She’s the only influence that actually sticks out in my mind, aside from singers in LA bands I dig like Jon from The Mae Shi and Signals, Adrian from Tremellow is a new favourite who inspires dreamy stuff, and other chicks who can really yell like Grace from Foot Village and Kristy from Kit.  What you hear from me is just what feels natural.  I get self-conscious sometimes about my lyrics, if they’re like too personal, so I think I kind of feel like if I’m just yelling a lot then people won’t listen that much to the words, they’ll just focus on the chaos.  But I also try to incorporate a little bit of dreamy stuff because I’m more of a dreamy person than I am “punk” or abrasive.  I’m super laid-back but I think riot grrrls rule!

I’m hearing a Nirvana-like (From the Muddy Banks of the Wishka-era; “Aneurysm” specifically) drive ‘n’ grind to the guitars and bash of drums, especially on parts of “Endless Summer” and “Jealousy”.  Is this band a significant influence on your sound or am I reaching?

Clay: For sure for me. We all dig Nirvana in some capacity, some more than others, but we all get into them.  We all pretty much like heavy/grungy/sludgy/metally type stuff.  Really though, our influences are varied as hell… We are 80s-90s kids who dig metal, pop, hip-hop, weird shit, classic, anything that’s cool and good.  Most of all though, we are influenced by the communities of bands we are around now and the communities of bands that we all have been a part of.

Clay, your drum kit rocks!  From what I could see in the video clips at YouTube, you have Batwings Catwings lettering that changes colors as you play?  Is that the set-up or were effects added to the videos I’ve seen?

Clay: Cool, yeah, thanks! Josh our bass player painted the head and I fixed up a light that does a bunch of crazy stuff inside that shines through.  It all happened on a lazy Saturday afternoon. That’s what it is, no crazy post- production!

For some (all?) of you Batwings Catwings is just one of the projects/jobs you’re involved in.  Clay, from what I understand, you also have a blog? I haven’t been able to check it out yet because my work keeps blocking it!  LOL  What is this I hear about Pepper “wielding red pens”?

Clay:  We all have jobby jobs for sure.  Yes, I do have a blog, claytv.blogspot.com that is basically the band blog but I take pics of friend bands too and post ‘em up.  It’s really a basic blog, you can get links to our stuff there.  I also play in the band Mock Duck, we are based in L.A. and Tokyo, two guys named Clay that play speedy, dumb rock-n-roll. Besides that, my main gig is providing therapy for children. I am getting my masters in psychology now and getting my Marriage and Family Therapy license.  Josh, our bassist, plays and sings in Luna is Honey, they are awesome!   Pepper, our guitar player, is a college professor, has his doctorate in sociology.  Yep, you got it, Dr. Pepper wielding red pens across half-assed term papers.

Dana:  I’m an editor/creative director working with fashion magazines to produce content.  But I think we all wish we could just tour forever.

Based on your Facebook profile, all is not work; there is some play, as you list surfing as one of your Activities.  Who surfs and where are the best waves?

Clay: I like to surf but don’t do it as much as I should.  Dana and I love the beach though.  When I do go, it’s Malibu or El Porto.

Dana:  I’m not a good surfer, but it’s really fun if you can get over the initial fear.  Leo Carrillo State Beach in western Malibu has awesome waves.  It’s seriously picturesque and the breaks are beautiful.  It’s a classic spot.  Actually they filmed a lot of Point Break there (sick movie!).  For just chillin I love Zuma Beach in the heart of Malibu.

Is the material you’re currently working on going to turn into an album or another EP?  What will happen to songs that you’ve uploaded to your MySpace profile that aren’t on your EP, like the ultra-catchy punk-pop-dance anthem “Future Beats”?

Clay:  Yes, that 7″ on Gravy, probably another digital release on IndianGold and maybe something on Deathbomb Arc or Slanty Shanty.  It all depends what label we come into contact with that wants to help.  Haha! Our “ultra-catchy punk-pop-dance anthem” “Future Beats” and the other tune “”Gold to Black” are available for download, but have no plans to be on anything at this point.

Lastly, but not least, where can we find you online?

All of these places:

Free EP dwnld>>  www.indiangoldrecords.com
Band Blog >>  www.claytv.blogspot.com/

www.facebook.com/batwings.catwings

http://twitter.com/batwingscw
www.myspace.com/batwingscatwings
www.reverbnation.com/batwingscatwings
www.batwingscatwings.bandcamp.com
Remixes>>  www.soundcloud.com/batwings-catwings
PR>>  http://www.fanaticpromotion.com/