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In case you might not have read the recent post about the great Birds & Batteries, this group from San Francisco is out on tour promoting their latest release, Up To No Good (EP). Having come down through Texas for the SXSW Festival this year, they happen to also play the NX35 Conferette along the way, which I happen to catch. After much boozing and dancing to B&B’s range of folky rhythms to their wild, driving dance melodies, I ended up talking with the band. Very laid back and awesome people. Frontman Mike Sempert, was gracious enough to answer a couple of questions about the group’s little roll through Denton town and how they feel about this little part of the world. He even threw in a little Guestlist just for your viewing pleasure! So, please enjoy. And please check out Birds & Batteries!
SubEx: First of all, how did you come up with the name Birds & Batteries?
Mike Sempert: It's a long, disgusting story. No actually, I stumbled across the words in a Tom Robbins novel and thought they had a nice ring. That's it.
SE: Are all of you guys from San Francisco?
MS: Myself and Christopher are from the Boston area, Brian's from San Diego, Jill's from Rockford, IL. We all met in SF.
SE: What would you call your music?
MS: Special. Everyone thinks their baby is special. Genre-wise, we do whatever the music calls for, which could mean a sparse, pedal steel accompanied ballad, or funky, weird, dance music.
SE: How long have you been together?
MS: We've been working as this lineup for two and a half years, B&B has been a performing moniker for almost five years.
SE: Do you have a favorite bird?
MS: Hmmm... I appreciate gay birds.
SE: What is the State Bird of California?
MS: See above.
SE: Was this your first time though Texas?
MS: This was our fifth time through Texas.
SE: What did you think of the NX35 Music Conferette as a festival compared to other festivals you have played?
MS: It was a lot of fun, definitely more relaxed than other festival experiences. It's exciting to see this thing taking off, and we're happy to be on the near-ground floor with it. Hopefully we'll be back next year.
SE: How did Denton treat you?
MS: Very well. Friendly people, nice town.
SE: Did all the beards scare you?
MS: Yeah right. Our nickname is Beards & Batteries.
SE: What did you think of the size of the town with all of the concentrated culture of people and places?
MS: I was surprised to learn that there's only 100,000 people in Denton. So, yes. High culture-to-people ratio.
SE: Did you get to check out any other shows going on while you guys were in town?
MS: Not as many as I'd hoped. Tour is rough like that. Telegraph Canyon's show at Rubber Gloves was amazing. DJ Mom Jeans was fun.
SE: You guys had a pretty busy weekend in Austin for SXSW... Tell us about it.
MS: Oh man, pretty standard- it was a total cluster-fuck. Lots of fun, anxiety, hard-work, a sense of relief at the end of the day and bbq.
SE: What color are your underpants?
MS: Green
SE: People call Austin the "Music Capitol Of The World." How would you describe your experience in Austin?
MS: Well, my experience is almost entirely limited to SXSW. My conclusion is that Austin is a whole lot of fun.
SE: Likewise, people have begun to refer to Denton as "The Other Music Town In Texas." How would you compare/contrast the two towns in your experience? How did the people treat you at the shows/on the streets?
MS: Well, you were real nice, and so was everyone we interacted with. Austin and Denton are not in the same category in terms of scale. But I'd hate to see Denton become Austin and I don't think it will. Denton has got its own thing goin' on and that's what makes it so cool.
SE: Where did you guys head after SXSW?
MS: Back to Ft. Worth to play a show with Telegraph Canyon.
SE: Would you ever want to come back to Texas?
MS: Of course. Texas is where we do our thing.
SE: Do you miss me?
MS: Yes, desperately. But we're booking another tour for August. . .See you then!
"Top Five Bands We've Ever Seen At SXSW" by: Birds & Batteries
5. Telegraph Canyon
4. Oh No Ono
3. Dirty Projectors
2. Efterklang
1. Andrew Bird
Birds & Batteries’ music can be purchased through iTunes or by visiting their website: birdsandbatteries.com
-Cory Coleman [c]
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