The Coathangers to celebrate new live album at Ybor City’s Crowbar

You’re involved with Studio For School and Girls Rock Camps, so it was cool to see that Last time you were here you did a drum clinic with Jim Chambers — mom must be proud of you for passing it along.

Yeah, we did. We love that. One of the great things about doing this is seeing kids get stoked on music because we're doing something. It's an unintentional byproduct of being in this band, we didn't really know that was going to happen. It's so cool to be able to hang out with kids and inspire them if possible. 

I feel like, with the Girls Rock Camp groups, which are younger, you have said that you censor some of the lyrics to songs like "Don't Touch My Shit," but with the the older kids — like the ones you get at Jim Chambers' school — they are capable of reaching out and asking about the nitty gritty things about bandom. Like do you tell them about sleeping in dog beds and gross couches?

They do, they come up with really interesting questions, and the answers might be something that you feel is inappropriate to say, so you kind of get creative and say what you want to say, but not in such blatant terms. Like if you want to say something negative about the experience of being in a band — because it's not all roses — you just have to pad it so you don't discourage people. Everyone has their own path, so you say something like, "This is my experience, it may necessarily be yours," you know. Kids are very impressionable. They take whatever you say as truth, and that's a dangerous place. It depends on your mood, you just start talking shit.

There's not a lot of shit talking on the live record, and I don't know if Dylan or Scott mixed that out, but it sounds great. 

Thanks. 

You're welcome. It’s funny because some people think that artists put on a little extra for the live album, but this thing perfectly captures the essence of a Coathangers set. How do you feel about it?

Dude, yeah, that was the point. We don't talk a bunch between songs. We don't have a lot of banter. Sometimes, if we're, I don't know, need a little more extra drinking time between songs we'll say stuff, but that hasn't been our thing for a while. Someone once said, "Oh my favorite thing is when bands talk," and I was like, "If I start being not me, then it's gonna be bad." So we played the set we usually play, and we tried to be as honest as possible. You can put on all the bells and whistles in the studio when you make studio records.

Do you feel more energized, I know the last EP, Parasite, was less pressure-packed, but I think you've been writing, and I was wondering what your creative reaction was to the live album coming out in June. Are you writing more now? Less?

Hearing the live record, because I've always sort of avoided live recording of us because it's always like, I don't know why — the imperfection of it all. I'm a perfectionist, I'm in the studio mixing records forever. So to sort of let go and be in the moment wasn't in my comfort zone, but hearing it and being like, "Wow, this is who we are." I really like it, and I am really stoked, and I am proud of us. It kind of lifted all the pressure. It reminded me of who we really are because I also get in my own head sometimes while writing. You know, sort of, thematically, get stuck in one place or get certain pressure on something. You get in your own head, but just hearing it was very freeing, like "Fuck it, man." Just enjoy yourself, still push yourself, but at the same time don't over think, don't over do it. 

It did inspire me — because we are working on a new record now — to be like, "If it's three chords, it's three chords. That's what it is." Don't think that you've gotta do some crazy guitar thing. The simplicity, especially our our older songs, like I've said that this live recording is really like a best-of record. It goes through every record that we had, and the simplicity of the first and second record was just so refreshing — it was like I was hearing it for the first time, and I was like, "Dude, just relax. If you wanna say it, then say it, and say it how you want it. Everything else will fall in place."

And does that approach work for you now. I think, with Nosebleed, you pretty much wrote and recorded that album in L.A., and the live album was in Long Beach. Are you in a place where you are demo-ing or recording some of the songs for the new record?

Dude, we have. 

Alright. Are you staying in one studio, or are you doing the long distance thing?

No, because we're touring in between. The cool part is that there's not a time restraint, really. We have the live record, and we're doing tours, but in between tours the girls are flying out here and we're writing and recording at the same place, Valentine. It's awesome. It's nice to take breaks, it doesn't feel so intense. It's just way more fun, and what we have recorded sounds really fucking good, so it just pumps me up to want to do more. The girls are actually coming out tomorrow to do some more work. It's really good.

It's completely opposite from Nosebleed Weekend. That was a really difficult record to make.

Because you made it, complexity wise? Overthinking it, wringing your hands?

It was difficult. It was just, I can't even explain. Yes, I was in my head. We were sort of trapped here. But now I live here, my husband and I have a home here, so when we write we have space.

So you live in Long Beach now?

Yeah. We have a studio, and it has windows where as before we were living in this house, and the practice space was small, and it felt like everything was closing in on us. That record came out of trying to break out of this box. It happened, I don't regret it or anything, but this feels like an open space that we're creating. We're not trying to mentally or physically get out of somewhere. There's more joy in the creation process.

And I think you don't talk too much about lyrical stuff, openly, you leave it up to listeners, but I know that you've wanted to be more outspoken. I like your commitment to Suicide Squeeze, and over the last place you’ve mentioned plateauing emotionally. Is that stability also a little bit scary? Is this new album a reaction to that, or did you get to work that out on Parasite?

No, it's still there. It's still emotional. It's more direct, just like with Parasite, like on Nosebleed, because everything was so complicated, and it felt like it needed to be convoluted whereas now there's just some more clarity. I feel lyrically it's much more direct, but still not preachy or anything. A little more assertive, comfortable in your own thing, that feeling. Like you don't have to hide behind words, like, 'Yeah, this is how it is for me." Emotionally, it's still emotional because we write about everything that has happened in our lives, and a lot has happened since the last record, since Parasite even. Like outspoken in a cool way, not too much.

Yeah, I like when you say that life will take care of people and their shit. You don't really have to take care of people's shit for them, you don't have to sort that out.

Yeah.

I don't know the things you're talking about. How much does the current attitude towards immigrants make you think about 1990 when your parents brought you here from Belarus? I think you were 7? You listened to Mariah and George Michaels to learn English? Does that kind of stuff come back to you, those flashbacks, or is it more like interpersonal stuff?

Interpersonal stuff, personal things. I mean, I got married, you know. And then politically, yeah, a lot of things are happening. We marched with the kids, you know the March For Our Lives. The movement of the people, the outspokenness, the #MeToo movement and Donald Trump stirring it all up — everything, you know? It's been so moving, and there's a lot to say and there's a lot to speak out about. The refugee thing, and the immigration stuff definitely hits home, and then you realize how complicated it all is.

You know, I had friends from Iran that…I love the United States of America. I love that I live here, and that I am afforded the simple freedom of speech that we don't, I don't take it for granted. Knowing that you are silenced in so many places around this world, and I think that's why I am so compelled to create and speak, and stuff like that is because I can, and to be able to march, and to be able to say "Fuck the NRA," or "Fuck Donald Trump," or whatever you want to say – "Fuck Liberals," whatever. You can say it. There are infringements, sure, they're not boundless, but in the places I grew up you're not allowed to protest or say anything about the government. I mean, to the point where you can disappear. It's moving, so for me personally it comes from the need to speak because I can, and someone has to say something. Even if it's my own personal feelings someone has to say it.

We are, sort of, as a band, trying to focus more on speaking other people's stories, speaking other people's truths, especially for this record. Even if it reflects our own experience, incorporating other people means that maybe we can speak for other people who cannot speak. 

And I kinda want to switch gears and maybe stay on that a little. I like how long the Coathangers have been a band. I wanted to ask about Stephanie because I think there was a time when she was the force that kind of pushed the band to just go, tour and not be scared. Can you talk about any times you’ve been able to lift Stephanie up, too?

I think so. I think we've returned the favor to each other many times. Sometimes people have been almost crippled by the fear of success, you know? You start out like, "Oh, we're gonna conquer the world," but when the world comes knocking you really don't know what to do with it. You're like, "Well I though, uhh…" So I think, physically she was the one that propelled us to get out and then mentally I'm the one that helped us to accept it, you know?

So I think that's how we've sort of returned the favor to each other. We definitely are sisters, all of three of us. We help each other as much as possible, and from  very loving place. Whether it's like, the band almost comes second to the friendship, so whether that has hurt us or helped us in the past, that's how it's always worked. We're just always looking out for the best interest of our friendship. I don't wanna delve into super personal things, but we've definitely helped each other out throughout the years, and I think that's why we've been together so many years because this is hard to do. You're living, writing, breathing the same air all the time. It's a difficult relationship to maintain. Especially when you throw in whatever industry things happened. I think without friendship you can really screw yourself and each other, but we haven't, and that's a testament to doing it from the friendship side. Sort of balancing, can't be all friendship, then nothing gets done.

And nobody is a doctor either. I feel like nobody ever figured out what was giving Meredith those nosebleeds on the Euro-tour?

No. She was was taking a lot of ibuprofen, which is a blood thinner, and she is prone to it anyway. Dude, that was gnarly.

It's the worst, and you've talked about Nosebleed Weekend, and all of that, what it means. There were some troll’s who tried to dog the band back in those early Drunken Unicorn days — does your status as a band today, like you can make a living now, does that ever feel like vindication? I mean you sold shoes at Abbadabba's, too, was that the motivation.

I think that sometimes it feels awesome to see those people, and to hear them giving us props now. They definitely expected us to disappear, they didn't expect that 12 or 13 years later that we would still be on the radar and doing things, and I think where before it was trolling, maybe, but any anger has turned into respect just for sheet longevity. Like for perseverance over time in the industry. Now there's that sort of, "Oh, I knew them back when," and it's like, "Alright bud, I'll let you have that one — I'm not gonna argue with you. Whether you were with us or not. I know where we stand." You can have a sense of pride for our success, that's fine, too, if that's what you need.

I know, people are weird like that, huh.

Mmm-hmm.

I'm assuming that we'll hear new songs on this tour and that you're tweaking the ones that you get to re-record or haven't recorded yet. You mentioned industry stuff. Is that something you want to talk about, like I am making assumptions here, but I would assume that throughout the years labels have approached you and asked you to change certain things with the band. Did that kind of stuff happen to the Coathangers over the last decade.

Not since the begining. In the begining everyone wanted to mold us into something they wanted us to be, but once we signed to Suicide Squeeze and ended up on a trajectory that we chose it wasn't really an issue. I think the industry stuff starts happening around money, status, ego.

Agreements and managers.

And you know we just got management right before Nosebleed. That's the first time we ever got a manager because up to them we did that ourselves, so we never had a thing where we work for the manager, like our manager works with us. We never put ourselves in a position where we were answering to anyone, and I think that helped us. All the agreements weren't between us, we dealt with Suicide Squeeze, so we didn't have those issues with people lying to us or something. I think the industry gets you by, ego and money — you get to a point where you're not making enough money, but you can't really have a job, you know. Figuring that stuff out — it tears people up, I've seen it. It makes people really bad people where they give up their friends, and sell out their friends for, I don't know $10,000 — I don't know what the fuck. That is what turns bands into shitty bands.

That's when you get a bongo in your band. 

Yeah, that's exactly what happens. You get a bongo player and some backup singers, and the all of a sudden you're like, "What the fuck is happening." Yeah, and then people, it tears them apart. I've seen it happen. They lose it, they lose everything, they get sucked up, and that's what I mean about the industry — especially being out in L.A., you know you kind of see the machine going. I think we're very lucky to kind of had it at arm's length, like, "That's cool, but stay over there."

Awesome. You also shouted out the Tampa show and the St. Augustine show on that podcast interview you did with Least Anticipated. Your band has been here a lot. Could you talk about your relationship with the Tampa Bay area and why you've had some of the best shows of tours here?

Because Florida rules. Florida is so fun, everyone likes to party have a good time. The weather is nice, and, yeah. We love, we're looking very forward to going to Florida and having a good time. We always have some coconut shrimp.

That's awesome.

That last tour of Florida, we had coconut shrimp at every place we went. Like, "You don't have any coconut shrimp?"

Just put it on the rider.

We did one time. But, you know, it's sort of better served warm. So yeah, I don't know what it is. Maybe it's because of the good attitude, the beach vibe, people are near water, they're more releaxed. Maybe it's because people skip over Florida sometimes. They don't do there, I mean more for us. Like, they're hungry for entertainment, like "Come on let's party." So we're like, "Hell yeah, Florida, let's do this."

Well, thanks. I'll ask coconut shrimp tacos for your show here, and thanks for talking to me.

Thank you so much, great interview.

Of course, you don't know what the album is going to be called, right?

No.

Alright well have a good day. Bye.

See ya, bye.