I wish every person in the world was like Aimee Allen. She’s rambunctious, engaging, friendly, authentic, and generally all-around awesome. After releasing one of my favorite albums so far this year, she hit the road with Sugar Ray and Fastball. A week ago Sunday she played St. Pete, braved the horrendous humidity, and laid down a solid half hour of dancing, singing, and good times, all without stopping moving once. We managed to slow her down for a few minutes after her set to chat about weather appropriate clothing, turning off the TV, and staying grateful.

Keath: Welcome to summers in Florida – if the sun doesn’t disengrate you, the humidity will sweat you dry.

Aimee: (laughs) I had no idea what I was getting myself into, whatsoever.

Keath: You came out in a zipup and I was thinking “Oh Lord, she’s going to melt up there!”

Aimee: Yeah, I lost that pretty quick (laughs)!

Keath: So how is the tour going?

Aimee: It’s going great! It’s everything I’d hoped and more. A tour with Sugar Ray – it’s a celebration!

Keath: The album is kinda laid back and then you get out there and you’re all “woo!” It’s a nice, new feel.

Aimee: Yeah, the thing is, live, especially being out with Sugar Ray and Fastball, you can’t come out and do some mellow set. Sugar Ray is the Jimmy Buffett of our generation. People come out to party, have a good time, and smile. We don’t want to bum them out – we want them to dance! That’s what we do, that’s the goal.

Keath: Are the songs taking on a new feel that way? Since you’re the songwriter, how religiously do you stick to what’s on tape?

Aimee: I’m very palatable .. no, pliable .. i’m both pliable and palatable (laughs)! I just feel like you get one shot, so you take the band you’re touring with and change the sound for the crowd. For example, if I was to do some cafe I wouldn’t be (stadium rock pose) “Everyone get the fuck up!” This is a summer tour and all my songs I recorded acoustic and performed acoustic, so it’s not that far – just picked up the tempo a bit.

Keath: Now you play guitar on the record, but not live. Do you prefer running around?

Aimee: I don’t like the crutch of it. I could do it, be like “oh, look, I can play it!” but I prefer to be the frontwoman, dance, engage the audience, and not get caught up in it. It’s like taking away your security blanket.

Keath: It is! You lose your shield. That’s what struck me about the album – it comes across very mellow musically but lyrically it’s very intense. There’s no protection there.

Aimee: Totally! It’s very autobiographical, it’s my life story. If I have one album to tell the world my life’s story, that’s it. It’s a little happiness. It’s not a lot of happiness but it’s an attempt at a lot of happiness. The music is very upbeat, reggae influenced pop music, but the lyrics are very dark, and that’s why it’s not a lot happiness (laughs). It’s a fucking great attempt!

Keath: So how are you feeling these days?

Aimee: I’m feeling great! I’m actually happy! So I think my next album might reflect that.

Keath: You’d have been totally justified coming out with something really dark, so it’s so awesome that you came out with a positive album. I have a three month old daughter and it’s really great to have albums like yours so I can say “this is how you should look at things.”

Aimee: There’s nothing that a child can’t hear on my album, which was a big goal of mine. My grandmother and mother haven’t been able to hear any of my music, and none of my nephews and nieces have been able to hear it. So I went in to make an album for everybody, not just for those “really pissed off females who are angry at their fathers records.” This is definitely a departure, and I’m really stoked it’s family friendly. I accomplished my goal!

Keath: It’s a whole new audience!

Aimee: Yeah!

Keath: Speaking of which, do you see any Ron Paul people out in the crowd? Holding signs maybe?

Aimee: There’s very few Ron Paul people, believe it or not. I was expecting that, but it’s few and far between.

Keath: You have a long line of new people at the merch booth. (FYI: Aimee signs CDs at the merch booth after her sets – stop by and say hello!)

Aimee: Yeah, that’s very good (laughs)! You know, I did that for the election and the election is over. It doesn’t mean I don’t believe in it anymore, but if people want me to get up and … I don’t know what they want from me but it’s not going to happen.

Keath: What I love about reading interviews with you is you’ve been talking about learning to be grateful for everything. All this week it’s been pretty stressful, so I’ve been doing a little “What Would Aimee Allen Do?”

Aimee: (cheers) Alright!

Keath: (laughs) I’m trying to learn how!

Aimee: You gotta force yourself! Think, “Alright, if I’ve had the worst day ever, what can I do to force myself right now to think about what I’m grateful for.” Even if it’s just your arms and legs – start there, spend a good ten or twenty minutes. “I can breathe, I can speak words.” Just start with the basics.

Keath: It’s difficult because negative thoughts are so pervasive.

Aimee: And they will eat you alive! And they do! They do eat me alive sometimes, unless I force myself to be grateful. And that’s the only way out. It’s like a horrible, skipping record of “I hate myself, I want to die” and I’m like “No, wait a minute – life is good! Stop!” and you gotta break the fucking record. As hard as it is to do.

Keath: And everytime you turn on the TV, they’re selling the insecurity to get you to buy something or selling the negativity to get you to tune in.

Aimee: Right! That’s why I don’t watch television anymore. I really have switched it off. I’ve detached myself from mainstream media and from television because, frankly, for my own physical and mental health, it’s not conducive to being happy.

Keath: So do you have any tips for everyone at home?

Aimee: Oh yeah, I got lots of tips! (laughs) Here’s one: exercise, even if you don’t feel like it. And the best way to motivate yourself to exercise is to think about how awesome your legs are and how weird it’d be if you didn’t have the ability to walk. If it was taken away from you, if someone said to you “you will no longer be able to walk” and really feel what that would be like. That’s what I do – it motivates me to walk. So I walk kinda fast and then I’ll be “maybe I’ll run, maybe I’ll won’t.” Then I’ll want to run, and it’s not a fear thing, like “Oh, if I don’t run I’ll get fat!” I only work out for my own brain, to get rid of some of the negative looping of insanity and neurosis.

Keath: That’s a good point – so many gyms sell exercise as anti-fat rather than pro-health.

Aimee: It’s good for your brain! (laughs) It helps you stop counting the tiles in your floor!

All photos are from Aimee’s set at Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg, FL, August 16, 2009.

Aimee Allen “On Vacation” video

Essential Links:

Buy A Little Happiness digital with an exclusive track at Amazon. You can also buy digital at iTunes and eMusic.

Buy physical at Amazon.

Keep up to speed at Aimee Allen’s Website and MySpace.

Catch Aimee on tour with Sugar Ray
Aug 24 2009 8:00P Cains Ballroom Tulsa , Oklahoma
Sep 11 2009 8:00P Showbox at the Market Seattle , Washington
Sep 13 2009 8:00P Humboldt State University – East Gymnasium Arcata , California
Sep 14 2009 8:00P Empire Events Center Sacramento , California
Sep 15 2009 8:00P Grand Ballroom San Francisco , California
Sep 16 2009 8:00P The Catalyst Santa Cruz
Sep 19 2009 8:00P Pozo Saloon Santa Margarita , California
Sep 20 2009 7:00P Ventura Theater Ventura , California
Sep 22 2009 8:30P Rialto Theater Tucson , Arizona
Sep 23 2009 8:00P The Marquee Phoenix , Arizona
Sep 24 2009 8:00P House of Blues Las Vegas , Nevada
Sep 25 2009 8:00P Hard Rock San Diego , California
Sep 26 2009 8:00P House of Blues Los Angeles , California

Eisley, a five piece from Texas producing fabulous and complex pop songs, is a true family affair. The band, currently on tour promoting their new album Combinations, is made up of sisters Stacy Dupree (piano, vocals), Sherri (guitar, vocals), Chauntelle (guitar), brother Weston (drums), and cousin Garron (bass).

Before I was struck down with flu, I had the very welcome pleasure of chatting with the Dupree sisters before their show in St. Pete. Read what they had to say, along with an exclusive photo from uber-talented Jennifer Maihack.

Keath: New album – totally diggin’ it!

The Duprees: Thank you!

Keath: I think the sophistication of the songwriting has gone way forward too – is that something you’re deliberately trying to do or just natural evolution?

Sherri: I think both. It’s natural – we’ve obviously grown in age as well as life experience so whenever you’re writing it puts you forward. As far as it being a conscious thing – a little bit. We try to make sure we’re never doing the same thing over and over. Trying to change what we’re doing and reinvent it and make sure it’s progressing, not becoming …

Stacy: Boring.

Sherri: Yeah, stagnant and boring.

Keath: So growing up – obviously I’m not a girl so I don’t know much about girl things [band laughs] but my wife tells me – the age you’re going through right now is so pivotal and you’re spending it on the road. Most girls are worried about “Who am I going to go to the dance with Friday night?” You guys are like, “I’ve got to open for Coldplay Friday night – what am I going to play?” Is it a blessing or a curse to live all this out on the stage?

Sherri: I think it’s really a total blessing.

Stacy: I feel we’re getting off easy

Chauntelle: We’re not in the normal world – we have this different touring world. We’re not under peer pressure, we’re around each other, so we get to have fun with each other and have fun playing music every night. You also get the high of getting to encourage people and see how your music effects them. That makes it worth it.

Sherri: Doing something you love to do and have people appreciate it!

Stacy: It’s the ultimate fulfillment!

Keath: You guys have some great fans up front -

Sherri: Some brought us bubble shots today! [They cheer]

Keath: They talk about how easy it is to email Boyd (Dupree, the band’s tour manager and the girls’ father) and talk to you guys. You have a real open relationship, a community with your fans. Is that something you thrive on?

Chauntelle: Totally – it’s always been very important to us, ever since early on when we started doing this, that we didn’t become one of those bands who’s really stand off with their fans, you know “I’m unattainable” – you can’t touch them. We’re just kids. We’re kids just like our fans – it’s ridiculous to think that because you’re a band on stage that you’re any cooler. It sounds cliche to say that stuff but it’s true. So many bands just forget that.

Keath: All the bands you tour with are friends too. It struck me, with the way the whole music industry is turned upside down now, do you think this is the future – this community approach? [Band laughs] Let’s all get together and go on tour – you have your dedicated fans out there who’ll come out and see you.

Cauntelle: Definitely!

Stacy: I think so – with the bands we tour with we feel like we’re all part of doing something.

Sherri: This tour especially. We knew The Envy Corps guys really well and we knew some of the Myriad guys well so from the start it felt like this was a big family. I think it comes from the family.

Chauntelle: Definitely. It also feels like a family. It’s so awesome – it makes touring so much fun. I think I could do this the rest of my life and I’d never complain.

Keath: Okay, so community time: Any bands you want to give a shout out to?

Chauntelle: There’s so many! Midlake – they’re friends of ours. We love them.

Sherri: The bands on this tour for one thing. There’s a band called Hail Social we discovered by accident. That band Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin.

Keath: So you guys now have two albums and a whole bunch of EPs. I know at first you said sometimes you’d go on stage with three blond girls and the audience would turn off or just didn’t know what to expect – do you find that lessening now?

Sherri: It definitely lessens over time because you gain respect when you stay in the business for longer than a couple years. These days because everyone just – they don’t stick around. We’re finally getting to the place where people are less responsive to the fact we’re just three girls up there and they react to our music and pay attention to what we’re doing.

Keath: I read an interview where you said the one question you wished people would ask is “when are you going to tour with Coldplay again?” So – are we going to see a Coldplay tour again anytime?

Sherri: I doubt it.

Stacy: Who knows? If they want to take us out on tour …

Chauntelle: Yeah, we’d definitely do it!

Stacy: I’d love to tour with Stevie Nicks.

Sherri: I really would love to tour with Arcade Fire.

Chauntelle: Or Radiohead!

Sherri: Yeah Radiohead!

Chauntelle: The complete unattainable dream.

Keath: Radiohead will be here in May.

Sherri: [frowns] We’ll be on tour when they come to Houston.

Keath: I guess it’s tough for you to actually catch bands.

Sherri: We never get to see shows!

Chauntelle: We don’t.

Keath: One thing I really dig about the band is you’re three beautiful girls and when you go out there it’s not exploitative, you do such good songs, and I think it’s such a positive message. Is that just being who you are?

Sherri: It’s who we are.

Chauntelle: We were raised to be this way.

Sherri: To be ladies! [laughs]

Chauntelle: It’s in our heart and in our nature, so we don’t have to try to not be slutty – if i can say that?

Sherri: And there’s no fear of that ever happening to us either. No leather miniskirts!

Chauntelle: It’s not just because we’re too insecure to show off our body – it’s just that we’re comfortable with who we are. We’re happy with it.

Sherri: Some of that stems from girls being so insecure.

Chauntelle: It means a lot to us when people notice that and are touched by that. We desire for every girl and every person to be comfortable with who they are and to be themselves.

Eisley
April 18, 2008
State Theater, St. Pete, FL

Whether it’s due to being inevitably regarded as “kids” during their first tours or a lack of patience from unruly punters seeing a group of girls walk to the front of the stage, Eisley has learned the best way to hold a crowd is to not make mistakes. The key word for an Eisley concert is professionalism. Sadly, as many who’ve been to large stadium tours where bands coordinate their performance for the big screens can attest, professionalism often equates itself with boredom.

Eisley, fortunately enough, is blessed with the cyclone of stage presence and charisma that is Sherri Dupree. From opener “Go Away” to a closing duet with sister Stacy of “If You’re Wondering,” Sherri whirled, jumped, flailed, lost her breath, charmed, and generally served as the central focal point.

That’s not to say the rest of the band, from the bear at the merch booth to bassist Garron’s amp riser climbing encore antics, sat around twiddling their thumbs, but it does seem Eisley has figured out what works best for them. If it lacks in spontaneity, it exceeds in the magic it spreads over its audience, comprised mostly of younger teens for which this is their first concert. It’s a wonderful way to start.

Keath: How would you describe Caesars for new listeners?

Caesars: Melody driven, somewhat absentminded, head-in-the-clouds homegrown pop songs

Keath: When recording, do you prefer quick takes or lots of overdubs?

Caesars: Both actually. We always work fast when recording, but we always record a lot of stuff at the same time. Then we get a lot of noise to choose from when mixing.

Keath: Does having a producer like Ebbot Lundberg, who has been in a successful, touring band, make a difference in the studio?

Caesars: Working with him on this last album was great. It was the first time we used someone from outside the band to produce. But we know him from way back, so it wasn’t like we where all impressed by this famous rockstar.

Keath: Do you have a formal songwriting process or do you play it by ear?

Caesars: The one who writes the song pretty much brings the ready work to the studio. No jamming.

Keath: Which part of the process do you enjoy most: writing, recording, or playing live?

Caesars: After touring a lot it is nice to crawl into a cozy studio and build your own little perfect world. But after a while you want to come out and play.. I guess it equals.

Keath: Any tour news you can share with our readers?

Caesars: News? Hmm.. we are still hot! Well, landmines are killing children and we are facing a environmental breakdown, and the Caesars has made a new great record.

Keath: What new song are you most excited about playing live?

Caesars: We love playing all the new songs.. “strawberry weed“, “boo-boo goo-goo” “fools parade“.. they are all great.

Keath: The huge success of “Jerk It Out“: Blessing or curse?

Ceasars: Blessing. Tired of playing that song though.

Keath: Sweden seems principally known to the rest of the music world for its stellar pop. Lately though I’ve noticed quite a wide variety of music coming out: Caesars, Pacific, Lykke Li, El Perro Del Mar, Firefox AK – and that’s not even scratching the surface. Is the rest of the world just finally catching up or has there been an explosion of fresh energy on the Swedish scene?

Caesars: Just when you think that there can’t be any more good bands you find something like Pascal or Studio. Dunno know what to say. Boring little country, great music!

Keath: In America, most of the notables of our popular culture, for instance Elvis or Andy Warhol, are kinda acknowledged by all but only glorified by small cliques. Is it the same in Sweden with notables like Ingmar Bergman and ABBA?

Caesars: Most Swedes don’t watch Bergman movies, even if they are proud of him being so famous in the rest of the world. But who hasn’t been shaking their asses to ABBA?

Keath: Most people are fascinated by the life of a successful band – what a day in the life of Caesars like?

Caesars: When we are not on the road it differs very much in the band. Besides that, we all have kids. One produces other bands, one works in a lesbian coffeshop.. and so on. But on the road it is just like the movie “Cocksucker Blues“, if you’ve seen that one.

Keath: What’s one question I should have asked but didn’t?

Caesars: Q: Is David sleeping with his beard beneath or over his blanket? A: Over it of course.

Kenn Jankowski – Vocals, Keyboards, Guitar
Adam McGill – Guitar, Vocals, Samples and Production Elements
Ryan Pinkston – Guitar, Keys, Vocals, Auxiliary percussion
Marc Pepperman – Bass, Keys, Accordion
Justin Tricomi – Drums

Keath: Is this your first trip to Tampa? Have you been here before?

Kenn: Uh no.

Ryan: We haven’t before.

Kenn: First trip as a band. I used to live in Clearwater for a while.

Keath: Are you from Florida?

Kenn: No, my parents lived here so I lived with them for nine months. Wrote some of the lyrics to Feelin’ The Future on the beach.

Keath: Nice! It’s like the Jimmy Buffett way of writing [all laugh]. That’s Florida, man – they give you a driver’s license and a Jimmy Buffett album. “Welcome to the state!”

Adam: He played on Letterman the day before us.

Keath: What was Letterman like?

Justin: Very professional operation I have to say. Very straight.

Adam: We had to show up at 7 AM. We played a show the night before – a really cool, laid back show at a club in Boston called The Middle East and we didn’t get out of there until 2:30 or 3 maybe. It’s about a 4 hour drive so we went straight there from the venue – didn’t really sleep.

Keath: Oh, that’s brutal! [band voices agreement]

Justin: Slept a little bit in the van. It all happened really fast afterwards.

Keath: So do you just hang out there all day.

Ryan: Yeah – you can walk around a little bit. We played at 5:30.

Kenn: Sleep a couple hours in the van, outside the studio [band laughs]. You have to do multiple soundchecks – you wait a lot in between. Then they do a video check. It’s pretty surreal.

Adam: I think it’s more surreal because of the lack of sleep [all agree].

Kenn: Not only that, when you walk in the stage is so much smaller than what it looks like on TV. You kinda feel like you’re not seeing the real deal, so it makes it harder to believe. Harder to buy into.

Keath: That was your first big TV appearance wasn’t it? [all agree]. A good way to start!

Kenn: We had a song on Grey’s Anatomy and then a couple times on Gossip Girls but that was the first time we did a show.

Adam: We actually did have an appearance on CNN [band laughs].

Marc: Something on Alex.

Ryan: We’re all in the background.

Keath: Alexandra [Patsavas, founder of Chop Shop Records]?

Marc: Yeah. They had a story on her – it was a 5 or 6 minute clip.

Kenn: I got to see a picture of myself [band laughs].

Keath: You’re the first on her new label right? [all agree]. Any added pressure with that?

Kenn: I think it’s more confidence. [all agree] Because they support us so much.

Keath: She’s pretty well known – a big player. For her to come out and say “I want you guys to start up my new label” that must mean a lot.

Kenn: It’s a big deal. And if we thought about it too much there might be pressure. Their careers – maybe the pinkie of the career – if we say something ridiculous then it might effect them. [all laugh].

Keath: Most everyone who reads our site has already heard of you guys but for anyone who hasn’t, how would you describe your music?

Kenn: Epic! [all laugh]

Ryan: Dreamy, kinda pop-y, dreamy pop rock. [all laugh] Experimental too kind of.

Justin: It’s very melodic. There’s a consistency of an electronic sound and an acoustic sound. Kind of a raw band with drums, bass, acoustic guitar but there’s also a lot electronically so it’s kind of a hybrid. And it’s consistent throughout every song. So I think that’s a little different – most bands pop it in every now and then. It creates its own sound if you keep it consistent like that.

Kenn: Unlike those hardcore bands who through in a groovebox every now and then. [mimes DJ scratching records to the cheering of the rest of the band]

Keath: So do you think that’s the future? I love it when you bring in the electronic stuff.

Adam: I think it’ll go there for a little bit then it’ll revert back to the opposite. Music is cyclical so it’ll move on from one thing to the next. And probably we’ll move on too.

Kenn: I think it’s one of the only ways to be truly creative anymore – with a sampler. Any idea is available with a sampler.

Justin: I agree it’s reoccuring – one example is the first time period that was best for pop was the 50′s and they had huge bands with horn sections and live singers in the background – that’s essentially the same thing with different voices. Instead of different synth sounds you had different horn sounds. That was their resources – they didn’t have synthesizers. So it’s kinda going back to that now.

Adam: I think the less creative laptop bands are, the quicker it’ll go back. Once it turns into some kind of the pop aspects of Radiohead everyone started to apply to their music, it’s too much of that.

Justin: To make a Motown reference, Stevie Wonder wrote everything, all the arrangements. So that’s original, it never got old. But as soon as they had an artist and just brought in the filler musicians to write around the song just to fill it in because that’s what everyone else was doing, that’s when it got trite. As long as it’s original it won’t get old.

Keath: What I’m most interested in seeing tonight is to see how you play the songs live – they’re so delicate on the album. Do you do any different arrangements?

Kenn: It’s more aggressive. There’s little changes here and there.

Justin: Less changes with the arrangement and more with feel.

Adam: We try to deliver what’s on the album, only deliver it with a little more intensity. We try to be true enough to the record so people won’t be confused about what song they’re listening to. [all laugh]

Kenn: It’s like Keep Colour mixed with the Clash [all laugh]

Keath: Do you guys get to see many shows, being on the road?

Adam: We see the ones we play [all laugh]

Justin: We get lucky now and then but honestly there are a lot of bands who skip Kansas City. It’s not on a lot of people’s To Do list.

Kenn: It really should be. Lawrence used to be the place to go if people came to our area but now it’s changed and people don’t know.

Justin: I think that’s effected us – Lawrence used to be the place and it used to be great, but that scene went down as far as live shows and word went out that booking wasn’t so hot there. It’s just as well as it used to be in Lawrence in Kansas City, downtown – they just need to find out. So many awesome venues. We’ve talked to a couple bands we’ve been on the road with and they say “Oh, Kansas City, they have so many great sounding rooms.” There’s a lot of people who would go see the shows – part of the problem with people not going is there aren’t consistently a lot of shows to check out. I mean, if there’s not a good show for two or three months why bother checking the weekly magazine.

Kenn: There’s usually always a local show that’s kick ass. [all agree]

Keath: One thing I liked about the album is the cinematic feel of it. Do you guys have any interest in scoring for films?

[The whole band cheers]

Kenn: Oh yeah, we ALL write our own songs in that recurring element [laughs].

Keath: Any favorite composers?

Justin: Philip Glass.

Marc: Danny Elfman.

Keath: Oh yeah, I love all Danny Elfman’s stuff. Especially Oingo Boingo.

Justin: I love the Boingo album.

Adam: I like Bartok a lot, Beethoven, Mauhler

Keath: I often wonder if Beethoven could come back what he would think of rock.

Adam: He’s probably be way into it – he was the rock n’ roll of the Romantic era. He started the whole Romantic classical period. He was a lot more raw and emotion based, whereas Mozart was more math based.

Justin: It sounds cheesy but I think he’d be into metal.

Kenn: I think he’d be cool too – he’d like Dream Theater but not tell anyone [all laugh].

Adam: I think Mozart might like metal because he was much more mathematic, even though his songs are happier than Beethoven, who had a much darker side.

Justin: I think they’d be disappointed to, given the lack thereof in a lot of bands doing rock and trying to write so intensely.

Keath: You guys have the reputation for being real disciplined, is the world of Republic Tigers all practice, practice, practice?

Adam: Depends – when we have time off we really have time off. For instance, after this tour I know we’ll take a week off. Then we’ll probably wind up taking a second week off even though we shouldn’t [all laugh]. Then we’re going to get back together and practice and be like “Holy shit – we’ve got to play these songs again!” because we’ll get way out of it and forget how to play them halfway.

Justin: The practice is a necessity for sure but I think the regimented part of us is directly towards the writing. We’re very intense about it – there’s not one part of it that doesn’t get doublechecked. I hear bands all the time that I’m like “oh, they didn’t check that part because it’s not in the same key.” We’re the opposite of that – it’s down to the smallest detail.

Kenn: Yeah, we’re not a jam band.

Adam: It kinda sucks for live because honestly it’s brave when bands break out and are “yeah, we’re freeballin’ it now!”

Keath: But you have much more complexity to your songwriting than those bands do. They can break out because there’s not much going on.

Justin: I tell you what, the closest we come to doing that is when we’re screwing around at practice and it ends up fake Christian rock or metal [all laugh].

Ryan: It’s all messing around but it’s fun. We should do a metal album!

Kenn: A metal album with Bowie type vocals! Black metal!

Keath: You could put it as an Easter Egg on your website: Find The Metal Songs!

Kenn: Hey – I kinda like that idea!

The David Letterman appearance referred to above: