Posted: by The Editor
Being Dead’s new album When Horses Would Run (Bayonet Records) is a head-spinning mix of surf rock, western, and a good dose of desert psychedelia that puts you in a time and place that never existed but always will. The duo of Gumball and Falcon Bitch are world builders and funny as hell, as you can tell from the interview below.
How did you all meet and become a band?
Yale.
This album sometimes feels like it is taking place in a very specific environment or biome. Did the recording location or other places inspire or play into that?
We took a beautiful trip to the aquarium moments before tracking the album. So you can really hear the childlike awe and magic we were feeling after that. We made a pact never to take for granted the beauty below the surface ever again – Before that field trip, we were pretty much land-lovers but now we can see the advantages to both land and sea. It was a pretty eye-opening day for the two of us.
There are so many different sounds going on here (surf rock, western, psych, pop)! What were you all listening to when you were creating this album?
We only ever listen to our hearts*** Our blood pumps at an alarmingly fast pace and a high temperature – we’re literally red hot! lol! It’s a deep,deep dark ruby red color like a port wine and it spills all over the floor when we clean our ears. It really rules our lives though.
Was there any other media you were consuming that might have inspired you?
We consume a healthy dose of Masterchef Junior and Criss Angel on the daily so it wouldn’t be farfetched to infer that When Horses Would Runwas marinated in those flavors. We sort of turn to those two sources of entertainment as our north star or as a way of “grounding” ourselves when things seem to have gone too far in the writing process. Like – we can’t even count the number of times we asked the question: “Where would Criss Angel go with this?” or “Is it Ramsay enough?” We were really into WWE wrestling at the time too…so you can probably hear that lol
What kind of music were you surrounded by growing up?
It was everywhere and so loud you could hardly hear yourself think. There was no escape.
What are your favorite touring or recording snacks?
Gumball loves pickle sunflower seeds, jerky, gummy bears, pretzels. Falcon Bitch is all about the sacred combo of sour skittles and chile picante con limon corn nuts. But sometimes we even splurge and go in on a fresh raw goat’s heart, we love to gnaw on a heart before a show – it’s the perfect amount of drama and decadence. Only the bestest and freshest tho xoxo In the studio, however, we are strictly eating salads fr fr.
What is your dream venue to play at?
The 50 yard-line at the Super Bowl! We actually have an active petition we pass around during our live set for fans to sign so we can make our dream come true.
If you could tour with any band/artist, alive or dead, who would you pick?
Deerhoof!
I love the video for “Muriel’s Big Day Off.” Was it as fun to make as it looks? What was your favorite part of that process?
It was very fun but of course, it was quite time-consuming. I loved working with Alyssa Golden AKA the legend Baldie Loxx (@baldie_loxx). She’s an absolute delight and a top-notch performer – just an absolute dreamboat and hilarious AF. S/O to our friends at Austin Public Access for the greenscreen hookup and endless support <3>
Do you have any hobbies outside of music?
We’re horse girls so we’re usually at the stables! We also love knitting, petting puppies, racing our pet worms, and competing in smiling competitions. Sometimes we disassemble and reassemble computers, experiment in nuclear physics, and solve really super duper hard math equations. But most of all, we just enjoy American legacy muscle cars!
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Jami Fowler | @audiocurio
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