Artist: Faye
Near the end of 2015, we introduced you to Faye, and what a killer introduction it proved to be. As the band prepares for an additional Spring release, they were kind enough to introduce themselves a little more.
Who: Kristen Leake (drums, vocals), Susan Plante (guitar,vocals), and Sarah Blumenthal (bass,vocals)
Where: We're all either from Charlotte (NC), or we've been here long enough to say that we are.
How did the band form: Sarah: Kristen and I have been friends since high school, and we always said we'd be in a band together, but it never really came together. The first night I met Susan she was like "hey you play guitar, we're starting a band and it's gonna be called Faye." At that point Kristen was about to move back to NC from being in grad school in CA so I was like, yes! We had a couple practices as a 4 piece with Kristen on drums, me and Susan on guitar and our friend Maly on bass, but she ended up not really having the time, so here we are!
Susan: I always wanted to play guitar, and I was romanced by the idea of an all girl band. After a first attempt with some friends of mine who both had to move away, I was determined. When I met Sarah I knew she was already playing guitar in Alright (which...swoon) so I decided to skip the whole "nice to meet you" shit and get straight to the point, haha. I met Kristen on the way to our first practice which made me nervous because my brain was screaming "What if it doesn't work? I don't even know these people! What if they think the stuff I play is weird?" and other dumb inside brain conversations all people seem to have with themselves. After that first practice, I remember going home on a total high. This was going to work and it was going to be amazing. Oh! And damn it, Faye is such a good name it needed to be stated from the very beginning!
Kristen: I had just moved back from California when Sarah approached me... "Hey Kris, I know you stopped playing drums but a few girls are trying to start a band... would you be interested in being our drummer?" Forming a band is something we've talked about doing for years, so saying "yes" was a no brainer. So I dusted off my drum kit and gave it a go!
What inspired your EP and tell us a little more about the process: Sarah: Chow Chow and Teacups were the first songs we wrote! We recorded 5 songs in one day at Legit Biz in Greensboro, NC (seriously if you need to record and you're on the east coast, go see Kris Hilbert!!!) - two of those songs were what we released digitally last month, and the other three are for physical release later this spring! I'm pretty sure it was all inspired by puppies.
Kristen: Recording our EP with Kris Hilbert was incredibly fun. We knocked out all our songs faster than we thought we could.
Susan: Yesssss to the shout out to Kris Hilbert and Legit Biz!!!! He's seriously the best! Also, puppies are what make my world worth living, so I also agree with that being the inspiration. As far as background on these two songs, they're definitely meant to just be fun without much meaning. Seriously, I just mush mouthed nonsense until words came to be. The other three that Sarah mentioned definitely have more meaning to them, with more insightful lyrics.
You're basically a supergroup of background bands...so how did you work with other bands help with Faye?
Sarah: I play in Alright (guitar/vocals), and Susan played in Hello Handshake (keys/vocals) and Secret Hospital (guitar). We've all played with other people before,which obviously helps when it comes to writing. I think we're all doing things we've never done before in this band, so we're all kind of on the same level and that makes everything really comfortable and conducive to fucking up and learning as we go along, but at the same time we all kind of have an idea of how to do things and what we want.
Susan: It's been really amazing to be on the same level from the start and watch this band grow as a solid unit together. Working with other bands certainly helped with knowing that being in a band is so much like being in a committed relationship. But I've never been in a band with just other women, which makes the bond stronger somehow.
What's ahead for the band and what are like your dreams for it?
Sarah: We are planning on a physical release in late spring with three songs that I really can't wait for everyone to hear!! We also have a couple weekends booked/booking regionally in the next couple months, and will be booking a longer tour in late spring // early summer to accompany the release! Basically, hitting it hard locally and regionally as much as we can, and going as many places as possible! Our dreams for this band are endless, but mostly I'm just really excited about being in this, doing this thing with two girls that I really love, and having as much fun as we can while seeing/playing as many different places as we can!!
Susan: I just want to write music, eat yum food, play fun shows, and visit everywhere with these two friends. Oh, and we can only stay at houses that have puppies and/or dogs. Or pigs, we're down with pigs too.
Kristen: Touring for sure! But, honestly... I really want Faye to play at Fest. Sarah is gonna think I am jinxing us but that's honestly my dream for 2016. I love The Fest in Gainesville, FL!
Sarah: OBVIOUSLY!! <3 Fest<3
A Faye fun fact: Kristen: If you happen to attend a show and see 3 girls dancing together... It is most likely us - Susan has some killer dance moves by the way!
Susan: We have the art of the perfect practice down to a science. Step 1: Eat yum vegan food (hopefully from Nourish here in Charlotte....seriously, eat their food. Julia Simon is my queen!) Step 2: Digest a bit while discussing whether or not we should cover that Everclear song (why does no one agree with meeee?!) Step 3: Light expensive smelling candles to combat the cat piss smell Step 4: Play music.
Sarah: Susan forgot the part of Step 2 where she and I try to convince Kristen that we should do a Bob Seger cover set until she threatens to cancel practice. But really though, we like that old time-y rock’n’roll…