The Babies Interview

Opening a sold-out show at Brighton Music Hall on January 15^th, The Babies’ Cassie Ramone and Kevin Morby gave WECB a few minutes of their post-show time. Still in the glow of rocking the first night of their East Coast excursion with Real Estate, the four piece has big plans for 2012. After a busy 2011 that included their selt-titled full-length debut, The Babies, a live-recorded release on cassette, Live at The Smell, and a trip to Europe, we had a lot to cover...

Montana: So you just played the first night of your East Coast tour - how’d it go, personal reviews?

Cassie Ramone: I really liked it, I really like Real Estate, and its gonna be really fun to tour with them I think.

Kevin Morby: I agree, same, very good night.

M: Alright, word. The crowd was definitely eating it up, they were really digging it. And at the end of 2011 you came back from Europe, so I was wondering, what are the crowds like over there compared to the US?

K: I feel like they’re more interested in the way of a touring band, cause they’re interested in the fact that we’re coming a long way for them.

C: I don’t know, I mean, I feel like the crowd really depends on the city and the show as opposed to the country or the continent, you know what I mean? Like, we played really good shows all over the country and really good shows all over Europe, but also really bad shows in the US and Europe, we’ve played both good and bad shows in New York City, where we’re from, it it totally depends on the vibe of the show itself.

M: How do you gauge when you’re going somewhere how your crowd will be? Do you know where your fans are or do you just kind of wing-it?

K: I think that we’re young enough of a band that we don’t really know that yet. So, I guess we wing-it. It’s always a surprise, whether its good or bad.

M: Any cultural barriers or mishaps along the way in foreign countries?

K: No mishaps.

C: I mean, I guess just like going to countries or cities where people don’t speak english is kind of a barrier, but it’s also interesting to go somewhere where people don’t speak english.

M: So tonight you guys said it was the 3 year mark of your first practice, right?

K & C: Yea, yea.

M: So you’re all from different bands, but what made you want to come together and form The Babies three years ago? What was it about each other or something that made you want to come together?

C: Well me and Kevin were just friends for a little while and then one night we were hanging out at this bar together and we were going to go to this other bar that was a ten minute walk away and I was like, ‘do you want to stop and get road sodas?’ and then Kevin was like, ‘whowa, we should start a band called road sodas!’, like OK sure? But then we actually took it up and practiced, and me and Kevin played together the next week, just the two of us and then we decided to become a real band and change the name to The Babies, cause Road Sodas is kind of a silly name, I guess.

K: Yea, it started very casual, just friends playing guitars together, and then sort of evolved into something bigger.

M: What do you guys think, as opposed to the other bands you’re each in, what does The Babies bring that your fans can see thats different from your other acts?

K: Aesthetically different, I play bass in Woods, so if you came to see a Woods show, I’m playing bass and I’m not singing and playing guitar like I am in The Babies. So to come see Woods you see me play bass and you see me play guitar in The Babies.

C: Yea, in the Vivian Girls I write all the songs and I don’t play as much lead guitar, I play either chords or solos. Where as in The Babies its just a different method of songwriting, I play lead guitar a lot which is really fun, and it just has a totally different aesthetic than both Woods and Vivian Girls which is really cool for us to do.

K: Just a different band, you know? When it comes down to it, its a completely different band. So its fun to have that conjunction, like in one band I can do something different.

C: Yea, we don’t consider it a side project, it’s just another band, you know what I mean?

M: Right, right. So in the Spring you released your self-titled debut, and then in October you came out with a Cassette [Live at The Smell]. What made you guys want to release a live cassette as opposed to just a digital release or anything like that?

K: We just got asked, like a small cassette label in LA saw that we were playing in Los Angeles and asked if they could record it and put it out, and we were into it, so.

M: Yea, definitely a good idea, I dig it.

K: Totally.

C: Whenever somebody asks us to do something and we’re into it we’re like, why not?

K: Yea, they’re a cool label and they’re cool people and we’re also very into cassettes. It’s cool to have an actual printed nice cassette, you know, and it’s a document of that night of ours in Los Angeles and it’s cool that people can listen to it and hopefully enjoy it.

M: And it was a good night overall?

K: Great night. Yea.

C: Great night! Yea, really good. I love The Smell, that’s where we played when that cassette was made.

K: That was my first time at The Smell, and I’d heard so much about The Smell, from bands like Niko Niko and No Age, but I’d never been there. And then we played our show there and it was great, its cool that it was recorded, my first night at The Smell.

M: So our show is about new music, so we wanted to cover you guys, but what kind of new music are you guys into?

K: Well, speaking of Los Angeles, we have a very good friend who has a band called White Fence and in Brooklyn we have a couple of friends who play in a band called Widowspeak and

C: Theres also Crazy Band from LA, they’re good friends of ours,

K: Crazy Band is great. We actually played with Crazy Band and White Fence at The Smell show where the tape was recorded. I also, I really like everything thats happening in San Francisco right now, like The Fresh & Onlys.

C: Fresh & Onlys are like one of the best bands around today, they’re just so incredible. A real inspiration.

K: I like Real Estate, obviously.

C: Obviously! Theres just so much good music around right now, its hard to just pick a few. You know what I mean? I feel like a lot of people are really jaded about music today, but I think that theres actually like so much great stuff coming out and I’m really thankful to be living in a time where theres an abundance of great music.

K: Yea, same here. And also, its done on a scale thats not like, all about making money, its nice.

M: Yea, that’s an awesome way to look at it. So, well, since this is the kick off of your east-coast tour, and then what? Mid-west, Canada?

K: Well actually, after we end our shows with Real Estate we’re going further South and playing a couple more shows and then we’re gonna go to Los Angeles the last two weeks of February and record a new record.

M: Word, that sounds good! Great, well, any final works?

K: Well, peace in the new year! No war!

Sounds good to me.

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