ladyfest manchester: interview with the lovely eggs

interrupting yr broadcast: the lovely eggs

The Lovely Eggs are Lancastrian couple Holly and David, whose unique sound is a concoction of wildly sweet imaginations, an orchestra of adapted instruments and an infectious sense of unrestrained fun. Their debut EP Have You Ever Heard The Lovely Eggs? had us charmed at first spin with its exquisitely ramshackle punk/folk/daydream stylings (review). Wears The Trousers caught up with the pair just before their set at Ladyfest Manchester on Sunday for a good old natter about everything from superhero powers and Holly’s previous band Angelica, to being “gobby” and meeting Kim Gordon…

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So, are you excited to be playing at Ladyfest Manchester?

Holly: Yes, we are! I’ve played a couple of Ladyfests in the past with my old band Angelica, but this will be the first Lovely Eggs gig with Ladyfest. Unfortunately we couldn’t be here for the whole weekend as we were playing another gig last night in Preston, but we’re very excited to see all the other bands on the bill.

Who are you looking forward to the most?

Holly: The Slits, obviously. And The Bobby McGees, because I think they’re amazing. I’m sure I’ll love all the other bands too, as I’ve heard most of them before but haven’t seen them live.

As you mentioned earlier, your previous band Angelica played quite a few Ladyfest line ups in the past. What are your memories of that band?

Holly: Good and bad. We had brilliant times, playing lots of big festivals like Reading, drinking far too much Strongbow and playing practical jokes on each other. The bad times were because we split up when we probably shouldn’t have; Kat Bjelland [of Babes In Toyland and Katastrophy Wife fame] produced our album, but it wasn’t released, and we were all just too tired to fight the record company

David: Well it came out, but it just wasn’t promoted; it wasn’t even in the shops.

Holly: Yeah. That was our lowest point really. It caused arguments. But the happiest times were great. It always seems so long ago. I was 15 when the band started, and I’m 30 now.

As a couple, are you ever treated differently in the music industry i.e. do people tend to address David as the dominant force/decision maker?

David: No, not at all. We’ve never noticed anything like that.

Holly: We really don’t. When I was with Angelica, as an all-girl band we got a lot of abuse, stuff like “Get your tits out!” But as a couple, we don’t seem to get that kind of treatment. In all the interviews we do, I tend to give the answers. I’m so gobby!

Gobby is good.

Holly: It’s terrible! But in general we’ve never had any discrimination like that. I think it’s also to do with confidence. Because I’ve been doing this for years, I get to venues and I know how to set up my instruments and equipment and I never really need to ask for help so there isn’t any opportunity for people to be patronising.

David: You’re more confident then me anyway, so that comes across.

Holly: We also try to play venues and cities where we know people will be receptive to us, and avoid the type of places where people are likely to be abusive.

David: Yeah, we’re always quite careful about where we book to play. We like to play where we’ll fit in. We had a difficult time last night in Preston actually.

Holly: After every one of our songs, someone would say “shit”. It was really townie.

David: It was a really townie atmosphere and mentality.

Holly: I’m glad they didn’t like our music. We’d be doing something wrong if they did.

Do you have any main influences when writing your music?

Holly: I’m really influenced by surrealism. I love the stuff that Richard Brautigan writes. I like really bizarre, off the wall stuff. Also really silly stuff.

David: Our songs are always stuff that we’ve done. They’re always half based in reality; it’s just our take on it.

Holly: Sometimes we’re in our flat, and we drink too much wine – which happens a lot as we’re boozers – and we’ll start singing a song about something really trivial, just for us, and somehow it ends up on Myspace.

David: Once we’d written stuff, we looked at each other and said “We’re never going to get away with that”, but we’d get drunk, record it, and just gave it a go.

Who are your dream tour partners/collaborators?

Holly: I would love to tour with Scout Niblett. She’d be really fun.

Any superhero power, what would it be?

David: Flying. I have lots of flying dreams, so it would be a dream come true!

Holly: I’d like a townie cattle prod, so when I’m out and about on a Saturday night and they get abusive I can just prod them out the way.

David: That’s a really violent power!

Holly: I know. And you’ve chosen the nice pacifist one; you’d just fly away. 

[collective giggling] Do you have any favourite inspirational female artists?

Holly: Kim Gordon. We met her in New York. She was cool as a cucumber, but really nice. We met Thurston too. He was very, very friendly, but he was so tall. I had a little cuddle from him, and drooled a little bit.

David: Mo Tucker, the drummer from the Velvet Underground is one my favourites. She was a pioneer at a time when women weren’t expected to play the drums. Art-wise, I’d also pick Bridget Reilly.

Holly: She was cool. I’d also pick PJ Harvey. Her music is brilliant. And she’s really strong without coming across as…

Overbearing?

Holly: Yes. That’s also why I love Kim Gordon. I love women that come across as strong and assertive without having to be aggressive about it. I like women who are calm and quiet, but intense and empowered at the same time.

* * *

Charlotte Richardson Andrews 
Have You Ever Heard The Lovely Eggs? is available through Cherryade Records. 

 

‘Have You Ever Heard A Digital Accordion?’

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrvPKjE1dNE]

‘I Like Birds But I Like Other Animals Too’

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-JHw4EhfKI]

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Tags: ladyfest manchester, the lovely eggs

This entry was posted on Friday, November 14th, 2008 at 11:32 am and is filed under feature, interrupting yr broadcast. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.