Bleached Interview
Bleached
Photo by Nicole Anne Robbins
Los Angeles-based sister duo Jennifer and Jessie Clavin knew that things were going to be different for their sophomore LP ‘Welcome The Worms’. Not only had they managed to charm world renowned producer and engineer, Joe Chiccarelli (Morrissey, The Strokes, Elton John) to join the sisters and their bassist Micayla Grace in the studio, but Jen and Jessie had been crawling out of their own emotional personal dramas... ‘Welcome The Worms’ is a motivated rock record with a new found pop refinement that somehow still feels like the Shangri-Las on speed, driven forward in a wind of pot and petals, a wall of guitars in the back seat. Throughout the record, Bleached paints a frivolous picture of Los Angeles: the life of eye-rolling caused by dating men in bands, dirty Sunset Boulevard and futile drunken nights in a starstruck hole that made everyone from Charles Manson to Darby Crash to Marilyn Monroe stare up at the Hollywood sign for direction… We talk to Jen Clavin about embracing the dark side of life, the impetus of Los Angeles and magic mushrooms…
TSH: Knowing that you write in three different ways, how has this feature helped to evolve the band’s songwriting overall?
Jen: For myself, I write three different ways. Either alone in my bedroom, in this very small practice space we have in the valley or in the desert. It’s easiest for me when I’m alone and feel free to experiment with new melodies or lyrics. Then Jess will join me and add guitar solos, bass lines, or harmonies to the songs once a foundation is built. Last, Micayla joined us too for some songs on this record. Because we have different writing ways it helps create more material and expand the writing process. I feel like whatever the scenario a song was written in, it wouldn’t have been created if the time, place and people involved hadn’t existed. Like if the three of us had never taken that weekend trip out to Joshua Tree ‘Sour Candy’ might have been a very different song. Or if I hadn’t been in a fight with my boyfriend and went to the space in North Hollywood ‘Wasted on You’ may have never existed.
TSH: With regards to the album ‘Welcome the Worms’, how vital was it to embrace the dark side of life in order to embrace the positive side?
Jen: One day I was reading my horoscope and I was in such a dark place, it said it’s okay to feel pain because light comes from that and it stuck with me. We are trained to push away the negative, not acknowledge or feel it. But we have to be grateful for the dark side of life because without it we wouldn’t see the beautiful side. It’s all life and it comes in a package. If life was always perfect it would be boring. The dark stuff that happens are all lessons, life lessons that make you wiser. Being wise is the ultimate gift that you have to earn. I think that theory has become my higher power because I don’t believe in God but I got to believe in something.
TSH: Furthermore, you’ve mentioned wanting every song ‘to be its own movie’, how key is it to have each song stand on its own and imply this type of diversity?
Jen: I don’t like when an album sounds like one long song. It seems really lazy. I think each song being a little package of time makes it kind of like a mini movie. Growing up watching movies like “Say Anything” or “16 Candles” had such a strong impact on me. I was able to escape my life and live through someone else's for two hours. So when I write songs, I’m leaving everything behind to enter this other world that I’ve created for three minutes. It’s usually a dark romanticised version of the reality, but that’s what I like.
TSH: Does your level of focus reach a pleasing level via meeting up with each other, trying to forget about whatever is going on around you and just taking it out on your guitars?
Jen: Yes, playing music is like a natural form of therapy. My brain can’t trail off anywhere else because I am so focused on the notes I’m playing and what lyrics I am saying. If I start to think about other things, I usually mess up. And the guitar is a good place to take some aggression out, especially playing live shows!
TSH: Let’s talk about the record. Firstly, ‘Sleepwalking’ – how did you go about fleshing out this song and layering it from the ground up?
Jen: It started with the lyrics and a melody while I was sitting on this porch in the desert. I was thinking about a conversation I had with a friend and how he said he felt like he had been sleeping through life and he was finally ready to wake up and live. I thought it was so cool to have that realisation, but also kind of psychotic. It was like the third time someone very close to me had said that, so it was a red flag. Changing that drastically doesn’t happen overnight... For the sound we were really inspired by Queens of The Stone Age. Jess had the idea to add a bass solo instead of her guitar, so she recorded it - one of my favourite parts. I love playing that song live.
TSH: Also, what does ‘Hollywood, We Did It All Wrong’ signify to you overall?
Jen: It’s a pretty nostalgic song. Jess and I grew up in the valley and we would have our only friend that drove drive us all into Hollywood. I remember driving down Hollywood or Sunset Boulevard blasting punk songs from the radio and everything was perfect, like nothing bad could happen. Then this last summer our friend from those times passed away from cancer and so the song became an ode to him, those times before the drugs and drinking kicked in, the punk bands we were discovering. Those days were so magical and innocent, even from the centre of Hollywood.
TSH: ‘Wednesday Night Melody’ is accompanied by an awesome video. What can you tell us about your experiences in bringing this video together…
Jen: Gil, who did the video, is an old friend of ours. He presented his idea about the band finding me dead and having to get me to the show no matter what. We thought it was insanely amazing. I still laugh so hard when I see that video and wonder if other people find it as funny as we do. Our parents say they can’t watch it. It was difficult though at the time of filming it because I was going through a really reckless time in my life, so it felt a little too close to home. Now I don’t feel that way at all and think it’s one of the best videos we have.
TSH: With the subject matter and themes covered on this record, do you feel it's more powerful to feel vulnerable and talk about it?
Jen: Yes, definitely! When I hear people being very honest, even if it’s embarrassing, I have a deeper level of respect for them. Also, it helps that I’ve gotten to a point in life where I don’t care what people think about me, only what I think about myself. I feel really sorry for people when I see them trying so hard or caring about what other people think, it seems so draining and restricting.
TSH: With the band being challenging at times, is it vital to know when to compromise and when to trust only yourself?
Jen: That’s a good question because that is a struggle sometimes but that is what having a good team is for and because I trust them so much I usually don’t second guess anyone. But when I do, we can just talk about it and figure out the best option. It is definitely good to check in with myself and make sure I’m still being true to myself.
TSH: Tell us more about how embracing L.A. comes into play with your recent work – the beauty within it, the city's dark tales of Monroe and Charles Manson, and the Hollywood industry…
Jen: It wasn’t until recently I realised how big of a role LA has played in my life. We grew up in West LA and the Valley and I became obsessed with the seediness of it all, the valley especially. I love that the porn industry started there and I’m really intrigued by all the dark stories like the Nicole Simpson murder, Charles Manson, or The Menendez brothers. People think LA and Hollywood is the place to make your dreams come true and they don’t think about the dark side or the unsuccessful side. Like the idea of a girl coming to LA to make it as an actress and getting trapped into the porn industry is so dark and real that I kind of love it. This could happen anyone; it’s like the big bad wolf. I imagine a tourist coming to Hollywood Boulevard where the celebrity stars are and feeling cheated, like 'this isn’t what I see in the pictures'! But growing up in LA, I felt so alone sometimes and I would drive up Mulholland Drive and see the views of LA and the Valley and realise how many people are living their lives and I would feel way less alone. And I love that the palm trees are imported.
TSH: How much do you miss the days when you had to search for music at record stores? Even purchasing because they sometimes just looked cool…
Jen: A big part of my youth was going to the punk record store on Melrose, picking an unknown record with my allowance money based on how cool the cover looked or hearing someone talk about it, taking it home and playing it non-stop on my turntable and falling in love with it. I miss those days but I’m also glad I had those days. Kids today don’t have that and they can’t have that because the Internet is everywhere. I still love searching for music at record stores but it’s less about collecting and more about “what record do I want to hear spinning on my player for the next month that maybe isn’t on Spotify’’.
TSH: When you go to the desert to escape LA – what sort of clarity do you gain?
Jen: Seriously once you enter the desert all your problems disappear. It’s so big and it takes care of itself, no one runs the desert but it’s more beautiful and magical then any place I have been. It makes me see there is way more to life then what goes on at home and what people try to control. Like, I am free and I can do anything I want to do.
TSH: Moreover, being admirers of Siouxsie and the Banshees and Cock Sparrer, what sort of impetus and drive do you take from such stellar names?
Jen: When I was in 9th grade I had this VHS called “Girls Bite Back” and it had live Siouxsie and the Banshees footage and it blew my mind. Her stage presence and her control over me through my TV screen was so powerful. I wanted to be her as a teenage girl and now I still love her. Her dance moves were so unique and the way she played guitar with so much style - so cool. And then Cock Sparrer, I always felt like their songs were so good that if they had been marketed and recorded as a pop band they would have been huge. But that fact that they were a punk band made it like my secret discovery from the world of pop.
TSH: Do you still tend to test songs by riding down the highway in a car with the music blasting?
Jen: Yes! That is the best way to test a song. Maybe because in LA we drive so much and that a big part of listening to music is in your car driving to work, a show or a first date. Music is the soundtrack to our lives in LA, so that’s why we got to listen to our songs and mixes while driving, it’s the final test. And if it feels amazing, it’s perfect.
TSH: After meeting the super-cool Mr. Father John Misty, did he give you any particular pearls of wisdom?
Jen: Ah! I was so stoked. I don’t really fan out on people, but he was at this Grammy dinner we were all attending and I said hi. He was so nice. Afterwards, we were all waiting for our cars to pull up and he had a really cool old Mercedes. He said a fan bought it for him, but I think that was a joke lol. I would loveeee to record a song with him; I think he is so smart and musically talented.
TSH: Talk us through this recent tweet ‘My answer to depression... go take mushrooms’...
Jen: I think there are a lot of things that need to happen to help with depression. One is not to drink, that’s what triggered mine. But taking mushrooms is life changing. It really opens your mind and helps you figure stuff out. When I look at a tree, I can think about what that tree would look like on mushrooms and it’s beautiful. I recently read an interview where ASAP Rocky is talking about the first time he did mushrooms and that he got them from some girls, which were my friends haha! I didn’t know until that interview that was his first time and what lead him to doing way more psychedelics. As long as you don’t abuse them, they are life changing. I really think you haven’t lived until you try them. And if you have a really bad scary trip, there's a lesson to figure out about what is going on inside that made you so scared.
TSH: Finally, heading forward as such a gifted band, what ideas and perspectives do you hope to maintain and stay true?
Jen: Thank you so much. I just would like to keep being as honest as possible and writing music that makes me feel good. I base a lot of what I write off of how it makes me feel and I don’t ever want to stop doing that. I want to keep growing personally and as a musician, I don’t ever want to stop learning. So I know with the next record there will be things I don’t know now that I will know in a year or two, that’s exciting.
Bleached - “Wednesday Night Melody”
Welcome the Worms
