Interview: LADS - A New York City indie rock band made up of four ordinary (but talented) girls who came together by being apart
Artist: LADS For fans of: Tigers Jaw, Warpaint, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Cayetana, Best Coast
Artwork courtesy of LADS
Forming in August 2014, LADS is a four piece indie rock group based in New York City consisting of Alexa Brightside (Vocals/Guitar), Kirsten Kearns (Bass/Vocals), Matty Cline (Drums), and Mia Schmidt (Guitar). Although the group calls New York City home, its members all live in separate parts of the United States, making their songwriting/recording process a bit different than most artists. Each member of the group records the part of the song they are working on, and sends it to lead vocalist Alexa Brightside who pieces the tracks together to create the finished product.
After releasing their debut EP, Ledge, and a pair of singles, Chester and Standby, in June and July respectively, the upcoming foursome has continued to write and record new material to be released in the future. At a very young stage in this unique bands life, I was able to catch up with Matty and Alexa from LADS to discuss songwriting over Skype, genre classifications, and female personas in rock music.
Okay, so first off, how did all of the members of LADS meet each other?
I think the current story is that we met at a stripclub or something? We definitely found Kirsten in a dumpster. I know that one for sure. - Matty
Our Matty gets all forgetful being super super old. She’s like 28.. - Alexa
Have the four of you actually ever been in a room together?
No, we haven’t. Alexa is actually the only one so far who has met Mia in person. However, me (Matty), Kirsten, Alexa and I did all attend an Arctic Monkeys concert together. That’s the most all of us have been together thus far. - Matty
Your songwriting process is obviously unlike that of many other artists. How do you write songs together while not being with each other in person, and what are the best and worst parts about doing things this way?
We use Skype! I write all the songs with an acoustic and a set of lyrics which I then play for my bandmates, manager, publicist, and producer. If they all like it, Joseph Schmidt (our producer, no relation to Mia!) and I will lay down a basic beat and the guitars and vocals. Then my bandmates add in their parts one by one which Jo mixes to complete into a full song. Ideally I’d like to record everything live in a single take, but I’m also all for making the most out of any situation. We’ve got the technology to still be a team even spread out across the world, so that’s pretty great! - Alexa
Your music has a very grungy, post-punk, indie rock vibe. What artists would you say influence this sound, and which artists have inspired, or still inspire you to want to continue to advance yourself as a musician and songwriter?
I think it’s interesting you say it’s like…hardcore or grungy. That’s not a bad thing at all! I always thought we were more like straight up rock with lots of pop sensibilities. But it’s cool to see how others group it. As the songwriter I like to write songs that sound like Oasis or The Killers but it doesn’t always have to be them. Lyrically I’d like to fall somewhere between Alex Turner from Arctic Monkeys and Taylor Swift, actually. Storytelling sometimes, confessional sometimes. It’s gotta be really relatable. But overall, I haven’t figured out what my ‘sound’ is. I haven’t written enough songs. It’s gotta get in the thousands, not hundreds.
But speaking of advancing, our next single called “Two” is very Taylor Swift in that it’s simple and straightforward. It’s found a way to be both honest and EXACTLY what people want to hear. I’ve taken a lesson from her. In both pop and rock music, everyone wants to be different and flashy and have a larger than life persona. But my bandmates and I, we’re just ordinary girls good at music. I don’t know any female rock musicians that have that image. I’m not saying they’re dishonest, not at all, but I’m saying they come off in a way that YouTube comments on them will write comments that say “Goddess!” or “Bow down to the queen!” LADS can’t pull that off, but we can stick to being damn good musicians! - Alexa
Who are your favorite artists out there right now?
Other than artists as public figures or as friends, I actually don’t like anyone these days. I’ve been writing songs because there’s nothing out there that I feel represents both me and what masses of people can get behind. - Alexa
I’ve been listening to a lot of Wolf Alice right now. They’re debut album was fantastic, and it’s a good one to listen to on repeat. - Matty
What is one artist you would like to play a show with or tour with in the future?
I want to tour with Wolf Alice, only because we’ve sort of become friends and they always seem to have a lot of fun in the green room haha. - Matty
I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say The 1975. The people that love our band seem to hate them and the people that hate our band seem to love them. I think that sort of tour would change some opinions around, maybe bring more fans in together, see that it doesn’t have to be so malicious when it comes to musical preferences. Plus I reckon that LADS as a band could learn a lot from those guys in putting on a show. - Alexa