INTERVIEW: AN HORSE @ BILTMORE CABARET

Australian band An Horse was in Vancouver to support their second album Walls and Arabelle Lim was able to have a chat with Damon Cox (drums, vocals) and Kate Cooper (guitar, vocals) before their show at the Biltmore about touring, broccoli, Vancouver, and more.

Scene (Arabelle Lim): My first question is that I read that you were discovered by Tegan and Sara at a record store. Is that true?

Damon: I wouldn’t say we were discovered at a record store. We met at a record store. Kate and I worked together in one in Brisbane, and the girls [Tegan and Sara] were doing an in-store there, they were playing and signing some cds. So we met and that was back in 2005. Kate became friends with them and kept in touch with them over the years. It was about 2 or 3 years later when we started playing music together as An Horse and the next time Tegan and Sara were in town, we gave them some demos that we had, and they asked us to come on a tour with them in America in 2008.

Scene: So they asked you to go on a US tour?

Damon: Yeah a US tour, and that was the first tour that the band did, so that was quite exciting.

Scene: You performed your single Camp Out on David Letterman. How was that experience?

Kate: It was cold. It was very cold in the studio. It was definitely a lot of fun.

Damon: Yeah it was cold. They keep the temperature in there at like, 9 degrees.

Scene: Do you know why?

Damon: I think it’s just to keep the audience really attentive and on their feet, and to keep them awake. And it does keep you kind of alert.

Kate: Well it’s because you think you’re dying of hypothermia. [laughs]

Damon: Yeah we sound-checked and we set up and were wearing big jackets. It was quite cold in there.

Scene: I guess it’s really different from doing it on stage here, where it’s really hot with the lights.

Damon: Yeah it’s like 40 degrees here. It’s quite good actually, to be cold when you’re playing. And I think it’s good too, to keep you from sweating on TV, because otherwise you’d get all shiny.

Scene: Do you get nervous performing in front of an audience?

Kate: No, only when I’m performing in front of my parents do I ever get a bit nervous.

Damon: Yeah we recently played in Brisbane and we haven’t played there in over 2 years. That was a big homecoming show for us and there were family and friends there. That’s the most nerve-racking thing, playing in front of the hometown where you came from. We’re okay playing in front of hundreds of strangers, but with your friends and relatives in the room it can be a little nerve-racking.

Scene: But other than that, if there’s no one you know out there then you’re totally fine?

Damon: Yeah. Well if there’s even one person in the audience that you know, you’re always wondering where they are and what they’re thinking.

Kate: I think about how I can see what they’re doing, and if they are bored. I can see everything.

Damon: Kate has a knack of seeing everything in the room. She’ll see everything. She’ll see you in the room tonight, if you’re in the room.

Kate: No pressure to be in the room!

Damon: You’re doing photos for the show tonight, right? She WILL see you if you’re there.

Kate: I see a lot of crazy stuff.

Scene: You don’t concentrate on the guitar when you’re playing?

Kate: I do concentrate when my eyes are closed, but then I know that sometimes I should open my eyes and come out of my world.

Damon: I’m the opposite. I don’t see anything. Kate, you should wear a pirate’s mask on stage.

Kate: I should wear my sleeping mask!

Damon: Yeah yeah! The one from the plane!

All: [laughs]

Scene: Do you have any preshow routines before you go on stage?

Kate: We say a few things to each other. Secret things.

Damon: Do we?

Kate: Like “Don’t fuck up”.

Damon: We always say we’ll have a good old-fashioned show. I don’t know why. We seem to say that a lot.

Scene: What’s your favourite song to perform?

Damon: It changes a lot. Brain on a Table is probably a favourite at the moment.

Kate: I like Walls.

Damon: Walls is cool. And 100 Whales I would say.

Scene: Are you doing all those songs tonight?

Kate: Yeah.

Scene: Do you guys like touring?

Kate: It gets hard sometimes. We get worn out, but that’s just like any job.

Damon: Our schedule’s fairly hectic, and there aren’t many breaks at all right now, which is what happens when you put out a record.

Kate: But there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. I’m home in nearly single digits.

Damon: Yeah we have a break of about 3 weeks and we’ve been on the road since March.

Kate: It’s been 3 months. We both need haircuts. [laughs]

Damon: We’ve been back and forth to Europe a couple of times, and Australia. We made our record here in Vancouver so we have a connection.

Kate: We’re excited to be back, we got all nostalgic when we got here.

Scene: How come you made your record here in Vancouver, since neither of you lives here?

Kate: You’ve got to go where people are. Howard Redekopp is in Vancouver and he’s a great guy. He produced our record, so we came here. And it’s great, because our lives are constantly moving. It’s nice to be in one spot. It’s pretty nice being able to go to a new city for a month. It’s nice to have our own space. We were really lucky we both had places to stay and to be really creative……and uh…oh I just derailed my thought. You know why I just derailed? Because you [Damon] just gently touched me!

Damon: [Laughs] I didn’t mean it. It was my foot!

Kate: I know. I mean getting creative and getting outside your comfort zone.

Scene: So how do you like Vancouver?

Kate: We love Vancouver. It’s awesome, it’s beautiful, there’s good coffee here, we have a lot of friends here. It feels like a second home. When we roll into town, we know where we’re going, we have friends to see, places to eat.

Scene: What’s your favourite thing to eat on tour?

Kate: In-N-Out.

Damon: Coffee.

Kate: Broccoli. If I could have one thing to eat every night it would be a bowl of broccoli. I’d happily forgo In-N-Out for broccoli.

Scene: You prefer broccoli to burgers?

Kate: I do. I like burgers as well, but if I had to choose, I would pick broccoli without fail.

Scene: Or you could have a burger with broccoli on it.

Kate: You can’t mess with In-N-Out. You can’t change that.

Damon: Broccoli with burgers is not a bad idea.

Kate: We do broccoli pizzas. Mmm broccoli. Yum. Now I feel like eating some.

Scene: I wanted to ask you, what was your inspiration for your second album?

Kate: Life. Broccoli. And, Cate Blanchett. Those three things. Um, just stuff that was going on in our lives – being at a distance from loved ones, travelling, new places, and frustration. You know, just the same old stuff.

Scene: How does it compare to your first album?

Kate: I think it’s a lot better. Sonically it’s a lot better. I hope song writing is a lot better too. It was a lot more deliberate. The first time we did a record, it was made in two batches, and we weren’t even particularly a band, we were just two friends making music. Then we got a record deal and the label encouraged us to finish making the record, and now we’ve played hundreds of shows. I just think now we’re better at playing together and better at writing. And if it weren’t better, that would be a worry. Sonically it’s better because Howard was on board. He mixed our last record and he was very keen to be involved in our next project because he had all these things he wanted to do the first time around, and he did them and I think he did a wonderful job.

Scene: Who are your musical influences?

Kate: So many, they really cross the spectrum.

Damon: Classic rock, punk rock, all of that.

Kate: We’ve been listening to the new Death Cab [For Cutie] record, I think it’s stunning. They actually made their record when we were in Vancouver. Ben Gibbard as a songwriter is definitely an inspiration. I love him. There’s so much. I love pop music, I love rock music, I like classic rock.

Damon: I think the bands we’ve toured with have been our biggest inspirations.

Scene: So you’ve toured with Death Cab for Cutie, and Tegan and Sara, and Cage the Elephant, but if you could choose anyone to tour with, who would you choose?

Kate: That’s hard. They might all get shitty. Um, Buddy Holly because he’s dead. Or Dick Dale, that would be cool.

Damon: Or Cate Blanchett.

All: [laughs]

Scene: Well that’s it. Thanks for the interview.

Damon: No problem. Thanks for coming.