Interviews (219)

• February 14, 2024
• Colleen Johnson
• 164
• 0

(Photo Credit: James Dierx)

A rowdy Sunday night show to finish a long week is always my favorite. Be it the days of Great Scott heading out to see a band I just googled that morning to a loud rock show; it’s always a clutch moment. Lucky for Boston, the legendary Deap Vally will bring their sadly final tour to the Crystal Ballroom in Somerville. While Julie Edwards and Lindsey Troy are bringing a finale to the Deap Vally era, the friendship is still evident from talking to the duo a little while back. And that chemistry will undoubtedly come to life in their headlining show this Sunday. Coming along with the band for support on the show will be Sloppy Jane, and it is sure to be a night of incredible riot girl-era rock. 

As aforementioned, I sat down with Edwards and Troy a while back to chat about their final tour, their new re-recorded album of their debut, “Sistrionix 2.0,” and much more. Find it below to hold you to the show Sunday night, and hope to see you there!

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NES: So, to jump right in, a lot is happening. You’ve collaborated with so many people, a soft one to start; you’ve collaborated with so many fellow artists in your career. Is there anyone that would still be on the bucket list? 

Lindsey Troy: I would say Dan Auerbach. He’s such a great producer. I love how that Lana Del Rey record sounded that he did. So talented. 

Julie Edwards: I would say Trent Reznor. 

NES: That’s a good one. 

LT: It’s an obvious match (everyone laughs). Yeah, he’s amazing. All that scoring work he’s been doing. Didn’t he do some scoring on that movie, “Soul,” that Pixar movie? 

NES: I think so. 

LT: Did you see that one, Julie? 

JE: Yeah, I saw that one. 

LT: Maybe I’m thinking of another movie. 

JE: No, I think you’re right. 

LT: When they’re up in the heavens or whatever. Whatever you call it, the weird space land up there. I feel like he did some of that. 

JE: We could consult the Oracle and find out, but that sounds familiar. 

LT: The internet oracle? 

JE: The internet oracle, yeah. 

NES: Then I know you’ve already played a west-coast leg of the tour that’s bringing you to Boston on this next stretch. You’ve already played some dates of this run. So maybe you have a bit of an idea of what it will be like, but you’re playing many long-time famous venues in these cities. Like Black Cat in D.C., Le Poisson Rouge in New York, and Lee’s Palace, in Toronto. Are these any venues that you have some memories from in the past? Or are these repeats for you, considering how long the band has been a band? 

JE: Um, let’s see (starts looking at phone). 

NES: Let’s do a scroll. 

JE: I like looking at that. I don’t think we’ve played any of these venues. I’m pretty sure we played Turf Club in St. Paul, Minneapolis while opening for The Whigs early on. Like 2013. And, of course, Black Cat is so legendary. I’m pretty sure I saw Tortoise at Black Cat, I’m pretty sure in like 1997 something like that. But, for me, what comes to mind about Boston that’s a happy memory. I think it’s called the Blue Hills Pavilion. We played there with Blondie and Garbage, and it was so awesome. And that whole tour was so awesome. I have a bunch of family in Boston, and they all came. 

LT: Oh, I remember that! 

JE: And I remember during our set, I looked out and saw my Uncle Louis (mimicking covering her ears), so it must have been a little too loud. 

LT: Oh, he must still have good hearing, then. 

NES: Then, for this run, you re-recorded this record. As in similar stories, your old label owned it, so you gave it your own spin. You’re obviously in a much different place ten years in, both mothers, and you’ve both lived a lot of life since you first released that album. Maybe something really exciting for you going back into re-recording that album? Recording these songs together and kind of having your own approach to it, now considering the time since? 

LT: Yeah, it was really fun being back in the studio. I’m a studio-rat. What about you, Julie? 

JE: Yeah, well, just the freedom. The first time we made this record, we were on a major label, and there was a big team of people weighing in. Everyone was weighing in all the time. We were being A&R’d, we were hearing a lot of opinions, and sometimes we were being told there weren’t enough radio-friendly songs. We had to write more, and all of these things. And I think, in a weird way, Lindsey and I weren’t ready for that. We weren’t ready for that creatively. We weren’t ready for that, emotionally. And it’s funny because it’s like, oh, all your dreams are coming true, you’re on a major label. This whole thing is happening, but at the same time, it’s hard to be mansplained about your creativity that you’ve been honing your whole life. It does something to you. It’s a mind-fuck, at the end of the day. 

So I think it’s been really hard for me to even listen to that record and know what I’m hearing. Because for me, it’s all mixed up in my experience with it. And the frustration, and the fear of, like, maybe making the label angry. And all kinds of things that came into play for me. So, doing it this time was just fully on our own terms. It was our terms, our schedule, whatever we feel like, whatever comes out. Like being true to it and letting it breathe and be what it is. Rather than being like, how do we use some scientific formula to make this explode? Which, in theory, I like that. I think Lindsey and I are really authentic. We’ve always been. Something about Lindsey and I, is that we’re both irrepressively ourselves. That’s the kind of music we wanted to make and what we wanted to do, and it was really pure. So it’s kind of just a bummer to have that fucked with at all. That pure intention and drive and identity. So it was nice to get back to it. And let it be pure again. 

LT: Yeah,  for me, I was actually kind of dreading it. It was a lot of pressure to try to make a record as good or better than our original record. Because we spent time and money on the record, and this one, there wasn’t as much time; it was more low-budget. I was about to give birth, and then I had a new baby. But I was pleasantly surprised. It ended up being really, really fun. And the songs came out really well. Better than the original. And we added bass to it. I played bass on all the songs. This one has a lot of dimension and a lot of depth, and sounds really good. 

NES: I agree. I took a big listen today. Then you did this first run, but you’re starting this next run on February 8th. You’ve made the break-up announcement but are still clearly good friends. We’re just in a different touring climate in 2024, 2023. How have these shows been, and what are you looking forward to as you go on to this next run of the farewell tour? 

JE: The shows have been great. We hadn’t played together in a long time, Lins. How long? I think the last time we played shows together might have been the beginning of 2019; there might have been a show or something like that. And then we hadn’t played together again until last fall.
LT: Yeah, because I had done a bunch of tours without Julie, with different drummers, because she wasn’t really available at that time. But the tour was so fun, it was really, really fun. It’s always weird, like going from regular home life lapping back into tour mode. It’s a bit jarring, but once you’re in it, it’s really fun. So yeah, it was really fun. 

It was interesting. This was the first time I had ever taken along my kids. I took my kids on that last tour. My mom came along as the Granny Nanny. But they were only on part of it. We didn’t take them into Canada because they didn’t have passports yet. But yeah, it was really fun. 

JE: So fun. But this next one is going to be different because it’s going to be a lot colder, right? 

LT: I have no winter clothes. For some reason, I have no clothes to begin with. I still don’t fit into like any of my clothes because my baby’s still so young. And then winter clothes, just forget it. 

JE: You gotta get on that. 

LT: I have, like, one winter coat. 

JE: You need long underwear. You need thermal socks. 

LT: Really? 

JE: Yeah, you should bring gloves, right? 

NES: Yeah, we’re at like 35 to 40 degrees, I would say, is the high right now in Boston. 

JE: Are you snowy? 

LT: Julie, I might need tons. Well, are you going to order that stuff for yourself on Amazon? Can you just order some for me, too? Julie’s really good at online shopping. 

JE: Personal shopper. Yeah, let me put it in my to-do’s. 

LT: She bought me some clothes for the last tour that were really cute. 

NES: She’s watching out for you. 

LT: She is! I didn’t have anything to wear; I don’t fit into my clothes. I don’t have time to go shopping, so she’s good at online shopping. She picked out some stuff that was all really cute. 

NES: We love that. 

LT: She has a passion for online shopping. 

JE: I have a passion for (Everyone laughs). 

LT: See, I’m different with the online shopping. I don’t really like it as much for clothes, because I always feel like it’s probably not going to fit. And then, a lot of times, I forget to return stuff. 

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Deap Vally/Sloppy Jane at Crystal Ballroom in Somerville, MA

Doors are open at 8 pm, and the show starts at 9 pm. Tickets can be picked up here!