One of the most exciting new bands to come flying out of Portland, Oregon's burgeoning indie-rock scene is WET CONFETTI. Fueled by a propulsive rhythm section and urgent, stylized vocals, the trio's new album, Laughing Gasping, is a gleeful mix of messy post-punk and gleefully-skewed pop songs. We called up vocalist/bassist Alberta Poon to find out where this band has been all our lives...
SG: How did Wet Confetti get started?
Alberta: Well, none of us are originally from Portland but we all found each other within a month of moving here and we totally hit it off. We started playing together right away, so things have slowly been getting better and better for us as we continue to play. It's been a struggle, but we're getting more recognition now.
SG: None of you were friends before the band started?
Alberta: Actually, Dan and I were friends before. We actually met in Utah, which is where we are from, then we moved to Seattle to try and play music. Utah was definitely not the place to try and be a musician. So, we moved to Seattle, then to Olympia for a while, and then on a whim we just decided to move to Portland....which is amazing. Mike is actually from North Dakota.
SG: I love that kind of story. I came from a small town and ran off to the big city myself, so I'm always fond of those kinds of stories.
Alberta: We came from a place that was very white, Mormon, and deeply conservative. Utah is actually a really beautiful place with all kinds of amazing outdoorsy stuff to do if you're into that, but otherwise it was just very conservative and not conducive for making music or being an artist.
SG: Portland has such a great vibe. I know a lot of people from New York who have moved there recently. What's the music scene like there?
Alberta: Portland is amazing....and it's the only place, other than maybe New York, where we would ever want to live. The scene here is really vibrant and interesting...shows every night, a great variety of stuff. I mean, it's kind of a small town sometimes, but most touring bands come through here and all the bands are very supportive here. It's funny, most musicians I know play in at least three bands...it's very collaborative. It kind of blows my mind though that there are so many amazing bands here that aren't really getting nationwide attention. I feel like a lot of these bands would be huge by now if they were in a bigger city.
SG: How did you hook up with Dave Allen from Gang of Four?
Alberta: He approached us, actually, and wanted to help us make a record and put it out. How could you say no to that? He and Mike Cozzi produced the record and both of them are amazing.
SG: Is everyone ready to give up their day jobs and hit the road now?
Alberta: I hope so, you know? We've all been playing together for so long...and it seems like bands often reach a point where they either break through and become more popular or they just break up. I hope for our sake that we continue to do this. I kind of think that even if no one cared at all, we'd still play music together. We're all really good friends and we have fun together.
SG: Well, it must be a little easier to be a band in a place like Portland...the rent is cheaper there than in a place like New York.
Alberta: Yeah, it's funny how many people I know here who don't even seem to have jobs...they just play music and make art and stuff. It kind of blows my mind. You can go to any coffee shop in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday and it will be full of young hipsters just hanging out. I'm always like, doesn't anybody work?
SG: How do you get by and still manage to make a living?
Alberta: I actually have my own accessories line called Frozen Peas Accessories, which has been getting a lot of good press lately. We've been written up in Nylon and Venus recently. I do work two days a week at this Japanese gallery, but I mostly support myself with the band and my accessories line. I'm very happy about that.
SG: What kind of music influences you?
Alberta: I don't know, really. I didn't grow up listening to the coolest music, that's for sure. I grew up listening to Salt N Pepa and En Vogue. I was really into the female R&B groups for some reason. (laughs). These days I feel like we're all really into classic rock stuff--Heart, Fleetwood Mack--and also stuff like The Cure and old new wave bands. I'm just discovering stuff now that I really should have listened to when I was in high school.
SG: Did you have a pretty clear sense of how you wanted this new record to sound when you went into the studio?
Alberta: A little bit. Not completely though. We don't really write songs to sound like any specific thing....somehow we just follow our own instincts when we play and it comes out sounding like us. I think we were aiming for something a little more poppy and accessible this time around...and I think it worked out.
SG: Have you guys toured a lot?
Alberta: We have, but we've never done a full US tour from one coast over to the other. We want to though.
SG: You've done your fair share of touring in a van?
Alberta: Oh yeah. I don't do any driving though. We all get along really well, so it's always fun for us. Touring can really break a band if you can't get along. We're lucky in that sense. We all really like each other.
-T. Cole Rachel
for more on Wet Confetti click HERE
check out Wet Confetti on MYSPACE
and check out Frozen Peas Accessories HERE
and don't forget to hook up with Soundgirl on Myspace
SG: How did Wet Confetti get started?
Alberta: Well, none of us are originally from Portland but we all found each other within a month of moving here and we totally hit it off. We started playing together right away, so things have slowly been getting better and better for us as we continue to play. It's been a struggle, but we're getting more recognition now.
SG: None of you were friends before the band started?
Alberta: Actually, Dan and I were friends before. We actually met in Utah, which is where we are from, then we moved to Seattle to try and play music. Utah was definitely not the place to try and be a musician. So, we moved to Seattle, then to Olympia for a while, and then on a whim we just decided to move to Portland....which is amazing. Mike is actually from North Dakota.
SG: I love that kind of story. I came from a small town and ran off to the big city myself, so I'm always fond of those kinds of stories.
Alberta: We came from a place that was very white, Mormon, and deeply conservative. Utah is actually a really beautiful place with all kinds of amazing outdoorsy stuff to do if you're into that, but otherwise it was just very conservative and not conducive for making music or being an artist.
SG: Portland has such a great vibe. I know a lot of people from New York who have moved there recently. What's the music scene like there?
Alberta: Portland is amazing....and it's the only place, other than maybe New York, where we would ever want to live. The scene here is really vibrant and interesting...shows every night, a great variety of stuff. I mean, it's kind of a small town sometimes, but most touring bands come through here and all the bands are very supportive here. It's funny, most musicians I know play in at least three bands...it's very collaborative. It kind of blows my mind though that there are so many amazing bands here that aren't really getting nationwide attention. I feel like a lot of these bands would be huge by now if they were in a bigger city.
SG: How did you hook up with Dave Allen from Gang of Four?
Alberta: He approached us, actually, and wanted to help us make a record and put it out. How could you say no to that? He and Mike Cozzi produced the record and both of them are amazing.
SG: Is everyone ready to give up their day jobs and hit the road now?
Alberta: I hope so, you know? We've all been playing together for so long...and it seems like bands often reach a point where they either break through and become more popular or they just break up. I hope for our sake that we continue to do this. I kind of think that even if no one cared at all, we'd still play music together. We're all really good friends and we have fun together.
SG: Well, it must be a little easier to be a band in a place like Portland...the rent is cheaper there than in a place like New York.
Alberta: Yeah, it's funny how many people I know here who don't even seem to have jobs...they just play music and make art and stuff. It kind of blows my mind. You can go to any coffee shop in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday and it will be full of young hipsters just hanging out. I'm always like, doesn't anybody work?
SG: How do you get by and still manage to make a living?
Alberta: I actually have my own accessories line called Frozen Peas Accessories, which has been getting a lot of good press lately. We've been written up in Nylon and Venus recently. I do work two days a week at this Japanese gallery, but I mostly support myself with the band and my accessories line. I'm very happy about that.
SG: What kind of music influences you?
Alberta: I don't know, really. I didn't grow up listening to the coolest music, that's for sure. I grew up listening to Salt N Pepa and En Vogue. I was really into the female R&B groups for some reason. (laughs). These days I feel like we're all really into classic rock stuff--Heart, Fleetwood Mack--and also stuff like The Cure and old new wave bands. I'm just discovering stuff now that I really should have listened to when I was in high school.
SG: Did you have a pretty clear sense of how you wanted this new record to sound when you went into the studio?
Alberta: A little bit. Not completely though. We don't really write songs to sound like any specific thing....somehow we just follow our own instincts when we play and it comes out sounding like us. I think we were aiming for something a little more poppy and accessible this time around...and I think it worked out.
SG: Have you guys toured a lot?
Alberta: We have, but we've never done a full US tour from one coast over to the other. We want to though.
SG: You've done your fair share of touring in a van?
Alberta: Oh yeah. I don't do any driving though. We all get along really well, so it's always fun for us. Touring can really break a band if you can't get along. We're lucky in that sense. We all really like each other.
-T. Cole Rachel
for more on Wet Confetti click HERE
check out Wet Confetti on MYSPACE
and check out Frozen Peas Accessories HERE
and don't forget to hook up with Soundgirl on Myspace
