Potty Mouth – Sunday, Someday

By starrymag | March 26, 2021

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

Ally: Big, hooky pop rock. Josie and the Pussycats meets the Ramones!

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

Abby: Juliana Hatfield, Garbage, Liz Phair, Hole, Veruca Salt, Weezer, St Vincent.

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Let Go.”

Abby: “Let Go” is about accepting the discrepancies in life. I wrote the song in 2015 right around the time we were deciding whether or not to move to LA. I think I was thinking a lot about where life can take you if you let it while also knowing it means there are parts that will be left behind. The song is a reminder that nothing is permanent, but it’s still important to find who/what you connect with and allowing these things to help shape our own paths.

 

Q) How does the video for the track play into the message behind it?

Abby: The process of making the video is a really great representation of what’s possible within a close, collaborative community. Everyone in the song’s video is someone we’re close with; roommates, coworkers, even the director/videographer Shereen is one of my best friends! I like to think the video reflects the theme of the song by taking the viewer on a journey that weaves in and out of settings and situations kind of like life, but maybe that’s a stretch. [laughs] We just wanted to make something that was fun and gives you a peek into the world of Potty Mouth!

 

Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?

Abby: In the past I would usually go back and forth with fitting melodies and words together simultaneously, but recently I’ve been keeping a notebook of random thoughts to reference later on. It hasn’t felt right for me to pressure myself to perform the typical role of a musician during this last year, so lately it’s been easier to jot down a random line or thought rather than force myself to sit down and be creative.

 

Q) How much of a hand do you have in the production of your music?

Abby: We’re very involved! We’re each pretty picky about how our instruments sound, and we like to run through songs as a band before making changes to the arrangement.

 

Q) Your upcoming album Sunday, Someday is a compilation. How did you all settle on the songs that would be included?

Abby: The compilation felt like a good opportunity to release music we already had recorded but hadn’t been released yet. We have a habit of making really fleshed out demos of our songs, but then we have to sit on them while we work on other releases. It feels good to give these songs new life!

 

Q) What challenged you the most when coming together to create the album?

Ally: Honestly, there wasn’t anything that felt too challenging about creating the Sunday, Someday album, which might seem counterintuitive given that it was done entirely remotely as a split between five artists spread across three time zones and two continents. But really, it was the collaborative and supportive nature of the project that made it feel easier and more fun than most traditional releases we’ve worked on in the past. Everyone in the group helped with some aspect of the creative process; Em from Nervus mixed our songs, Koji mastered them and Abby did the artwork. The whole album is just a natural extension of the close bonds we’ve formed with one another over the course of the last year of the pandemic. There were no managers, no labels breathing down our neck (shout out to Get Better Records for being so cool and behind this release from day one!), no ego, no competition, no outside interests mucking things up — just care, support, encouragement and collaboration, all happening during a time when we really needed that from one another. I am so grateful for this community.

 

Q) With concerts currently on hold, do you have any plans for live streaming performances to promote the album?

Ally: Yes! We’re planning something special to happen with the other artists on the album right around the one-year anniversary of our first Zoom together, which was April 26, 2020.

 

Q) What do you miss most about being on stage?

Ally: Oh my God, so many things. Jumping up and down while playing bass! Laughing mid-song when I see one of my bandmates do something funny. Abby and I were just getting good at this one trick that we would do during the bridge of “Dog Song” where I’d spread my legs out wide and she’d get down and crawl through them while we were both still playing our respective instruments. We never missed a beat. I miss that shit! (See photo example here)

 

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you?

Ally: I loved getting to perform for various Girls Rock Camp sessions while we were on the road over the summer. Nothing compares to playing for an auditorium of screaming young girls and future rockers. In the past, we played for Girls Rock camps in Santa Barbara, Nashville and Columbus. I would love to get to do that more. Providing that sort of representation and demystifying the experience of being in a band for young girls is one of the single most rewarding aspects of performing.

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

Abby: I think it would be really cool to work on something with Annie Clark! I love her taste in sound and she’s really creative with her lyrics and hooks.

 

Q) What album/band are you currently listening to and why do you dig them?

Ally: Honestly, I’m so into Matthew Sweet’s new album Catspaw. He’s an amazing songwriter, consistently churning out catchy albums since the early 90s. Fun fact: Matthew Sweet was once a few cities ahead of us on a US tour and because we were lucky enough to be friends with his tour manager (shout out to John from Dressy Bessy), he left a bunch of merch goodies for us to find in secret hiding spots at a venue we played a few days after he did! My Matthew Sweet lighter is now one of my most prized possessions.

Abby: I haven’t stopped listening to “Ungodly Hour” by Chloe x Halle since it came out, I can’t get enough of it!! Every song is unique and catchy. I’ve also been listening to a lot of Emily Reo, The Goo Goo Dolls, and Durand Jones and The Indications. I like listening to music that feels energizing and helps create a flow to my day.

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

Ally: [laughs] Oh God, is it even possible to be a band and NOT be on social media these days? Seems like a basic requirement. I have a love-hate relationship with social media. On the one hand, I resent how much time I waste mindlessly scrolling on my phone, consuming content that does not ultimately serve my mental health. On the other hand, the relationships we’ve built with fans and friends we’ve made from the last decade of being a band and touring — those relationships are so important to me because those are the relationships that allow us to keep doing what we do and I don’t know how they would be sustained without the help of social media, especially in the current absence of touring. It’s what keeps us connected.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

Ally: This year marks our 10-year anniversary of being a band and it’s been a wild ride that literally would have never been possible without the care, enthusiasm and support we’ve had from fans. We hope you’re into the new collaboration album and that you read more of the story behind how it happened (www.sundaysomedayrecord.com) because it’s just another model of what we could all be doing with each other; being in community and making art together. We’ve also got more new music being released later this year, so keep your eyes and ears peeled. And… when live music returns and we start playing shows again, you can bet your ass we are gonna go absolutely BONKERS on stage.

 

 

Watch the Video for “Let Go”