I'm sure you've figured out by now that I house an ever-plump heart for sad sack, mope indie rock & pop. But I also love whimsy. I love well-placed xylophone chimes and bright, playful harmonies. I love tunes set to sunny days and picnics—where merry mishaps and complicated woebegones are served alongside plastic cups with ice cream or pink lemonade.
Which brings me to the newly-released EP, Hey Marsupial, by Chicago-based in miniature. Admittedly, in miniature's penchant for xylophones initially attracted my ear. (The band lovingly calls them xyloshizzles. Three out of the four band member play this instrument—yes, I think this is awesome.)
In miniature's Hey Marsupial is clearly lo-fi—but not in the sense of favoring scrappy, homespun stylings over polish. Hey Marsupial is simple in its structure, yet it shines with a spirited spontaneity and clever cheekiness (think Amanda Palmer). My curiosity is definitely piqued, and I look forward to more tunes from this young quartet. Three words, blisslisters:
Rather!
Promising!
Indeed!
Hello Sarah, Erin, Stefanie and Philip! Congrats on the new EP and thank you for devoting a few moments to my questions. First off, you have a few upcoming performances scheduled in Chicago. How have your live shows been going so far?
Hello, Liz! Thanks for asking us questions! Most people just stare at us and scribble frowningly in their notepads. Our first show since releasing the EP is tonight, so we’ll see how it goes.
You must be incredibly excited. But Philip, do you really just stand quietly in the corner?
I do stand in the corner, very often, quietly. I am trying my best to just be aware of the drummer's timing. Ms. Sterling, that is.
Philip's quiet is really pretty loud what with all his fancy dance moves! But yes, he is the most polite member of the band by far, and also the most hilarious.
About five percent of the time, Philip really is loud. He will suddenly blurt out some kind of brilliant commentary—often replete with colorful expletives. I think I speak for all of us when I say that it is one of the most priceless occurrences a human being can witness.
I read that each of you play multiple instruments. Are you swapping them between songs?
Right now, yeah, we just pass the instruments around or swap places. We have talked about getting a bunch of xyloshizzles, like one for everyone except me. I am the only one who does not get to play the xyloshizzle. Yet.
I feel the same way about the xylophone. I view that instrument with the words "YET" boldly scribbled in the back of my mind. So, Erin and Stefanie, you've been collaborating and writing together for awhile now, correct?
We have. We started out as a girl pirate band, but it turned out we only really had one pirate song in us.
Stef and I started playing together like five years ago. She looked nice, and vaguely familiar. I think i had met her previously at a costume party in the Gulf of Mexico, so I asked her if I could sit with her.
An auspicious beginning! So Sarah and Philip, how did you get involved with the band—and are you all writing together now?
I got involved with the band because I had already known Stefanie and Erin from open microphones in the area. I believe their previous bass player was just needing to focus more on completing his undergraduate degree. Needless to say, I think I told them both that I could try my best to learn the songs, if they would be patient enough with me. At the same time, my other band was going on indefinite hiatus. The timing seemed just-a-righta! Nearly two and a half years later, I now do my best to learn the new songs and contribute what I can, when I think a word or two is appropriate in our discussions about the directions our new songs are taking, or need to take.
Now, Sarah we had to court for a while—she turned us down the first time we answered her craigslist ad. We are very happy that she changed her mind!
I just wasn’t ready to be happy. I was so foolish back then!
We are all songwriters, so there is a lot to draw on and i think that we all really enjoy collaborating.
I think the process of developing our songs is becoming more and more of a group collaboration, although Erin and Stefanie were already doing a lot of writing together before Philip and I came along. It’s great that everyone in the band has ideas to add to the songs.
Do any specific influences come to mind thinking back on the recording process? Were there any albums that you guys were listening to?
Specific influences, I don’t know. Stef and Sarah introduced me to Loney, Dear, who are pretty awesome, and Stef and I first listened to Neko Case’s album Fox Confessor Brings the Flood pretty much non-stop on a trip to play in Baltimore, and were totally blown away. Sarah and I have talked about how great Pavement and the Pixies are and how we probably couldn’t live without them. We’re all crazy for the Magnetic Fields, and I sure love Tom Waits. Recently, I've been loving Laura Marling and Phosphorescent. And Phillip is all into metal.
Hmmmmm... Well, we are real suckers for the Swedes. I feel like I was probably listening to a lot of Hello Saferide, Loney, Dear, Herman Dune, Nina Nastasia. Philip is extremely open to all kinds of stuff, but his true love is definitely metal.
What's the inspiration behind your band name? Does it spring from your self-professed "love of diminutive lettering"?
It does spring from our love of diminutive lettering, and all things tiny. We enjoy how it looks written out, too.
So what's next for in miniature? Do you have plans to eventually record a full-length album with even more pleasing xyloshizzle?
We totally have some new songs that we can’t wait to record. And in one of them, Stefanie plays both the guitar and the xyloshizzle.
Our plans almost always include the xyloshizzle. We are definitely looking forward to a full-length album—we have done some preliminary recording, but can't wait to do more.
I would call this hella-exciting!
Call it in the Air - in miniature {MySpace Page}
(image by abby try again)
