MUSIC. I MAKE IT. – Q & A with Sienna and Laura from The Randies
The Randies – Thought I Could Change
The Randies are:
Sienna DeGovia: vocals, bass
Laurita Guaico: vocals, guitar
Laura Cataldo: vocals, guitar
Tosha Jones: drums
Discography:
At the Friendship Motor Inn
Saw the Light
To be released: Bye Bye Beautiful
This whole month you’ve been listening to featured Band the Randies on some of the various TRAffIK segments and now we wrap it up with a Q&A with Sienna and Laura.
TRAffIK: How did you come together?
Sienna: Laura and I met at Mr. T’s Bowl in Highland Park where we were both playing with other bands. Her friend was screwing my boyfriend at the
time and Laura witnessed me throw many a drink on that lovely little
ladies’ head. We started a band, recorded an album with a couple of
ill fitting bandmates who quit right after the album came out. Then
we met Laurita at the awesome Kiss or Kill shows where we we’re all
playing and hanging out on a regular basis. We recorded another album
toured our asses off and went of a major quest for the perfect drummer
who we FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY found in Miss Tosha Jones from Indiana.
TRAffIK: Length of time as a band?
Sienna: a billion years! no just kidding….about three years in our current
configuration.
TRAffIK: Have you always been LA based? If not where were you previously?
Sienna:Yup we’re LA through and through…(the
good-east-of-highland-no-fake-titties kind of LA)
TRAffIK: Where does your name come from?
Sienna: Oh god, from the part of someone’s brain that is full of bad ideas.
TRAffIK: When you aren’t playing music what else can we find you doing?
Sienna: Eating mostly. Or playing with food.
TRAffIK: How would you describe your sound?
Sienna: guitar driven, vocal heavy, pop rock with killer harmonies.
TRAffIK:What is the song writing process like for your band?
Sienna: Someone wiill come in with the structure of a song, or the basic
melody or lyrics. Then we will work on it as a group until we all
like it. Sometimes we even finish lyrics for each other. It’s a very
collaborative process.
TRAffIK: What is the recording process like for you?
Sienna: We like to record everything live and then go back in for guitar
tweaks and vocals. Right now the recording process has been
slooooooooow and frustrating because we depend on the kindness of
talented engineers and producers to donate their valuble abilities.
As times get tougher in the music biz and the world in general, free
studio time seems to get more scarce.
TRAffIK: Rumor has it you’ve been working on a new CD when will that be available
to your audience?
Sienna: We are hoping to release it in the next couple of months, so Spring 09.
TRAffIK: Has the making of that CD been any different than your previous ones?
Sienna:We’ve had more time to work out all the songs and to play them live in
front of an audience because we toured a lot before recording. Our
other two albums were very very rushed in that we were finishing the
songs in the studio and had never even played some of them live.
TRAffIK:What has been your most fun show to play so far? Why?
Sienna: All of the Warped Tour shows have been fun in that rock n roll summer
camp way. It’s just an indescribable feeling to be on tour with a
giant group of like minded people. You can begin to feel really crazy
for pursuing a life in music as the years creep by, bt then you do
something like the Warped Tour and you realize there are a lot of
freaky music junkies just like you out there . We also played a
great show in Missouri with a band called Ludo on our last tour. The
crowd was awesome and we are all friends so that was really
fun…..Some of my favorite shows of all time were the Kiss or Kill
shows when that scene was really tightly knit. There was always a
really fun and light hearted feel to the night. Everyone was there to
have a good time and support local music. No attitude, just good
times.
(Since we at TRAffIK love Makeovers check out as the Randies restyle Ludo during last years Warped Tour)
TRAffIK: Worst Show?
Sienna: Too many to mention!!! I have stage fright that will rear it’s ugly
head for no reason at any given moment. I’ve played so many shows
just completely paralyzed with fear. ugh, it’s the worst.
TRAffIK: What is your favorite place to play in LA? Outside of LA?
Sienna: In LA I still like playing at Mr. T’s though I heard they may not be
doing live music there anymore…..We’ve played at the House of Blues
a couple of times and of course that is amazing. When we’re on tour
my absolute favorite place to play is The Melody Inn in Indianapolis,
Indiana. They put on a night called Punk Rock Night and there is
still a great big scene of rowdy music fans. I love it.
TRAffIK: Do you feel it is harder to develop a following in Los Angeles as opposed
to other cities? Why or why not?
Sienna: Yes, definitely. There are just too many bands in LA. You can throw
a rock without hitting a musician in my neighborhood and there is a
general “too cool for school” attitude that pervades every club in LA.
In other cities, people are basically happy and grateful that you
drove all that way to come out and play for them.
TRAffIK: What is the audience like in other cities? What areas have the best audiences?
Laura: Sometimes its the suburbs and the areas of the states that have absolutely nothing going on for the kids. As an indie artist it is better! They are genuinely so excited to see live music and we aren’t competing with a gazillion other events going on the same night.
TRAffIK: What are some of the elements that you feel make a great show?
Sienna:I think it’s all about energy. If the band is relaxed and having a great time that really comes across to the crowd. Some of our best shows have happened right after a nasty band fight too. As long as the band is really feeling something (even if it’s just rage at each other!) and not just phoning it in you’re gonna have a great show.
TRAffIK: What do you wish there was more of in Los Angeles music wise (i.e.
supportive fans, better bookers, more venues, more support, etc.)?
Sienna: How about all of the above! It’s really a sad time for LA and the
music scene because Indie 103.1 just went off the air. When Indie was
around there was at least ONE other option besides main stream
corporate crap radio, but now there is nothing but the internet. I’m
also hoping that kids will want to start rocking out again. I’m
really really tired of people being into bands that don’t know how to
sing in tune or play their instruments, let alone write a good song.
It’s gotten to the point where all you need is your grandma’s grey
high heels, a pair of mens socks, skinny arms, a snare drum that you
play with two cucumbers and you too can be the next indie-rock
darling! I don’t want to sound bitter, but it took me a lot of years
and a million shows to get to the point where I can say (with
confidence ) that I am in a great band. It burns a little to see a
newbie with quirky fashion sense and absolutely no talent getting all
the attention. But whatever.
TRAffIK:How often do you play shows?
Sienna: We have slowed down since we got back from the Warped Tour last summer
(trying to finish this next album at long last) but anywhere from 3-8
per month if we’re in LA, to one every night if we’re on tour.
TRAffIK: How many tours have you gone on now and what areas have you covered?
Sienna:I think we’ve traversed the US about 8 times now. We’ve done the warped tour 3 times and we have also done a bunch of mini weekend dates up to the bay area or out to Arizona.
TRAffIK:What are some of the misconceptions that you think bands that have never
toured have about touring (if any)?
Sienna: That it’s always fun. It can get really boring and really lonely and
really fattening. Or that people will be at every show you play. We
have literally played to zero people before. It’s so weird. You can
play a packed club one night and the next night just a few hundred
miles away there is no one at the show.
TRAffIK: What was your experience with booking shows/working with bookers and how
were the shows different if any?
Sienna: A lot of bookers don’t know how to work with smaller bands. They will
put a touring band on last after all the local bands at midnight on a
tuesday. That is just a recipe for disaster. Laurita has gotten
really good at fighting for what we need to have a great show as a
touring band. It sucks to have to push all the time, but that’s the
nature of the beast.
TRAffIK: Many bands used to (and may still have) the mentality that playing a
festival like Warped Tour would be their big break and officially put them
on the map. What was your experience with playing the Warped Tour stage?
Sienna: It’s always a great experience to be a part of the Warped Tour, but it
does not a star make. There are so many bands playing all at the same
time that it’s really a daily struggle for the little bands to get
noticed. You have to promote, promote, promote every day. It’s like
boot camp for bands. If you are a small band, you are driving
hundreds of miles every night, loading in tons of gear over hot
pavement every morning at 8 am, passing out flyers and hanging up
posters until you get your thirty minute set, playing, packing up and
then doing it all again. Every day for weeks on end. It’s very
physically grueling but artistically rewarding to be part of such an
awesome traveling group of crazy musicians.
TRAffIK: How did the opportunity to play come about?
Sienna: A friend of a friend of a friend recommended us to Kevin Lyman and he
put us on the Kevin Says Stage for three California dates. The next
year we asked him if we could do more dates and he said yes. The NEXT
year we asked again and he said yes AGAIN! Kevin Lyman has been
incredibly supportive to us over the years. I think he appreciates
that we do everything ourselves with no label support. We will be
forever grateful to him for everything he’s done to help us out.
TRAffIK: What is the lifestyle of a touring band? What sacrifices do you have to
make as a person?
Sienna: Basically you have to be willing to give up every human comfort and
security. Everything most people take for granted is put in jeopardy
by the touring lifestyle. Financial security, family relationships,
romantic relationships, education and physical and mental health are
all put under incredible strain while touring in a band regularly.
There were a couple of years where we were gone at least 6 months out
of the year, living out of our van. I had to sublet my apartment,
give up my day jobs, and try to hold together some semblance of a
social life while I was in and out of town. That was the worst,
because even when I came back to LA I had no place that was my own.
To tour a lot is hard. To tour a lot as an DIY band with no tour
support is nearly impossible. I don’t know how we’ve kept it up for
as long as we have.
TRAffIK: Do you feel bands from other cities have a different mentality than LA
based bands? If so how so?
Sienna: In general I would say there is a more welcoming feeling from bands in
other cities. Usually, just like the audience, the bands tend to
appreciate that you came all that way to play.
TRAffIK: Do you feel there is more of a support system for bands in other cities?
Sienna: Every town is different. Indianapolis has a strong supportive scene.
We’ve never really made a connection in Chicago….The smaller
college towns seem to have tighter knit music communities. New York
is just like LA; everyone is cooler than you and nobody cares.
TRAffIK: Is there anything that you know now that you wish you had known before setting out on your first tour?
Sienna: I wish we had focused more on the west coast first before setting out
on some of our bigger more ambitious tours. It was awesome to see the
country like that, but as a result we have some of our strongest fan
bases in cities that are 2000 miles away. It makes it really hard to
pop in for a quick couple of shows.
TRAffIK: What music do the Randies listen to on the road?
Sienna: Every one listens to different stuff. Laurita, Laura and Tosha are way more with it musically than I am. I tend to stick to the classics and not try anything new. Eventually you get so bored though that anything goes and you’ve run the gamut from Celine Dion to Megadeth.
TRAffIK: What are you listening to these days?
Sienna: I’m listening to early David Bowie. Laura: I’ve been listening to a lot of old Jazz & Blues Standards to Radiohead(can never seem to kick them)
TRAffIK: What are some of your band member’s (or band as a whole) influences (musical or otherwise)?
Laura: We have a vast array of influences, I know Sienna loves old pop and musicals, Laurita and I share similar PJ Harvey, Metal, Rock N’Roll, to Radiohead. For the most part I think we all share our influences dating back to the first time we heard a Beatles record.
TRAffIK:What are some bands that you think did things right…or that you look up to?
Laura: I have always admired Sonic Youth…Fugazi, Nirvana. Um, Katy Perry for having her face wrapped around her tour bus last summer. You gotta be pretty strong to live through that one. People that werern’t afraid to go against the grain.
TRAffIK: Are there any local (or other independent) bands that you are really into?
Laura: Haven’t really been able to get out much…but I have seen a few M.Ward shows and I really love his songwriting.
TRAffIK: What do you feel are some of the current challenges of being an independent band/artist?
Laura:Its a lot harder to get your music out there without the security blanket of advertisement, airplay, and the ability to be on the road 2-300 days outta the year to travel the world and get your music heard.
TRAffIK: How do you feel about the current condition of the music industry?
Laura: It’s losing ground in this economy. Also the way technology is changing so rapidly between digital downloads and CD’s. What’s going to come after downloads?? maybe music will be up at some satellite somewhere and it can literally be transmitted to “soundtracks” in our heads.
TRAffIK:Your first video for “Thought I Could Change” earned you the spot of a Featured Video for a month on FuseTV, how did that come about?
Laura: We won a contest on Sonic Bids, its a website that helps Indie artists submit their epks to different festivals, and opportunities out there for artists.
TRAffIK: What was the experience making that video?
Laura: It was the best time EVER! We were all so excited to be there that day. It always helps when you have an amazing Director (Jesse Grce) and crew.
TRAffIK: How did the idea for it come about?
Laura: Jesse actually came up with the concept and shot it.
TRAffIK: What was the experience like shooting your video for “Freezerburn?”
Laura: FREEZING cold! That is real ice on the walls and we are in real running freezers. Our friend Robbie Stauder is a “documentary” film maker- his idea to shoot this video was to literally put us barely dressed into an ice box in Deer Park on Long Island. It was pretty cool,the behind the scenes experience was almost like being on an episode of the Soprano’s and what its like to be in a real “meat market”.
Here is The Randie’s video for “Freezer Burn“
The Randies Freezer Burn Music Video
TRAffIK: What are the Randies listening to right now?
Laura:
Death Cab for Cutie - “Transatlanticism”
M.Ward - “Never Had Nobody Like You”
Radiohead - “Nude”
Kings of Leon - “Charmer”
Faith No More - “Epic”
Smashing Pumpkins - “The Beginning is the End is the Beginning”
Eagles of Death Metal - “WannaBe in L.A”
Fugazi - “Blueprint”
And You Will Know us By The Trail of the Dead - “Mistakes and Regrets”
the Bronx - “White Guilt”
Loretta Lynn - “Van Lear Rose”
Queens of the Stoneage - “Another Love Song”
Yeah Yeah Yeah’s - “Maps” (just really love this song)
The Randies - “Bye Bye Beautiful”