We chat with Austin, Texas outfit Being Dead about their new LP, misconceptions of their hometown, and lots more!
Being Dead harness a sound that floats between new and old, fresh yet familiar. They blend a sound that is reminiscent of the 60’s psychedlia/garage rock sound, yet you can’t help but hear familiar tones that you’d hear with Ty Segall, Parquet Courts, and more.
After getting out ears around the single ‘Daydream’ we were hooked and wanted to know about the band as they gear up to release their debut album ‘When Horses Would Run‘, available July 14th.
Our conversation was as weird as you’d expect from these Texan oddballs, but we love them for it.
Kieran: How have you been?
BD: We’ve been doing pretty good!
Kieran: So, how did you all meet and at what point did you decide to start making music?
BD: We met at our 10-year high school reunion. Turns out we had the same English and Physics classes, but we had never met before the reunion. I know it sounds so wild and crazy, but what really bonded us together was that neither of us could remember one single thing about that school. So we decided right then and there that we were destined to change the world forever – be it for better or worse. (you decide lol ah!)
Kieran: Do you all have similar influences or do they vary?
BD: We both hate the same things but can never agree on what to like. That’s why our music is so angry and scary to everyone. We’re literally fighting a legitimate battle when we play a show. We’re engaged in perpetual melee over even insignificant musical matters. You should’ve seen the studio after we finished the record. But that’s the magic, baby.
Kieran: How do your influences shape the band’s sound, art, and style?
BD: We like every song with a guitar so we decided when starting the band to incorporate that sound into the music! But when we’re actually writing the song, we’re usually fleshing out characters or full narratives…so almost anything or anyone can influence us. We’re highly malleable and very weak-minded.
Kieran: We recently visited Austin, Texas for SXSW and fell in love with it! I am curious to know what life is like as a resident?
BD: It’s so hot. There’s really no way of simply existing in comfort so we gave up: we wear tinfoil suits most of the year so we can bake our innards and embody the “pulled pork” look so we can fit in amongst the foodies and burgeoning restaurateurs that make up 95% of the city. In the winter, however, we usually find ourselves without power or water for a week…it kinda makes you wonder what kind of a person you were in a past life to deserve it all. But hey, Austin also knows how to pick you up when you fall off of the proverbial ‘jagged-canyon-edged-cliff’ and baptize you thrice over in the ever-giving waters of the natural springs.
Kieran: What are your top five drinking/eating spots in Texas?
BD: Chili’s, Quality Seafood Market, Hole in the Wall, Asti, and Dan’s Hamburgers.
Kieran: What is something a lot of people get wrong about Austin, Texas?
BD: That there are no kids allowed. That’s actually not true. We have kids here and the majority of them most resemble the student characters in Richard Linklater’s 2003 blockbuster comedy, School of Rock. So as you can imagine, hilarity does indeed ensue!
Listen to the band’s new single ‘Last Living Buffalo’ here:
Kieran: Your debut album ‘When Horses Would Run’ is out this year, can you talk us through the recording process behind this?
BD: We’d usually start the morning by braiding Jim, our producer’s hair, and arranging a spread of various levels of boiled eggs – soft to hard around a platter. Then we’d take turns feeding on the eggs and slurping up the whiskey that was left in little puddles on the floor from the night before. Afterward, we’d start to jump around and devise intricate handshakes while Jim would mic up the room we’re in. The handshakes would serve as the drum track while the belching and squealing would normally take purchase in the belly of the track. At this point, we listen back and adjust literally almost every aspect of the song to resemble what you hear right now: nothing. And we’d start from scratch and go again. But we started recording this album many years ago. Some songs we ended up re-recording because they became totally different songs in the live set over time.
Kieran: Was there any particular influence behind the LP?
BD: Honestly, no. We just love to write songs together 🙂
Kieran: What’s your favorite track on the album and why?
BD: Can a mother choose a favorite child? Nice try though lol you’re so sneaky
Kieran: Lastly, what’s the most overrated thing about America?
BD: Nobody’s even partying anymore… When we first moved to the States, we thought it was gonna be spring break all year round – like the kind you see on MTV – but we were sorely mistaken. Smh, crying on the floor, why god why? We just want to rock n roll all night. Rip rip rip.
Discover more from Clunk Magazine
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
You must be logged in to post a comment.