Kimya Dawson: The New Gay Interview

Hair that moves mountains, songs that move hearts.

Kimya Dawson plays Thursday, April 3, at The Black Cat.

While the term "folk music" can rightfully strike fear into those who only remember it from Sunday School and campfire sing-alongs, the genre goes far beyond "Blowin' in the Wind." Washington State musician Kimya Dawson makes folk that is actually fun. Her talky, humorous songs feature a little voice (that contrasts with her big-ass hair) and a conversational style that draws you into the worlds she creates of tattooed asses, anti-consumerism and low-key Bush bashing.

Kimya got her start as one half of The Moldy Peaches (alongside Adam Green.) Though she is currently best known for her many contributions to the Juno Soundtrack, those songs actually came from her 2006 album Remember That I Love You. A true family act, Kimya will be at the Black Cat with her 20 month-old baby and opening act/husband, Angelo Spencer.

Full interview beneath the fold.


The New Gay Zack: I always hear your music categorized as “anti-folk.” What separates anti-folk from traditional folk music?

Kimya Dawson: Nothing, really. Anti-folk is just a community in New York who were hanging out and playing music. Some of those people were folk and some not, but its really just a name for the scene, not as much for the type of music. I think it would be more than traditional folk. I use the word “cock” a lot and I make quite a bit of pop culture references.

TNG: In addition to the pop culture references, your songs have a lot of political references (and anti-Bush comments) and seem generally to be pretty smart. Is it hard to write a good, fun song that also might make people think?

KD: My songs are always an explanation of my thoughts on things, so it’s not hard because its never intentional, it's never reactionary. I’m not scared to say what I'm thinking.

TNG: Has this made you any enemies? Do you have trouble playing in the red states?

KD: I’ve definitely gotten heckled by some very conservation folks before, but I feel like I’ve earned more friends than enemies. I think even people that don’t feel the same way as me can appreciate that I’m saying what I think.

TNG: You're probably one of the only musicians out there right now touring with your husband and your baby daughter. How has motherhood changed you career?

KD: It makes it a little more tiring, trying to keep her happy and get everything done at the same time.

TNG: Can you do it?

KD: Yeah, yeah, but it’s challenging sometimes.It’s challenging when we make demands like ‘we need a smoke free show’ and ‘we need a clean comfortable backstage to be with her’ and we get to the venue and its a complete dungeon dressing room or the staff of the club is smoking pot in our backstage when we walk in. It’s like the hotbox is not what I consider baby-friendly.

TNG: Do you travel with a babysitter?

KD: My husband is with me, he plays music to, we take turns. When he plays I’m with her, when I play he’s with her.

TNG: Is it weird touring with your husband?

KD: I don’t know, I feel like its just what we all do. When we’re home, even the baby is like, ‘Fuck this!’ She gets really restless. Well she doesn’t say "fuck this," she doesn’t talk, but we can sense her getting antsy when we’re home for a couple of days. I feel like we’re all pretty comfortable when we’re on the go.

TNG: What are your biggest musical influences?

Life experience inspires a lot. I like lots of different kinds of music, I just think music is honest and lyrical. A lot of older folk stuff is like that. A lot of older hip-hop stuff is like that, as far as the lyricalness, having songs that are just full of worlds. I think about my brothers and I memorizing The Beastie Boys’ "Paul Revere" when we were little. That feeling of singing that many words, and memorizing that many words all in a row without a chorus felt so good, to let the words roll out like that.

TNG: What is the difference between making music as part of The Moldy Peaches and writing solo?

KD: The Peaches was really a fifty/fifty collaboration with me and Adam, When it was happening a lot of the time it was really beautiful, the way we could put our heads together and get on the same wavelength. But at the same time it feels really good to just let my own thoughts go without that boundary of having to share the space within the song with another person. I love collaborating, but I don’t always have things I’m thinking of in that way, where I can combine them with what someone else was thinking. I hear a lot of stuff with my own songs, vocal harmonies, or little kid instruments. I like being able to just be totally loose with it and add whatever feels right, try a bunch of stuff. That’s pretty much what Adam and I did too, we became one person when we were working on stuff.

TNG: He just had a new album come out. Have there ever been any competition between the two of you?

KD: There never has been.

TNG: How has the Juno soundtrack changed your career, or has it?

KD: I think I play some bigger shows, other than that I’m pretty much doing things the same. I got a phone call from Sesame Street, I might try to do some work with them, I’ll meet with them in New York. It’s something I always imagined I would do since I was a little kid, i always figured some day I’m going to be on Sesame Street. I’ve bee pretty happy with how I’ve done things for a long time, I figured out a few years ago how l like to tour, and the types of shows I like to play, now that more people are into my stuff I’m relearning how to play shows that the amount of people that want to come can come, but it’s not in a totally douchebaggy place. A lot of the bigger places are rock clubs and bars. I’m not really into that scene. Traveling with a baby, I’d rather play in cool community spaces like old abandoned churches and peoples back yards.

TNG: Do you have a lot of new fans that just know you from Juno?

KD: Yeah, there’s definitely a bunch of people that are just hearing about me now, which is fine with me. The one thing that’s weird sometimes is people that just come because of that and they don’t care about hearing the music, they just wanna chat with buddies. I’m really used to, for years, having the type of people that care about my music and know me and know the type of person I am and have read my online diaries and know that I’m an accessible, friendly person. There’s suddenly a bunch of teenagers that get psycho on me, which makes me uncomfortable. It’s like “I’m glad you like me but relax.” I’m not at ease with being treated like a celebrity by the kids. I’ve never had that sort of thing with my audience: it’s a little awkward. I don’t are how people heard of my stuff, I just want them to hear my stuff.

TNG: Have you heard anybody complaining of the fact that it seems like all of Juno contains wall-to-wall indie music in the background?

KD: It’s funny, I consider my music just folk, I write folk songs. I’m on an independent label, but I don’t think I really play music like The Shins. People compare it to the Garden State soundtrack, it’s like “Do I sound like that?” I think it’s just a weird connection people make to music that they’ve already heard of, but I don’t think its the same. But I don’t care: whenever something does relatively well there’s gonna be a bunch of people pooping on it. All my songs on that soundtrack I wrote for me, and for the kids, and now they’re in a movie and maybe some new people will like it. And maybe people will think it’s crap, but the songs have been around for such a long time that I can't be bothered by the people that aren’t into it. I’ll just keep doing what I’ve always done. tng