RECORDS LiVE

Donna: My, oh my. It has been too long since I’ve been back here. I put on eyeshadow this morning for you guys. Just kidding, it was evening, not this morning. I was anxiously waiting inside my house like a schoolgirl just to be here tonight with you all. Thank you so much for being here, and welcome to show number six of RECORDS LiVE. My name is Deviant Donna. I’m so delighted to be your host today, and well, you know, I do have to say that it’s quite a feat that I am here tonight because the universe was trying to murder me for about a week. It did not succeed. I had like, the world’s worst cold. Oh my god, I was literally in bed with a fever for a week. It was insane. I went to the doctor. We’re alive, everything’s fine. So, if I sound a little crazy tonight, I apologize in advance but thank you so much for dealing with me. I’m so excited, as per usual, to share some music with you.

*Doorbell Rings*

Donna: Tamara is just so excited to get on in here. Come on in girl, it’s wide open. Oh my god, thank you so much for coming over.

Tamara: I’m so excited. I love your home. So beautiful.

Donna: Thank you. You know, I cleaned it just for you.

Tamara: I love it. I think the vacuuming was a job well done.

Donna: Thank you so much. Yes, my Roomba is immaculate. I’m so excited to be able to talk with you about all things music related because one of the things that you and I have in common is event production.

Tamara: Yeah.

Donna: Yeah. So, like neither one of us are musicians, but…

Tamara: Not yet.

Donna: Oh, there’s still time, folks. You heard it here first! But both of us have event production companies. And so, in terms of curation and the way that the music inspires you, I feel like we have quite a bit of overlap in that department. The first song that you’ve brought me, which I love, is Carly Rae Jepsen, funnily enough.

Tamara: Carly Rae, who’s a Carly Rae fan?

Donna: Yes, let’s go.

Song Plays: Carly Rae Jepsen – When I Needed You

Tamara: It’s so good. If you guys have ever heard this song, you know what it’s about.

Donna: So why this one in particular? I love that the cover is giving like 2007.

Tamara: It’s so good. I feel like the cover is so indie sleaze looking, like, it’s so Tumblr. This is my favorite Carly Rae Jepsen album. I like this one because it has a spoken bit towards the end. And it’s just a good song. I used to listen to it all the time and be like, “The lyrics are true.” It’s like, sometimes I wish that I could change but not for me for you. So, we could be together, forever, and it’s like, how dare you, Carly? We would never change for anybody. But this is so good. I think it’s spiritual. It’s religious. It’s like my religion is Carly Rae Jepsen.

Donna: Honestly, I have those moments even now where I’m like, “Man, if I just did something a little different, maybe this person would be really into me.” And then I have to smack some sense into myself and I’m like, “No, Donna, we don’t do that anymore.”

Tamara: We don’t do that anymore because they should change. I literally think like, “Everything would work out better if you were a different person, not me.” I sound crazy, but I genuinely believe that we’re in our own elements. We know what we need to change for ourselves, but changing for anybody is not the answer.

Donna: No, yeah. Been there, done that.

Tamara: Yeah. Been there, done that, it doesn’t work.

Donna: Nope.

Tamara: Yeah, but I really love this song. I feel like Carly Rae Jepsen to me is a pillar of pop music. Nobody acknowledges her as a pop girlie. It’s like, a lot of Taylor Swift, which I used to love very much, Charli XCX is very pop now…I don’t know. Carly Rae Jepsen is just slept on, and I wanted to start it off strong with her.

Donna: Right. I mean, she is very niche though at this point. I feel like the followers that she’s accumulated over the years have stayed tried and true.

Tamara: Yes. I feel like, especially now, she’s a lot more theatrical with her music. I think it’s more experimental during this era as opposed to the “Call Me Maybe” era. It’s something where you’re like, “This is Carly Rae Jepsen? That’s crazy.”

Donna: Right. Yeah, absolutely.

Tamara: This is the part.

Donna: Ooh yeah.

Tamara: You come to me in dreams at night. So good. Should we karaoke?

Donna: Let’s go. Sounds like you’re ready.

Tamara: I’m ready. Like one day, when I do start my band, it’s going to just be Carly Rae Jepsen covers.

Donna: Oh yeah. You know what’s really funny? I know this girl who was a huge Taylor Swift fan and a musician. The girl’s original music just wasn’t picking up out in LA, so she literally moved back home to Florida and started a Taylor Swift cover band.

Tamara: And it’s been successful…?

Donna: I don’t know. She seems happy. But this song is a party jam, yeah.

Tamara: It is a party jam. It’s very fun. It’s something you dance to in your room to if you’re very heartbroken or upset. You’re like, “How dare this person ever do anything wrong to me.” So, you dance to this. You go crazy.

Donna: What percent of the time do you select this one?

Tamara: Out of all of her discography?

Donna: No. Just in general, like in life. When is this the go-to song? Like how much percent of your life would you say?

Tamara: I would say maybe 35%. Have you seen Girls before? The TV show, Girls? People have seen Girls. There’s an episode where she gets HPV and then she dances to a song by Robyn called “Dancing on My Own,” and I’m like this is my “Dancing on My Own.” This is the song I’ll listen to when I get HPV one day.

Donna: I love it. Incredible.

Donna: And you know, my family actually loves ABBA.

Song Plays: ABBA – If It Wasn’t for the Nights

Tamara: Yeah. Oh, my God. Yeah. God bless. Everyone’s mother loves ABBA.

Donna: My sister is sitting right there and she’s laughing. She knows.

Tamara: It’s just good. I picked a sleeper kind of ABBA song. I wanted to do a classic and I was like, “No, we’ll do this one instead because this one still brings me a lot of joy.” But it’s not one of the main ones that people like. So, I was like maybe someone will listen to this and be like, “Oh, let’s branch out into ABBA’s discography.”

Donna: Yeah. How did you branch out into it?

Tamara: I grew up listening to ABBA. They were big in the Middle East. They came to the Middle East in the 80s and then everybody listened to ABBA all the time. So, when I was growing up, my mom just made us listen to “Dancing Queen,” “Mamma Mia,” “Voulez-Vous,” all of that stuff. As children we were like, “This sucks.” And then Mamma Mia came out and we were like, “Hold on, hold on, wait a minute…” That’s how I really got into ABBA, and I love the messiness of their marriages that broke up.

Donna: When you are curating something like a show–like you guys just had a Halloween show, I believe?

Tamara: Yes. Mm-hmm.

Donna: To what extent is it important for you to honor the aesthetic of the bands themselves as well as your own influences? What usually takes over for you?

Tamara: It’s very hard. I feel like when we work with female bands, they’re more open to collaboration with the image and aesthetic of the event. I think male bands are a little bit more particular because they have an image, and you can’t make the flyers too girly or anything like that. So, I think with male bands, it’s a little bit harder to collaborate with just because you want to keep the integrity of what their image is versus our aesthetic, which is like a lot of fun colors, and ideally, we would love to find more pop groups to work with. Hopefully in the future we will.

Donna: But I mean, isn’t it kind of hard to find a pop group that plays their instruments live?

Tamara: Yes.

Donna: Yeah, I feel like a lot of the time it’s just a lot of backing tracks, especially if you’re talking about pop. Where is the line for you guys?

Tamara: Maybe pop-punk. Like someone who gives like Hannah Montana “I Got Nerve” vibes.

Donna: Yeah, I see that. That’s awesome. Growing up, when did you realize that ABBA is the shit?

Tamara: I think with Mamma Mia, because I was in love with the plot of it. I thought Amanda Seyfried was so beautiful, like, this girl is singing all of these amazing songs. And then Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan do their duet and you’re like, “This is crazy.” And you eat up the drama that her fiancé is super sexy in the movie. I think I was 10 when it came out. 2008? I don’t know. Can we do the math? I don’t know. I was young when it came out, and it was just very formative for me.

Donna: Yeah. You know, I don’t know a lot about the history of ABBA to be fair. And it baffles me how I feel like one day they just kind of showed up and everyone was just like, obsessed with them. I don’t even know how they came about. They just arrived.

Tamara: Yeah, they were here. They came here, they popped up on the scene, and then we forgot about them for a few years. And then Meryl Streep sang “The Winner Takes It All” and we were obsessed again.  Now they do a Sweden-only stadium tour.

Donna: Are they still alive?

Tamara: Yeah, they are all still alive. And they’re all divorced, but the men still write the songs and the women sing them.

Donna: That’s hilarious. Wow.

Tamara: Yeah, I love it.

Donna: Wow. Well, I mean, there’s a lesson in it for us all–fruitful collaboration, regardless of fruitless relationships.

Tamara: Yeah. Friends with your exes. Maybe…sometimes.

Donna: Girl, I’m gay. There’s no way for me not to be friends with my exes.

Tamara: You’re like, “I just saw my ex last week. Like, we’re besties.”

Donna: The gay community is way too small for me to not be friends with people.

Tamara: That’s so funny, I love that.

Donna: But you know what? At the same time, I don’t, because if I had a choice, I wouldn’t be friends with any of them. I’m like, “I’m done with you. Our time is over.”

Tamara: Yeah. You’re like, “Disappear right now. I never want to see you again.”

Donna: Yeah. But you know what? ABBA does it right.

Tamara: ABBA does it right.

Donna: They have the secret.

Tamara: Because like, they make banger after banger after banger.

Donna: Honestly, though, I bet they have like 10 songwriters hidden.

Tamara: Do you think so?

Donna: I do. I really think so. Honestly, it’s like they’re a cult. I’m convinced at this point.

Tamara: They are. Sweden, they’re all married to each other…

Donna: Yeah. No. It’s getting crazy all up in here.

Donna: Okay, here’s one that I feel like is a little less mainstream.

Tamara: This is less mainstream. This is going to be your new pop girl that you’re in love with.

Song Plays: Debbii Dawson – Happy World

Tamara: This contraption is so cool. I love it.

Donna: Thank you. Yeah, the Recordtron has done me good for all this time and all the guests I’ve had.

Tamara: You entertain so much. This is Debbii Dawson. She’s from Minnesota and she’s amazing.

Donna: Debbii’s throwing looks right away. Love it.

Tamara: Yeah, she’s so beautiful. She sounds like Dolly Parton to me. I don’t know. It’s like Dolly Parton, it’s like ABBA, it’s like everything that you want in an artist. And she’s brand new.

Donna: OK. Love it. Love the vibe.

Tamara: Yeah, it’s so much fun. I love artists from Minnesota. I feel like a lot of very fun and unique artists come from Minnesota. Prince is from Minnesota. So, anyone who comes from there is always like, “I’m inspired by Prince,” and they make the best music ever.

Donna: But do you think Prince was inspired by Minnesota is the question.

Tamara: He loved Minnesota.

Donna: Did he?

Tamara: Yeah. He lived in Minnesota still, like, even as a famous celebrity. He had Paisley Park in Minnesota. He loved it.

Donna: Honestly, Prince and Bowie are the two artists that I never actually fully managed to get into.

Tamara:  Really? I don’t care about Bowie, no disrespect.

Donna: I know they’re known as queer icons.

Tamara: Prince was homophobic, but he was a queer icon.

Donna: Honestly, a lot of them were. So, at this point, it’s not even a surprise. I think that’s the beauty and the irony of it, you know, is that we’ve just kind of adopted him, but it is what it is. I think he was secretly gay. I really do. He was at least bi.

Tamara: In the 80s, for sure. And then he found religion and he was like, “I’m not gay like you guys.” I don’t know, but he made great music. He was so good.

Donna: But Debbii though–how did you come across her music, since she’s a little bit of a smaller artist?

Tamara: My friend, Natalie, actually sent me her song. She sent me one of her songs and was like, “This is the new pop girl. Write it down. She will become famous.” She was like, “I predicted Chappell. I’m predicting Debbii.” Yeah. So, Natalie’s… what’s the word? A prophet?

Donna: Clairvoyant, musically speaking.

Tamara: Yeah. So, she sent Debbii. I feel like you guys are going to go home, you’re going to listen to Debbii and then the charts are going to pop off.

Donna: It’s hilarious cause both her look and her sound are very much like 80s vibes. Like, I could imagine her on the same playlist as ABBA, funnily enough.

Tamara: Yes. Her voice is just so sweet. Not all her songs sound like this. They sound like there are different elements to them. I feel like this is a newer sound for her.

Donna: No, this is crazy. This is like Donna Summer, like Diana Ross.

Tamara: Yes. So good.

Donna: Wow, it’s crazy. I’m going to have to dig into this. I feel like there’s a lot of nostalgia seeping into music nowadays where that 80s sound is super-hot again. Everyone wants that sound of nostalgia.

Tamara: Yeah, I agree. I like that the 80s are coming back because I feel like the 70s are cool and the 60s are cool, but I feel like the 80s didn’t really have its moment like now. Like, you were able to be 80s and then people were like, “That’s cool.” Kind of like, “Mmmmm.”

Donna: Right.

Tamara: But now it’s cool to be 80s again. So, I’m ready.

Donna: Contrary to what my jacket might indicate to you, the 80s are actually my least favorite decade.

Tamara: What’s your favorite?

Donna: Late 60s, early 70s. That’s my personal jam. But these guys definitely are not from that decade. These are brand new gals–well, they’re not brand new anymore.

Song Plays: MUNA – Kind of Girl

Tamara: They’re 10 years old brand new, maybe.

Donna: Well, I feel like they’re just kind of resurfacing into the mainstream.

Tamara: They are. I wish they were bigger. I love Chappell Roan, but I get sad sometimes and I’m like, “That should be MUNA up there.” Yeah, they’re my girls. I love them. They’re my people.

Donna: Katie Gavin just released a new album.

Tamara: I know. I haven’t listened to it yet.

Donna: I heard it’s pretty good.

Tamara: Yeah, I need to be in the right mood. This is the best. It’s so good. If you guys don’t listen to MUNA, please do. I want to work with them so badly one day.

Donna: Ohh yeah. What do you imagine is the vibe for an album release party for them? Like, what do you see for yourself as the creator?

Tamara: Oh my God. Like, to throw them an album release?

Donna: Yeah, you’re curating the vibe. What’s the vibe?

Tamara: I think we need, like, an interactive art exhibit in the place. It could be built by Nadia Lee Cohen, the photographer. She can help us build an interactive art exhibit. And then…I don’t know. I couldn’t imagine. I think they would have to get their collaborative girlies to come out and sing with them, too. It would be really hard. I need to talk with them. I need to get in with MUNA and hear what they got to say. Then I’ll be like, “I can get you everything you want. A zebra? You want a zebra? We’ll get a zebra.” I’ll do anything for them.

Donna: A zebra?

Tamara: If they need a zebra, yeah.

Donna: You know, I’m sorry. I’m a huge animal rights person, so I’m like, “OK, let’s keep the zebra out of this. “

Tamara: Like, “Leave the zebra at home.”

Donna: Maybe a petting zoo. I could see that. Them singing in the middle of a petting zoo.

Tamara: Yeah, like a maybe a stage in a roller rink would be cool. And then people skate around MUNA.

Donna: Yeah, that would be cute. Or maybe they can be on a boat in the middle of a river. The boat is just going by and they’re on the boat singing.

Tamara: I’d be on the land. I’m like, “I can’t swim.” I’m not gonna be on the boat.

Donna: Yeah.

Tamara: This is a really good song. It’s so sad.

Donna: Yeah, this album cover right here with the three of them, it reminds me of…what’s that movie from the early 2000s?

Tamara: The Sweetest Thing?

Donna: No, it’s about a band…Josie and the Pussycats. That’s the vibe. That’s the vibe of the photo.

Tamara: Oh yeah. Yeah, they’re like gay Josie and the Pussycats. So good.

Donna: Love it. OK, honestly though, some tea. Katie Gavin was with some dude at a gay bar a couple months ago.

Tamara: Romantically?

Donna: I think so. I think I saw them making out. It was very weird. I was like, “This is odd,” but that’s fine. No shade.

Tamara: Scandal. She says she’s dated men before and maybe she’s like going through something right now.

Donna: It’s OK. Been there.

Tamara: But they’re so good. Katie (vocalist) actually dated Naomi (guitarist) when they first met. So, the first album of the band, they’re still dating, and then like afterwards it’s songs about their breakup.

Donna: Damn, it’s intense to be able to keep a band going that way.

Tamara: Lesbians.

Donna: We gotta stay friends.

Tamara: Yeah. And they make great music. Look at all these albums made by exes that are really good. Consider making music with your ex, guys.

Donna: I feel like if I did that someone would get a table thrown at them.

Tamara: Yeah, because it’s like, “What does this lyric mean? Is this about me?”

Donna: It’s like, “No shit. The entire things about you.”

Tamara: “Yeah, obviously it is. I put your name in the song.” It would be so fun. They seem very healthy as a band. I really love them and the message of the song. It’s about being able to change. You can wake up one day and just change. Like, if you feel it in your heart that you can change and you want to change, you can just do it. It’s like your story’s not written in pen. You can change the ending.

Donna: I love that. I do love that message. That’s good.

Tamara: Me too.

Donna: Yeah. Damn, MUNA.

Donna: Alright, well this one actually also has a very cool sound.

Song Plays: Elyanna – Olive Branch (Ghosn Zeytoun)

Tamara: This one has a cool sound. It’s also a slower song. I’m going to bring down the mood a little bit, but it’s really beautiful. It’s by Elyanna. She’s a Palestinian artist. She’s a Palestinian-Chilean artist, and she’s been making a lot of music in Arabic. She’s really popped off recently. So, I wanted to do this song. It’s really beautiful. It’s like a little prayer to Palestine. It’s really beautiful. I love Arabic music. I can’t recommend it enough, especially the early 2000s Arabic music is so good.

Donna: Ooh, I love the epic sound of the song.

Tamara: I know. It’s very cinematic.

Donna: Yeah, I feel like it really comes through on the bigger speakers here.

Tamara: Yeah, I think she’s super talented. I wanted to end it on this song just because obviously I’m Palestinian, so I wanted to have a song for my people and I thought maybe I should have chosen one of her faster songs, but this one’s slow. It’s very short and it’s very simple to understand.

Donna: Yeah. Unfortunately, it fits the vibe of everything.

Tamara:  It feels like heartache when you listen to the song. It’s so beautiful. She’s so talented. Listen to all her music and then listen to Nancy Ajram and Haifa Wehbe. They’re all really good. Those are the pop girls of the 2000s.

Donna: Oh my gosh. If you could collaborate with any of the artists that we played today besides MUNA, what do you feel would be your perfect lineup? Like, if you could have two openers and a main band out of everyone we played today.

Tamara: Oh my God. Do I have to choose from those three? Like, they would all be there.

Donna: Curate me a party, girl. Let’s go.

Tamara: OK. So, the easiest thing is ABBA is the headliner, then we have Carly Rae Jepsen and then Debbii Dawson opens. People would love it. People would die, like, it’d be so good.

Donna: Oh, OK. Honestly, I see it. I’m here for the vision.

Tamara: It’d be so good. Yeah.

Donna:  What do you have lined up next for both yourself and your events? What are you looking forward to in the music community?

Tamara: Oh my gosh, it’s kind of hard because we put a lot into the events that we do. So, every time we do them, we’re like, “We need a hiatus. We have to take a break.” I’m looking forward to hopefully resting a little bit before our next event that we do, but I don’t know. Revel Girl is forever for me. I love what we’re able to do and the support and the community. We’re able to build with everyone around us. It feels very special. Even if it tires us out, I want to continue to do that. And then for myself, hopefully get a full-time job soon.

Donna: Woo. Yes. Who here has been to a Revel Girl event? Yes! Oh my God. Look at that support. Love that.

Tamara: Thank you, guys. Thank you.

Donna: So many people in here, OK, and those of you who have not gone now will, right?

Tamara: Yeah, be there. Be there. Thank you.

Donna: Event producers work really hard. You guys and your support, especially to up-and-coming bands who are local, honestly, means everything. I love how people always complain when they see old videos of, like, Blink-182 or whatever and they’re like, “Oh, man, they were playing to an empty room. And I really wish I could have been there.” Guess what? You can be there. You just have to show up to the events because you never know where these bands are going.

Tamara: Yeah, I love to make friends with the bands. One day they will be famous, and they will take me with them. I’m hoping.

Donna: Yes. Alright. Well, here’s to future prospects and thank you so much for all this incredible music that you brought me today.

Tamara: Thank you!