Interview: Warpaint

“The drums are the energy, the bass is the heartbeat and the guitars are the edge. It all works together to create..this very voluptuous hourglass figure”, explains guitarist Emily Kokal.

This curvaceous hour glass figure in question is LA’s Warpaint, and as well as Kokal, is comprised of bassist Jenny Lee Lindberg, guitarist Theresa Wayman and drummer Stella Mozgawa, who also plays the keyboard. Not fazed by the ‘girl band’ term and all the connotations that come with it, Kokal dispels any rumours about their gender impacting the media’s reception of them. Embracing it, she comments “there’s something very interesting about the dynamic of four girls”.

But Warpaint hasn’t always been an all girl band. Since its inception in 2004 the collective have welcomed and farewelled many members, including Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ guitarist Josh Klinghoffer and actress Shannyn Sossamon. Before entering the acting world, Sossamon, also Lindberg’s sister, helped form and mould the band. Yet despite her new found fame Kokal maintains the band were in no way overshadowed by Sossamon’s status.

Nevertheless, even with all this swapping and changing of members, in 2009 Warpaint signed with label Rough Trade Records. “We didn’t even have a drummer at the time”, Kokal quips. Yet without an ounce of hesitation the girls accepted the offer and will release their debut The Fool in October 2010. Currently in the UK for Reading and Leeds, the quartet have finally found a drummer and are ready to show her off!

Your debut album The Fool was quite rushed. Why was that?

A lot of the songs had been written during the past four or five years, and during that time we’ve had quite a few different drummers and members so one of the songs had four different drummers on it and changes. Then Stella joined the band four weeks before recording, so she had to put her stamp on it as well but in a really short time. 

• Date: Saturday 23rd October 2010
• Event: Warpaint at Kazimier
• Venue: Kazimier

How did your relationship with Rough Trade happen?

They saw us on Myspace and asked us to send our record, and we still didn’t have a drummer. Then we toured the US and when we were in Portland we were about to sign a deal with another label but then Scott McQueen came to that show and said don’t sign with anyone. We were all extremely broke so we accepted! Basically we signed before all of them had even seen us and didn’t even have a permanent drummer!

Does being in an all girl band come with preconceived expectations from the media?

We’ve had only positive reinforcement. It has never felt like we were put in a box. ‘All girl band’ is an angle that people can work with and it’s true. I don’t really have a problem with it. In the end people realise that it’s just one element of the band. The dynamic of four girls is very interesting though. Sometimes you’ll get the occasional jackass who wants to talk about... the physical elements.

Who writes the lyrics?

Theresa and myself are the main lyricists. Whoever sings the song wrote the lyrics. I think in the future we will work on them together, as we get more into harmonies and collaborations.

You’ve had members who’ve also been involved in the film industry and other rather prominent bands. Has that had an impact on the publicity Warpaint has received?

It’s been pretty much how we expected it to. It hasn’t been over the top and it hasn’t overshadowed the band. We’re proud of what (actress) Shannyn (Sossamon) does, and she really did help start the band and help form it so she is due her credit. 

Warpaint have had a number of drummers. How has that affected the sound of the band?

Yea each drummer has had their own style. Now Stella has her amazing style. It’s always really fun to have that element because the drums are really fun to play on top of. The drums are the energy and the bass is the heartbeat and the guitars are the edge. It all works together to create this body. This very voluptuous hourglass figure. 

Was the order of the tracks on your impending album important?

We spent a long time making sure the flow of the tracks was correct. There are so many different ways. You can frontload it so it’s basically like a ‘stoner rock’ record. We let our songs unfold very patiently but we mix it up.

The first album you brought?

U2 – Joshua Tree

When are you most inspired - morning or night?

You never know when the mood is going to strike you. There are so many elements that go into why and when. Like alcohol...

Does inebriation help?

It’s a fun time to be creative but I wouldn’t say it’s when I’m the most productive. Maybe smoking pot will make me think of a chord change that I like and then later on when I’m more productive I’ll make a song from it.

On stage get up?

Not at all. I can see us moving there in the future. If we do conceptualise the record or our stage show then we focus more on that. For now we’re not placing too much importance on a performance so much. We’re still learning how to be the best band that we can be. So there’s no rules. You can wear what you wore the day before or... (Laughs)

The flavour of your tooth paste?

Tuna! It’s Theresa’s toothpaste. (Laughs)

Interview by: Jasmine Phull

Catch Warpaint at Liverpool's Kazimier on October 23rd. Get your tickets through Skiddle below!

Tickets are no longer available for this event