INTERVIEW WITH KYLA LA GRANGE
You played a gig at Bristol Louisiana a while back, with Bristol’s Goan Dogs, did you get a chance to see them? And what did you think?
They were very good! It was a really nice gig, I enjoyed watching Worship too.
You also met local gig legend Big Jeff – have you come across any more characters like that on your travels?
I have come across a number of unusual dancers, but i think Big Jeff is the best. I felt sorry for him because the film crew asked him to move to the back (I think they said his hair was in the way), which is crazy because I think we’d all agree that any live video would only be improved by Big Jeff dancing in the foreground.
What female musicians do you most admire and why?
Cat Power and Natasha Khan are probably my two favourites. I love any musician who completely inhabits their music, particularly when they perform live. I’d call them both slightly eccentric performers, but I love that, you know it comes from them really feeling what they are singing.
How important is style (in a fashion sense of the word) to you? And how do you approach this?
I suppose it’s important in that I feel more myself and more comfortable wearing certain things – for me the priority when I’m onstage is to feel comfortable. If you feel comfortable you’ll feel confident and then you can forget completely about what you’re wearing and just perform. That’s part of the reason I don’t wear shoes to perform – I just feel more comfortable and free without them on. I love dark, worn-in, slightly gothy clothes, with lots of necklaces; I’ve dressed like that for years and I suppose it’s just how my taste developed.
So, your song ‘Walk Through Walls’…if you could walk through anyone’s wall, who’s would it be and why?
Either Obama’s or Ryan Gosling’s. For different reasons.
You studied philosophy right? What’s the most profound thing you’ve ever heard?
Haha, I don’t know if I have any idea how to measure profundity, but I do like this by Demetri Martin: “They say that you can tell man apart from other animals by his ability to reason. I think you could also go by last names. What?s his name? Patches? Patches what? That?s a dog. Don?t waste my time.?”
Kyla La Grange plays Bristol Thekla on October 1, 2012. More info here.
