Everything is better with THUNDERPUSSY: An Interview
By Marcus Shriver
With hard-hitting, bluesy punk rock and one of the most entertaining shows you’ll ever see, Seattle band THUNDERPUSSY RAWKED every part of Humpin’ Hannahs at the Treefort Music Festival last month. Missing their Drummer, Lena, they filled the position with Ian from The Mama Rags and the show was packed, hot and perfect.
We caught up with Whitney, Molly, and Leah before their show.
Thunderpussy in casual attire during Treefort
NadaMucho.com: You just had a sold out show at Tractor Tavern, how was that?
Whitney: It was like a rocket ship crashing into a rainbow of awesome.
Leah: It was probably our best show.
Molly: It was the first show we’ve sold out too. It was the perfect mash-up of dance, rock’n’roll and crazy surprises. Our pop up dance experiment worked out. We ignited a little dance party with choreographed dance in between the bands.
NM: Is this your first Treefort?
Whitney: This is my third Treefort.
Leah: My second.
NM: Any favorite sets from those past Treefort Festivals?
Whitney: RJD2 last year was unbelievable.
Molly: Yeah, I was seeing things in the best way possible at that one.
Whitney: Sharon Jones was amazing the first year. Also Dan Deacon. That was unreal. He had two drummers performing simultaneously.
Leah: I really liked seeing Budos Band.
NM: Do you feel like Treefort has changed?
Whitney: The first year they were very ambitious. They had a great lineup and a ton of venues, but it was extremely unorganized. The Grizzled Mighty (Whitney’s former band) showed up and we were like, “Where do we go? There are no signs.” Last year things were much more streamlined and this year it is much bigger.
Leah: It seems way different. Pretty much every band we have talked to is playing multiple shows. There are official shows and all of these others. It seems much more SXSW-ish this year.
Molly: The thing that really pulls me toward Treefort is that is still has a small city feel, versus the “in your face, chaos, go here, go there” mentality. There are no handshakes here, and people get to know each other. I’d be bummed to see it keep progressing every year and become a full SXSW.
Whitney: Boise is so quaint, so it would be difficult to rob it of its quaintness, but it could happen in ten years.
NM: Do you have any favorite Boise venues?
Whitney: The Neurolux is a great spot. The Shrine is also a great place. We were just talking about how funny it is to see a place like China Blue turn into a venue, because it is like a clubby club and it’s great watching a bunch of lumberjack looking hipsters walk in to a swanky dance club with a fish tank and a stripper pole. I really like Pengully’s because it is a real saloon and they still have Boise prices at the bar.
Molly: I haven’t been to all of them, but I grew up two hours east of here so I come to Boise all the time to check out different venues and atmospheres to get a drink. I think each one has such a unique charm.
NM: Anything you miss about Seattle when you come up here?
Whitney: It’s nice to get out of Seattle every once in a while. I look forward to Treefort every year. It’s like summer camp for Northwest bands. We just ran into our friends from Portland, (Seattle band) Motopony is just upstairs, and all these people you see are all in this little pocket here.
Molly: It’s cool to look at the schedule and see names from Vancouver, Seattle, Bellingham, San Francisco and Boise. It’s nice to meet new people and see old and new faces. This year there are a ton of bands I have never heard of actually. Some of the band write-ups are hilarious and a bit misleading too. According the Treefort packet we are from New York City.
NM: So a couple of you have been here with different bands. How has it been different coming up here with THUNDERPUSSY?
Whitney: Everything is better with THUNDERPUSSY.
Leah: Seconded. Last year when I was here I was coming at the end of a two month tour and this was our last show before home. We just wanted to get home. But this year it’s kind of like hanging out.
Whitney: The last two years I’ve also done SXSW before this. I am not a fan of SXSW. It’s like this drudgery that bands do every year. If you like weird holes in your shoes and getting fucked up all day then I guess it’s cool. It’s too big.
Leah: It’s too big.
Molly: Really? I have never been, but I want to go.
Whitney: It is way nicer coming here to Boise. This is our first out of town show. So that is an event for us.
Molly: This our first road trip in our new pussy wagon. Speedy La Qui Qui Paula Dean.
Leah: We didn’t run out of gas this time either.
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