The thing about talented people is that they’re springy. A performer is always the life of the party. Talented people know what they have, and they love to show it off. They’re springy. They thrive on attention. How else could they have gotten any good? They go to bed patting themselves on the back after a song well played; a play well acted; a dance well spun and a joke well told. Artists’ dreams are full of the next big gig; the crowd. The applause and admiration fill their subconscious until the next glorious day present itself.
You know that’s a crock, right? Most performers are trembling little puppies. The vast majority of artists is filled with self-loathing, self-doubt, and self-esteem issues. They love the cheering crowd, sure, but a one-on-one conversation scares the ever-livin’ shit out of them. Most of them can’t stand a compliment, and the worst of them make up their own so no one will know how insecure they are.
It’s a tricky beast, the artist. You can never tell where her brain is, but you always know where her heart lies. I talked to Kay Louise of The Uglies about her discovery of music and the healing powers she discovered there. She’s a deeply sensitive soul with a self-deprecating thread that sounds all too familiar to this writer. Kat’s shyness is something I’ve seen scads of times, in countless faces that don’t quite make eye contact. Her apologies remind me of the drumming fingers and nervous laughs of the people who make this community great.
Smile Politely: Who are The Uglies? How did you all meet and start making music together?
Kat Louise: I may honestly be horrible at making things sound interesting, but I guess I could say that the band started accidentally. Ty Bixby (our drummer) wasn’t a drummer and I wasn’t an organ player. We had a farm house stuffed with music equipment in the middle of 40 acres. No limits to how loud or often we could play, so we never stopped creating. That is how we “accidentally” started off. Just two people experimenting.
Eventually, with inspirations of Beach House, I thought a guitar could fit well in the mix. Luke DeYoung comes into the picture. Instead of playing the bass with my feet (bass pedals) we pulled Brandon Martin into the mix. It then filled out into this full but simple sound. Florrshime Zipper Boot’s [sic] review called it dream pop. I call it music to count your freckles to.
SP: Do you play a lot of outdoor shows? Y’all seem like an “under the stars” kind of group…
Louise: Oh, I guess I forgot to mention in our little mini history: we all, one by one, moved up to Chicago. Way different than living in the middle of nowhere. But we are now Chicago residents. If that is important?
We don’t play outdoors too often anymore. In Chicago during the summer, music festivals are always fun. I think we fit well with a starry night. We always try to book indoor non-bar shows, like the Velvet Elvis, because people will come for the music specifically. It is intimate and people are there for the experience, not the bar.
SP: Where are some of your other favorite places to play?
Louise: My favorite show ever was our first show, all together, as a four part band. It was outside in a dim lit beer garden you all might know as Mike ‘N Molly’s. It was a gorgeous starry night and we were all actually extremely nervous. We were bare naked outside. “The whole town can hear us?!” we thought. The tables were pretty much empty and the pretty candle lit night turned to awkwardness until music started filling the air. (The sound guys really kicked butt.) And instead, the music the whole town could hear had an unexpected outcome. Groups of people started wandering into the beer garden and all the sudden the candlelit night wasn’t awkward. It was kind of beautifully bone chilling.
SP: Magic.
Louise: Our favorite place we have played in Chicago was Schubas. Which is a bar venue. Sound is amazing and the food is delicious. They have mac n cheese. I guess like any musician would, we like playing there because not everybody gets to. We love a good sound quality show and a packed room. They have really good mac n cheese.
SP: Have you toured much?
Louise: We haven’t toured yet because we are getting our album finished up. James Treichler from The Dirty Feathers is recording us with his own equipment and at Pogo Studios as well. So far it is sounding amazing. James has been very tasteful with the sound. Fillers and additional percussion and sounds. We are very excited for this final product.
SP: Great! Do you have a release date yet or still just grinding the work out?
Louise: Grinding the work out with James. I would imagine it would be done before 2014 though. The rest is all up to James now with mixing and mastering!
SP: Do you have a manager or do you all have to negotiate and collaborate together? (Are you planners or go-with-the-flow…ers?) Any bickering among the group?
Louise: Right now I am kind of the manager. Luke and I have been booking most of the gigs. We do have quarrels and a lot of the time. We try to planners but we are more of the go-with-the-flowers.
SP: How did you get started in music? Was it a school organization or listening to a favorite band…?
Louise: When I was five, I was adopted. I had very poor social skills so I turned to other activities to express myself. When I arrived at my adoptive parents’ house, I saw this miraculous thing called a piano. I started banging on it and sing-yelling about things like losing your rain boots? I don’t know.
Come fourth grade, I decided I wanted to play the cello. I went to college for cello performance but ended up meeting these three lovely folks in my band, and it was a heck a lot better than following the rules of sheet music.
I’m still socially awkward so I never saw myself being the leader of something. So the guys do a lot of the networking and I do the booking, promoting, and online presence.
So without our band “accidentally” coming together, I don’t think it may have happened at all. But now I get to really dive in with my own ideas. Bring chords, lyrics, and melody to the table and the guys just always know exactly what to do. Never too much, or too little, and always matching the feel exactly. It is amazing writing with them.
Gosh this sounds boring.
SP: Not even a little.
If you could jam with anyone, ever, who would it be? Who inspires you?
Louise: Person I’d love to make music with most? Etta James. Or just steal her voice. I don’t know how we would make music together. Or maybe just do a collaboration with Beck. He is crazily multifaceted. I’m not sure.
My influences are Beach house, Francoise Hardy, The Walkmen, The Mills Brothers, Edith Piaf, April March, Timber Timbre, Camera Obscura, and The Cults. And many more.
SP: Where do you see the group in five years?
Louise: In five years I think we all hope we are touring. We have all sat down and agreed (laughingly) that we are okay with ending up hating each other from being crammed in a van. But touring is what we want to do. But once the album is done and we have a professional manager, we will see. For me it’s just doing what I love and not taking it half assed. Might as well see where it will lead us.
You dig on the haunted guitar sound from Elsinore? You’ll like The Uglies. If you get lost in the dreamy voice from Grandkids like I do, you will not be disappointed, friends. Don’t miss this show. Just give “If You Fall in Love” a listen if you don’t believe me. Check them out at the Velvet Elvis tomorrow night with Cowboy Indian Bear and Aron Stromburg.