My interview with Folk Bitch Trio. They released their latest single, ‘God’s A Different Sword’ in August.

Diya: Good morning Folk Bitch Trio, it’s lovely to see you guys. How are you doing on this fine October afternoon?

Jeanie: We’re doing great. We’re in Saxapahaw in North Carolina. It’s very beautiful. There’s a very nice river. We’re playing here tonight. It’s Saturday. Vibes are good.

Diya: Let’s start from the beginning. I did some digging and learned that Folk Bitch Trio’s artistic origin story stems from friendship, love for music, and casual collaboration that grew into a touring outfit. Can you each tell me a little bit more about your musical backgrounds and how they inform Folk Bitch Trio’s artistic philosophy to this point?

Jeanie: Damn…I guess my musical background in terms of listening definitely has been a huge influence on this project. Growing up listening to a lot of folk music definitely formulated my voice as a songwriter and definitely opened my heart to this type of music and my desire to create it with my friends. I’d say that’s probably where it started for me.

Heide: So beautiful.

Jeanie: Thank you.

Heide: And you, Gracie?

Gracie: I grew up also listening to a lot of stuff that would have influenced the position that I’m in now of loving folk music like Dave and Gillian, who are playing at this venue later this month, which is crazy. And I don’t know, studying vocal music probably has some factor in there. And also just being a bit of a teenage dirtbag in my bedroom with my guitar.

Heide: I think mine’s probably quite similar to both of yours. Yeah, I think listening to folk music, but also listening to, like–I was listening to a lot of the Sundays today and I recall being a kid and listening to a lot of that kind of music.

Jeanie: And guitar bands.

Heide: Guitar bands and kind of ambient, like, Cocteau Twins vibes, that kind of thing. Gillian and Joni Mitchell and Nick Drake and those kinds of artists have played a big role in how I write and how it kind of flows into this project.

Diya: Yeah, I can definitely see those ethereal folk influences in your music, and much of it is filled with gorgeous vocal arrangements. And what stood out to me about your latest single, as well as your other work, was the seamless combination of warm guitars and smooth folk melodies complemented by delicate harmonies. Can you all tell me about your creative process on this album, along with its sonic and emotional landscapes, and how they show up through some of your songwriting, vocal and instrumental choices?

Jeanie: Damn… (Heide: That’s a good question.) I guess everything starts with the live sound, and I think with God’s A Different Sword, we definitely were aiming to replicate a version of our live sound that was genuine and felt like the heart that’s in the live show was there and so that always formulates our instrumentation and our composition…When we start singing live–we just wanted to sound as close to that. And so it’s always guitar, it’s always three-part harmony. It’s always Heidi’s dirty, beautiful guitar tone. We love a big fat open guitar sound. So that’s kind of just always where it starts.

Heide: I feel like that’s so true. I think that when we’ve done recordings, everything’s been based off that kind of formula and then the kind of the candy that we put in.

Gracie: Yeah, you add a bit of magic for the radio.

Jeanie: It’s all candy–

Gracie: For the recording.

Heide: Yeah, which is quite fun. I can imagine it’s maybe similar to painters adding stuff or whatever.

Jeanie: You know, ’cause when we’re on the road, it’s us and 2-3 guitars and it’s always been that way. And I guess I don’t want that to change. But yeah, when we’re in the studio, it definitely feels like being in a candy shop in terms of adding little bits on top of that, yeah.

Diya: I love that with each of your backgrounds in music and past releases like Analogue and Lost, how would you say the music on your most recent work is influenced by your past work and musical background?

Jeanie: I mean, I feel like as long as it’s Folk Bitch Trio, it will always be like a conglomeration of past, present and future us writing as the same person. But I guess as we get older–and we’re also very intro-perspective writers, so we’re always writing about ourselves–it’s kind of impossible to not be influenced by our past work, I guess, because yeah, we’re always writing about the past or the present or future. So yeah, it’s always going to be if it’s Folk Bitch Trio…What am I trying to say? If it’s Folk Bitch Trio, it’s always going to be influenced by folk Bitch Trio.

Heide: But I’m happy to say that we’re writing–I hope–better songs….Than we were writing when we were, like, 17.

Jeanie: Lost and analogue, I guess, are products of our adolescence, ’cause we were still teenagers when those songs kind of came to life.

Diya: Yeah, speaking of introspective and poetic lyrics and also layers of vocals and gossamer-like harmonies, I’d like to know what were some of the main inspirations for this project–the single. And this could be other music, media, literature, film, spiritual occurrences, religious epiphanies, swords.

Jeanie: I feel like there are heaps of mixed media influences for that. (Heide: Yeah, yeah, yeah.) There’s this Kiwi film called Eagle vs Shark, and that was a huge reference for the music video, but I feel like there’s a lot of other stuff that went into the song as well.

Heide: Yeah, I mean, the song was kind of birthed after a breakup of mine and I guess it was that kind of feeling that you get after you’ve gone through a break up and you’re kind of questioning things and a bit all over the shop. I think that definitely was in the song and is in the song. But I think it’s also yet that optimism that you get, I suppose, from a break up and the starting and new and afresh. And I think that kind of also flowed into the music video as well. And just the gallivanting and silliness, I think. I think that’s what I wanted the song to be in a way. (Jeanie: Yeah.) And then what we kind of put into it when we were recording and arranging it, yeah.

Diya: Yeah, I was going to actually just ask you about the music video and cover art’s direction. The cover photo is filled with contrast, denim and playful spirits coupled with stoic facial expressions, while the video is nostalgic and captures the beautiful musical chemistry you all have through your friendship, and as a listener and a viewer, I’m left with the feeling of warmth after watching through. Kind of the optimism you’re referencing I think. Can you tell me a little bit more about the choices to include these specific visuals in your music video and cover art and how they function in tandem with your songs themes?

Jeanie: Well, thank you. (Heidi: Yeah!) That’s really nice.

Gracie: That’s very kind.

Jeanie: And I’m really glad that that’s the impression that was left on you. Yeah, friendship, definitely.

Gracie: Silliness?

Jeanie: Yeah, lightness. But yeah, it’s funny that the cover art and the music video are quite contrasting, even though the single art was shot when we were shooting the music video. But yeah, I guess they are quite different.

Gracie: It’s all quite situational. Like, we didn’t really have a plan for that video other than a bunch of locations and a bunch of, like, funny props and for us to dance around and just have fun. Whatever sparked our interest in that moment, that was it. We went into the arcade and the bikes were there.

Jeanie: And I think we all find it quite funny how serious that cover art could be interpreted. ‘Cause to us it’s like it’s pretty stupid. It’s so stupid. Like out of all of the locations we were at in that music video, that was definitely the stupid one. And it ended up being the cover art. And I think that that kind of, I guess says a lot too ’cause it feels pretty similar to how we feel about our projects being called Folk Bitch Trio. It’s all a little bit unplanned. And then it’s always quite funny to us because it always just happens. And then, yeah, it’s…I love that photo though.

Heide: Yeah. The director of the video and who shot it as well, Bridget Winton, played a big role in it. She was kind of like, “I really want to get this shot.” I don’t know if we were technically allowed to be in there. It felt cheeky. So I’m really glad Bridget pushed us to do that because the result was pretty fun.

Jeanie: Yeah.

Diya: You guys are playing a show in LA on October 15th. What are you guys looking forward to the most about this location and the venue–Genghis Cohen?

Gracie: It’s our first LA headline ever. It’s massive. It’s enormous for us.

Jeanie: It’s our first headline show in the States. And yeah, we’re excited to come back to LA. We were there earlier this year, just hanging out. And yeah, I’ve heard good things about this venue.

Gracie: We’re going to get our friend Alex to open for us, who we met at a Whole Foods in Austin in March as part of South By, and now, you know, we’ve made that friendship and we’re going to come back to the States for our second trip and enjoy that friendship again.

Jeanie: Because we’ve been on tour in the States now for almost 2 weeks…It’s all felt very surreal and exciting as Australians to be playing in America. And yeah, LA feels–on top of that–even more surreal to be doing a headline there at a venue that I’ve heard good things about. It’s going to be a really, really fun time.

Diya: Definitely. Let’s talk gear. What would you all say is the most essential piece of gear to the particular sound of Folk Bitch Trio?

Heide: Oh I love that! (Jeanie: I love this question.) We never get gear questions!

Jeanie: Yeah–number one most unexpected trait of Folk Bitch Trio is that we are actually gearheads.

Heide: We’re gearheads. Grace and I both work at guitar shops as our, like, day jobs, so we’re kind of surrounded by that world. I use a Greco Superview 700 or 800–I don’t know what the numbers are, but it’s like a 335 copy and it’s got humbuckers, which I really like. I feel like that kind of drive from that guitar and….Now and especially live, it’s sort of…(Gracie: it’s your sound.) It’s my sound…I use a Caverns Keeley reverb-delay pedal that’s actually Jeanie’s. I don’t actually use a shimmer reverb. (Jeanie: But when you do it’s so good.) I use a Hot Cake overdrive pedal which is made in New Zealand by this guy Paul Crowther. Who I think originally made it for–I’m getting really deep into the gear right now. (Diya: I love that.) He made it for the Crowded House lead singer Neil Finn too. I think with his, I can’t remember the guitar, but it was with a box, it was, like, to get some more drive or something. I think that’s the story. Anyway, I use that.

Jeanie: We actually recorded “God’s A Different Sword” in Neil Finn’s studio as well, which is kind of a bonus.

Heide: And I think I actually used one of the original hot cakes. I used his hot cake. Anyway, I think your Maton sparkly guitar…Definitely.

Gracie: I also think that we underestimate how important the acoustic-electric combo is. Like, we barely ever play with the band, that’s how we rock. It’s acoustic-electric together. Also a lot of folk acts use acoustic guitars, but not a lot of young, other bands our age rock with acoustics as hard as we.

Jeanie: Yeah, my acoustic guitar, it’s a Maton made in Box Hill, made in our home city. But I would say that my important tour rig is the…What’s my pickup called again? DiMarzio Angel. I would recommend [it] to anyone who has an AP5 pickup in their guitar. My tour rig upgrade this year has been the Angel passive pickup from Heide. We share gear in this band. We share a heart, a brain and guitar pedals.

Gracie: And two brain cells. My guitar is a bit of a crap box, but it works, and I love it, and it’s a Martin Road Series, and it is buggered. But, she comes with us. And one day I will have a really beautiful, beautiful guitar. But It’s very light.

Jeanie: When you pick up the case, you think the guitar’s not in there, but it is.

Gracie: I left my guitar, but it’s there…

Jeanie: Again, long answer.

Gracie: Oh, you know what I would say if I knew more would be some really good microphones. That can be part of our sound. Really good crispy Sennheisers.

Jeanie: When we get the cash maybe.

Heide: Some gain-y mics. I can’t remember what we used with the recording, but they were cool. We’ll have to ask our producer anyway.

Diya: Another gear question. Lastly, if you were each stranded on a desert island and you could only take three pieces of gear with you each, what would they be and why?

Jeanie: Music gear, or just gear?

Diya: Music gear. Sound gear.

 

Gracie: Check it out. Acoustic guitar, capo, clip on tuner.

Diya: There you go.

Jeanie: I think I would dump the clip-on tuner. Definitely the acoustic guitar…

Gracie: I’m taking my acoustic, my mouth harp, and my holder so that I can do both at the same time. It’s a secret love of mine.

Jeanie: Guitar, capo, egg shaker. I think it’s just–I love egg shakers. We love auxiliary percussion. But yeah, I love egg shakers.

Gracie: And those little frog… [makes guiro sound]

Heide: I want to think if I would take an electric or an acoustic Okay, if it was an electric–

Jeanie: What if you took an electric and one of those honking little mini amps.

Heide: No, I wouldn’t take a mini amp. I’d take a Princeton or a Deluxe and a power generator, absolutely.

Jeanie: Yeah, then you’re gonna need a generator.

Heide: Oh my god, so true. Okay, yeah, I would take an acoustic and I would maybe take…I had to get rid of my beloved acoustic and I’d try and get that back and then a capo and…

Jeanie: Kazoo?

Gracie: What are the metal peace instruments that Indy has?

Jeanie: A pie drum.

Gracie: A pie drum. Maybe I’d take a pie drum to make peace with my situation.

Heide: Maybe I’d take a zither. An Omnichord! I would take an Omnichord. With batteries in it.

Jeanie: You can have fun for, like, five-plus hours on an Omnichord. So that’s actually really good.

Heide: Thank you.

Jeanie and Heide: That’s that on that.

Diya: Yeah, thank you guys so much for chatting with me. It’s been lovely to hear about this and to hear your answers kind of bouncing off of each other. It’s reflective of your musical chemistry and it’s been great.

Gracie, Jeanie and Heide: Thank you so much for having us, Diya.

Jeanie: It was lovely to talk to you.