Queen of Jeans were a recent FEW tune of the day. We caught up with Miri, Metheson, Patrick and Nina to find out a little more about their music and their influences.
What was the first tune you loved and why?
Miri: Well I don’t know why exactly, probably simply because it was something that came on the radio often and is verrrry danceable– but I was three so I had no understanding of it — was “Touch Me (All Night Long)” by Cathy Dennis. I have video proof of me singing and dancing around to this outside of my brother’s piano recital.
Matheson: My grandpa used to sing this song to me “K-k-k-Katie, beautiful lady” ….I loved it! I don’t think he knew my name.
Patrick: No idea how I still remember this, but my first favorite song was “Roll To Me” by Del Amitri. I was (and still am, but don’t tell anyone) a sucker for jangle pop.
Nina: My mom tells me that when I was a baby I would freak out and dance in my car seat every time NKOTB’s “You Got It (The Right Stuff)” came on the radio.
What is your favorite song/piece of music that you’ve written and why do you think this?
Miri: I think “Won’t You”, the fourth track on our debut EP. It was a kind of breakthrough for me, I’d never written a song like that before with such dissonant chords and funky progressions. So working through it was really exciting, I felt like a different guitar player after that one, a bit.
Matheson: “Key Pizza Mistake” by the short-lived Red Door Ladies.
Nina: I wrote a love song about my favorite bartender once.
What song by another artist do you wish you had written and why?
Miri:”I’m Too Sexy” because how big actually are your balls to have written that? I want to feel that cool in a mesh top.
Matheson: “Excuses” by The Morning Benders because it’s somehow really dirty and romantic at the same time. MUCH LIKE ME.
Patrick: “Fun Times in Babylon” by Father John Misty because it feels so effortless, but it’s also brilliant and clever and heartfelt.
Nina: “Cola” by Lana Del Rey because those are the best lyrics I’ve ever heard in my life.
What artist(s) has been your biggest influence and in what way?
Miri: Now that I’ve had a bit more time to think of this recently, Camera Obscura is definitely a huge inspiration for me. Tracyanne Campbell’s voice is like an anxiety cure for me, and I’ve always loved her writing, which I think fits perfectly inside the music. I can listen to their songs in any kind of mood and feel much better, they’re beautifully crafted I think because they’ve been written in a way that allows you to experience every single emotion throughout.
Matheson: Blake Mills, even though he makes me want to quit playing guitar.
Patrick: As a drummer, probably Bon Iver/S. Carey. The way he’s able to fill the space of a song with rhythm that is both unexpected and complimentary is amazing. It’s a hard mark to hit, but for me it’s the sort of thing that makes me excited about drumming.
Nina: I’ve always been really inspired by female-fronted bands (The Go-Go’s, The Bangles, Heart, Warpaint, Mountain Man, etc), purely because I wanted to be them.
Name a song that makes you smile.
Miri: “In Dreams” by Roy Orbison.
Matheson: “Coke Bottle Green” by Widowspeak.
Patrick: “Phantom Limb” by The Shins always puts me in a good mood.
Nina: “A Boy Named Sue” by Shel Silverstein, sung by Johnny Cash.
What is the best new band that you’ve heard recently?
Miri: We are newer than most everybody, but I really love PWR BTTM. (Love this !)
Matheson: Abi Reimold.
Patrick: Residuels are dope.
Nina: Travis J and the Rhinestones.
What’s your favourite radio station?
Miri: WXPN 88.5.
Matheson: BOOM 107.9.
Nina: 102.9 WMGK.
Who would win a fight between a drummer and a bass player, and why?
Miri: The fangirl in between the two of them.
Patrick: I’m a lover not a fighter, which is my way of saying that Nina absolutely would.
Nina: I totally would.
Your band name- how did you come up with it and what does it mean?
Miri: I thought Nina was complimenting my bum in a pair of jeans, but apparently not.
Nina: I was complimenting my own bum, actually.
What song would you like to have played at your funeral?
Miri: Either “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd or “Family Affair” by Mary J. Blige.
Matheson: “I Try” by Macy Gray.
Patrick: Either “Take Me Home” by Phil Collins (haven’t the mourners suffered enough?) or “Where Have All The Cowboys Gone”, which is unfortunately not by Phil Collins.
Nina: “Candle in the Wind” by Elton John, but only if he rewrites it to be about me. (There’s Chris De Burgh in the YouTube video, seething with envy – he should be up there singing “Lady Is Dead”.)
What question would you like to be asked that you never are? (and what would be your answer?)
Miri: My secret talent! I am a pro at balancing all spoons on my nose.
Matheson: How I am feeling.
Patrick: My favorite brand of organic dog shampoo.
Nina: Wanna pet my dog/cat? Answer: Yes.
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