{"id":29593,"date":"2015-12-08T09:15:05","date_gmt":"2015-12-08T14:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=29593"},"modified":"2015-12-08T12:01:15","modified_gmt":"2015-12-08T17:01:15","slug":"unraveling-reels-an-interview-with-kate-teague-and-her-band","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/unraveling-reels-an-interview-with-kate-teague-and-her-band\/","title":{"rendered":"Unraveling Reels: An Interview with Kate Teague and Her Band"},"content":{"rendered":"

Local indie rock band Reels<\/strong> and their frontwoman Kate Teague<\/strong> have taken Oxford by storm since forming just under a year ago. After a slew of changes to their name and their lineup, they went into Tweed Recording<\/strong> and cut their debut EP, releasing it on Bandcamp in late November. The Local Voice<\/em> recently sat down with Reels to talk about their new record and their future plans.<\/span><\/p>\n

What was the recording process? \"kate<\/a><\/span><\/strong>
\nKate Teague (guitar, vocals):<\/strong> I think we came in there pretty much knowing exactly what we wanted.<\/span>
\nShane Prewitt (drums):<\/strong> Yeah, I had recorded there twice\u2026 [We] were really quick about it. It took two days of tracking.<\/span>
\nKT:<\/strong> We knew that with the time we had reserved there, we probably weren\u2019t going to be able to do more than three, maybe four [songs]. We practiced those songs the most before going in there.<\/span>
\nSP:<\/strong> The intention was for it to be a solid EP from start to finish.<\/span>
\nHershey Tate (guitar):<\/strong> The sound was pretty much a complete surprise to me, because I can never hear what anyone else is doing in practice [laughs].<\/span>
\nJeremiah Wills (bass):<\/strong> Yeah, being in the studio was the first time that I could hear everything: the lyrics, myself playing\u2026 so that was really cool. And then being able to turn right around and listen to it was like, \u201cOh, wow!\u201d<\/span>
\nKT:<\/strong> That totally did not happen to me. I guess my brain couldn\u2019t go there. I was so brain-dead from doing [the EP] in two days, I couldn\u2019t really comprehend it. I didn\u2019t really listen to it until we put it online, to be completely honest\u2026 I remember, like two weeks after we had it recorded, Shane was telling me about all these people he had shown it to, and I was like, \u201cDamn! I\u2019ve only shown it to my parents!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you write everything by yourself? <\/span><\/strong>
\nKT:<\/strong> Just the base of the song, the chords, and the melody. <\/span>
\nSP:<\/strong> Usually, [Kate] may have some lyric idea, maybe a melody, and then she develops her part as we go, too. Everyone pretty much writes their own part.<\/span>
\nHT:<\/strong> We\u2019ll loop one part of a song until everybody comes up with something, then the next part, then the next part. It\u2019s proven to be a really quick way to finish a song\u2014to record and listen to it, then improve upon those parts when we have more time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Has the sound you\u2019re going for changed since you guys first got together? \"kate<\/a><\/span><\/strong>
\nSP:<\/strong> Kate was doing \u201850s stuff. Or \u201830s stuff. <\/span>
\nKT:<\/strong> It\u2019s interesting how it goes, because my brain isn\u2019t very grunge-y, vs. Shane\u2019s, which is. There are some times when I\u2019ll start with a song and think, \u201cI want this to sound heavy,\u201d but there are other times that I\u2019ll come up with a song and just be like, \u201cHere\u2019s a song!\u201d<\/span>
\nJean Marie Lalande (saxophone):<\/strong> The stuff in the beginning was very bluesy, very quiet, and it took forever to get the band together. Jeremiah [came] really late, and Hershey wasn\u2019t really there in the beginning. We couldn\u2019t really figure out the dynamics of the songs.<\/span>
\nKT:<\/strong> It\u2019s been a process, for sure. I mean, like, Shane and Hershey have been in other bands and they kind of know how it goes, but I had never been in a real [band]. At first, I really had no idea. Just because a song had drums, it sounded good to me. As it\u2019s progressed, I\u2019ve been able to pick apart things and see what I like and what I don\u2019t like. That\u2019s been a process just for me personally.<\/span>
\nJML:<\/strong> The most complicated part was finding a bass player.<\/span>
\nHT:<\/strong> I think we were drunk at the Pig, and [Shane] was like, \u201cJeremiah, you gotta get in on this band!\u201d [laughs].<\/span><\/p>\n

JW:<\/strong> I hadn\u2019t played bass in about ten years, so it\u2019s been fun getting back into it. Listening to old-school R&B and soul, where the bass is just awesome. <\/span>
\nHT:<\/strong> You had to knock the rust off a little bit, but we were just like, \u201cHey, Jeremiah, come play bass!\u201d And you were like, \u201caight.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

How did you finally settle on the name \u201cReels?\u201d<\/span><\/strong>
\nKT:<\/strong> It\u2019s not a very cool story [laughs]<\/span>
\nHT:<\/strong> We found out that there was another semi-popular artist who goes by Pluto, so that went out the window. For some reason, I\u2019d gotten fixated on single-syllable, pluralized nouns. We were in the studio just Googling words. All of them were taken until we got to Reels. I thought Reels sounded cool. It evokes the studio vibe.<\/span>
\nKT:<\/strong> And I\u2019d already said that I like words like \u201cbroadcast,\u201d and \u201cthe microphones,\u201d and words that have those connotations. So I guess that was part of it.<\/span>
\nSP:<\/strong> The association with \u201cReels\u201d is a lot better than with \u201cPluto.\u201d<\/span>
\nHT:<\/strong> Although Pluto works for us too, because Pluto used to be a planet, and we used to be Kate Teague and the Hate League [laughs]. <\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the reception to the EP been like? What\u2019s surprised you? \"kate<\/a><\/span><\/strong>
\nKT:<\/strong> That everyone likes \u201cBad Coffee.\u201d<\/span>
\nSP:<\/strong> My grandmother likes it. She really hasn\u2019t liked anything I\u2019ve done before. My sister-in-law likes it. It\u2019s gotten a really good reception all around. People are confused by the French [in \u201cSecrets\u201d].<\/span><\/p>\n

Yeah, what was with that?<\/span><\/strong>
\nKT:<\/strong> I was listening to a lot of Stereolab, and Melody\u2019s Echo Chamber, and I had just become fond of the idea of French songs, but then I thought I could get away with it because there was someone in the band who spoke French. I would never translate a song by myself, because it would never come out right\u2026 [B]ut considering Jean Marie could do it, it became an exciting idea once it was mentioned, so we got together and wrote it.<\/span>
\nHT:<\/strong> I like the French. I think it\u2019s a cool aesthetic.<\/span>
\nSP:<\/strong> I\u2019m not sure I want to know what the song actually says in English. <\/span><\/p>\n

So most of the band has no clue what the song is about? <\/span><\/strong>
\nHT:<\/strong> It\u2019s like… \u201cSitting on the toilet, I realize there\u2019s no tissue…\u201d <\/span>
\nSP:<\/strong> \u201cHow can I keep this secret?\u201d<\/span>
\nKT:<\/strong> [Laughing] That\u2019s not what it means! It just is about when you get into a serious relationship, and you realize you get to the point where you have to start telling them all of your secrets. And then how you don\u2019t want to do that.<\/span><\/p>\n

How does a solo Kate Teague show differ from a Reels show? \"kate<\/a><\/span><\/strong>
\nKT:<\/strong> I really enjoy playing slow stuff, so when I play solo a lot of it is more mellow. When I play solo, a lot of it is these same songs, just mellowed out. And then I also do a few songs that are too mellow for us to have ever played with… and then a few covers that I\u2019ve just had in my back pocket for a while. But I enjoy [both shows] about the same.<\/span><\/p>\n

What are the band\u2019s future plans?<\/span><\/strong>
\nSP:<\/strong> We\u2019re hoping to do a weekend a month in the spring, three or four show runs, and then in the summer, all together as one twelve-day run.<\/span>
\nHT:<\/strong> I think writing will pick up in the winter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kate Teague plays a solo set at The Blind Pig on Thursday, Dec. 10. Reels will play at Proud Larry\u2019s on Thursday, Jan. 21. \u2018EP\u2019 is available for streaming and download at reelsoxford.bandcamp.com<\/a>.\u00a0\"The<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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