Introducing: Eagle And Talon

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Tom Whyman wrote an excellent review of Eagle And Talon’s debut album which, at the time, was un-released. They’re now self-releasing the fantastic Thracian, and it’s now available for everyone to buy on iTunes, the physical CD being release on 23rd June.

To quote both us, and them:

“Eagle and Talon are an indie/art girl band made of wool. Their instrumentation includes guitar, drums, bass + casio. They currently live in LA.” There are two of them and they are called Kim and Alice. This is everything I know about Eagle and Talon. “Made of wool” is an amazing description of two people in a band though. NOW BUY THIS RECORD AND MAKE THEM HUGE.

What better time to get Kim and Alice to answer some questions about themselves.

For people out there that have never heard of you. Give us three reasons why they should…
Alice: Hard one. well, I think people who like rock and weird/interesting lyrics might like our music. It could also help aggressive people blow off steam without resorting to punching walls or other people.

Can you recall the moment when you first decided you wanted to become a musician?
Kim: No moment in particular, I just always knew in the back of my mind that this is what I was supposed to do. My mom tells stories about how they use to find me singing in my crib, she thought her baby was weird. I used to have one of those plastic children’s tape recorders that are built to be thrown down the stairs. I recorded songs I made up on it when I was about 7 years old and then went on hiatus for about a decade until I started writing again at 16 yrs.
Alice: I dunno. There were always seeds and stints… but as far as what I do now, I just remember being sort of listless in Taiwan and one day squatting in my really humid living room and saying out loud to myself “I think I could be happy if I were making music.” Can’t remember what I was listening to or doing around that time, the thought kind of crystallized out of nowhere.

Where do your songs come from? What’s your inspiration?
Kim: I feel very influenced by my environment, particularly the environment I grew up in – Winnipeg, Canada (a very cold and white place for most of the year). I also have a strong ability/disability to feel too much.
Alice: Often being annoyed, or not being able to wrap my head around a problem. It’s problem solving to a beat.

What are your top 5 records?
Kim: Ooohhh, that’s a hard one! I could never settle on anything but, five records I’d take to the moon with me are
“First Rays of the New Rising Sun” -Jimi Hendrix (even though he didn’t see this album through to the end and sadly passed away during the making of it, I think it’s his best)
“Boys for Pele” -Tori Amos
“Diamond Dogs” -David Bowie
“Surfer Rosa” -The Pixies
“The Wall” -Pink Floyd
Alice: In no particular order:
Blue – Joni Mitchell
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea – Neutral Milk Hotel
OK Computer – Radiohead
Entertainment! – Gang of Four
Nevermind – Nirvana

What was the first gig you ever played and was it a success?
Kim: It was on Valentine’s Day and I’d say it was probably not a success, I didn’t know what was going on or how to deal with gear.
Alice: Yeah, we were very very late, were the only band with a guitar tech (my sister) and the sound guy was a misogynist, or hated us personally. still not sure.

What one piece of criticism has stuck in your mind and was it justified?
Alice: Someone once called us “Eagle and Talon and Bear with Me” which seems pretty appropos. We’re kind of difficult to work with — we like to split hairs, we hear in 1/2 decibels, we don’t describe sound very well.
Kim: We used to have a lot of technical difficulties, I had never played in a band when we started to play together and Alice was still new to live shows so, we didn’t know what we were doing. We were criticized for having performances splattered with sound problems, stopping & starting, etc. It was completely justified.

What one thing has caused you to waste your free time in the past 6 months?
Alice: Dread. Like spending a whole afternoon anticipating how bad something’s gonna be. And then if it’s not disastrous, you feel cheated. And if it is terrible, you’ve basically taken a bad situation and added an additional sucky prologue for you and all your friends to experience. Waste!

If you weren’t making music, what do you think you’d be doing?
Kim: Crying.
Alice: Flailing.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
Kim: Working in a tiny fake ID shop fronting as a jewelry shop in NYC in the summer, no air conditioning.
Alice: Probably teaching English in Taiwan… great co-workers and students, but I used to get so damn nervous, like near-ulcer. Was worse than my first job scooping ice cream where I’d come home smelling like milk every day.

We’d like you to make us a mix-tape. Pick five tracks with a theme of your choice.
Kim: Although I don’t celebrate Christmas I’ve always adored it, I love the lights and decorations and music and people talking about a particular part of consumerism that I’m just not a part of. This would be my Christmas Mix:
“Christmas Wrapping,” by The Waitresses
“little drummer boy” by David Bowie and Bing Crosby
“Christmas time is here” -Charlie Brown
“it’s the most wonderful time of the year” Andy Williams
“December Will Be Magic Again,” by Kate Bush

Alice: Songs for the OCD on Overcast Days
“New Age” – Velvet Underground
“Subbacultcha” – The Pixies
“Pass This On” – The Knife
“Nude as the News” – Cat Power
“Someone Great” – LCD Soundsystem

Eagle and Talon on Myspace