Austin Sound

Follow That Bird! has been quickly gaining force in Austin over the past year, and with the release of their new self-titled debut EP, will likely only be getting bigger. The trio delivers a heavy yet melodic punch, bruising riffs and basslines accentuated by Tiffanie Lanmon’s fervent drumming and Lauren Green’s punkish, jagged vocals. There is a distinct base of Nineties’ Riot Grrrl fury to the band, but they transcend that influence by stamping it with their own unique mark. As their answers below reflect, the trio is sarcastically playful and full of energy, but combine to unleash an infectious blast that continually surprises behind contorting rhythms and shifts and vocals buried deep into the onslaught of distortion. Catch Follow That Bird! this Friday at the Mohawk as they support La Snacks cd release show along with Transmography and the spinning of DJ Gross.

Photo by Tammy Perez

Profile: Follow That Bird!

Year Formed:

April ‘05 as two piece Follow that Bird! / January ‘06 including Rachel B!

Members/Instruments played:

Lauren Green - Guitar/Vocals
Tiffanie Lanmon - Drums
Rachel Badger - Bass

Former Bands/Side Projects:

Lauren and Tiffanie’s first band together was called Shadow of a Bucle. Lauren started a solo side project over the summer called Rainboltz. In high school, she rocked a couple Cranberries cover bands and was in this awesome band called Stalemate. Tiffanie loves to show people their old record when Lauren’s not around, shhh! Rachel is holed away in Houston with a four-track recorder and a lot of half-written songs tentatively named Little Cave Recordings. Tiffanie plays in Mermaid Blonde, played bass in Meryll for a while, and has a new project with members from Ume, Belaire, and the amazing and fearless leader of Girls’ Rock Camp, EMILY MARKS, called Sophisticated Boom Boom.

Albums:

Our first album was a home recording we threw together so we’d have something to sell at our first show at the Pagehouse in Georgetown, TX. That was done sometime in the Spring of 2005. We just released our new EP last Saturday at the Parlor. Two of our favorite Austin bands, Ume and Bear Claw, helped kick it off! Fun show! As far as the future - we will be releasing a song for a compilation on Matador Records in the Spring of 2009. We are all pretty thrilled about that. Shout out to our man, Gerard. Keep your peepers peeled!

Oh yeah, a cover of Toni Braxton’s “You’re Making Me High”. We’re going to do it. Just wait. Maybe. We say we are going to do covers a lot. But I bet we reallllly do it this time. It’s T. Brax!

Influences:

Lauren: As far as guitar style goes, The Rapture’s older albums, Drive Like Jehu, Led Zeppelin, Erase Errata

Tiffanie: I think my drumming style has been influenced a lot by Led Zeppelin, Hella, and even bands like Knife in the Water. Drums are so organic. It’s easy to subtract them from the rest of the sound and make them your own. The best beats and drumming styles can come from a really vast array of sources.

Rachel: As far as FTB is concerned I’m influenced by bands like The Cramps, Hella, B-52s, Melt Banana, Deerhoof, etc.

Strangest comment or comparison ever made about your music:

If we hear the name Sleater-Kinney one more time…

Favorite local bands:

Yellow Fever, Red X Red M, Teeners, UME, Diagonals, The Strange Boys, Alex Dupree & The Trapdoor Band, School Police, Pataphysics, Reverse X-Rays, Mermaid Blonde, Chainbow

Favorite local venue:

Mohawk and house parties!

Upcoming shows scheduled:

La Snack’s CD Relase @ Mohawk 10/10
Beerland w/ The Stolen Minks (Canada) 10/14
Beauty Bar w/ Dans La Lune 11/14

Shows over the next month that you’re excited to see:

Lauren: Goodnight Loving, Teeners, Harlem @ Emo’s 10/13
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, Cave, Megazilla, Magic Jewels @ Beerland 10/17

Tiff: blanket + bottle of wine + sitting on the hill outside of Stubb’s for Cat Power Oct. 11th

Some of your favorite albums from the past year:

Beach House [Devotion], Fleet Foxes [s/t], Mirah [Old Days Feeling], Crystal Antlers [s/t], MGMT [Oracular Spectacular], and all the demos from Ume’s upcoming album sound great. VAMPIRE WEEKEND! Haha, ok just kidding. The Marnie Stern record looks like it’s going to be killer too.

Ideal band (past or present) to open for on a national tour:

LED ZEP

Austin Sound questions:

We’re assuming y’all take your name from the Sesame Street movie, so what would be y’all’s favorite Sesame Street song?

I imagine this is going to disappoint quite a few people but we did not get our name from the Sesame Street movie! Common misconception! I don’t think any of us have even seen the movie. We actually took the name from a Dora the Explorer book that we saw at Lowe’s once. So, on that note, we’d have to say our favorite DORA THE EXPLORER song is “Chocolate”.

Also - if someone spots a copy of that book please mail it to us. Have not seen it anywhere since. Maybe that’s how it was supposed to be. She appeared like a dream with a name and then vanished. Mystery! Intrigue! I think our band has a new edge to it now. A new story. I think people are going to want to come out and see what we’re about now. “The band that Dora named.”

Top three all-female rock bands of all time?
Seriously?

Song Introduction:

We chose “Run With Knives” because we find that most of the time it’s difficult to respond with a clear genre when asked about what our music sounds like. We feel “Run With Knives” captures a lot of what we have to offer.

Sound Off:

So proud to die! We definitely listened (and still knew all the words) to some Matchbox 20 and Fuel songs the other night. We are also aspiring jingle writers. Rachel love love loves kittens. We have all been friends since 8th/9th grade so if you are ever looking for embarrassing photos for like, Behind the Music, you know where to look. Why is this turning into a late night cab confession?

We’d like to end with a song that means so very much to us. It’s bold. It’s vulnerable. It’s emotive. It tells a story. Probably the best thing done musically since, well maybe ever.

Tim McGraw - Indian Outlaw

I’m an indian outlaw
Half cherokee and choctaw
My baby shes a chippewa
Shes one of a kind

You can find me in my wigwam
Ill be beatin on my tom-tom
Pull out the pipe and smoke you some
Hey and pass it around

They all gather round my teepee
Late at night tryin to catch a peek at me
In nothin but my buffalo briefs
I got em standin in line

Cherokee people
Cherokee tribe
So proud to live

Mp3 from Follow That Bird!:
Run With Knives

Website:
Myspace