by
Trish Bendix
, Blog Editor
August 18, 2008
From the
moment Leisha Hailey showed up on The L Word as Alice Pieszecki, she has
fielded questions about when she might return to the music business. That's
because Hailey was first noticed as one-half of folk-pop duo the Murmurs in the
1990s. For her music fans, the wait is finally over: Hailey's new band Uh Huh
Her's first full-length album, Common Reaction, was released today.
Hailey's
musical cohort, Camila Grey, can sometimes get lost in The L Word whirlwind,
which is unfortunate because she is actually the lead vocalist of Uh Huh Her. She
not only writes just as much of the music as Hailey, but also produces the
songs for the group's recordings. While Hailey was making a name for herself
alongside Jennifer Beals and Cybill Shepherd, Grey was working with Dr. Dre,
Tricky and Kelly Osbourne.
The two met
after one of Grey's shows with her former band Mellowdrone, when Hailey was
looking to get back into music. Within a year's time, they had written a
five-track EP and were readying a full-length on Nettwerk, a record label
that's home to Sarah McLachlan and Ladytron. Its release today, Aug. 18, is
exactly one year after Uh Huh Her's first performance at their record label's
Camila Grey
(left) and Leisha Hailey
AfterEllen.com: It seems like you guys have a lot of connections, but
for the album, you're going it on your own. You're not calling in Dr. Dre or
anyone to help.
Leisha Hailey: Cam's the one with all the
connections.
AE: I just read on Tegan and Sara's Coachella blog that you introduced them
to Linda Perry, so you know people!
LH: Oh, that's funny. We didn't think they knew who she was. Maybe they
figured it out later. They're so cute. We love them.
Camila Grey: We're going to try and go on tour with them.
AE: Being a duo and having connections, did you ever think about
bringing in other "famous musicians" to play on the record?
LH: Well, Linda, for instance, we'll want to work with her someday. We like
what she does and she knows what we're trying to do, so when it's the right,
opportune moment, we'll make that happen. But as far as consciously inviting
people in —
CG: We're trying to figure out our own thing.
LH: Yeah, we're still beginning. We need to write and work it out first.
AE: What has
been your songwriting process?
CG: Combined.
LH: It's been different for every song for sure, but Cam's definitely the
producer. And I don't do that at all. I like to say: "Make it sound like
that! OK great!" I get to leave.
CG: And then I get to stay and work on it.
LH: You don't have to; she loves it! She stays up all night. Basically
because we've always had time issues, we've written this album over a year. Like
Cam would come up to Vancouver and we'd write, and we'd both have a little something.
It's not like we had a couple of months to sit around and write the record.
AE: Right, like holed up in a cabin to write.
LH: I wish! We'll do it that way someday for sure.
AE: So what
was with the pushing back of the record? Is that a good thing?
CG: I think we were kind of rushed and
wanted to get something to the record company quick, and we pushed it back to
hopefully benefit our marketing.
LH: And also, I mean I think this is my guess: They were expecting the
record to sound a lot like the EP, lo-fi and homemade, and it sounded a lot
more commercial than I think they expected, so they really rallied behind it. They're
really pushing it, which is great. We're happy they did that.
AE: Are you
both in relationships?
LH: Yep.
CG: Yes.
AE: Is it
difficult to be on the road and maintain them?
LH: As of today, everything's great.
CG: I keep it in the moment.
AE: Are you
queer, Camila? Do you identify as queer?
CG: I don't talk about my private life. You
caught me off guard with that relationship question!
AE: Is your
songwriting autobiographical at all?
LH: Yeah, here and there. And I think you
can take a story and it can be —
CG: A little metaphorical.
LH: Yeah.
CG: Not all of it's literal.
AE: It seems
like on the EP there was a lot of turmoil, like a lot of pushing and pulling. Like
"Run Away," but then, "Stay."
CG: I think for both of us, we're coming
from such different places, and writing together you come with a completely
different setting, and you never know what you're gonna get.
LH: And I like that!
CG: Yeah, it's weird. I've never really written with anyone lyrically. This
has been kind of interesting.
AE: It must be
harder for people to pinpoint, then, with people looking so literally into
lyrics, who wrote what and why.
LH: I like that; I like to hear what people think it's about. Sometimes when
you write, you know what people are going to think.
CG: And you know that they're wrong.
LH: And the joke's on them.
AE: Well, one
that I wanted to know about was "Pay if you want to go down."
CG: Not literal. Like go down in flames.
LH: And you pay in your life if you make mistakes.
AE: So it's not like sexy.
LH: It is!
AE: So how did
you guys get hooked up with your label, Nettwerk?
CG: I was already signed there, and then we signed to the label.
AE: [to Hailey] I was watching old videos of the Murmurs on YouTube and
saw you on the Roseanne show.
CG: You were on Roseanne?
AE: Her talk
show, which I didn't even know she had! And I was thinking about how your songs
used to be kind of funny, and now in comparison they seem very serious.
LH: Yeah, I know! I really look at my old band with love, because it
came from a true place. I was with my best friend and we were really young, and
sure, we were naïve. It was that journey of growing up and not being scared at
all about what you did or said, and I miss that about myself because I think
everything I do now is so thought-out. I just miss that waiting to sort of trip
and fall. Yeah sure, it's embarrassing, but at the same time it's what life is
all about.
AE: And I feel like even in your press photos, you come off as very
serious. Do you think of yourselves as a very "serious" band?
CG: Yeah, I think our personalities come out on video, but in pictures
we come off as very serious.
LH: Yeah, and I think we don't really know
who we are yet. We literally got to know each other as we formed the band. I
mean, we were complete strangers from day one. We're not only trying to create
a sound, but what do we want to project. It's hard, but no, we're not very
serious people.
CG: Like, at all. We're having too much
fun. In the end we want to just make good s---.
LH: [laughs] No kidding.
AE: Do you
feel like it's easier to be a gay musician now as opposed to in the 1990s or
the past?
LH: The '90s, I feel so old! You know, with all that stuff I've never
really ever stepped back and thought about it. It's just who I am, and I think
that I've been rewarded in that way because I just live my life openly and
honestly. I think good things have come my way because of it.
In fact, doors
have opened for me that might have not otherwise. So I never really had a rough
time even in "the '90s." [laughs] I don't know, I don't really equate
my career with being out.
AE: It's just
not an issue for you?
LH: It just isn't. Maybe it should be and I'm oblivious.
AE: Well, now you're a spokeswoman for Olivia. Will you be playing on
any of the cruises?
LH: We're going to be playing a show in
CG: I won't be.
AE: You're not
supposed to say that — she's the spokeswoman!
CG: I don't like the ocean.
AE: [to Hailey] You hate the ocean too, I heard today in an interview.
LH: What'd I say?
AE: That you
hate the ocean! [laughs] That you like to look at it because it's beautiful,
but you hate being in it.
LH: Oh I know, I'm scared s---less … but the band is totally separate. We'll
play an event, but that's really my gig.
AE: Your gay cruise.
LH: Yeah.
AE: Did you guys ever consider signing to a label with more lesbians or
gay artists on it?
LH: We never ruled anybody out. We just really talked to the labels that
were interested in us.
AE: As far as Common
Reaction goes, was there a concept behind it?
CG: Every song is individual because we
didn't have time to conceptualize it really. We weeded out the songs we thought
weren't as strong.
AE: How would you describe the differences between the album and the EP
besides it having more production?
LH: We had the same producer, and since he worked on the EP, he was
familiar with our sound and was able to listen to our songs and say what he
thought the album needed. It was great to go back to him, because he really
just kind of —
CG: Polished it. It's a little more polished.
LH: And I think it's a lot more drum-heavy and guitar-heavy compared to the
EP. A little less ethereal.
AE: Is there
anything else you'd want people to know about the band?
LH: I think it's important that people come
and see us for the music and listen and hopefully enjoy themselves. It's about
getting to know us as a band and not coming for any other reason.
AE: Has that
been an issue so far for you guys?
LH: We just want people to get to know our music.