"I think I've bought maybe 20 records in my life (I was a cassette person) but all of them were based on good cover art, so to me it did make a difference" -Liz McGrath
Performing a dark, lean blend of blues, country and girl-group sounds fortified with a punk attitude, Miss Derringer is an L.A.-based rock band led by a husband and wife team of musicians-turned-artists, Liz McGrath (a painter and sculptor who previously sang with the band Tongue and edited the 'zine Censor This) and Morgan Slade (a photographer who plays guitar and writes much of the group's material). Rounding out the group are guitarist Lightnin' Bill Woodcock, bassist Sylvain de Muizon, and drummer Cody James.The group released their second album, Lullabies, in 2006 which bassist Sylvain de Muizon, features Blondie drummer Clem Burke and Charley Horse member/Acetate Records owner Rick Ballard on guitar. Lullabies was co-produced by Miss Derringer and Derek O'Brien of The Adolescents / Social Distortion. The Los Angeles based band is heavily influenced by American music of the late-50s and early-60s particularly the vintage sounds of outlaw country like performers Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash or the girl group pop of the Ronettes and Shangri Las. The band also finds inspiration in the music and attitude of early punk bands like the Misfits and Black Flag.
Liz Mcgrath (singer), Morgan Slade (guitarist), and Sylvain de Muizon (bassist) of Miss Derringer Interviewed by Erik L. / ARTCOTIC.
ARTCOTIC: How do you approach the start of the day?
MORGAN: Reluctantly! There is no distance as great as the space between under the covers and standing on your own two feet in the morning...
LIZ: Very carefully, I try to grab it by the tail before it grabs me!
SYLVAIN: Just try to make sure I wake up.
ARTCOTIC: What are some early music memories that still register?
MORGAN: Once when I visited Sylvain's (Bass player in Miss Derringer) family in France when we were like 10 years old the only music I had was a single of "Sweet Child of Mine" and the Police Greatest hits. I must have listened to those like 400 times, as it was the only words I could understand amongst all the French being spoken... Later on, The Ramones got me into playing music instead of just listening to it.
LIZ: DEVO and the Go-Go's my cousin used to book shows in long beach, he gave me a red devo hat, which I think I lost immediately, I was 7.
SYLVAIN: I remember when I was 14 and I got a 4 track and recorded my first song. It was the best feeling that a song that never existed suddenly did. Went on to sell a whopping 4 copies of the tape.
ARTCOTIC: What are you listening to these days? And how do you find new music?
MORGAN: I always listen to the Shangri-Las, I think their Shadow Morton-produced tracks are some of the most perfect songs ever recorded. I usually only find new music through friends. And occasionally on this weird little website called "Myspace". You may have heard of it?
LIZ: I listen to allot of audio books, I like fiction best, but really anything works. I never really went out and bought music, I've been in bands almost half my life, and I just found out about new bands through playing with them, or seeing friends bands play with them, like IAMX, we just recently opened for them, and they were awesome!!!
SYLAIN: Spleen United saw them in LA. Usually old stuff that I buy online. Nancy Sinatra, Shangri-Las, Ronettes, Cash, Hank Williams, Tammy Wynette. Also, sweet ambient metal band from Japan called Envy. IAMX!
ARTCOTIC: What were some of your most memorable venues/cities you've played? And why were they memorable?
MORGAN: Each place is great in its own way, and the people are usually why. Some of the cities I really enjoyed are Toronto and New York City. The last few show we did with IAMX are memorable to me because they were a lot of fun and it was really inspiring playing with a band as amazing and professional as them. I learned more in three days with them than in the past few months of playing!
LIZ: reggioo emillio italy, the people were so nice!!! We toured with the Draft but in Reggio the opening act was a big screen soccer match, which really got the crowed excited for our performance.
SYLAIN: I enjoyed Akron Ohio. The local team was in the NBA Finals and the opener was a younger band so the only people at the show was the younger band's family. They seemed to really enjoy it. It's nice to get the parents to rock out!
ARTCOTIC: In your influences you list spaghetti western movies, has Ennio Morricone influenced your music?
MORGAN: Totally. I don’t have any specific soundtrack he did, but probably when you say "Spaghetti Western" to someone they instantly hear a Morricone tune in their head without even knowing who he is. The music was as much a part of the Spaghetti Western experience as the movies, if not more. Plus the Ramones used to open their set with "The Good The Bad and The Ugly" blaring through the PA. I thought that was pretty cool when I was a kid.
LIZ: I don’t write the music so I can’t really answer that, but the landscapes from his movies do come to mind when I’m singing them.
ARTCOTIC: With less people in music retail stores, and more people downloading music, listeners aren't seeing the album cover art like they use to. Do you think the lack of visual representation is detrimental to the music industry?
MORGAN: I think there may be less people looking at printed album art nowadays, but I think that if anything there is more visual stimulus from band than ever before. With Myspace, etc people have access to limitless photos, artwork, fan art, etc. Before you only knew what the bands visual element was by looking at the liner notes and maybe if they had a video on tv. Now a band can get their visual element across instantly and update it constantly. As far as detrimental to the music industry - maybe it is, but that doesn’t necessarily mean detrimental to music.
LIZ: I think I've bought maybe 20 records in my life (I was a cassette person) but all of them were based on good cover art, so to me it did make a difference, but honestly the generation just a few years below mine I think has a different view on what music is and how its packaged, so many people used to brag about haw many feet their records took up, now its all in virtual measurements, and fits in the smallest possible players. and you can find all the info you want about the bands you like on the internet, where as before you depended on that piece of square.
SYLVAIN: There's still visual representation online (pictures etc). I think the quality of the physical product has to be even better in order to get people to buy it now. Overall yeah it's undeniable that cover art is losing traction.
ARTCOTIC: Your album "Lullabies" depicts an outlaw story...if the album was made into a movie, who would you want to direct the movie?
MORGAN: David Cronenburg. I think he could do violence and heartbreak and keep it understated... Though maybe Sophia Coppola - she could do it decadent and hip, but still keep it small and sad. Call them for me will, ya?
LIZ: I think I would like to see Sergio Leone & Sophia Coppola merge talents, since we're on the spaghetti western tip!
SYLVAIN: David Lynch. We've gotten a bunch of emails about that. I met two French waiters who were supposed to give him a copy at this restaurant he always ate at, but they both got deported before giving it to him.
ARTCOTIC: How has art influenced your music?
MORGAN: This is probably impossible to answer... Art has influenced a huge portion of my life, from being into art etc as a kid to going to art school to being in a relationship and married to Liz. The influences on the music of Miss Derringer have been visual, musical, literary, personal - and all of them are some sort of art to me. When I think of Miss Derringer I picture a frozen frame from a movie that is hanging on one note from its soundtrack and is hovering in the page of an open book. That probably doesn’t make sense, but it’s the closest I can think of to how art has influenced the music.
LIZ: I don’t know that’s its influenced it, but it gives me another outlet when I'm creatively stuck.
SYLVAIN: Me personally being around Morgan and Liz and other artist friends of theirs makes me think beyond a band as a group that simply just makes music. We make music, but everything else is important too, the outfits, the videos, the photography. Basically, making sure every endeavor is done in the most creative way possible.
ARTCOTIC: As both you (Morgan) and Liz are artists...are you able to dedicate enough time to both? And how do you find a happy medium between the two?
MORGAN: Liz is the artist! I like making art (Studied photography at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena) and do it when I can. I put work in group shows occasionally and shoot for magazines even more occasionally these days. I put most of my creative effort whether it be music or album/flyer/poster/photo/design stuff into Miss Derringer. Miss Derringer allows me to do all the different creative things I like to do, and have it be for one purpose.
LIZ: Well it’s been really hard since everything good decides to pop up all at the same time!! but for now I'm just going with whatever I committed to first, we had to turn down some tours because I have an art show coming up, which was a bummer, but I think now we have more of a direction and plan for the band, and with my art shows booked till 2009 we can plan tours around them so there will be less clashing and hopefully less stress, the silent killer.
ARTCOTIC: Do you have a favorite old t-shirt? If so what is it and do you still wear it?
MORGAN: I have a t-shirt from the 1979 Long Beach Grand Prix (Yes I got it from someone who got it at a thrift store many years after the fact.) I finally had to retire it this year because it is completely see through now. And no one wants to see man-nipples!
LIZ: Yes, my skeleton shirt by she-bible, it’s covered in paint now, but I wear it still all the time.
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Miss Derringer's "Black Tears" Ep is out now on Stay Gold Records please check it out...www.staygoldrecords.com
ARTCOTIC: How do you approach the start of the day?
ARTCOTIC: What were some of your most memorable venues/cities you've played? And why were they memorable?
ARTCOTIC: How has art influenced your music?