What is your first musical memory?
Eli: Well, this is kind of silly, but my parents and my aunt and uncle used to be in a folk band together in the 70’s and they would have band practice in a circle while I slept in the middle and when they would stop playing I would wake up and start crying.
What was the first album you owned?
Louisa: Debbie Gibson - Out of the Blue. I was intent on ‘beating’ her record of writing a pop hit at age 14 (“Only In My Dreams”) with “And Then I Saw Him,” which I wrote at age 5.
Were you not a musician, what would your profession be?
Temim: Well, still counting down the days ‘til music GETS to be my profession…! But I love writing, and always wish I had more time for it. I also love making food for massive amounts of people, but fear that despite my bakeshop/café/pickle house fantasies, it’s purely hobby.
What song do you wish you had written?
Louisa: “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers. It’s perfect every time.
What was the first concert you attended?
Louisa: Debbie Gibson in 1988 on the Electric Youth Tour. I was 6. I swore I didn’t understand the meaning of life until I saw her black-hatted silhouette on stage over the opening synth line of “Who Loves Ya Baby.”
What three bands or artists, dead or alive, would be part of your ultimate one-night concert performance?
Ian: Honestly, I don’t know how this would work out in terms of a line-up but I never got to see any of these people so it would go something like this - Nirvana, Johnny Cash and Nina Simone. There’s probably a million and 1 people I’d love to see on stage together, but if I could resurrect the dead I think that’d be who I’d pick.
What instrument would you like to play, that you currently cannot?
Eli: I would love to learn mandolin. It’s got the same strings and tuning as violin which would help make it easier, and then I’d love to learn some klezmer.
With whom would you like to collaborate?
Temim: Joss Whedon. Maybe a vampiric rock extravaganza with a political bent? I love that man.
Which one of your songs would you put in a time capsule?
Eli: Ha! Shondes time capsule! Well, that’s hard, but I think “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow”, the single off our new record, The Red Sea, would definitely be up there on the list. I love that big drama feeling when everything sinks into place, and the feeling of when everyone doing their own individual thing in the band comes together to make something that feels bigger than the sum of its parts.
What one album can you not live without?
Eli: Wow, that’s a really hard one. To be honest, there’s a bunch, but for the sake of the question, I don’t think I could go on without R.E.M.’s Automatic for the People.
Who was (or is) your biggest influence as a musician?
Ian: Obviously it’s pretty hard to narrow this down to just one, but I think if I had to it would probably be John Coltrane. For me, there is something really important about music that restores your faith in music and he does that for me - his versatility and bravery as an artist is really inspiring. When I’m feeling jaded about music, about choosing to do what I do, listening to him gets me excited about the possibilities available.
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The Shondes’ new album, The Red Sea is released January 8, 2008.
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