What were some of your first musical influences and what are some of your current influences? Are there any bands you connected with when you were younger that you still really like? How about the opposite?

Leisy: The first two cassette tapes I sought out and bought as a kid were (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis and Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? by the Cranberries. I still love and listen to both of these records, though I'm definitely more of a Blur guy now. 

Morris: I know it sounds cheesy to say it since we now have toured with them a few times, but Built to Spill was really influential for me in high school. I hadn't been listening to anything like that before, and it still stands the test of time for me. They are still making really amazing records and are inspiring in terms of how they operate in the music world and in how they stay true to themselves. I mostly listened to oldies growing up, and a lot of folk. Then I had a country phase, then I had a pop punk phase. A band I loved who did not stand the test of time would be Blink-182. 

Paul: Definitely grunge but I also was welcomed into the DIY/underground punk scene in NW Washington. I would regularly attend shows in Anacortes, WA at the Department of Safety and even played my first show there, opening for Kickball. The Anacortes/Seattle/Olympia DIY community has this great way of welcoming younger musicians, and I'm grateful that they opened up their arms to me. I would fall in love with so many bands that came through Anacortes playing What The Heck? Fest and Unknown Fest. This community is very much still a part of my life today. 

What was the process like for recording phone home? How long were these songs on the docket before you recorded them?

Leisy: The songs were all written fairly quickly between tours back in the winter and spring of 2014. We tracked the record at Jackpot! with Larry Crane in August of that year, and then sat on the recordings for quite a while. Maggie and I then did a bunch of overdubs nearly a year later at our friend Clayton's studio, The Trash Treasury. We weren't really sure who should mix the tunes for a bit, but we had started to develop a relationship with Benjamin Weikel and Brandon Summers from The Helio Sequence, and they seemed like a pretty natural fit to mix and develop the tunes further. 

Paul: Recording fast is always a feat I'm amazed we can do, especially when you're a working band that is paying for studio time, mixing, etc. I think we did a good job and I'm proud of it. I was very happy with the mixing done by The Helio Sequence. They rule. 

It feels to me like the songs on Phone Home are a little more subdued than the stuff on Get Lost—like, there are less “guitar hero” moments, the drums have a deader sound and everything feels more structured and pop-oriented. Was that a conscious decision?

Leisy: Maybe? I think for a while now we've been trying to make our songs work together better. I think early on, we'd write a lot of parts that were maybe competing with each other a little bit. As we've written/worked/toured together more and more we've tried to write parts that are more complimentary to the song. Also, we were just kind of on a dream pop kick while working on these songs, so there's a little more chorus/synth-sounding guitar and maybe less SHRED. We've brought the shred ’n guitarmony back for the new batch of songs we are working on, though.

Morris: I would agree with that. I think our writing style was more collaborative at the time so it just had a jammier, guitar rock kinda vibe. Most of the songs were written at practice and maybe weren't as classically-structured. We also were a brand new band and just kinda trying out everything we could think of. I feel like we are honing in on more of a cohesive style while still being open to doing whatever the hell we want.

Paul: Yeah, this record is definitely a big collaborative jam. It's nice to be able to have one of those on the roster. 

What are some things besides music that influence your creative process?

Leisy: Sometimes I'll get a really good nights sleep and just be so creative. I love sleep.

Morris: Physical activity, adventure, doing something meditative...having the perfect balance of social life and quiet times to reflect. I get a lot of ideas while walking or riding my bike and doing things like that. I recently just started jamming with one of those rotating, multicolored lights, and it is super fun and adds a sense of energy to a time when I'm otherwise mostly just standing around playing guitar. It really gets you in the mood.

Paul: I love projects and being able to just do things that raise the awareness of an issue. I'm Native American and I am very connected to my heritage and have a lot of ongoing projects that involve that. 

Do you have plans to record another LP? Is Phone Home indicative of the direction you’re headed in?

Morris: We are writing the next LP now and hope to have it recorded by the end of April. I think Phone Home is a very clear step in the direction we are headed in terms of quality of production and recording style, but song-wise we are exploring some new territory for this album. We only have about half of it so far, so I am pretty excited to see where we end up myself!

For more profiles on up-and-coming artists, visit our Artist of the Day page.