NOTICE
Question & Answer
with Amy Millan of Stars
Following the recent release of the EP Sad Robots, indie group Stars is touring the country and will make a stop in Lawrence tomorrow night at the Granada, 1020 Massachusetts St. With eclectic instrumentation and dual vocalists, Stars have a knack for creating beautiful and catchy music. Singer Amy Millan recently took time to chat with Jayplay.
Q: What do you do before you leave home to help you prepare for the road?
A: The pharmacy is the most important trip you'll make pre-tour. You set yourself up with a new toothbrush, maybe some nice lavender oil so your bunk doesn't smell like it's been slept in by some 60-year-old punk rock dude.
O: Do you notice a difference between crowds in the United States and crowds in other countries?
A: There are more Japanese people when we play in Japan. But generally we have quite a range of fans, and that seems to translate through most countries. You go from the teenager all the way to 50-year-olds. We cover a lot of ground age wise.
Q: The title track on the new Stars EP is in French. Have you guys done that before, and will you be doing it more in the future?
A: This would be our debut French song. I think that I just used up my entire French vocabulary in the one song, so I'll have to go back to school if I want to continue my ability to sing more songs in French.
Q: What's the writing process like for Stars?
A:The basis of all songs begin with Evan Cranley, Chris Seligman and Patrick McGee. They write the music. Either Torquil or I will come in and write the lyrics and try to form and structure the song from there.
Q: You guys seem like a very intimate group on stage.
A: What brings us together is the fact that we're always together. From the first moment that I walked into a space with Stars, they felt like family. With all that family brings the beauty and the pain, the arguments and the laughter. If it seems
Amy Milan will be rockin' out at the Granada Friday night with her band Stars.
that our chemistry is such, it's because we've been through a lot together; some of it great and some of it not so great.
O: You lived in Los Angeles for a while. How was living there different from living in your hometown of Toronto?
A: In LA, there's kind of a feeling that people are always looking over their shoulders for somebody famous to walk in, and then Screech from Saved by the Bell walks in. So that got a bit depressing for me. Some people love it. I have really great friends who live there and enjoy it. I'm not a car person. I like to walk the streets. I like to see the houses and neighborhoods, and I didn't have that feeling there. Everybody drives, and it just wasn't really for me.
Q: What do you like to do when you're not on tour?
A: Ride my bicycle. I love my bicycle.
Q: Is there a story behind the title of the song "Bitches In Tokyo?"
A. There's a very long story behind the title of that. It's full of intrigue and betrayal. But you just have to listen to the song.
—Sean Rosner
September 25,2008
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