We got to chill with the cool kids of indie-pop band Misterwives, after their private performance at Kipling’s “Make Happy” event on Wednesday April 8th, at Lightbox. The campaign was launched by the cheerful bag brand to inspire the desire to do kind deeds for others and ignite a feel-good attitude while having a blast — what better way! Hanging with the Kipling team is always a pleasure, but seeing Misterwives perform live [for the 1st time] was a real treat. Not to mention some alone time to dish. Hometown: New York (Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island)
What projects are you currently working on? We’ve been on our first headlining tour for the past couple of months, because we’ve released our first debut album. It’s been the most magical, surreal experience.. They’ve been the craziest shows. After this tour ends, we’re doing a college tour for like 3 weeks, then heading over to Europe for a pretty exciting project (France, Dublin, Amsterdam) — it’s a dream come true. And after that it’s just festivals till our Fall tour. How do you stay inspired? As far as playing, definitely the people that come out to see our shows. They’re the most loving, supportive, contagious energy that we’ve ever witnessed and been able to be a part of. They bring us to life. We inspire each other, and can’t imagine life without one another. We live together in Riverdale, and it just works.. serendipity. Is there anything you would say is challenging about this industry? Oh absolutely, everything. The industry tries to suck your soul and change who you are, for me (Mandy Lee) I’ve always just written music because it’s therapy, and now it’s all about ‘oh you have to write with other people, and ‘make hits’ and this and that. And ‘you gotta write pop songs, because it’s gonna be a hit’ and I’m like, eff that. I’m here to write music that connects with people. So, that was a bit of a struggle for me. We want to be who we are. But the people we work with are amazing, our team supports our music. We lucked out, they’re part of our family.
Who are your favorite artists (music-wise), what’s your song of choice before a big show? What gets you guys amped? We have a chant. (Mandy Lee:) [But] me, I grew up on Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, MoTown. We love No Doubt, Red Hot Chili Pepper, Daft Punk, LCD Soundsystem. But usually we’re all like kumbayah before a show, trying to collect ourselves. Any hidden talents? [Amongst the group] – Juggling..bowling..webbed toes(!)..donut making and cooking. What can we expect from you in the future? Honestly we just want to make music, and get to tour – that’s our only goal. It’s just the most pure thing. Another album.. multiple albums! And to have longevity in this. We really love what we’re doing. It’s hard to grasp what we’re doing now, so we just need to conceptualize [that and go from there]. But, if we could do this forever, [we’re good to go]. Maybe a fragrance. Or open a restaurant..
