Austin rock and rollers Being Dead put their two studio albums up on Nina, so now seems like a good time for us to take a stroll down memory lane with the band, which originally was composed of someone named Falcon Bitch and someone named Shmoofy, but later ballooned to include a third member named Ricky Motto. Whether or not these are actual government identifiers is not really the point. The history of Being Dead is shrouded in mystery, and the band’s responses to our relatively straightforward questions only deepened that sense. We were delighted to spend some time with the band, digital style; read their responses, and listen to both EELS and When Horses Would Run below.
What kind of music was inspiring your band early on?
Being Dead: Well, we used to lock ourselves in a room and blast construction site sounds, four-hour sessions, full blast, no breaks (all gas). We believed it helped scramble our brains up and prime them for optimum song assembly. After that phase, we connected on Animal Collective, Daniel Johnston, Pixies, The Velvet Underground, to name a few.
What was the scene like in Austin when Being Dead first started?
When we first started out, the scene was crawling with milfs and dilfs. It was extremely hard to concentrate on the music. Especially at shows! (Can you imagine?) Luckily, we developed a light show element that would temporarily blind us so we couldn't actually see the audience at all and wouldn't act up.
Related: What is the scene like in Austin right now? Any newer local bands you’ve been liking?
The scene is sexy, as always. So many great bands … Where to begin? J’cuuzi, Gummy Fang, Gus Baldwin and The Sketch, Haha Laughing, Luxury Television, Big Bill, among others! Gosh, so many darlings.
What role does comedy play in your band? Any favorite comedians?
You know what they say: “Laughter is the bedrock of friendship. And friendship is a ship that sails around the world relatively often.” We admire the rib-ticklering cast of the renowned American improv comedy television show, “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” Shout out Wayne Brade, Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie. Shout out Greg, Brad, Laura Hall, etc. We’re big fans of Patty Harrison, Tim Robinson, Conner O’Malley, Nathan Fielder, Veronika Slowikowska, and more, if you can believe it.
Has touring for many years changed how you think about writing songs?
No way. But it certainly determines what songs make it into the set. And it can be helpful for actually writing songs too.
Going way, way back: Can you remember some of the first bands you really loved growing up? Do those bands still inspire you in any way?
Backstreet Boys? My Chemical Romance? System of a Down? Steely Dan? Pixies? Nirvana? Joe Scruggs? They still inspire the crap out of us.
Any major non-musical influences at the moment?
The scream of v8 under the hood of a cherry red hot rod. Pure American muscle is our one and only escape.
What does the dream Being Dead collaboration look like? How about the dream concert situation?
Like many of our contemporaries we’re itching to work with P!nk. We’ve always dreamed of flying above the crowd doing flips and twirls in a harness suspended by invisible wires.
What is the official beverage of Being Dead?
Raw donkey milk … but we’ll settle for buzz balls.
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