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What Do Crocheting And Rock 'N' Roll Have In Common? Deap Vally

08/30/2013
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(Radio.com) What do crocheting and rock 'n' roll have in common? A lot more than one might imagine, according to Deap Vally's Julie Edwards. "Crocheting is very rhythmic when you get into it, " the drummer explained. "It's very, very tactile. It requires coordination, creativity and muscle memory." They're also the two things that brought Edwards and her bandmate, guitarist/vocalist Lindsey Troy, together.

The two met in 2011 at a crochet class taught by Edwards and after bonding over basic stitches, they discovered a mutual love of the blues. Neither of the women were actually playing blues music at the time�Edwards was making weird experimental rock with her band Pity Party, while Troy was playing "morose folk" on her own�but both said it was in their blood.

Troy grew up listening to a lot of '90s rock and "really bad '90s folk music," but thanks to her parents she was exposed to a slew of really talented blues musicians. "My parents would sometimes put up bands. Great blues vocalists and guitarists would stay with us," she said. "I'm sure that had an impact on me at a young age."

When Edwards was younger she lived and died for musical theater, spending a lot of time with the West Side Story soundtrack. But thanks to her cool older brother�who currently plays guitar in the band Autolux�she started listening to classic rock and thinking about making music of her own.

Edwards had been singing and dancing since she was a kid, but she didn't start playing drums until she was 25. The late bloomer says it was Carla Azar�the drummer for Autolux, who also tours with Jack White as part of his female-only band�who inspired her to finally get behind the kit. "I wouldn't have known how high the bar was set if I didn't know Carla," Edwards admitted.

Being two women in a band, they're used to the sexism that goes with it. But it's not something that brings them down. "I feel like we kind of flaunt our femininity," Troy said. "It's not something we're trying to hide or downplay. For us it's empowering."

Edwards agreed: "I think we like to play off what people expect. People see us walk out and they think whatever they're going to think, but they're never prepared for what we actually play in front of them and I think that's pretty awesome."

The band likes to tackle female taboos in their music, like on the song "Walk of Shame. They turn the tables and make the dreaded morning after walk home into an empowering strut.

"We just want to break this concept open, 'What is this a walk of shame?'" Edwards said. "It's this stupid concept, 'Look at her, she's on a walk of shame.' Why? Is a guy ever on a walk of shame? Not as much, because guys don't usually wear makeup and I think part of what contributes to the shame is like the smeary makeup and the heels, like the clear thing that you didn't go home last night." more

Radio.com is an official news provider for antiMusic.com.
Copyright Radio.com/CBS Local - Excerpted here with permission.

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