HEAVY BIRDS. HEAVY BIRDS. HEAVY BIRDS. As if I could fall any more in love with this NYC duo… after this interview I literally melted into a puddle of joy. They are just as passionate, kind and beautiful as the music they make. I cannot put into words how amazing Lia and Ryan Bourque- Mooney are…. so read on and you can decide how lovely they are.
Mary- Heavy Birds
MWL: What do you do when you’re not producing and performing music?
HB: Well, when we have free time we are usually always doing something involving music or art in general, but when it is to late to annoy our neighbors, we enjoy listening to records while we paint or scribble down some poetry. We also go to shows often, walk the city, or watch films. We also, both work jobs to pay for insane Brooklyn rent.
MWL: Amen to that. I know you are a couple, what came first music or love? Equal inspiration? This question is so vague, but I guess what I’m looking for is the band history in a nutshell…
Lia: We both were into music before we met eachother. I was performing and studying classical, and Ryan was writing and playing in a ”grunge-rock band”, but love came before we started this project. We moved in together, started throwing ideas around, and it was inevitable we’d be writing music together.
Ryan: I first saw Lia at a show in Cambridge and asked her to be in my band at the time.
Lia: He also proposed marriage to me.
Ryan: I just wanted and knew I had to be around her. When we eventually became closer, and when we had enough songs, we put a name to it.
HB: We decided to continue as a duo, to be together and work creativley on something. We also enjoy the same music, and both inspire eachother to become better artists, and create things we both enjoy.
MWL: Did you all have formal music training? Hobby? Passion?
Lia: Ryan learned from records, and played bass in his father’s wedding band.
Ryan: Lia has some classical training, and was playing in a piano trio when I met her that sounded, to me, like punk rock.
HB: This is definately a passion more than a hobby for us both. It’s a part of our relationship and lifestyle. We love playing out and recording music. This is just the beginning for us and we hope to grow and continue to work together for a very long time.
MWL: Who are your musical and non-musical influences? Other bands, unicorns, mass amounts of whiskey?
HB: Unicorns drunk on Whiskey. I think that’s a name of a club in Chelsea. Actually, we both are really into The Brian Jonestown Massacre. The body of work they’ve created and the work ethic of Mr. Anton Newcombe is really inspiring; he’s still experimenting and releasing all the time. We also just saw Ariel Pink live and he was great. The Velvet Underground, and Rolling Stones made a big impression on us, and are always on rotation in our home. And, William Blake.
MWL: Who is the primary songwriter for Heavy Birds?
HB: We both write the songs in equal parts. One of us will have and idea, then the other embelishes on that. Once we have a base, Ryan puts lyrics to it and Lia makes sure the whole thing sounds “cool.”
MWL: Any favorite tracks that you’ve recorded/played together?
HB: Our new single ‘Mary’. We recorded it togther live at Excello studios in Brooklyn with an amazing engineer Hugh Pool. He’s a great musician, and we used all analog gear and recorded to 2″ tape. He also introduced us to a Magnus chord organ that sounds real nice on the track. In fact, we liked the sound so much we found a used one later that week and bought it for our home recordings.
MWL: The first time I saw you live it was a very intimate set at Shea Stadium…. I found myself floating a few feet off the ground. Your chemistry is so… soothing and romantic. How would you describe your shows, visually and musically?
HB: We strive to stay very raw and honest, which makes every show a little different and interesting for us. Some shows are very song oriented, others are more primal, and some nights we drone the whole set. Visually, we hope our chemistry between each other translates, and we try not to wear matching sweaters, but the music is the most important thing.
Moon Child- Heavy Birds
MWL: What is the most f*ked up thing that’s ever happened at one of your shows?
HB: Smoke. Substance abuse. Ass cracks. An entire room chanting, stomping on the floor and pounding on the walls. Things kids don’t need to know about.
MWL: What’s the worst place you have ever played a show at, and why?
HB: There are a few, but we’ll plead the fifth on this one. Basically, any club where the sound person doesn’t “give a shit” and there’s a tough bouncer.
MWL: Any venue you love to play at?
HB: We love The Charelston on Bedford in Williamsburg. It has been there for a long time and is still a true punk bar. The staff is really great, the sound guy is really into it, and the stage is in the basement, so the audience comes down to specifically listen to the music. We always have fun there.
MWL: Favorite bands/musicians to jam with?
HB: We’ve been playing with the band DeGreaser a lot. We also have been playing with a drummer named Jim Laakso. He really listens to our music and doesn’t change the dinamics between us.
MWL: Anything in the making? Recording anything new, videos, planning any tours?
HB: We just finished two singles ‘Mary’ and ‘Moon Child’ at Excello, recorded by Hugh Pool and mixed by Hugh, Oliver Palomares, and us. They were mastered by Joe Lambert who did Deerhunter, etc. We are going to do a video for ‘Mary’, and we also plan on completing a full length by SXSW. As far as touring goes, we plan on making the trip to Austin, but we enjoy playing around Brooklyn and New York until more funding becomes available.
MWL: What are you listening to these days?
HB: Ariel Pink, Black Angels, BJM, Velvet Underground, and WQXR.
MWL: This question is heavy but MWL has a fresh outlook on the music industry and how labels are handled. What’s your outlook on the record industry today?
HB: We both like the fact anyone has the capability to create, record, and distribute music as they feel fit. While this does oversaturate things a bit, the dedicated musicians will always keep playing and trying to release what’s in their heads. We still believe going into a studio with great mics and professional sound people is a great thing to do, but artists without the funding to do this still have the tools now to create warm, good sounding records people can enjoy. Right now, we release our music independently, and it works for us, but being a part of a label is beneficial. Major Labels aren’t that important anymore, but a good indie label can help a band tremendously. They help create an audience or scene, and help alternative bands make albums and tour. We really like Sacred Bones, Mexican Summer, and BOMP. We hope to have more support soon because being on a label would afford us more time to focus on our music and become stronger, but we’ll always be creating and performing regardless. We just love music.
Coastal Roads- Heavy Birds
If you’re in NYC check Heavy Birds live on 10/29/11 @ Jay St. Bar or on 11/19/11 @ Local 269.
By: Katie McVeay| Beat-Play Ambassador New York | @crookedsunshine|Music Without Labels & Beat-Play, LLC