Phill 0:05
I've had the honor of calling this guest a friend, when people still listen to cassettes. One of my first memories was when she had her own zine and made her own politically-driven t-shirts in high school against animal cruelty. She was also nice enough to have my first high school band NQP play our first show in her backyard. Years later, she let me chill backstage with her band Au Revior Simone during the Japan tour. So yeah, I would like to welcome a hero I call by their first name, Annie.
Annie 0:42
Hey, Phill.
Phill 0:44
So what's going on? Yeah, how is everything going? I know we chatted a little bit before this. But um, yeah, how's life in general. We haven't, I think spoken for a couple of years.
Annie 0:56
I think it was since backstage
Phill 0:58
Yeah, Yeah, that was likeWas 10 years ago.
Annie 1:01
Are you kidding me?
Phill 1:02
Yeah, yeah.
Annie 1:03
I thought I like Okay. Yes. Like, objectively I can see that, but it feels like maybe two years ago.
Phill 1:09
Yeah. Yeah. Right. Yeah. It does. It definitely does. Yeah. I just I started my new job at that, you know, at that time, so it's about 10 years ago.
Annie 1:19
Oh my God.
Phill 1:19
Yeah. Time flies.
Annie 1:21
Damn...
Phill 1:23
So, so yeah. Um, so like, you know, as I, you know, mentioned before, like, this podcast is just, you know, like, like, a feel good podcast. And, you know, it's really made for, you know, some of my students or, you know, teachers that want to, you know, have students practice listening to, you know, a regular conversation in English.
Annie 1:43
Yeah, I think it's, I don't want to interrupt but like, I've been trying to brush up on my Spanish. And I don't know if you know, I in college, I went on exchange, the University of Puerto Rico.
Phill 1:53
Yes.
Annie 1:53
And I got like real good in Spanish. And I was so excited and like now I watch TV and now my little brother's wife, she's Dominican, and her whole family speaks Spanish. And I like clam up, I get so shy. I can like kind of like be like, Hey, can I get a glass of water but like, I'm like, so shy. And then I've been listening to these like maybe like semi conspiracy theory, podcasts about like the history of Mexico City in Spanish. But like, I was thinking, like, if only the podcast, like had a transcript, then it would be such a great tool for me, because sometimes they're talking about like, I don't know all these technical, like weird sci fi words. And I'm like, What are they talking about? Or slang? So I don't know. I just feel like this is such a great idea for English learners to like, actually hear a conversation because that's the hardest thing to learn.
Phill 2:47
Yes, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Yeah. So if anybody is out there that is listening, that wants to do the similar thing in espanol go for it.
Annie 2:57
Por favor. Yo nesicito mucho.
Phill 3:03
Awesome All right. Um, yeah, yes so I guess you know I'm I don't know if you listened to the- this is like the fourth (fifth) podcast that will come out. So yeah, I'd just like to talk about just um you know kind of celebrate our friendship, celebrate you because you're awesome, and just yet kind of talk about kind of your artistic life I guess. That's what this first, I guess, season––you know whatever happens with it but um yeah, I'm just trying to talk more about with my with my friends and the people in my life that are very artistic or that you know, I connected with through like art and stuff because it's something that I'm really into. So yeah, yeah, so we met I would say what a 9th? 9th grade maybe.
Annie 3:50
In 9th grade. Yeah,
Phill 3:50
Yeah. So at that time, yeah, like, yeah, What were you doing? like what what kind of got you into music? I think that is how we first connected I think,
Annie 4:01
Yeah, I yeah, definitely through the punk scene and hardcore music. I always played music since I was little. And I've always like been obsessed with playing keyboards and I never really took lessons and I never, even to this day, like, it's still really hard for me. I you know, we took so many music classes and I think we were in jazz band together and like all this stuff, and like I always felt like, it was such a struggle for me to play music, like even like I did like vibraphone, but I would have to practice like two hours a day what other people would get so quickly, and I learned later, like in my senior year of high school that it was because I couldn't see. I needed glasses, and I didn't know.
Phill 4:43
No way, are you kidding me? Really?
Annie 4:45
Yeah, I couldn't see the music and like Yes, I'm also a slow learner, but it was just like, I was like, "Why can everybody just like see these things so quickly? There's so much smarter than I am."
Phill 4:56
You just needed a glass. The whole time.
Annie 4:57
I just needed glasses. I know... So I kind of missed out on like that becoming so natural to me. But, um, but but I always like, have been, like just inspired to play just for the joy of the sound. But it wasn't until like much later that I felt like at all ever comfortable playing publicly but like so at the time that we met, like what really turned me on about music was like, finding the hardcore scene. I'm sure this was like this for you like growing up on Long Island. I felt like such an outcast.
Yup, yup.
Even though and you were super popular and I had a lot of friends. And like we were very social but there was like kind of like this emotional island sensibility of like all these people are just living these lives that are so superficial, mean nothing, or they're interested in the mall or like watching a football game which is like fine, enjoy it, but that's not what life is and then, like, you know, I think just about at the same time we found this whole scene, this community of people who cared about the environment, they cared about animal rights, they cared about urban sprawl, they cared about war and non violence. And I was like, Whoa, what was this like, secret network happening under the fabric of like, perhaps the most superficial, stereotypical suburbia in America? Like, Long Island.
Phill 6:26
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, Long Island. It doesn't get more suburban sprawl than that.
Annie 6:30
Yeah, maybe not Brown with so much though. But um, yeah, exactly. But as far as places go total that so that was like, just so exciting. And I remember going to shows with you and Jeff and Chris and Ricky, and like, just really, you know, just seeing this network and how music can foster this community of like zines network, communications, political rights. And yeah, so that's what really got me into it.
Phill 7:05
Yeah, well awesome. And thanks for sharing like, that's like one of my first not my first memory but I just remember you and I just think about you. I just remember like, you- you- I think you have like the like the punk-skinhead-girl haircut, I think for awhile I think your hair- head shaved. And you would have like, you know, make your own t shirts, you know, against animal cruelty and you were like vegan in high school, right?
Annie 7:28
Yeah. Or at least vegetarian?
Phill 7:29
Yeah, I thought- yeah, I remember. I think so. I thought you made that shit up. Like I thought like, you just created it and I was like, "Is that even possible?"
Annie 7:40
Oh like that was so far out to you were like, "Somebody was like, not eat animals?"
Phill 7:45
I didn't know. I didn't know it was possible. Like, I was like, "Can you survive?" I was worried like, "Is this possible?" I thought it was cool. And I you know, like, you know, I was like, Yeah, "I don't want to kill animals and stuff either." You know, like, if I don't have to wear leather or you know like that's fine. Like I thought that was great, but I thought you made it- I thought you created this whole thing. And then I went to my first shows and I was just like, "Oh, wow, this is like possible..." and, you know, like, vegan- different-, like, you know, things would blow up. I would say- like in the middle, like the mid 2000s with like, you know, everything started, you know, you know, like, you know, people started eating hummus and like, vegan creamcheese
Annie 8:23
Yeah, yeah, yeah.,
Phill 8:24
But you know, yeah, like the mid 90s. Like, yeah, like, wasn't till I went to my first show, and I realized that "Oh, wow. Yeah, this is the thing..." like, I literally thought you made it up yourself. I was like, This is so cool.Yeah, so like, what-
Actually I guess I did make it up, Phill...
Annie 8:46
Oh, you know, the famous story of like, why I became a vegetarian, right?
Phill 8:50
No, no, I don't know why.
Annie 8:51
Well, the first thing that happened was in seventh grade. You didn't go to West but we had a teacher Mr. Feldman, who is now like in a meditation group with my parents, but that's like another story. Mr. Feldman- I was like, I didn't want to dissect a frog. And he was like-, I was like, "I can't kill an animal or hurt an animal." He's like, "but you eat meat, right?" And I was like, "Whoa..." Interesting point, Mr. Feldman. So I gave it me for like a week. And then I was like, whatever. This means nothing to me. And then like, about a year later, it's eating a pork- like pork chops with Paul Michael, for some reason, my little brother and I were like, sitting eating pork chops alone at the dinner table. And I like looked at the pork chop and I was like, "Oh, my God. Paul, Michael. This is a. Dead. Pig." And he's like, yeah, it's delicious.
Phill 9:51
It's sounds just like your brother.
Annie 9:54
Is so my brother. So that was when I stopped because like, I don't know, it's somehow just like occurred to me that it was. A dead body and I was like, Oh, that's actually really gross.
Phill 10:05
It is if you think about even us, especially if we don't have to do it now, like, you know, we don't have to do it.
Annie 10:11
Yeah. Now they got that genetically modified plant material you can that.
Phill 10:14
Yeah, yeah. Go for it, man. But, uh, yeah, so like, and you've maintained that, like, consistently, right?
Annie 10:23
Well, kind of when I was pregnant with my son, I was touring a lot like touring a lot a lot. I like yeah, became a passable thing. Like I would say, like in Germany and America and like Canada, you could be a vegetarian, but like, if you went to France, or Portugal or Spain, people literally, like, couldn't understand like what you were trying to say. And like, I ended up just eating like bread and cheese. And I was like, Oh, damn, like, I'm gonna kill my kid.
Yeah, you gotta be careful.
Yeah, 'cause we were touring and I was pregnant. We toured for about maybe four, six months of my pregnancy
Phill 11:03
Wow that's long tour, wow.
Annie 11:04
Yeah, well, yeah, on and off. So um, yeah, so I kind of just gave up and I was like, Alright, I gotta eat chicken like or this kid's gonna die. Like no sleep, no food, like, yeah, so he turned out to be very intelligent, healthy child.
Oh, Greatt. Okay.
Yeah, but I'm mostly vegetarian, like, mostly like, I probably eat meat or like fish like maybe once or twice a month.
Phill 11:29
Mm hmm. Yeah, yeah. No, I mean, um, you know, at this think, you know, it's it's such- you know, I'm not like- I don't want to get anybody mad but I think you know, being too militant about it is not- might to be the most psychologically healthy thing.
Yeah, for you or anybody around you.
Yeah, exactly. But, you know, I know my brother-in-law. I like what he does with his families. Like they'll have like, you know, no meat Monday, and
Annie 11:55
Oh, that's amazing. That's so good for the environment.
Phill 11:58
Mm hmm, exactly. So you His approach is more environmental––he's German. Yeah.
Ah, see-
So you kind of have to eat meat or something if you live there with the sausages and stuff.
Annie 12:08
Yeah, but people there are actually there's so many like vegetarian grocery stores and like, like all these like alterna-meats, like, I remember the first time I went there, I was like, Whoa, like these people. There's like a huge like, kind of like, quote unquote, health food like contingent in Germany.
Phill 12:25
Yeah, you know, Lee lives there.
Annie 12:27
Oh, that's right.
Phill 12:29
Yeah, I visited him last- I went there last year. Yeah.
Annie 12:31
Oh,
Phill 12:33
Yeah. He'll be he'll be a guest as well soon so
Annie 12:35
I love Lee.
Phill 12:36
I'm sure you'll come up. But yeah, yes. So um, okay, so you found- Sorry, so like when I get back on track? Oh, yeah. Yeah. So I can talk. So, here you are, you know, you've always been into music. You You know played the vibraphone through high school Green Machine and jazz band. And then at the same time, you know, you kind of, you know, just had this kind of urge not to, for lack of a better word, do what everybody else- or for a lack of a better term do what everybody else was doing, like going to the mall or listen, listening to New Kids on the Block or NSYNC*, whatever, I don't know what was big at the time. And, you know, you kind of found, "Oh, wow, there's like this whole scene of people" that you know, get together are politically active or thinking about the world in a similar way that that you were in this you know, kind of influenced you know, how you eat and how you think, and also like your music choices and stuff. So, yeah, like did this- How did this, I guess, influenced you like, artistically like, because you expressed yourself in lots of different ways. So yeah, like what moved you like?
Annie 13:55
I can't say that I was influenced or copied. anything really in the, in that scene like it was more like what the scene did for me was just kind of validate that societal norms don't really mean anything if there's no reason behind them. Like, I love that there's, there's a societal norm like not to murder people. I love that there's a societal norm that like, you say, "Bless you" when somebody sneezes, like I love those kinds of societal norms that like bring kindness, and, you know, an ease of movement within society, but I do not love societal norms that are like, okay, people don't vote because they don't understand what it means, you know, so, so things that are arbitrary and not contributing to the betterment of the group. I feel like what that scene did for me was like, validate that like, you just do what you want. And it was also like, I feel like also the fact that I was really kind of enabled to to be like whatever quote unquote a freak because I felt so much support in the community of our high school. Like so many people have these horror stories of high school getting picked on or getting beat up. But my story was like, Oh, actually, I got nominated for prom queen.
Phill 15:17
Yeah.
Annie 15:21
And like I wasn't I was definitely awkward. I was like, not like a cool
Phill 15:27
Yeah, yeah.
Annie 15:28
I it was more like people were like, "Oh, she's like, so weird. That's interesting."
Phill 15:36
Yeah, it is interesting- Yeah, that's right. Yeah, 'cause it's so hard to explain. I think our you know, the situation that we were in i think it's it's not- wasn't it was not similar to I think many other schools, I think right?
Annie 15:51
I feel like Brentwood was so like hyper diverse, and not even like, ethnically but also just like culturally like it was such a huge school. It was such a like a huge school like, that was just so pivotal for me like I was so lucky. Like as much as I hate on Long Island constantly, like what I really loved about going to Brentwood was that you could see that every different, like, whatever now would be like a stereotype ethnic group or whatever. There's like the nerds in that group, though. Like video gamers in that group. There's like the band kids in tha group. There's the theater kids, like, it doesn't matter. And I think that was like the biggest asset of Brentwood was that, like, there were so many people there that like, the nerd kids could thrive in their nerd-dom and then like the theater kids could thrive in their theater-dom. And yes, there was like some conflict, but I feel like what the conflict was was like, usually like between jocks like, the rest of us are just like, "Uh duh..."
Phill 16:51
Like, "whatever." Yeah. That's so true.
Annie 16:55
Who got into fights? Like did you ever get into a fight? I was always like, "Who'sfighting? Like that stupid."
Phill 17:02
Never. Never ever.
Annie 17:05
I do remember lots of fights. There were fights in school
Phill 17:09
Tons.
Annie 17:10
I don't know.
Phill 17:12
Me neither. Yes. So true. People getting jumped and stuff like, I was like, "Oh Yo, man, I saw somebody get jumped"
Annie 17:17
Oh yeah. It's always like the big, "At five corners they're gonna jump him!"
Phill 17:24
Yeah so yeah- Oh man is the're- aight, man is so so many like memories that's coming back of um- Yeah but yeah we definitely like sidestepped a lot of that stuff and I guess was through music, right? And um but, like, did you only do band did you do art classes as well?
Annie 17:43
You know I didn't do art class and there's I was in like the video. I did do the media right? Yeah in the media class edit on the VHS cassette, the VHS tapes, which actually I use those skills to this day, like I edit my own music videos and everything. Awesome, and I love it. And when people tell me like, wow, you're really good editor. I was like, "Well, I did when best editor in 12th grade...yeah, that's why."
Phill 18:13
Yeah, that's so cool. That's Yeah, um, yeah, go on, sorry.
Annie 18:16
No, I was just gonna say yeah, and like, I just feel like after I left Brentwood, and I would meet people from Long Island, they would be like, "Oh, you're from Brentwood and kind of give me the side eye" or they were, like, scared of me. The were like, "Oh my god. I'm sorry. Oh..."2, I'm like, not a dangerous place. In fact, Bretwood when was like, it was amazing. Like, we had this media class or we have band class and we- you know, it's like, I learned so much there.
Phill 18:47
Yeah.
Annie 18:48
Teachers who were good. were like, really inspired. We had a lot of good teachers.
Phill 18:54
Yeah, they really did. Yeah, and as a teacher now myself, you know, learning how learning works. Like, I guess, I don't know if the teachers knew what they were doing, but they would they just were just on point. And I think, um, yeah, it was just- it influenced how I teach, like, they were just willing to listen to us, they encouraged us to give us freedom, you know, they let us you know, just kind of, you know, play and learn through that in a creative and kind of caring and nurturing way, you know?
Annie 19:26
Yeah.
Phill 19:27
Yeah. That's cool. Yeah. So yeah, immediate, quite the same with me. You know, media. You know, I yeah, I was in the media class, Mr. Lane and Mr. Rogers.
Annie 19:35
Oh, my God. I forgotten their names. Wait were we in the same class?
Phill 19:43
I don't know. Cool. I was in class with Adam.
Annie 19:47
I was in the class with Faith?
Phill 19:51
Yeah. I wasn't in a Faith in class. Yeah. Yeah. Wasn't in her class.
Annie 19:53
You weren't- Okay. So you were in the other class. Yeah, I was in the class with Jackie. We were partners.
Phill 19:58
Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. actually joined because I like Jackie.
Annie 20:03
So that's why you joined Media?
Phill 20:04
Yes, yes. Yeah.
Annie 20:07
That's a great reason to join media.
Phill 20:12
Yeah, I remember that I was like, "Oh man, she's a media I want to be the same class as her" and then I got in, and then they put me in the other class. I was like, "Oh, that sucks." Yeah, but it influenced my life in so many ways. Like, you know, it really, you know, like you said, like, those skills, those editing skills and I just, I just was talking to Erinn and just like, having that responsibility to like be director to be sound person, to be camera person, and sharing that with other people like, kind of gave me like, you know, management skills as well and stuff throughout life. So...
Annie 20:46
Yeah, it's crazy, right? What you can like, give to a kid and then they're suddenly like, Oh, that's how the world works. Mm hmm. And then, and then it just like opens it up because like, yeah, you can't really learn anything. thing without the experience like it just seems like this mystery set of rules until you like, just go out and do it.
Phill 21:07
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
Annie 21:09
Yeah.
Phill 21:10
That's that's so cool. Yeah, so yeah. big ups to Brentwood.
Yeah, way to go to go Brentwood.
Yeah, man, I love it.
Annie 21:17
I love that place. I do love it.
Phill 21:19
So, um, so yeah, so Okay, so boom. We're High School. And, you know, senior year, you know you get nominated for for prom queen.
Annie 21:32
Lost to somebody I had never heard of.
Phill 21:35
I don't know. I didn't go to prom
Annie 21:36
Bummer. You know who my prom date was?
Phill 21:39
Who?
Annie 21:39
Jeff
Phill 21:41
Oh, really?
Annie 21:42
Jeff. Love him.
Phill 21:44
Awesome.
Annie 21:45
Best prom date ever.
Phill 21:48
That's so cool that I didn't know- I totally forgot about that. Yeah, I didn't go.
Annie 21:52
You didn't go.
Phill 21:53
I like I saved the money. And I was like, I could use this for other things.
Annie 21:58
Yeah. Such as this 40oz.
Phill 22:05
That's awesome. Okay, yeah, that's so cool. And yeah, we got- speaking about like, like being like, not like- not in like the popular crowd I guess whatever you want to call it. Gregg, my friend Gregg won prom king that year.
Annie 22:19
Oh, yeah.
Phill 22:20
Yeah. And I was- like we like you know, we like it was like a like an "F- You" to like all the popular kids. It sucks that you know we had to use Gregg as an avatar for that but...
Annie 22:32
Gregg was a good guy I think.
Phill 22:35
Yeah, yeah he was good, yeah.
Annie 22:38
I never really like super hung out with Gregg but I always said hi to him in the hall.
Phill 22:43
Yeah. Oh yeah, I forgot about that.
Annie 22:44
I think I voted for him,
Phill 22:46
Awesome, yeah, thank you. We had a whole campaign.
Annie 22:50
Oh, that for Ross.
Phill 22:52
Yeah, Ross. 'cause you were Sonderling. Oh that's right. There's two different ones. That's right. Yeah. All right. Cool.
Annie 22:58
That's probably why I was not nominated there were like so many people nominated because there was so many people.
Phill 23:05
Yeah that's so true. Right, oh man. All right. All right. So then what happened next? I think that's- we kind of went our separate ways and pretty much after high school.
Yeah, sadly. Sadly.
Annie 23:19
Yeah, I went to Hunter College in- part of CUNY. Yeah. Yeah, I got a full scholarship. So you know-
Phill 23:26
Awesome. Congrats.
Annie 23:28
Gotta take that. So yeah, I went there and I ended up studying media actually, um, but it was like media criticism. So I studied how to analyze the media and I also minored in women's studies. Okay, so I was kind of like looking at this like feminist perspective of, kind of like film history, and you know, just how women are presented in the media. But the truth was, I was part of this like, quote, unquote, honors program, but what that program really meant was that like, you didn't really have to study anything. You could study everything. And like nobody really cared because like you were gonna be fine. And like, yeah, as a consequence, I don't really have, like deep fundamental knowledge of anything, Phill. Sure, like, I read Bell Hooks and wrote, like 20 essays on her, but like, do I actually like remember? 20 years later. No, not really. You got to stay on top of those things. Uh, yeah. So I went there and then I ended up working- and that's actually like- to talk about like, just like going ahead and doing it like part of Hunter College program. They have like an exchange program specifically with the University of Puerto Rico and you know, front one is so Puerto Rican that like I instantly befriended all the exchange students and like, we're all like hanging out and one of them was like, "Yo, Annie like, you should go Puerto Rico next year" and I was like, "Wait, what are you talking about? I've never been on an airplane like, that's not possible. And all the classes are in Spanish. Like, that's just not gonna happen." And she was like, "No, you just never know until you try. I'll be there, I'll help you." And she basically convinced me and like, I just took this leap of faith. And I feel so grateful for that experience, because that was when- that like, that just continued what we're saying like with the media, like, you just go in and you just do it, and you're just like, "Oh, this is how the world works. Like, you can literally do anything."
Mm hmm.
Yeah, I'm sure. Wow, you probably had a similar thing when you went to Japan
Phill 25:39
Yeah. Yeah,
Annie 25:41
Right. You're just like, okay, here I am.This is happening.
Phill 25:46
This Yeah, exactly. Right. Okay. Okay. This is happening. All right. I'm still breathing. I could move and do things.
Annie 25:53
Got a headache from thinking in another language all day, but...
Phill 26:00
Yeah, so yeah. How was that? Like How was- like because I, you know, I'm my mom's from- mom is Puerto Rican, but actually never had a chance to go.
Annie 26:07
Oh, Phill! Yeah. It's so cool. I was actually on Google Maps last night, like looking at all my old hangouts and seeing like, how they still look. I miss Puerto Rico so much like, it was kind of messed up, because you can really see firsthand like, how American colonialism can just like gut a place and like, you know, like, put in factories then like boop, pull out the factories and put in Burger Kings. Like, that's all you got. And kind of like leaving you high and dry now. And so that was really interesting to see. And like, you know, again, it's like you can read all about like, what Americans do, but then when you go and like, see firsthand, you're like, "Oh, like that's the consequence of like, you know, no education budget and like, you know, whatever", but it also like, you know, it's like a thriving, beautiful place where like people care about each other and like, you know, there's like, much like Brentwood, there's like so many different like, groups like, you know, I- were I was I was at the university, and it was like very socialist. So my education was extremely socialist and that's probably why I saw the colonial angle because I had all these like anti-American professors teaching me the history of Puerto Rico and I'm like, Whoa, we did that. And then we put that law and then we like, you know, change like your whole structure of your society just like for our benefit, like
Phill 27:43
Even agriculture, right? They did-.
Annie 27:44
Yeah.
Phill 27:45
With the sugar they did all the- yeah it's messed up.
Annie 27:47
Oh, my God, like over and over again. So, yeah, so I don't know I really, I really appreciated that experience because it really brought in the depth of my perception of the world, you know, and how and how things work and, yeah, it's a cool place and it's like so such a beautiful country like like it's this tiny island and there's like seven different biomes there
Phill 28:15
Yeah, that's right because that the mountainous region, right yeah, that's right
Annie 28:18
You got deserts you got swamps. You got like beach you got rain forest, like everything yeah. And then mountains they have like, you know have this amazing like telescope up in the mountains can observatory. It's a it's a cool place. But yeah, I came back. Actually, I started playing music before I went there I worked in this bookstore. And another thing that like I just did, my friend was like, "Hey, yeah, we're starting a band and you're gonna be the singer and playing guitar" and I was like, "Oh, wait, wait."
Phill 28:53
That's awesome.
Annie 28:53
Phill, I can't sing and nor do I know how to play guitar.
Phill 29:02
Seems like it worked out for you, though in the long run
Annie 29:04
In the long run. And I think that's like just like one of the benefits of just like going with the flow and like, yeah, yeah. Thank you Jocelyn and Son-bin.
Phill 29:17
So like, Yeah, wow. How was that band experience? That's a sounds- so were you singing in Spanish or?
Annie 29:24
Well, I actually did- well, so that started in New York, but Okay, my bandmate was she- Well, she was half Puerto Rican and half Dominican, and then also of Korean bandmate also a Cuban bandmate. It was a very international kind of thing.
Phill 29:36
That's cool.
Annie 29:37
We're all New Yorkers though, we're all New Yorkers, you know, but, um, but there were some songs in Spanish. That's why I was screaming of everybody's ethnic background, but that was Yeah, that happened after I came back from Puerto, 'cause I was really like, into Spanish.
Phill 29:52
That's awesome. That's so, cool.
Annie 29:54
Yeah, it was a terrible band, Phill.
I was. I'm a really bad singer.
Phill 30:02
I don't think so.
Annie 30:03
I was really bad. But the thing is, I was really brave. So like that like made up for it.
Phill 30:10
I like that. Yeah. So, you know, you were really bad but brave. I think that's, um, that's a good way to approach a lot of things, I think.
Annie 30:19
Yeah, but not if you want any fans.
Phill 30:24
Wow. Okay, that's that's so cool. That's so cool. So yeah, from Brentwood, from the Green Machine, jazz band, to Hunter College, you know, writing essays on Bell Hooks and doing you know, film, you know, analysis from a, you know, feminist standpoint. Then all of a sudden your an exchange student in Puerto Rico. Yeah. Do that for a year?
Annie 30:48
Yeah, a year. And then I came back in 2001 and then our band restarted and we kept playing shows
Phill 31:00
That was- yeah go on, sorry.
Annie 31:01
No, I was gonna say yeah, and we just like kind of like morphed band members for a while including having like two bassists it's like one on like an acoustic bass with it. And then our other friend on like electric bass
Phill 31:15
How did that sound?
Annie 31:16
And then me playing guitar and no drummer.
No drummer?
Phill 31:24
That's a little bit too avant garde, maybe.
Annie 31:26
Oh my God, and we were playing like punk songs.
Phill 31:33
Do you have any CDs or anything?
Annie 31:35
We do have some CDs. I don't know if I can send them to you. They're so bad, but I think-
Phill 31:42
I can cut them into the into the episode.
Annie 31:45
I'm like, blushing. I'm blushing so hard right now. I'm revealing too much. It's because I feel so comfortable around you.
Phill 31:53
Sorry. Oh, that's so cool, though. I mean, you know, it's um, yeah so, so that was kind of like, like a lot of people moving to Brooklyn- were you in Brooklyn at that time already?
Annie 32:07
No, I was still living- well, at that time- So when I lived at Hunt- when I went to Hunter, I lived in the dorms, so that was in Manhatten.
Okay.
Phill 32:14
I ended up moving to Brooklyn. Okay, so I ended up marrying the guy, so don't think that I'm a jerk here. But I met this guy who opened up for my band at ABC No Rio. So I was gonna go to, like, hang out on the West Coast with my best friend and I was like, "Hey, I need to like leave my stuff somewhere. Can I leave it at your apartment?" He was like, "Yeah, no problem." And then now we're married.
Awesome. Good move.
Annie 32:50
Good move. Uh, yeah, well, we were also like making out at the time that I left this stuff there to be perfectly honest. But um, but yeah. So he also ended up being our drummer for a little while, but he was too fancy. So I was like, "You can't do this anymore. You-" I was like, "What are you doing Doug? What are you doing?" And he's like, "Um, I'm playing a fill" and I'm like, "Ugh, too much!"
Phill 33:18
Ah, man.
Annie 33:20
He's like, "I can't just play hi hat and snare the whole time." I'm like, "Yes you can. Quarter notes. Please just quarter notes. It's fine."
Phill 33:27
Be a drum machine. That's hilarious.
Annie 33:35
He's a good guy.
Phill 33:39
All right, cool. So yeah, so Okay, so we're like in Manhattan playing you know, music.
Annie 33:44
Yeah. And I left my stuff at Doug's house. That's how I ended. Brooklyn. Sorry. That's- sorry. That was the story of when I ended up in Brooklyn, right after I graduated college.
Phill 33:55
Yes, like Brooklyn at that time. I remember like a few of my friends during that time were starting to move to Brooklyn and like there was a pretty big music scene there in the early 2000s. Can you here my daughter screaming?
Annie 34:09
It sounds kind of cute.
Phill 34:11
Okay, yes, she's playing with. Yeah. Okay.
Annie 34:14
Hopefully, cute. It's either, cute or terrified. Borderline.
Phill 34:21
So, yeah, yeah. So like, were you- 'cause I remember just before I came to Japan in 2003/2004 you were you were playing already with Au Revior Simone, right?
Annie 34:34
Yeah, yeah, we started the band in 2003.
Phill 34:37
Okay.
Annie 34:38
Um, yeah, that kind of like morphed out of my other band. So one of my bandmates Sun-bin and I, and then Erica, who was in Doug's band, he had- and then Heather, who was like friends with Erica's boyfriend or something I don't know whenever we just like started this band with just keyboards and drums machines. Yeah,
Phill 35:02
Yeah, so, yeah, so like that that's a big jump from like, you know, two bass players and guitar.
Yeah.
To keyboards, you know? Yeah, so, like what was it the click or the transition to be like, "Alright, I'm gonna do" you know, 'cause you know less of you know kind of traditional I guess you weren't- it was already not not traditional with two bass players but um yeah like what was the transition to keyboards and stuff? Yeah sure vibraphone history and stuff played into that.
Annie 35:34
Yeah, for sure and I always like had like a little like, when the realistic like the Radio Shack brand of like the one of the early Casios when I was a kid and I love playing that so it was actually Eric his idea to have this like kind of keyboard club and we weren't even going to make it a band. And then Erica's teacher, a keyboard teacher, invited us to play a show ans hen we started playing a show and then yeah and then we got asked to play more shows and more shows. And at the time there were like hardly any like keyboard bands. So it was really like, "What why? What is up with this like sea of keyboards being set up?" So like people would like stay and watch what the heck was about to happen.
Music 36:19
Au Revior Simone (Through The Backyards)
Phill 36:54
Yeah, that's yeah 'cause like- Yeah, that was pretty out there, right? Yeah, 'cause there wasn't- there weren't many...
Annie 37:01
No, like the first time we went to South by Southwest. I remember, like, the sound engineers were all like, "Uh, where's your drummer?" And they like didn't like have any idea what to do with like this setup, which now is like so common.
Phill 37:16
Yeah. Yeah. That's, awesome. So that you kind of like trailblazing in that in that regard.
Annie 37:22
Yeah, at least I really felt like we were but then like, later on, I saw this. There's this amazing documentary on. It's, you can find it on YouTube, but it's like, I think it's like BBC Four or something. It's called Synth Britannia. And it's all about like, the history of synth bands in the UK. And I had like, thought we were such trailblazers, but like, actually, like 20 years before like it already got done. Like it happened. I just didn't know anything about it. I really did not have like such a breath of like, music. You know, 'cause like, we were just listening to punk and hardcore. And then like, I got into, like, kind of like hippie music in Spanish like Manu Chao. And then like, you know, whenever like, like Fabulosa Cadillacs, like there's all these kind of like Latin American bands that I was into, but I didn't really, like, understand anything about like synth wave and like UK anything.
Phill 38:25
Yeah, I mean, it was you know, I you know, it was tough to get a good, you know, taste- Now it's easy you just, you know, just jump on Spotify and you're good to go or Wikipedia, but um, yeah, it was it was tough. And I think you know, I never even thought about having a keyboard in a band, because it's so used to- you know, with punk and stuff. Yeah, it's like, hardcore. There's no, sonically it would be-
Annie 38:52
Yeah, every time you would see a band with it would be like, "Oh, that doesn't sound good."
Phill 38:56
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Exactly. But um, but yeah, that's that's awesome. Like, you know, I remember that I was just like wow this is so cool 'cause I started getting into like making music on the computer and messing around with stuff electronically and I wasn't because I kind of got into like more drum and bass. Um, you know like, but yeah, I never got into any synthwave and stuff. But even- wasn't like Trent Reznor, he was in a synth band before NIN or something.
Annie 39:26
Yeah, yeah, I mean, he's such like a synth pioneer in so many ways.
Phill 39:32
Yeah, so it was out there. I guess it is harder to, you know, to to learn about it and stuff.
Annie 39:37
Yeah, is like you. Yeah, there wasn't like, you know, I don't know, there wasn't that much. Like maybe it was just because we were from Long Island. You know, like, we weren't living in the city at that time. It was like, yeah, you know, there was like a diversity of things in Brentwood, but like none of those things included like old school synthesizers.
Phill 40:00
Yeah, like half the stuff I didn't know existed, like, Oh yeah, you can you know, you can play a keyboard with thunder sounds I thought it was just- I had no idea. Yeah, yeah. Then Yeah, like Guitar Center kind of opened up and then I started messing with the KORG. Ah, wow this thing is amazing. I couldn't afford it was like, "This is so cool." Awesome so, yeah, okay, so what what, uh, yeah, so you started getting more and more shows and then like, yeah, how did that feel? Like, you know.
Annie 40:33
It was great. Yeah, I felt like really, really, really blessed that to have come out of like the hardcore scene and doing a zine and like that whole DIY ethic like really came in handy because and also like, you know, this keeps coming up, but kind of just like the experience of just like jumping in and trying it and just going with the flow. It really helps because like, we, you know, we basically like, we had a manager and stuff who was our friend, but like I did all the business managing and we made like almost every decision, like by consensus and we talked about everything and and we eventually became a trio. But we were all like so invested in this process that it really came from us and like the scene was really vibrant with bands at that time. Like you were saying, like in Brooklyn, like there were so many bands that you saw so many bands like get signed, you know, especially like around the time that like MGMT got signed and like, all these bands, like got these big deals that we never got, but you could see how many of the bands not all of the bands, not any of the bands that you heard of today, but a lot of the bands would just like kind of like take the advance and then like party, put it all up their nose or like into the studio. Yeah. Or like spend it on oysters or I don't know, whatever the hell people do. We- and then they would just like then the label would just drop them and then they would just be like stuck and kind of like not know where to go and we never had that problem because well first of all, we were pretty nerdy and like safe but we also like, yeah, we just like always did it ourselves and we had that punk rock kind of like well, maybe mostly me was forcing it down everybody's throat (I'm sorry, everybody for forcing that) But, but, but it what it did that ethic kind of like gave us the background of being able to like just move at a steady pace. That's what I guess what I'm trying to say. And so we would always like go we released our first three records ourselves in America.
Phill 42:46
Wow, wow.
Annie 42:47
We saw like- we got a label in the UK and a label in Japan. And we saw what the label in the UK would do with that. They would just like hire their friends to do press and then like hire the you know, whatever the record menu lecturer in the CD manufacturer in the distribution company, and I was like, "Wait, why don't we just do that?"
Yeah, you can do it yourself. Yeah, DIY.
Yeah. And we were really blessed. Like, you know, like, for a lot of reasons. But like, we were in this thriving scene, and we were also like, hit right at the time of like the internet. Like not starting obviously, 'cause we're talking like 2004 2005
Phill 43:27
like, MySpace and all that stuff.
Annie 43:28
Yeah, MySpace and Pitchfork and like all the blogs like Brooklyn Vegan and Stereogum. And all these like, blogs were starting and people were reading them and then like people, like, bands were being made by the internet. And so we kind of got found by the two labels that we were signed to because Heather's friend from college, ran this like mp3 blog and put one of our mp3 is on it
Oh, cool!
Yeah, and I didn't real- you know, I had no idea. I had no idea how lucky we were like, I got a phone call at my job. I was working in a nonprofit after college and the guy- I do a terrible English accent so I'm not going to, I will just do his inflection. He was like, "Hello, I've been emailing you. And you haven't been emailing me back. You don't understand, like, we want to sign you this is a big deal." And I was like, "I don't- I got a job, like, I don't know what you're about..." He's like, "Just do it." and I was like, "Alright, I'll go to all the girls... fine" So we we signed in that and that was really great. And then we signed to Rallye Label, which is still going strong in Japan. So if you have Japanese listeners, they should check out Rallye Label because they're so good. They've got excellent taste. A lot of good bands coming out on that label.
Yeah.
Phill 44:59
Wow.
Annie 45:01
Where I was going with that conversation. Yeah,
Phill 45:03
nNo, no, this we went exactly where you had to. Um, so that's cool. So it just everything, you know, you just kind of did what you were doing. And yeah, just, you know, you- I mean you guys are great, you know, you know, it was, um, it was like you said it was it was it was a cool time to, to kind of just, you know, do what you want it to do. And, you know, just kind of be grounded, I think that that's kind of like what I kind of got from what you're saying, like, a lot of bands would just get money and not know what to do with it and want to be like rock stars or whatever. But, you know, yeah, you had that grounding, you know, from, you know, just, you know, your your life and just like, "Yeah, just doing music to do music, man." Like, you don't have to be all bigger than life. You know what I mean? Like, you know, I think yeah, that's kind of what would help you guys. It seems like it, I don't know.
Annie 45:56
Yeah, you're right.
Phill 45:58
Cool. So Alright, so then. Yeah, so that was Dec 2004-ish
Annie 46:04
2003/2004 we started the band and then it started taking off in 2006, really. I think 2005/2006 our second record came out which everybody thought was our first record.
Music 46:17
Annie 46:52
Yeah, and I think it was around then that you asked me to contribute to your amazing song.
46:58
Oh yeah.
That I loved and I like didn't have time to do it, but I was like, "Damn, this song is so good" It was a really good song, Phill.
Phill 47:07
Yeah, thanks.
Annie 47:09
Phill I really wish I had done it.
Phill 47:11
Yeah, it's all good.
Annie 47:13
Was that that time?
Phill 47:15
Yeah. Maybe be a little bit after.
Annie 47:18
Yeah, yeah, yes. Those years were such a blur.
Phill 47:24
Yeah, yeah for me too, I think um...
Annie 47:26
Yeah, were they
Phill 47:27
Yeah, just look lots of lots of partying.
Annie 47:32
Really?
Phill 47:33
Yeah my like my late 20s were nuts. Yeah, but...
Annie 47:36
That's like, you know that's the time to do it. Not your late teens.
Phill 47:41
No, no. But Oh, yeah. Cool. So what did you like- Did you do the band full time? Or did you like that became like your full time like job I guess or...
Annie 47:54
It was like- so I was working in this nonprofit which was Great nonprofit is called transportation alternatives it's still around. And we advocated for the rights of cyclists and pedestrians in New York City, which is a beautiful job and like now, you know, 15 years after that, like, you can see all the hard work that they like, laid the groundwork for inaction and it's wonderful. But I was like doing their bookkeeping, running their like slower than molasses, like free database that was like running a membership. And it was so like, I was like, "Oh my god, I can't I can't do this anymore." Yeah, I was making like hardly any money. I was like, barely scraping by and working like so many hours. That when we got the offer to like, tour Japan, 'cause we had our label there. I like took a sticker a white sticker and I put it on my computer and I wrote like the number the price of an around the world ticket. And I was like, I'm just gonna save up this much money and then I'm leaving even though I loved it and I can't say like any bad things about the place, but I just like couldn't. And my heart wasn't in it and I don't think that you can contribute to anything when your hearts on it.
That's a good point. Yeah.
So yeah, I was like, I want to go see India. I want to see what India is like. Because I was I was like, 24 years old 25 years old at the time and just so young. So yeah, so I did it. I saved up that money and I left my job and then we toured the US and then- Oh no, we toured the UK we had like this fateful like UK tour opened up for some friends of friends who were much more popular and much more rock than we were which we had like stuff thrown at us people really didn't like us.
Phill 50:01
Really? That's lame. Why would you throw stuff at three women playing keyboards on stage? That like the the most corny shit you could do. That's so mean.
Annie 50:14
You know, it was like college kids. I dunno.
Unknown Speaker 50:20
Jeez.
Annie 50:21
Rougher parts of town I guess. I dunno. And that was funny because they were throwing stuff at us. And I was like, "Oh, look, they throw whatever glowstick" and then I read like on the internet the next day like, "They were so stupid. They thought we were throwing stuff to be nice."
Phill 50:43
Oh, man.
Annie 50:45
Oh, but anyway, that tour was really fun. Mostly because like the band are like, still some of my very, very, very best friends to this day. Yeah. But then we had a layover on our- in Chicago. We had a layover in New York for like eight hours on our way to Japan also layover in Chicago, but during that layover, my boyfriend asked me to marry him and
Phill 51:08
Wow!
Annie 51:09
Wow, okay, that's a big decision to make in like six hours. Um, I don't even really remember what your voice sounds like. But um, yeah, well, I said yes. But then I went to Japan and then I had just quit my job. So I quit my job to the UK tour, came back, got engaged when did Japan and then went to India, and then I went to India for a month by myself, which is pretty intense.
How was that? Yeah, yeah,
It was really intense. Um, I absolutely loved it. Like I really understood, like, generosity of people like literally if you were on a train with some- and I think it was different because I was a woman and I was alone and a lot of the times I was traveling like in like there's like women only areas like women only train cars women only waiting rooms like stuff like that, unfortunately I think, yes it is like from a conservative background, but also because there's a lot of violence against women in public spaces which is terrifying. But those are safe spaces and- they have that all over the world too. I mean I think Do they even have them in Tokyo like the women car?
Phill 52:19
Yeah. The commuter the commuter in during rush hour? Yes. Um, yeah, some guys can't keep their hands to themselves.
Annie 52:26
Oh, way to ruin it for everybody dudes. Stop ruining it for everybody. They have that in Mexico City as well. Yeah, but anyway, what I was saying about India is that like if you- if I was on like a train car, for example, and there was like a woman next to me and she was like eating a cracker. She would like break the cracker in half and like, be like, "Eat this."
Phill 52:53
Wow.
Annie 52:54
You know, or just like make me eat the cracker because like that's the generosity and like also at one point I- you know, would you ever buy a train ticket for midnight, Phill, and like you don't really know what day that midnight applies to?
Phill 53:11
No, not yet.
Annie 53:13
Well, that happened to me. And I got stuck in this like no-named out because now at this point I'm like obsessed with like American colonialism like corporate colonialism. So I go to this town called Bhopal, which was the site of awful gas disaster that was from an American corporation that has this gas factory. It's, I can't go into details. This is a feel good podcast, but it was a disaster. And so I'm in this, like, at midnight training. There's like, you know, it's India and there's like, no electricity. It's like, dark. And I'm like, there's like, I get on the train. And this guy- I'm like, "You're in my seat." And this guy's like, "I'm not in your seat." I was like, "You're in my seat. He's like, you just woke me up. I am- It's midnight. I am not you- in your seat. This my seat, I have the ticket and I was like, "No, look at my ticket." And he's like, "This is for tomorrow."And I was like, "Oh, okay, great..." you know, and there's like a guy there's like a military guy with a rifle and just like,
Phill 54:18
Oh my god.
Annie 54:19
"Where am I? I'm all alone. It's so late." So like, I ended up going back to the train station. And there was nobody there and I had to like wait in the waiting room overnight. And then that guy- the like station master. There were these two station masters who were so funny. Like, first of all, I didn't know that when you go to India. There's no line like there says there's a line and it says, "Please queue in this place." Yeah, but what you don't understand is that you're supposed to just bumrush to the front of the line. Because I was like, "Oh, all these people who are bomb rushing the front line, they must have like been here first and now they're just like handing in their form." Like what happens at the post office here like where you like have to go back with your form. No like, I'm just like standing away do this like forever so eventually like left in frustration and like found like the station manager and I was like crying. I was like, "I don't know where I am I don't know where I'm going I can't speak the language I just like so..." And they're like, "Oh, my wife's here with- taking my daughter home just go home with them and like go take a shower and take a nap."
Phill 55:21
Wow.
Annie 55:21
And I was like, "What? and they're like yeah, your ticket we'll get your your ticket we'll sort it out." And like this family ended up taking me in and yeah, I stayed with them for like three days sleeping on their couch and like, I don't know, it was really cute. They like I don't know, dressed me up in saris and like, took my picture like look at this exotic creature staying with us.
Phill 55:47
Awesome.
Annie 55:48
Yeah. And they were like, I don't know. I really like. I don't know, the they were so generous and it really made me understand. Like, just how like weirdly selfish people are like, generally speaking, especially in the United States.
Phill 56:07
Wow. Yeah, that's nuts. My daughter wants to say hello.
Annie 56:12
Hi, Konbanwa. Oh, Konnichiwa
Phill 56:18
Hold on? She's shy now.
Annie 56:22
It's okay.
Phill 56:24
She just wants to mess with me.
Annie 56:26
Is she five?
Phill 56:27
Yeah, she's five.
Annie 56:28
I think she's almost the exact same age as my daughter
Phill 56:31
Really they can play together and stuff it would be awesome.
Annie 56:34
Oh my god. Actually, I think I kind of knew that they were the same age because I remember seeing on Instagram or working in workbooks. And I was like, "Whoa, well, Frankie doesn't know how to work in workbooks. Phill's such a better dad." I was always copying your moves. I was like, "Oh, what's Phill doing in parentland maybe I should that.
Phill 57:06
Yeah, you know, just Yeah, like you said, I take the same approach as you just kind of just go with the flow and see- I was like, "Oh, they sell these books. What age group is for?" I thought that for like seven year olds like, "Oh, what? 2 and up?! Oh shit I got- I'm behind." I just bought a bunch of them just like, "I don't know what I'm doing..."
Annie 57:29
Well, it worked out.
Phill 57:34
Yeah hopefully, hopefully I don't want to mess her up but that's like the biggest thing of being a parent like you don't want to screw up your kids. Like reading all these conflicting things like, "Oh yeah give them lots of freedom! Oh wait no you should be a little more controlling." Like, "What?"
Annie 57:48
Yeah, yeah and then you don't know whether or not you like hit the sweet spot until they're like not talking to you when they're 30.
Phill 57:55
Yeah, it's like, "Oops!"
Annie 57:57
I wish I had more of an advanced notice on that.
Phill 58:02
Oh man. Sorry. Yeah, so we've been talking almost an hour.
Annie 58:07
Oh my God.
Phill 58:08
Like, yeah, it flew by. But yeah, so I guess something I just wanted to just um you know, it's like a really fun conversation so nice to talk.
Annie 58:19
Oh my God, I miss you.
Phill 58:21
Yeah, miss you too, man. So hopefully we can have like a reunion when COVID
Annie 58:26
Yeah, or like the Zoom.
Phill 58:29
Yes. We should do that.
Annie 58:31
Can you ask Jeff tomorrow if he wouldn't be up for that.
Phill 58:35
Yes, I will. I'll definitely definitely asked him
Annie 58:38
'cause I'm supposed to have a Zoom party with Josh.
Phill 58:40
Oh, how's Josh doing?
Annie 58:42
He's good. He lives in- he just moved to New Jersey actually. But Oh, wow. Yeah, for Yeah. And then also Cory lives around here.
Phill 58:50
Yes. Yes. quarry sem sem on Instagram. his daughter's the same age I think.
Annie 58:56
Oh, really? Yeah. I only
ever see on Instagram is like Cuz backups or something
Phill 59:02
he's like in some band too, I think.
Annie 59:04
Oh, I bet he's so talented. Yeah.
Phill 59:07
But um, alright.
Annie 59:09
I'll stop talking.
Phill 59:10
That's cool. No, it's cool. I've definitely told Jeff about the Zune party, I'm sure who joined. Alright, yeah. So I just wanted to just ask when I finally got to see you again, the the last time we actually like spoke of like, instead of like, you know, on social media or whatever, but was when you were here in Japan for your second tour. And this was like, 2000- 2010 probably.
Annie 59:37
Yeah, that was probably our third tour.
Phill 59:39
Third tour. Yes. So you know,
Annie 59:42
Yeah, I don't remember.
Phill 59:44
Yeah. So that's amazing. So your third time in Japan touring like, and you are already married by then? I think.
Annie 59:50
Yeah. I got married in 2006.
Phill 59:52
Yeah, okay. So yeah, you Okay, you would use
Annie 59:56
I was a baby.
Phill 59:56
Married married. Yeah. How was it? Yeah. So like, how is Japan? And you've been here so many times and yeah, so how was it touring in different countries and in different languages and stuff? And yeah, how was that?
Annie 1:00:10
Oh my god, I loved touring in Japan. Like, I really liked Japan. But again, it's like, we, I'm sure you felt like this when you went but it's so different from the United States. Like when I went to Puerto Rico, I think because Brentwood is so Puerto Rican that like Puerto Rico felt like an extension of Brentwood. I just felt so Brentwood when I was there. And you're like, could see like all the Puerto Rican things are Brentwood and like,
Phill 1:00:36
Yeah,
Annie 1:00:37
whatever. Like you felt very natural same as New York City, right? It's like New York City. You're like okay, fish to water like this is my turf like, "I'm cool." you go to Japan and you're like, oh... the world is different...
Phill 1:00:50
Yeah, especially the the 7-11 shocked me. There like nice establishments.
Annie 1:00:58
Yeah. My mom never let me hang out at the 7-11 in Brentwood.
Phill 1:01:04
Good, smart.
Annie 1:01:08
Yeah, on Paine Aire Drive
So, um, yeah, the combini right was different and also just like, you know, waiting in line to get on the subway like, I'm was probably so rude because I didn't really even understand that that was a thing. Mm hmm. You know, not like New York City. But yeah, again it was. I feel like every country you go to teaches you a different art of living. Like when I went to India, it was like, definitely the art of just like, open- openness to welcoming and like Japan is very welcoming, but it's like welcoming in a different way. And like, you know, in Japan, you go and you understand, like, I totally had my life changed in Japan. I was in Kyoto. And I was like, you know, when- so being in a band, everybody's like, "Oh my god it's so glamorous you're touring like this so exotic you like see the world" but like what you really see is like the interior of a vehicle for four to six hours and then you soundcheck for two hours and like you generally in a language you don't really understand and it's like really hard to like get things to sound how you want them to get and then you like go rush and eat before you play and then like pray you're not too full to play a show and then like go to Japan and then you have to like sign autographs for like two hours after the show. And then you just like crash and then like do it all again the next day. But anyway, so I- we had soundcheck and then I went to go get takeout food and I brought it back to the venue. And I was just like, you know did the American thing of just like slumping down and just like started eating it like basically like out of the bag cuz I was like just so tired. And the friend of the guy this friend who was there of the of the guy who ran our label, she was like- she like started like, arranging my table. Like she started like putting a flower in a vase and then like moving the books to the side and like putting the bookbag on the back of the chair instead of on the table. I was like, "Oh, what are you doing?" She's like, "Oh, well, how- the environment we are in affects how we feel." And I like, "Oh, like being like a dead animal same as chicken sandwich." I was like, "Oh, yeah, you've got a really good point there. And that like totally, I mean, I'm still kind of a slob but like, totally changed like, my level of comfort in disorder and like understanding and appreciating like how every- how to respect objects as much as you respect to living things, and that was like not something that I had ever crossed my mind before. It was really a game changer.
Phill 1:04:10
Yeah, yeah, no, definitely. This is- similar things. A similar thing has happened to me in Japan, where it's just like, you know, it's something that you would think you would you would already know. Or Yeah, you kind of, like when you hear it's like, "Oh, duh, of course." Right? It's like, "Yeah", but you know, just we were, so- we are just kind of socialized to not think of, you know, inanimate objects as having a place that kind of very disorderly, right, I think, at least, you know, that's how I feel. I was raised in some- I won't say raised sorry, mom, but like, you know, just I was that awareness, a level of awareness. And it's like, yeah, maybe you should, you know, set the table and, and put things you know, where they- you know what I mean? Like, yeah, similar similar experience.
Annie 1:04:58
You do it, but you don't really like, understand. And it's not like an artful experience.
Phill 1:05:06
Mm hmm.
Annie 1:05:06
The way it is in Japan Raiders like well, everywhere I go is artful.
Phill 1:05:10
Mm hmm. Yeah.
Annie 1:05:12
And it's like it's like all and then you come back to the United States and you're like you got garbage on the street. There's like dog poop and you're just like, Why don't people have then you're like irate and you become that irate person, "Why don't people respect the area that they live in."
Phill 1:05:33
Yes, it's got- Yeah, yeah, definitely. So every time I go back, I have to switch on switch off.
Annie 1:05:39
It's culture shock, right?
Yeah. Yeah.
'cause you're like, "It could be so much better. Like, why are you living like this?"
Mm hmm.
My mom says that too. She's like, "I'm from Brooklyn. We had nothing. We had nothing but we did not throw trash on the street. We picked up we had pride. We had pride in our block. Wow.
Phill 1:06:03
Yeah, no, it's definitely Yeah, I think, um, yeah. Like, that's so cool that, you know, you're able to, you know, set that goal and go, you know, like, that's such a cool thing like that sticker that you spoke about, like, like where did you think of doing that? That's such a really motivational way to do something for yourself. Because it worked. It worked.
Annie 1:06:25
It really worked. I don't know. I don't know how I did that much like vegetarianism. I invented it.
Phill 1:06:32
Yeah. What seems like yeah, like whatever-, like, things have kind of worked out for you. You know, you have a really good sense for that.
Annie 1:06:41
Yeah. And I also obviously I feel lucky and like, I feel like now like, I don't know what like all the Black Lives Matter movement and everything. I'm like, okay, yes, I had gumption and bravado and bravery but also I did have like an entire society stacked in my favor, so I cannot like discredit. That is also like You know, helping me be able to like even have like the ability to save $3,000 you know?
Phill 1:07:06
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I'm not gonna say that that's not true but still it wasn't easy. I guess it wasn't easy, right?
Annie 1:07:12
It wasn't easy. That's for sure.Yeah, but yeah,
Phill 1:07:16
Good point at that. Yeah, that's an excellent point.
Annie 1:07:18
There's privilege involved in like, the scrounging and saving and like, do my own thing.
Phill 1:07:25
Yeah, know that. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not gonna disagree with that's kind of what I'm always talking about anyway. But no, but that still is still amazing. You know that you were able to do that. And I really liked that idea of putting that sticker on your computer. I think I might do that.
Annie 1:07:42
Oh, good for you.
Phill 1:07:43
Yeah, I'm gonna try it out.
Annie 1:07:45
Oh, yeah. It's cool. It's a really good it's really concrete. And like, I feel like that's kind of the secret to I mean, I'm sure you already know this. But that's like the secrets, especially when you have kids or like job or other obligations like set like some goal and then like, just like, chip, chip, chip, chip away at that goal. Like, you know, I saved up the $3,000 because I stopped taking the subway I like rode a $3 bicycle that I bought at Island Thrift.
Phill 1:08:14
Nice.
Annie 1:08:14
You know, it was like, every time I ride my bike, I was like, I earned $1.75 I earned $1.75 today. You know, thinking about it in those terms,
Phill 1:08:23
That's awesome. That's a great way for learning to like, you know, 'cause a lot of people learn especially like, you know, you let you speak Spanish. So I'm sure that also that kind of tenacity comes into play when learning a language as well, right? like studying and speaking and
Annie 1:08:38
yeah, and not being shy.
Yes. Yes. Exactly. Not being shy. That's so cool, man. Yeah, you're awesome, Annie. You're awesome.
You are awesome. And you totally inspire me all the time. Like not just in parenting, but like, yeah, you're so creative and kind and I don't know, I just feel so lucky to have known you and like you, you're like this supportive now with like the podcast and like shouting out all your friends who you adore, but like, you've always been like that. And like that is so good for the world and I just really wanted to thank you so much for being like that.
Phill 1:09:17
I really appreciate that. Thank you. Thank you for the kind words. Alright, so yeah, I guess I'm just want to this kind of gets wrap it up. There's two more questions if that's okay.
Annie 1:09:28
Yes, sure.
Phill 1:09:29
So what are you up to now? So? Yeah, like, what are you doing? I know, we spoke about you being a parent, and you know, you know, or someones really successful? Like, my friend Phil was like, he's like, "Oh man, talking to any men, you know, Twin Peaks," all this stuff. I'll make sure to ask her about it. But yeah, so yeah, we have to now and I listen to listen to your to your music. Because you've done you're doing stuff, you know, doing solo stuff. I listened to New Age Traveler.
Annie 1:10:13
Oh great!
Phill 1:10:14
Yeah, and I just I love your Instagram like, you play the guitar and you're using like all the pedals to make it do like 16th notes and stuff like it's so cool.
Annie 1:10:22
Yeah because I'm still bad at guitar after professionally playing music for 15 years...
Phill 1:10:29
Yeah. What are you up to now like you're still being awesome but yeah, if just want to share a little
Annie 1:10:33
Yeah, you know I- Yeah Au Revior Simone ended a little bit before we were invited to be on Twin Peaks.
Music 1:10:42
Au Revior Simone (A Violent Yet Flammable World)
Annie 1:11:15
So yeah, we actually owed most of our fame to David Lynch in the first place because he was like, became a fan and then we're just like shout it from the rooftops to- for everybody to like listen to us like,
Phill 1:11:28
Cool, wow that's a big endorsement, man.
Annie 1:11:30
Yeah and that was another thing that like I was like, okay, you know I studied like feminist film so I was like, "Alright fine David Lynch likes us" like and then I was like, "Whoa there's like a whole like cult surrounding this man". I had no idea exists. I was like, "He seems like a nice guy. He's very nice. He's Cool. Really nice supportive man love him." Um, but he didn't really yeah, I didn't get- I did not get what like what a blessing that was. Yeah, so then yeah, so then we did Twin Peaks. We were invited to be on Twin Peaks, but at that point Au Revior Simone was pretty much like, you know just stopping slowing down a natural course of events. So I kept making music because I just, like, at this point could not stop and actually Heather from Au Revior Simone was like, "You're stupid if you don't think people want to hear this" and I was like, "What are you talking about? Like this is terrible I'm nothing without the two of you like, I don't know." She's like, "Just released your album. Stop being a dummy." And then so I did. And then that ended up being- doing really well. One of the songs got like, put in a bunch of different like TV shows and commercials. So I was able to like, sustain the endeavor that way.
Music 1:12:46
Annie 1:13:15
And then I ended up putting out a quiter album after that, which nobody listened to you, but that's totally fine. And in the meantime, I was invited to score two films. So now I've been doing some film scoring.
Music 1:13:28
That's so cool.
Annie 1:13:29
Yeah, I love it. And then I'm actually like, putting- I'll send you the link. I'm almost finished with another record.
Phill 1:13:37
Oh, cool. That's so awesome.
Annie 1:13:38
I'll send that to you. Yeah, I'm really excited about it. It's, I don't know. It's more like poppy.
Phill 1:13:43
Mm hmm.
Annie 1:13:44
I dunno. It's more fun. Okay, well like it. Yeah. Awesome.
Phill 1:13:50
That's so cool. That's so cool. Yeah, just yeah, you're like such as inspiration. You know, because I still mess around music and stuff, but I'm always like, what's Annie up to like always checking out your Bandcamp page and stuff. Yeah, so awesome. All right, cool. Yeah. So um yeah and then yeah your mom to on top of all of this, which is not easy, I guess and a wife. It's never eas- It's probably more difficult.
Annie 1:14:16
Yeah and now with with COVID, like, teacher and like...Well, I was homeschooled before I went to- I was homeschooled for elementary school so
Phill 1:14:26
Oh, really !
Annie 1:14:26
I think I got this homeschooling thing down. Yeah, maybe that's why I'm so weird. Like, like, "Wait, your society means nothing to me because I don't understand it. Yeah, that's me. Yeah. I didn't go to school until I went to West.
Phill 1:14:42
Okay, so you met like Chris, and
Annie 1:14:44
Yeah.
Phill 1:14:45
Okay, cool. Awesome. All right. Yeah. So thank you. Thanks, sharing and yeah, definitely everybody check out Annie's stuff. If you don't mind. I can put the links to to your Bandcamp on the blog.
Awesome. All right, cool. And yeah, the final question is, um, you know, you already said it already, but I just asked you just to, to keep with, you know, tradition, I guess whatever you want to call it. So can you speak other languages other than English? If so, please share.
Annie 1:15:20
Okay, so I guess my best second language is Spanish, obviously, because I studied Spanish, but also my band was a little bit popular in France. So I can
Oh the title from Pee Wee's play- PeeWee's Adventure.
PeeWee's Big Adventure. Yeah, and it's funny because I was like, "Oh, you guys just love us because we have a French name" and this guy I was like, "No, we love you because we love women." I dunno if that is like better or worse.
Phill 1:15:54
Your feminist- gender studies degree.
Annie 1:15:58
It's like, "Uh, great, Thanks for the honest reply at least."
Yeah, so yeah, so I can speak a little French and then I did study Japanese to try to get by because I really hate being that like American. That's like assuming that everybody speaks English. So I did learn a little. A little bit extra, especially like "Watashi wa vegetarian desu" and people were still like, "What does that mean?" I had to say like, "Nikku nai". Yeah, so, yeah, I don't know.
All right, cool. Do you have like any favorite Spanish words or curse words in Spanish.
Oh, my favorite word is something they say in Puerto Rico all the time, which is "Chevere". Which is really like, it just means maybe I'm sure your mom probably said it all the time. It just means like, "Cool." But I love it.
Phill 1:17:00
Yeah, I got lots of cállaete. Cállate la boca.
Annie 1:17:05
That's like chevere but a little different meaning, Phill... pretty close.
Phill 1:17:12
Yeah, ¡ven aqui!
Annie 1:17:20
¡Ven aqui y cállate ahora!
Phill 1:17:23
that's my Yeah, that's I tell people like I can't speak Spanish, like, well but I can get yelled at really well. I'm fluent in getting yelled at.
That's your power. Your serect lingual power.
But Annie, thank you so much. It's been great catching up with you and yeah, I will yeah I'm- you know seeing with this podcast this, you know, does but I would definitely like to like to have you back on. You know, I know that you know, you know you really politically still active on your social media which is awesome and, thank you for, you know, representing, you know, Black Lives Matter and stuff and being aware of you know the issues that are going on so. So yeah, if you definitely want to come back on and I don't know how I'll do it but I would love to have like a Brentwood reunion someday or something. And everybody
Annie 1:18:21
That would be a dream.
Phill 1:18:21
I don't know i do maybe on Google Hangouts or something, but, you know, but uh, yeah, that's a little further down the line. But yeah, thank you.
Annie 1:18:30
Oh, thank you so much, Phill.
Phill 1:18:33
All right, awesome. Yeah, if you ever want to do some music together, too. I'm always down.
Annie 1:18:35
Oh my God, I'm finally down. I got mad COVID time. I got like so much time on my hands.
Phill 1:18:43
Oh, awesome. Alright, so Annie, thank you for being a hero that I call by their first name and yeah. Yeah see you around, I guess.
Annie 1:18:50
See you, Phill, bye.
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