Yeah Yeah Them (Interview with Uh Huh Her)

I am not not singing a love song for Camila Grey and Leisha Hailey, the duo behind LA-based synthy sensation Uh Huh Her. The girls were at The Phoenix in Toronto Saturday night, and I got the chance to catch up with them before the show.

I was pretty much a nervous wreck, trying not to show it as I was escorted onto their tour bus to conduct my first interview ever. I had never met them before, or even seen them live, so I didn’t know what to expect. I had briefly walked past them the street a few months back, but that doesn’t count, does it?

Officially meeting, Leisha and Cam were really nice, down to earth, and graciously answered my questions. There’s a strong dynamic between them, and I could tell right away that they get along well, and are genuinely good people. (Read the full interview here.)

I asked them how they first met. They hadn’t known each other at all; Leisha had heard of Camila and her old band Mellowdrone, and went to see her play one night. She then decided to call Cam up out of the blue, after meeting her a a few times, and the rest is history.

Leisha, who was a self-proclaimed “musical theatre geek”, moved to New York City at 17 to study acting and music. She had no intentions of playing in a band when growing up, but in 1991, formed her first band The Murmurs while studying in NYC.
Cam, on the other hand, had always dreamt of pursuing music, and has been playing instruments since she can remember. She says she even used to draw tour buses for fun as a child. Over the years, Cam has worked with artists such as Dr. Dre, Busta Rhymes, and Kelly Osbourne.

Uh Huh Her’s debut album, ‘Common Reaction’ (go get it, it’s amazing!), is a bit more “poppier” than their 2007 EP, ‘I See Red’, which had more of a “dark and melancholy” sound. Overall, they “didn’t really know what to expect out of it”, since this was their first full-length CD, but their expectations were met.

As a band, they listen to a variety of music, including MGMT, LCD Soundsystem, and Adele, saying they draw inspiration from “people who are truly unique…and don’t pay attention to what the mainstream does”, for example, Bjork.
People who “are born with a gift and just spend their whole life focusing on this one thing”, is something Leisha feels is amazing to see.
I’d say they’re ironically an example of those whom they admire, a person who strives to do their thing, and perseveres through to achieve their goals. “To see other people do it and succeed at it”, is a driving force.
“You have to keep doing your thing and never give up”, says Cam.
I think that’s pretty much the rule of life.

One of the biggest obstacles for Uh Huh Her has been having to work around Leisha’s hectic filming schedule, and being apart; finding time to write amidst travelling back and forth between LA and Vancouver (where her show is shot). Whenever Leisha had a break, they got down to recording and got it done in about 4 weeks. “It’s a little bit tricky, but we made it work, I guess, we’re making it work”.

You can catch Leisha as Alice Pieszecki on Showtime’s ‘The L Word’, which is approaching it’s final season in 2009, with a spin-off in the works, focusing around her character.

Now onto the concert.
I have been listening to Common Reaction over and over, so I was familiar with the songs, and was really looking forward to hearing and seeing the tracks come to life. The entire evening definitely lived up to what I was hoping to experience.

Touring with, and opening for Uh Huh Her were The Fashion, of Denmark. They were energetic and bouncy, and got the crowd clapping and lively. These four guys totally revved it up!

Uh Huh Her hit the stage around 7:45pm, and played about an hour’s long set, including a cover of Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams”. Both girls rocked it on keys and bass, with some electric guitar in the mix, and a brilliant drummer who was wonderfully hyped. I loved him!

If I could describe their music, I would say that it is melodically mellow, bass-infused, synth-pop orgasmic-amazingness, that can, and should be replayed approximately 598 times/day.

Music aside, I witnessed a spectacular showing of lights, which is a reason alone, according to Cam and Leisha, to come see the show. They had been playing for about a year under “bright spotlights with no fuckin’ vibe”, and finally got into the theatrics of it. It’s just a fun night to be had by all, with great energy largely attributed to the audience (despite some obnoxious yelling at the stage, i.e. “YOU’RE HOT!”). What an insightful observation!

After the show, there was a signing of all things merch. You had to have bought something from the merchandise stand in order to get an autograph, but people snuck in with ticket stubs. What seemed to be half the capacity of the club, were all hustled into a line, waiting eagerly for the ladies who happily signed tees and CD’s.

As for Uh Huh Her’s future, they hope to continue having a really good time doing what they do, and “just keep making records”.
Cam joked that they would like a better tour bus, perhaps with a Jacuzzi on it. But that idea was quickly shut down with the fact that that’d be skanky and gross. I strongly agree.

Leisha and Cam would like to say “Thank You!”; For having such loyal, forgiving fans, for coming back to see their shows, giving them a chance, watching them grow, and just sticking by them.

Uh Huh Her are currently on tour across the U.S., with a few Canadian dates. They hit up Vancouver on November 9th.
Catch the official vid for their first single ‘Not A Love Song’ here. It’s pretty pretty!

Also, here’s a short video I took of my fave song, “Dance With Me”.
Check them out in action!

Leisha, me, and Cam, after the show

Interview by Melania Fedyna (melaniafedyna@gmail.com)
Photos by Natalie Johnson (natalielisajohnson@gmail.com)