If you had a sandwich named after you, what would be in it?
Peanut butter, banana and honey and a little bit of cinnamon. That is a pretty dessert-like sandwich but literally, before we started speaking, I ate one. Often when I’m working or traveling, I’ll eat at least one peanut butter sandwich a day. It is good protein!
Do you have a favourite guitar?
I have a walnut brown 1972 Gibson SG that I bought in Tacoma, Washington around 2000. Before that I’d only ever played an Epiphone copy of an SG, and then moved on to Rickenbackers, but I wanted an actual Gibson SG from the 1970s.
This is a little bit nerdy, but there’s this dubious era of Gibson called the Norlin era, where supposedly the guitars made during this era were less consistent and reliable sonically than previous or later eras. Mine happens to be a Norlin but it has a great sound. I like that it has a thin neck as I don’t have giant hands. I love it. It’s the guitar I return to. I recorded a lot of Little Rope on it.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Wait things out. There can be things that you really worry about in the moment that feel dire and irreversible – then you wait six months and it just doesn’t matter any more. You get swept up in a moment of anger, jealousy or disorientation but if you stick things out long enough, it doesn’t matter.
You’ve previously called Australia the spiritual home of Sleater-Kinney. What is the most Australian thing you’ve ever done?
Probably date an Australian? That sounds crude – it sounds like I’m saying I literally did an Australian, which I guess I did. But I’m very much immersed in Aussie culture.
What has been your biggest fashion crime to date?
I am guilty of what I call “a tour outfit”. I go somewhere like Mexico or Marfa, Texas and I’ll think, “Oh, this giant cowboy hat looks great on me!” And I will wear it throughout the entire trip. In every photo, I am wearing this accoutrement. And then I get home and I am horrified.
It’s almost like a horror movie, where I go into my closet and I see this hat and it’s like some stranger has put it there. What is this god-awful item of clothing? Suddenly it looks terrible, it looks farcical and inauthentic. And then I have to get rid of it. So big hats are my most recurring fashion crime.
What do you do when you can’t get to sleep?
I listen to podcasts or audiobooks, but it has to be a mellifluous, comforting voice. I really like Jon Ronson. He has a great voice. I find it very soothing. There’s no hard edges to it. It is sort of reedy, almost pretty.
Do you believe in extraterrestrial life?
I want to. I think it’s fairly solipsistic to assume that humans are the only species that are able to build a society. Maybe in some far off part of the galaxy, there’s some other species doing what we’re doing. For all I know, we’re living in a simulation of something that they have created … It almost would feel reassuring about not being the only thing out there.
Do you have a party trick?
I can juggle for a respectable amount of time – enough for somebody to be temporarily impressed. But it has to be a spherical item. I am not juggling knives or fire.
Which movie scarred you as a kid?
The Shining. I saw it a little too young. It’s so scary. When I was a kid, I was watching horror movies like Nightmare on Elm Street – films that were more fantastical and unbelievable. And then I saw The Shining and I just thought “No, there is true horror out there.” And it comes from isolation and having a writing deadline.
When was the last time you lied?
I often cancel plans with an excuse that may not be factual. It’s never to hang out with someone else – I just don’t want to go out. It’s actually something that I want to be more honest about because every time I do it, I think, “Why not just say that I really need some alone time tonight?” But for some reason I always come up with some alternate fact like, I have a sore throat or I had to work late. I should just say – I think in this day and age, everyone understands.
Sleater-Kinney is touring Australia and New Zealand in May: Auckland on 15 May, Brisbane on 17 May, Melbourne on 19 May, Sydney on 21 May and Fremantle on 23 May.
