Entertainment

/

ArcaMax

Q&A: Sleater-Kinney's Carrie Brownstein discusses new album, tour

Jim Harrington, Bay Area News Group on

Published in Entertainment News

Carrie Brownstein is walking through Brooklyn as she talks about the latest Sleater-Kinney album, “Little Rope,” which is drawing yet another batch of positive reviews and accolades for the vastly acclaimed Pacific Northwest rock act.

Her words struggle to rise above the cacophony of street sounds — including, of course, honking cars — as the vocalist-guitarist discusses the new music and accompanying tour.

There was a lot of ground that I wanted to cover here, especially given Sleater-Kinney’s lengthy history — having been around since the mid-‘90s — and vast significance. After all, very few, if any, acts of the last 30 years have created a body of work as wonderfully moving and impactful as this band.

Yet time was limited and Brownstein — who is also known for her work in the popular TV show “Portlandia” — had a lot to say about the new batch of material she created with longtime bandmate Corin Tucker. And I was certainly OK with that, given that “Little Rope” stands as one of the best releases of the still-young year.

Q: How does it feel to be back on the road and playing concerts for fans?

A: It’s been really exhilarating. We have a lot of new fans — a lot of people who have discovered us on this current record and the other more recent ones. Then we have people who have been around from the beginning, or the early years. So, it’s a really marvelous combination of people we see when we look out into the crowd.

 

Q: People obviously know you and Corin. But let’s introduce the touring musicians who you've been sharing the stage with.

A: We have Angie Boylan, who has been playing drums with us since 2019 – “The Center Won’t Hold” tour. And we have Toko Yasuda. She plays synthesizers and Kee Bass and does some backup vocals. She’s amazing. We have also been touring with her since 2019. Then we have a woman named Kristina Lieberson, who is playing guitar and keyboards and singing backup. She is stepping in for our dear friend Katie Harkin, who has been touring with us since 2015. Katie is on maternity leave.

Q: I don’t think I have ever seen Sleater-Kinney perform as a quintet.

A: Yeah, we have been playing as a quintet since 2019. Before that, we were playing as a quartet since (2015’s) “No Cities to Love.”

...continued

swipe to next page

©2024 MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit at mercurynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus