The Feverfew: The New Gay Interview

(Photo by Cat Tyc 2007)

The Feverfew is Bethany Spiers, a singer songwriter who's shared the stage with artists like Kimya Dawson and Rainer Maria, and alternately gets mistaken for a boy or Christian rocker in her small Pennsylvania town. She plays Phasefest this Saturday, and answers our pressing questions, now.

TNG: Were you a band nerd in high school and how much leverage does playing alto sax have with the ladies?

Bethany Spiers: Okay, wait. How did you know I played the alto sax? Is that written in some bio somewhere? Well, in fourth grade they brought a bunch of instruments into my class and demonstrated how to play them in hopes of recruiting kids for the concert band. I, obviously, chose the sax. That year we performed the theme songs to "Jurassic Park" and "Rocky" at our winter concert. It was awesome.

So, yes, I was totally a band nerd from fourth grade through my junior year. (Senior year I quit to focus on the newspaper and lit mag). I don't recall the saxophone itself having any special seductive capabilities, but I can say for certain that the marching band uniform didn't do much for my sex appeal. As for the guitar, I picked that up in seventh grade. I really liked Green Day.

TNG: How would you describe your sound? 

BS: The vibe on my first record is very folky, singer-songwritery, pop. It got a lot of Iron and Wine, Red House Painters, and Mazzy Star comparisons back in 2004. Now the songs I'm writing are a lot heavier, bluesy-rock, maybe even with a twinge of alt-country to them. Somebody called it "Cat Power meets Johnny Cash," which is pretty much the coolest compliment ever.

TNG: Who are your influences?

BS: The Rolling Stones and Talking Heads have always been favorites of mine, thanks to my mom. Patti Smith's "Horses" and Jeff Buckley's "Grace" were life-altering. Discovering Bessie Smith and Stax Records incited a big change in my writing, as well. But I also grew up in the NYC/New Jersey post-hardcore scene, so I love a lot of bands from that genre, too.

TNG: Who are you listening to?

BS: These days, I've finally started to embrace the whole Dylan, Neil Young, Springsteen-thing. I'm also currently obsessed with Tom Petty, The Constantines, and the new Coldplay record (I don't care how lame that sounds). Sam Prekop's solo album, "Who's Your New Professor?" and Cat Power's "What Would the Community Think," never stray too far from my cd player. And there's nothing better than Erik Satie or Edith Piaf on vinyl in the morning, over coffee.

TNG: What's the best thing/worst thing about DIY touring?

BS: The best thing is you get to do everything your own way. The worst thing is how long it takes to get it all done.

TNG: Do you feel like you're labeled as a queer artist and it's a good thing or limiting?

BS: I don't think people necessarily realize I'm queer when I'm performing. I mean, I've been out since I was 19 and my songs are full of "shes" and "hers" so it should be fairly obvious. But back when Jonathon (who now plays under the moniker, The Bones of Davey Jones) was playing shows with me, I kept getting asked if we were a couple, like the folks from Mates of State or something. This was just funny to me, because I feel like you could spot me as a homo from a mile away. Who knows? I've also been mistaken for a Christian singer-songwriter on many occasions. So, no, I don't find it to be limiting and don't think that I would. I support visibility for the queer community. If anything, I feel more limited being labeled "girl with a guitar" than as someone who's queer.

TNG: Do you feel like there's this community of queer or lady musicians that's supportive of your work?

BS: Yes and no? I have lots of supportive friends, many of whom are queer and/or ladies. I've toured mostly with male musicians, just by chance. Sometimes it feels nice to play on a bill with all queer, female artists but I enjoy being around like-minded individuals of any classification.

TNG: Are you originally from Doylestown, PA? I used to go there for field hockey camps in high school. Is that town always about awkwardly confronting sexuality, or is that just during the summer season?

BS: Whoa, me too. You were probably one of the older girls on the bus that heckled me for being such a nerd. What position did you play? I was a sweeper.

Anyway, I traveled up to Doylestown for camp but actually grew up in Langhorne, which is also in Bucks County PA, though I lived in Texas and Alabama as a kid for awhile. I moved to Brooklyn for college in 2000 and migrated south to Doylestown in November of this past year. I'm surprised at how well I've adjusted to the small town atmosphere. There are a lot of fantastic musicians around that I've been collaborating with and I've made some really lovely friends.

But there's a very interesting juxtaposition between these artsy liberal types and the rich, snooty Republicans of Doylestown. Everyone seems slightly uncomfortable with everyone else. For me, at least, the awkward confrontation revolves more around gender and interpretations of gender than it does around sexuality. Like, lesbians are cool if they still look like women. But slap a tie and a pair of suspenders on someone who is biologically female and there's gonna be a fist fight. I get a lot of "what are you?" / "you're in the wrong bathroom" looks, but that happens everywhere, even in New York. I don't mind much. Sometimes I really enjoy pissing people off or making them take a second look or making them want to cover their children's eyes.

TNG: Who would be your dream musical collaboration?

BS: Jay-Z.

TNG: You're about to head out on a UK tour--Is playing the UK a different vibe from the States?

BS: This will actually be my first trip to Europe, ever. So I can't say anything about the vibe from personal experience. I've heard they pay a lot better and generally seem to give a shit more than your average crowd in the states. Touring over the past two years has really been rough here. Everyone's broke. Nobody wants/can afford to buy cd's or t-shirts. Fans don't want to pay $8 for a show instead of $5, not realizing it's five times more expensive for bands to get from point A to point B than it was a few years ago. And the venue owners sure as hell don't want to compensate for a band's extra expenses. It's frustrating.

TNG: Will you be teaming up with other artists, abroad?

I recently played with an amazing lady named Lyla Foy and her band in NYC. They're from London, so we're going to hook up over there for a show. I'm also hoping to drop into Stockholm because there's an amazing band there called The Tiny that did two albums with my label, Eyeball Records.

TNG: What are you working on now/next?

BS: I've been trying my hand at a lot of new things lately. My friend Bamboo is trying to teach me how to beatbox and I'm also learning the harmonica. I've taken to driving around and playing along to my Tom Petty and Dylan cd's, which can be interesting . . . juggling several harmonicas in different keys, trying to figure out which one is appropriate while navigating through rush hour traffic. Maybe I should stop doing that?

The idea is always that my new cd is "coming soon". I hope that's the case. I work a lot, so it makes getting into the studio difficult. It's really important to me to have an academic life as well as a creative life, so I'm starting to re-immerse myself in reading/writing and gearing up for grad school. For now, I take advantage of any opportunity to demo newer songs, even if it's just on a friend's laptop. I'm writing music almost on a daily basis now, whereas I was pretty backed up creatively for the last few years. But when it's time, the new record will be called "The Owl and the Mirror," and I hope it will prove worth the wait.

The Feverfew play Phasefest Saturday, Sept. 13th, along with:

Alix Olson
Boyskout
Pandora Scooter
Partyline (DC)
Mara Levi (DC)
Thula
DC Kings
Athens Boys Choir
Dykes of Hazard
Nancy Eddy
Lap Dance Workshop with Peggy Sue
Kate Maguire
Shame Girl (DC)
Nikki Smith

Doors at  2 pm / 21+
$15 / tix at door
Phase 1
525 8th St. SE