The interview was submitted by our good buddy, Rohan.

There are few bands that still make good, honest indie rock like The Breeders. Twin sisters, Kim and Kelley Deal, have been making music for over 20 years, and through ups and downs, they continue to “Bang On.” Although their releases are sporadic, last year’s Mountain Battles was a return for the band, and this year’s Fate to Fatal EP shows the band is in no way slowing down. I recently spoke to both Kim and Kelley on the eve of their show this Friday (8/21) at the Black Cat.

The New Gay: How is the tour going so far?

Kim Deal: Good, I’m calling from Minneapolis. We’ve been out for a week. It started in Newport, Kentucky [Cincinnati, Ohio], and we’ll finish it up in Columbus.

TNG: So from Ohio to Ohio?

KD: Yeah. We do go up to Toronto, Minneapolis, DC, and New York. We started in a van from Ohio and we’re ending it in Ohio.

TNG: You guys were on tour with Times New Viking and now on tour with Whispertown 2000?

KD: Yep, tonight is actually the first night with Whispertown 2000.

TNG: You recently organized an All Tomorrow’s Parties festival correct?

KD: Yeah, and both of those bands were actually over there.

TNG: Was that part of the reason you chose them as your openers?

KD: When we needed an opener we though we’d ask them. One of them could do one half and the other could do the other half, so it just worked out.

TNG: Your EP, Fate to Fatal, released in April, was self-released. Have you given any thought of going back on a label?

KD: You know, we were gonna do the ATP shows, and we thought it would be cool to put something out. I don’t know, it just seemed like a responsible thing to do. [ATP founder] Barry Hogan had asked us to curate ATP, and we had all these songs. So we’re in a band and we thought how much fun is it to put out 7”s and EPs and stuff like that? Cause its fun. So we thought of 4AD, but you know actually somebody mentioned to us that we should just do it ourselves. It honestly seemed easier and quicker. If we went through a label, it would have to be scheduled and it could not have been out in time for ATP. So luckily we know how to do stuff ourselves anyways. But honestly, it was the first time I have gone from tape to a computer file to cutting acetate. Usually, I just go from the tape to the cutting.

TNG: The “All Wave” recording?

KD: Exactly, but it is really hard to find that nowadays. People like to save [the music] in files now. [Producer Bob] Weston still has the tape, but he saved it in a file and there was no preview head.

TNG: Have you ever considered just doing it alone from here on out, maybe “Radiohead style”?

KD: I wouldn’t even know how to do that. I knew how to get the metal plate (“The Mother”) done, because Weston uses this guy in Jersey, and they sent “The Mother” to Texas where they did the pressing. Then I’m back on board, and I try to know what is happening. I don’t know how to get jackets printed, so that’s basically why we hand screened them. You know, all the weed dealers did the hand screening. Me and Kelley just ordered this paper, nice paper, from online, and we just hand screened the thousand jackets we needed. It seems harder to give [the music] away free online, that’s way above my pay grade. I don’t even know how to do that. But I was able to register them onto ITunes. It took me three people to help me do that. But I don’t know how to get the money out of it or anything. Supposedly you can go to ITunes and buy it. But I don’t know. I’ve never bought anything from ITunes.

TNG: To switch gears a bit, you are going out on tour for the Doolittle Reunion shows with Pixies, are you excited about going out again?

KD: Yeah, we do a lot of Doolittle songs, and we needed to figure out which ones we needed to do to play the whole record. We needed to learn “Silver” and “There Goes My Gun.” So not that many, but we’re also doing the b-sides; a lot of the b-sides we [already] do.

TNG: Is the show just going to be Doolittle and the b-sides, or are you going to play other songs?

KD: I think it is just going to be that album and the b-sides. But we are going to have other things like, that surrealist eye gouging film. It is going to be a programmed, scheduled night. I think it is going to be fun.

TNG: Is it difficult for you to switch from bass to guitar, as you play bass in Pixies but guitar in the Breeders?

KD: Do you play guitar?

TNG: No.

KD: Ok, even going from acoustic guitar from electric guitar, there are some different places where your blisters need to come, so definitely going from bass to guitar, there are different places where your blisters need to come up. So there are some callouses that I am going to need to get for bass playing for the next set of shows.

Kelley –

TNG: Hello. You have been bringing out local roller derby teams to come out to your shows and promote their team. What is your involvement with the roller derby, and will there be a team at the DC show?

Kelley Deal: Did you see the video we made for Fate to Fatal? We have a friend in roller derby and we decided we were going to do a video. So [bassist] Mando [Lopez] and I did the video. We didn’t invite Kim; she didn’t come. So I knew [the roller girls] were coming to the show, and somebody suggested, “You should invite someone in each city.” I mean we’re in the Midwest for God’s sake, and it’s the perfect idea. Invite the local chain to come, stand at the merch booth, and pass out literature about their stuff. I don’t know which team is going to be in DC. Apparently, DC has a lot of teams. I don’t know if it is going to be the league of DC; each city has a different league. I’m not sure which team it is, but somebody will be there, yeah.

TNG: I know that you are a Joss Whedon fan, now that Dollhouse has finished its season….

KD: I’M A HUGE JOSS WHEDON FAN! As a matter of fact, I was talking to somebody on Pitchfork, just like chatting. This guy mentions Dollhouse and I was like, “I was just watching the first episode, and I couldn’t really get into it, I’m not sure.” The first guy was berating Dollhouse, saying how much he didn’t like it. I think I might have even said I was a latecomer to Buffy [the Vampire Slayer]. It had had been on for several years before I got into it. I just happened to get on re-runs. That’s when I started seeing it, every day four times a day. Before, I was not into Buffy and stuff. I saw on Pitchfork how I was completely dissing Dollhouse, and it really bothered me, because I’m a huge Joss Whedon fan. Have you ever watched Ace of Cakes?

TNG: Yeah, it’s based here in Baltimore.

KD: One of the girls there [has a shirt] that says “Joss Whedon is My Master”, or “Joss Whedon’s Bitch.” And I wanted to get a t-shirt and start wearing that with the hopes of apologizing to him.

TNG: You can apologize right now, with the Dollhouse season over…

KD: I didn’t see it.

TNG: Oh, bummer.

KD: We’ll I’m sure I’ll get it on DVD. What do you think? Did it get better or not?

TNG: I was lukewarm on the first few episodes, but it got epic. I think it was FOX’s fault that the first ones kind of failed. I think it’s a great show though.

KD: [To Kim] He says it’s amazing. Oh course it is. It’s Joss Whedon. Trust in Joss, ’cause he’s not gonna steer you wrong. Kim just said that Joss is gonna love the fact that we’re working on this for him.

TNG: Having already guest-starred on Buffy, would you consider being on Dollhouse

KD: Oh yeah. But I’m sure Joss is mad at me. He’s not going to want me on Dollhouse now.

TNG: I think he’d be lucky to have you guys, I mean you are the fucking Breeders.

KD: I hope so.

Come out and see The Breeders (with Whispertown 2000) at the Black Cat this Friday 8/21. Tickets are $20. Doors open at 9pm.