5 writers, 5 questions, 1 band , hand-picked by MWA. Welcome to FIVE x FIVE. This week: electronic indie folk outfit and damn fine Wisconsinites, Double Ewes.
I sometimes feel like the folk scene is a touch over saturated (at least sometimes in Chicago) – what do you guys do to stand apart from the rest?
I don’t know if we try to do anything consciously to try to stand out from other bands. We use a drum machine because we couldn’t find a drummer & our interest in electronics kind of grew from there, so I guess that kind of gives us a unique sound when compared to other groups in the same sort of category.
You released a self-titled album this past May. How do you feel it’s been received in the months since?
We’re really happy with it and have gotten a lot of positive feedback. We wanted to make sure we did our debut album right, and I know we all feel like we did.
How was your experience at the Rock County Folk Symposium V? You guys had a hand in planning and booking the event, is that correct?
The symposium started in Willie’s backyard five years ago. RCFSV was an exceptional highlight. There was so much creative energy surrounding the evening and we felt very proud to be a part of it.
There is plenty of space in your music – what do you do to maintain the space and not overwhelm with a wall of sound – or is there even a drive to do that?
In the earlier days, we had so many loops from everyone going on with plenty effects and ample knob twiddling. We recorded a lot of our practices and made a conscious effort to leave some space after listening more carefully. After the 1000th play anything too overbearing just sticks out. There are universal truths in songwriting, and they have a way of revealing themselves if you keep it to a couple basic formulas.
Your album art is intricate and linear and, well, awesome. What came first, your logo or the album art, and who designed it?
Our good buddy Mike Williams made the logo a few years ago for fun. He actually created the art originally for posters and t-shirts. We decided it was too good not use on our debut album. He’s a super talented dude and we’re thankful for all the art stuff he’s done for us.
Where did the name “Double Ewes” come from?
Our good friend Wyndham actually had an uncle growing up who raised sheep for wool. On Badger game days they would bring two sheep to Madison for tailgates. Wyndham’s cousin would wear a cardboard “U” costume and stand next to the sheep to chaperone and let the fans pet them. Everyone would chant “U DOUBLE EWE! U DOUBLE EWE!”.