TWEN’s eccentricity sparks a new frontier to be explored. As an extension of funk and psychedelia, their sound expands beyond boundaries and sustains itself with compelling harmonies, modulations, and thick rhythms. In the wake of their their latest single release, “Waste,” I had a chance to have a frisky discussion with Jane and Ian about food, subterranean caves, and Willie Nelson after their recording session at The Hive.
EP: What is the best food you’ve had on tour?
Ian: For me, it was sushi at Voltaire in West Palm Beach, Florida. It was a guy who makes homemade, specialty sushi and that was the best food on tour.
Jane: It was a vegetarian philly cheese steak restaurant in New Orleans. It was awesome. And the bassist we were with at the time literally shook with how good it was. It was actually scary to watch her eat it because it was like sexual—Very Sexual—So, it was great.
EP: What has been your favorite venue on tour to play?
Ian: I liked— (thoughtfully pondering)
Jane: (intercepting) You know, I really did like Valley Bar in Phoenix. There was no one there, but I liked the structure of it.
Ian:There was 1 person there.
Jane: It was Ron Gallo.
Ian: Wait, no that was in—
Jane: Phoenix.
Ian: No, it was in—
Jane: Albuquerque?
Ian: No.
Jane: New Mex—(sighs) We are bad at keeping track of the cities. I think it was in Albuquerque.
Ian: It was a town right on the border. I don’t think it was Albuquerque but I do think it was New Mexico.
Jane: We’re bad at specifics but it’s like you’re in a pit and the whole audience is above you, watching you. Something about it made it feel like anything can happen but there was only one person there. I think we are going to play it on this tour so fingers crossed.
EP: What venue do you want to play and sell out?
Ian: Some people would say Red Rocks.
Jane: Yeah.
Ian: And I guess some people would say Madison Square Garden.
Jane: True, although Red Rocks would be awesome.
Ian: I would play—The Cave!
Jane: I was just thinking about The Cave! There’s this cave in Tennessee that is a venue.
Ian: It is a cave, that has a venue in it. The Volcano Room at Cumberland Caverns.
Jane: All natural structures are cool.
Ian: Yeah, to play in nature is cool.
Jane: Behind a waterfall—I’m waiting for that venue to exist so I am hoping someone will make it happen.
EP: Who would you have play The Cave?
Ian: Ok, if we played The Cave, I would want to open for Willie Nelson.
Jane: I guess that is the dream.
Ian (singing): “On the road again—”
(Singing resumes) “Maybe I didn’t hold you quite as often as I should have.”
Jane: So, if Kate Bush would start touring, it would be Willie Nelson, us, Kate Bush, and then us again, and then Kate.
Ian: I would also like to open for Joni Mitchell. She’s a legend.
EP: What is an album you would recommend for the road?
Jane: It gets weird with music on the road just because you’re listening so much that you get to things you never thought you would. I have an answer because I actually remember. Lee Hazlewood’s soundtrack to the movie—
Ian: Oh no—
Jane: Cowboy In Sweden is a great album.
Ian: No.
Jane: And, I love it.
Ian: It’s not. It’s not a great album
Jane: And they have this song called “Leather and Lace” which I highly recommend. And it’s just, like, weird country ballads that are a little creepy, and there is a Swedish line in it—I can’t. It’s awesome.
Ian: Its awesome the first time around and the second time, it’s not as awesome
Jane: You get easily fatigued but I just keep coming back
Ian: Lee Hazlewood drives me f****ing crazy.
Jane: Oh, I love Lee Hazlewood so much, so definitely him. It fits well with the scenery.
Ian: I would have to go with Dido’s I’m No Angel.
Jane: The whole thing?
Ian: All the tracks.
Jane: Actually, I would agree with that, too.
Ian: (singing at an impressively high pitch) “There will be no white flag above my door.”
EP: Who are some bands from your hometown?
Jane: Sad Baxter in Nashville. We toured with Ron Gallo.
Ian: Bat House in Boston.
Jane: We both went to school in Boston, and then we moved to Nashville together from Boston, so Boston has a really cool music scene and that is where we started doing music. There are a bunch of house venues, where I helped run and play at them. So did Ian. Bat House does a bunch of math rock stuff, I don’t even know how to describe it but they are amazing.
EP: If you could exist anywhere at any time with access to a time machine, where would you go and what would you do?
Jane: I would go so far back where patriarchy doesn’t exist. Pre-patriarchy where it is a more feminine, intuitive, and a more witchy experience.
Ian: I would want to time travel very briefly, maybe for a few days assuming I would be able to survive on my own to before man. Where I was just walking around when earth was just plants. I don’t know what age that is
Jane: The first one I think of is precambrian. But, that might be when they are in the sea. Do you want to be in a boat?
Ian: No, I don’t want to be in a boat. I just want to see what the earth was like. I would want to hear that stillness of nature knowing that there were no humans anywhere. I’m idealizing the past but it is really for the quiet I would want to hear. I’m not talking about when the world was on fire or when there was the flood, just quiet. Just nice. I just want to go to a place where it’s nice.
Check out The Hive with an appearance from the master pupeteer. Catch TWEN on tour this Summer with White Reaper.
Expression Petal // Edited by Liam Shanley