MC: What is the key to creating songs that connect in such a powerful way?
Sierota: I think the key to writing is to be honest and write about what you think, feel and believe and stand for. I think the reason “Cool Kids” took off is because that song means something to people. As much as people like the partying songs, the drinking songs or the having-a-good-time-with-my-friends songs, people can’t deny they love a song that means something to them, whether it’s the same meaning I had when I was writing the song or something they interpret.
And it’s important, also, to leave your songs to interpretation and let fans decide what it means to them, because that’s what music is about. It’s about connecting with the listener. It’s important to write for yourself, but it’s important to write for those listening, too, and to be mindful of who’s going to hear the song. It’s important to keep that in mind as you’re writing and make sure the message you want to come across is coming across. It’s your job to share your story with others in the best way possible.
MC: What’s been the highlight of your career so far? What’s the most surprising thing about becoming successful?
Sierota: I think the highlight would be playing on Jimmy Fallon. All of us are fans and love the show. That’s the only show that’s on when we’re done with our shows, anyway. He loved us, so that was one of my best moments ever.
The most surprising thing is that it’s not exactly what you expect. There’s more than just performing. There’s a lot of promotion and the more success you have the more people want to hear from you, the more people want you to do. And with success comes a lot of responsibility. I didn’t really know what that meant when I was getting into it. It’s interesting to see people look up to us or to me as a girl in music or whatever. It’s surprising how much people pay attention. And it’s important to acknowledge that and live a life that I would want people to pay attention to, but also at the same time not base my life off that.
MC: What’s the most important thing you guys have done as a band to achieve success? Is there a key ingredient to making it?
Sierota: The key to success in anything is to be patient. There are people for whom [success] does happen overnight; there are people that it doesn’t. We’ve been doing this for seven years and it’s finally happening. That’s quite a while, and if you’re patient and you’re actually doing work then I think you’re okay, especially if you love it.
We just kept going, no matter how many no’s we got, no matter how many record deals didn’t go through. We just kept playing shows and stuck with it. Of course, there were times where it was like, “Man, this is so hard, why isn’t this working?” But I’m grateful it didn’t happen then, because we were different people back then and I think it required that time of development to be who we are now.
MC: How did you develop your chops for playing live? Do you have a ritual before the show? What about vocal warm-ups? What are your tips for artists navigating SXSW?
Sierota: Before the show, we tend to do vocal warm-ups, but also we stretch so we can run around. Working out is definitely helpful, because as you perform you’re moving around a lot, you’re singing or playing an instrument or doing all that at once.
We have bad shows still, but it feels like we get tighter every time. I think doing it consistently is the key, whether it’s rehearsing or playing actual shows. SXSW was an interesting festival, because you’re doing so much. You might be doing three shows in one day, every day for a week. You’ve got to be mentally prepared to work and be constantly moving. And definitely make time to eat and drink water. Drink more water than you do anything else, especially if you’re going to sing. If you don’t like being busy, don’t do SXSW.
