Margot and the Nuclear so and so’s have no one named Margot in their band, and play more instruments amongst themselves than there are words in their name, and that is saying something. They play sweeping, almost perfectly polished, never boring sing-along-dance pop and apparently all live,eat,sleep and breathe together as one. In Indiana.They are opening for the frames this Thursday at 930 club and we got Emily Watson (token girl and rodes piano player) to go keyboard to keyboard with us and answer some semi probing questions about bathroom sharing, song writing and which Wes Anderson character are they really.

BYT:Predictably enough, tell us first how you eight found each other ….
EW:We were connected in some way through Richard, either friends or old enemies from the past and present.

BYT:…and picked that name.
EW:I believe the name was conceived in some sort of blinding vision, like Saul on the road to Damascus.

BYT:Before there was Margot and the Nuclear So and So´s, there was Archer Avenue, which is the name of the street where the Tenenbaums live. How did this Wes Anderson shall we say, focus come about? Have you ever met the man in person?
EW: As far as I know, Wes Anderson is still a stranger, and as for the other part, really we just like watching his movies

BYT:Do you all have any cinematic plans in the future? Or are you sticking to music?
EW: Richard is the most interested in cinema, he was a film student. I think I will stick to music for now.

BYT:So, the lore of Margot and the Nuclear so and so´s involves all of you living, breathing and drinking semi heavily together. How does it feel to have 7 roommates? How many bathrooms are there? Do you ever or never fight?
EW: We have two bathrooms. We never and always fight. Living together just makes everything and everyone seem more like a family, and I think that’s a good thing.

(Margot actually keeps a fun and frolicky flickr set of their life which can be perused here in case anyone is curious)

BYT: How does the songwriting process work? A lot of songs have distinctly different feels one from the other so we were wondering whether individual members´ tastes and influences come into play more on some songs than the others? How many nuclear so and sos does it take to write a song?
EW:Well, Richard does the writing, in general, and then brings the songs into the studio. That’s when the rest of us sit down and work on individual parts. We all have different styles and ideas and influences, but we are also very conscious of the song as a whole. It takes all of us to finish a song, even if we all don’t play on every song.

BYT: Speaking of which…Who influences you music wise?
EW: That’s a long list - it’s different for everyone. For me, I’d say Fiona Apple, the Beatles, and (yes, I know it’s nerdy) dead classical composers, for starters anyway.

BYT:Is there a song, any song in the world you wish was yours?
EW:Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees

BYT:You guys have been on the festival circuit and touring for a while now….any play or place particularly sticking out in your memory?
EW:Austin is steadily growing on me as a favorite place to play, although I like San Francisco as well.

BYT:How is traveling together different from living together?
It’s the same really, only in a smaller place, with more responsibilities and no bathroom.

BYT: Tell us about Indiana. Why are you still there? And do you ever feel the pull of a bigger, better, shinier location on either coast? ….we for one always end up defending DC to people from NYC and LA so we like to hear about other places that hopefully don´t get enough credit….
EW:Indiana is quiet, slow and conservative (for the most part), but also full of good people. The music “scene” has grown a lot in the last three years, there are a lot of good bands from around Indianapolis. Plus, it’s a whole lot cheaper to live in Indiana than NYC, DC, LA or pretty much any big city in the States. That would be one reason. Also, we have a studio here, which is another reason to stay I suppose. I wouldn’t mind moving to a “shinier” location, maybe on the east coast…we’ll see I guess.

BYT: After DC, what is next for the Margots?
EW:We are going home to finish recording our next record.

BYT: And now, after you have suffered through all this, comes the inevitable juvenile portion of any BYT interview in which we bully you, ever so gently, into taking one of those ridiculous online quizzes that should reveal, maybe, your true essence.

For you guys:
WHICH WES ANDERSON CHARACTER ARE YOU, really?
no cheating. AND THANK YOU.

(hopes obviously lie high on it being Margot Tenenbaum but…

1.What type of person would you consider marrying?
No one yet — i’m still in High School (MNSS pick
Someone who’ll take care of my effing baby
An intern
Someone exactly like my deceased husband.
Oceanographers
A lawyer, a business manager, Neville Smythe Dorleac, Yasuo Oshima
A Jamaican recording artist or a neurologist

2.Where do you currently reside?
A small suburb with my parents
My island or italian villa
In the city — I have various apartments in New York.
On a boat
In a big house with lots of rooms but I prefer the room my husband grew up in
A multi-story home on the corner
England (MNSS pick)

3.Which style are you more inclined to wear?
Pink suits (MNSS pick)
Striped tennis dresses and fur lined coats
Our crew uniform
A polo shirt or knit sweater and skirt
preppy
Maternity wear and my tape recorder, hair in a braid
Elegant gowns for the right occasion — or Banana Republic for the times I’m on a boat

4.What extracurricular activities were you most likely to be involved in?
Drama club, math club, kite flying society (MNSS pick with emphasis on kite flying)
Latin Club
Playwrights club
Science Club
Young Oceanographers
Newspaper
Bridge Players

5. It’s a dramatic scene .. quick.. what do you say?
“We are going on an illegal suicide mission”
“The silver spoon remark might rub some people the wrong way. But I think I know how you meant it.”
“You want a carrot?”
“I’m in a rut and I need a change”
“Well, I don’t think it’s very intelligent to keep an electrical gadget on the edge of the tub.” (MNSS pick)
“I’m trying to get out the habit before I have my fucking baby”
“I was 34, that’s more than a copout”

6. Secret habit or story
I faked the results on a science project
I had a secret marriage at 19, I’ve been a smoker since the age of 12 …..
the baby i’m carrying belongs to my editor (MNSS pick)
My research assistant is a topless french model.
I’m still in love with my dead husband
I’ve in love with my business manager
Was an accessory to burglary on a marine research center

7. The best quality about me?
I care about my family
I’ll bail my husband out if he was ever robbed by pirates
I have a conscience
I’m a brain
I used to be a brain (MNSS pic)
I’m honest
I have a lot of great insight and know a lot of great quotes

8. What is your occupation?
Vice president of the Zissou society
i write plays
script girl (MNSS PICK)
schoolteacher
reporter
currently a student at Grover Cleveland
Archaeologist

with some bonus questions added by Emily, for sheer clarification purposes:

What’s Your Karaoke Style?
“superstar” i believe

Which Band Member Should You Date?
guitarists, so they say, although, i like bass players a lot too.

How Emo Are You?
emo around the edges

at which point we tallied up the scores and it turns out the Margot in question was not…a Tenenbaum but Margaret Yang, our tee-total hero in “Rushmore” Which kind of makes us love them more.

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Lizzie Says:

i love this band probably more than any band i think i’ve ever loved. when the question was asked, which song do you wish was yours, i would have answered about every song on the dust of retreat. it’s incredible how much this music moves me. and i officially pledge to be the 9th member of margot. :]

May 24, 2007 at 8:52 pm

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