If you take some 60s girl group pop, swirl in a dash of smoky jazz and sprinkle it with some ready-for-rolling-on-shag-rugs lounge you get The Bird and The Bee. Or something close to it. Inara George (herself a dreamy jazz singer and daughter of Lowell George of Little Feat ) and Greg Kurstin (who has produced and arranged everyone from All Saints to Lily Allen to Red Hot Chilli Peppers) obviously know what they are doing, have released a full length and 2 EPs, including the new and wonderful “Please clap your hands” and you can witness the magic for yourself this Friday at RNR.
We talked to Inara briefly, you know, just to set the mood.

BYT:For starters….introduce yourselves to our (possibly unenlightened) readers in under 2 sentences:
My name is Inara George. I am 1/2 of the band the bird and the bee.

BYT:First things first- I am a huge fan (”Don’t take my picture” was our theme song last summer) and I felt that every song from you I heard over the year deserved to be a massive hit. Why do you think they turned out just moderate hits and not as huge as they rightfully should have been?
IG:For one, thank you! And that’s an interesting question, which I have no real answer to. But Greg and I are happy to be slow burners.

BYT:The songs themselves have this chilled loungey vibe, but are (as one of our reviewers says) “sassy as fuck”… who writes what and where does all that sass come from?
IG:We both come up with the music and melody together. Then I write the lyrics while Greg produces the track. And as for the sass, I believe that is all collaboration.

(rumor, or YouTube has it that Greg’s only lyrical contribution was to add the “fucking” into the “Fucking Boyfriend” song, so he gets his sass bonus points there-ed)

BYT: And how did you decide to go so decidedly retro, musically? Did you feel there was a void out there you needed to fill?
IG:I think we just enjoy music that’s older than us… and then when it came time to take photos… the retro look seemed to be a good fit.

Segueing nicely into…what is the music that influenced you in general? Music you were breast fed on, so to speak?
IG:We both have gone through a lot of different musical phases. But when it comes to the bird and the bee I would say a lot of Brazilian music, Tropicalia and Bossa Nova. As well as American pop music from Burt Bacharach to Prince to The Beach Boys to Lou Reed. And then there’s music from the UK like The Clash, David Bowie, T. Rex… it’s pretty broad.

BYT:And what are some of your guilty musical pleasures (though we don’t believe in any pleasure being guilty)?
IG:Well some would say that The Bee Gees would be a guilty pleasure… but they have written some of the most amazing songs. I have no shame in being a super fan.

BYT:What is a song you wish you had written?
IG: “How Deep is Your Love”

(check out Inara performing it live with Sia here-ed)

BYT:Any bands out there, that also deserve mega fame that we may not have heard of, but should (BYT readers love a recommendation)?
IG: There are a lot of good bands in LA right now. The Pity Party, Eleni Mandell is a great solo artist, as well as Charlie Wadhams(Charlie Wadhams is opening for them on Friday-ed). I guess there are three.

BYT: Speaking of mega fame, you all toured with Lily Allen last year (we were actually supposed to help with the afterparty for your 930 club show, but that sadly got canceled) and now you’re on a smaller, you headlining tour. Which set-up do you prefer and why?
IG: Although we love Lily, and her fans, it is always really amazing to play to a group of people who are already your fans. When you have to charm an audience into liking you every night it can be a little exhausting. There is nothing like playing to people who already know the words…

BYT: Lets talk fashion for a moment: Obviously your look is a huge part of the whole “Bird and The Bee Package”, what are some of your signature elements of style?
IG: I like things to be sleek and clean… and when playing live, make sure it’s a little more over the top than usual. It should feel like a costume.

BYT: It IS sort of nice when artists make an effort and not just show up in sweats or whatever they rolled out of bed in…Is your wardrobe mostly vintage or new designers, and what are some of your favorites?
IG: Both. But I have this amazing designer who’s been helping me with my clothes and the back-up singers clothes. Her name is Valerj Pobega and she has a line call kg363. So sometimes we’ll look at other designers to get an idea, like Courreges, or Mary Quant.

BYT: Vintage Courreges is permanently on our wish list. How do you pack for the road? How does the whole process of being perfectly put together while living on 4 wheels work out?
IG: We have a costume bag with the clothes we perform in… and after that it’s kind of a mess. I try to look put together, but comfort is more important when your sitting on a plane or in a van for hours on end.

BYT: Considering that in all the clips I’ve seen you look immaculate, well done on keeping it togehter. Does what you wear on stage reflect what you wear in real life?
IG: On a very basic level…in that I love the elements of style from the 60’s… but I’m not wearing gloves and dresses everyday.

BYT: You have your own solo career and Greg is obviously very busy collaborating with everyone from Lily to Red Hot Chilli Peppers, what is next for you?
IG: We are just continuing to write songs… plan to put out an EP for Valentine’s day. Then hopefully we’ll get started on a new record… We love to write and record.

BYT:Amen to that…And to wrap things up, I decided to this little “soundtrack” questionnaire to close things off with especially since you are all so cinematically influenced (the “Again and Again” video - very Audrey and Albert of you) so, fill these in… (your songs are applicable to)

Opening Credits:
Wake up to: “Sunday Morning” Velvet Underground
Sing in the hairbrush to: “Cosmic Dancer” T Rex
High school flashback to: “my best friend’s girl” the cars
Unrequited love to: “Should I stay or should I go?” the clash
Shaken not stirred to: “the ladies who lunch” Company(original cast recording)
Big fight and make-up to: “I can’t for that(no can do)” Hall and Oates
Fall asleep to: “Lua, Lua, Lua, Lua” Gal Costa
Makeout to: “How does it feel” D’Angelo
Dance montage to: “Shake Yer Dix” Peaches
Head bang to: “Peggy Sue” Buddy Holly
Lounge around to: “Les Yeux Bleus” France Gall
Victory to: “Heroes” David Bowie
Get the party started to: “Sunday Papers” Joe Jackson
Car chase: “I wanna be your dog” The Stooges
Karaoke to: “We are the World”
End credits: “non, je ne regrette rien” Edith Piaf

BYT: Yes, please regret nothing. Especially not that playlist righ there.

Catch the Bird and The Bee
this Friday
at RNR Hotel
with Charlie Wadhams

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