After playing “Think of You” about seventy consecutive times, I emailed Jeff at what must have been 2:30 in the morning and breathlessly praised them a little longer than I should have. He received an equally long-winded rave in his box when I found out that Bleached principals Jennifer and Jessica Clavin– formerly of Mika Miko, one of the past decade’s most beloved DIY punk bands– were the songwriting force behind the endlessly catchy and energetic punk crew. I recently had the pleasure of catching up with both Clavin sisters during a recent California tour, where we talked about the dissolution of Mika Miko, Jennifer’s time in Cold Cave, and the perils of couch-surfing. — Douglas Martin
So, Bleached began at the same point Mika Miko ended. What was the group mindset around that time? I know that you all left the band to pursue other interests and that you’re all still friends, but how did you guys feel around the time you came to the decision that Mika Miko would break up? Were some of you exhausted? Did some of you feel stifled creatively? Were any of you bored with the idea of being in a band in general?
Jessica: Not bored, for sure. [We] felt more creative around that time, but maybe a little exhausted. That exhaustion wasn’t stopping me though. It actually made me feel more accomplished. I was really sad about the break up, though.
Jennifer: We all started Mika Miko when we were really young (still in high school) and we never expected to be a band that people actually liked. So when that happened, we kept on with it. But the older we got, the harder it got because we all wanted to do other things with our lives. So for sure not stifled creativity, we still could of written many more songs together. And for sure not bored. Definitely exhausted.
Jen, shortly after the announcement, you moved to New York– first to study fashion, and then you joined Cold Cave. Was that mainly for change-of-pace reasons? How did you end up playing with Cold Cave?
Jennifer: Yeah, I started going to school for fashion because I knew Mika Miko was coming to an end. But then Cold Cave asked me through a friend of ours to join. I actually didn’t want to at first because I was really into school and also into not being in a serious band. But when they came to the West Coast, I played 3 shows with them and had so much fun that I decided to join. I wasn’t planning on moving to New York, I was going to stay [on the] West Coast, but that didn’t last long. NY was fun.
What were some of the things you liked about playing with them? What were some of the things you didn’t?
Jennifer: I loved playing with Cold Cave and I love them as people. It was very very different from how I acted in Mika Miko. It felt like more of a performance. Mika Miko also felt like a performance, but I based a lot of what I did off of the crowds energy. Cold Cave didn’t have that so much, so that’s why I felt like I was putting on more of an act. But I liked that a lot because it was new and something I had never done before. I felt like I was trying to channel one of the Robert Palmer girls. Also I liked the songs so much that it never got boring to play. But eventually I got tired of not playing my own music and playing someone else’s music. It kind of got depressing. But it was good in the way that it made me realize what I really wanted to be doing.
How long was it before you decided that New York wasn’t working out for you and came back to LA?
Jennifer: I actually don’t even remember. It’s weird that whole year of my life kind of feels like a dream now.
Jessie, how did you keep yourself occupied while your sister was in New York? Did you work on stuff for Bleached? Did you read lots? Did you take up a hobby like woodworking?
Jessica: Actually, I did read lots! I tried to find and read every Richard Brautigan book there is. I was pretty successful. Of course, I kept playing music, started my own band, played with other bands. It was really hard to keep up with Bleached around that time. Jen and I were e-mailing our tracks and I just couldn’t work that way. I loved when we were in our garage together writing or jamming. I was supportive for Jen when she joined Cold Cave, but I was seriously sad just waiting for her to come back. I love that we both live in LA together again now.
Bleached’s sound differs from Mika Miko’s in the idea that it explores the poppier end of the early punk spectrum. While you guys were covering bands like Urinals for Mika Miko, Bleached takes on more of a garage-punk sound, and “Think of You“ sounds like The Ramones in all the right ways. Besides there being less members, how is the songwriting process for Bleached different from the process Mika Miko had, if it’s even different at all?
Jessica: In Mika Miko, we all had our own parts. I played bass, and only wrote the bass lines. With Bleached, there is two of us. Jen writes the structure of the song and lyrics, and I will add lead guitar and bass lines. Then together we figure out harmonizing. There so much more writing involved. Its kind of a whole new experience of music for me. I love it.
What bands have inspired the Bleached sound? What bands– current or otherwise– are you guys really into right now?
Jessica: I listen to a lot of Merle Haggard. He is was actually who I started listening to when I knew I wanted to start a new band with Jen while Mika Miko was breaking up. Gun Club is one of my favorite bands, and we love Metallica!
Jennifer: Also I’m really obsessed with early Rolling Stones and Fleetwood Mac. Lindsay Buckingham songs are usually my favorite Fleetwood Mac ones. But then I still love punk like Ramones and Misfits. Oh yeah Blondie and Siouxsie and the Banshees, one of my favorite bands too.
Not that I would’ve guessed Merle Haggard, but “Dazed” kinda has a little bit of a twang to it. You guys should cover “Kentucky Gambler,” I could totally see you guys putting a great spin on it.
Jessica: I should just rip off those guitar sprinkles in “Kentucky Gambler”, but add a little more crunch.
I think one thing about Bleached that makes me think a lot about older acts– many of which you mentioned– is that you guys pay pretty close attention to structure, while a lot of new-ish bands (or maybe just the ones I listen to) don’t pay attention to a song’s structure as much as a song’s vibe. What other songwriting cues do you take from the bands you mentioned?
Jennifer: I focus a lot on song structure. I’m actually really indecisive so, so many of our songs change little bits here and there until we feel it’s right. Sometimes when i listen to a band, I just focus on their song structure. I don’t know why that kind of stresses me out a lot. I want to make sure it’s perfect. I also take note of how they are harmonizing and when and where in a song. Also when they change keys. Like saying a line 4 times but saying it higher the third time seems to be a pattern. But I also go off of the feel. I really like when a songs chorus only does half of it the first time it’s sung and then the second time the whole chorus will come in. I actually haven’t written any songs like that yet but am working on it.
I’ve read that you guys are going to release your third seven-inch on Dean Spunt’s PPM label, and that you’re planning to hit the studio and record songs for a full-length in September? Is that still the plan?
Jennifer: Actually, we are releasing a 3rd 7-inch, hopefully in October but not sure what label yet. I think we want to save the PPM 7-inch for this weird one.
“Weird” sounds like something that is right up my alley. Have you guys recorded the songs for it [the PPM 7″] yet? What does it sound like?
Jennifer: No, we are only talking about that 7-inch. The cover is actually the “weird” part. Don’t wanna give it away!
Are there any labels that have contacted you about being interested in putting out the full-length?
Jennifer: No, not yet!
You guys have been playing a ton of shows in California over the past few months. Do you guy have plans to tour the country, or are you waiting until you’re finished recording the album to worry about that?
Jessica: Were going to record that 7-inch put it out then tour. Pretty sure were going to CMJ. Touring is a getaway at this point for me. Since I have been coach surfing for a while touring feels more like my home. Also, when you go out with rad bands its so much fun.
Jennifer: Yeah basically what Jess said. We are recording this 3rd 7-inch in like a week and then we are going to do our first US tour in October. It’s all I wanna do with my life!
Couch-surfing, especially as a touring musician, has always sounded like a smart decision to me. It just seems to costly to pay however-many-hundred-dollars a month to stay in a place you have to leave for months at a time. It essentially turns into a really expensive storage space. What are some of the things you like or don’t like about couch-surfing? Do you have any funny stories about it that you’re at liberty to tell?
Jennifer: I was actually couch surfing because I moved back from NY so I was doing it until I found a place in LA, which I finally did and I love it!
But both of us were couch surfing at our friend Blaque Chris’s house. He has this closet with a blow up mattress in it and we call it the party closet. You end partying way harder when you couch surf and it wears you out a lot! You don’t really get alone time, which I need. And it’s hard to cook food so you end up just eating so much trash. Every time Jess would come in my car there would be a bag of some awful fast food. I started feeling crazy!
After touring pretty extensively with Mika Miko, what does it feel like to kind of have to start over and drive around your home state as a (virtually) unknown band?
Jessica: It’s kind of awesome. You know those situations you get yourself into where you really wish you could go back in time and handle it differently, but you know you cant and it haunts you. Well, I feel like I am getting that second chance. I was so young in Mika Miko, but I’m ready to keep moving forward and take that experience and develop a more solid one with Bleached.
Jennifer: Yeah, I totally agree. It’s the beginning stages of something exciting and I cherish that!
I really enjoy how both the “Francis” and “Carter” seven-inches sound different from each other, with the latter sounding like vintage bubblegum-punk and the former adopting a more threadbare garage-punk sound, reminding me a lot of Thee Oh Sees. Is there a certain sound you guys talk about exploring before you start jamming together, or do you guys just record the songs and say, “Okay, these songs sound right together?”
Jennifer – For the first 7-inch, we knew we wanted to record with our friend Cundo and records on 1/4inch 8track. So with the style of the first 7-inch songs and the way his recordings sound, it automatically gave it that garage punk sound. Then the 2nd 7-inch our friend Rob wanted to record us and he does it digitally. I think those songs have more of a standard song structure about them, and with his recording style it ended up sounding more bubble-gum punk. I know for future recordings, I definitely want to focus on an early Rolling Stones sound.
One of my favorite YouTube videos right now is the one where you guys are performing in a boxing ring. If you guys could play in any structure assembled, where would you most like to play? A barn? An empty pool? A used car lot?
Jessica: An empty pool would be rad with people skating around us. Haha. I feel like that’s an Offspring video.
The video’s not on YouTube, but I’m pretty sure it’s the one for “Self-Esteem”.
Jennifer: I would love to play in the Houdini Mansion on Laurel Canyon. We use to go there as kids. It’s so cool and spooky. Also Hollywood Forever, the huge cemetery in Hollywood would be awesome. It’s where Marilyn Monroe is buried and there are all these black swans floating around. It would be cool to play to the dead.
Mika Miko was a band that found a level of success that seems like it was far beyond both of your wildest dreams. What would have to happen for you guys to consider Bleached to be successful?
Jennifer: Just to be able to do Bleached as a living. That’s when it will be a huge success for me!
Download:
MP3: Bleached-”Think of You”
