Kathy Foster

Now we can see … and hear

Wednesday, January 21st, 2009 | musiX, pdX, politiX | No Comments

I awoke this morning to the scent of hope … and coffee. And it smelled so good. Yesterday, Barack Hussein Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States of America, and with that, things have already changed. His speech was good—not great—I’ll give it a 7.5. Put it next to any speech by George Walker Bush, and it’s an 11.5. Aretha Louise Franklin’s performance: a solid 10. She still brings it. So, enough talk about her hat.

With all of these feel-good feelings and scents and sounds I was reminded of my interview with The Thermals’ Kathy Foster in December. I asked her what the new record would be like given the changes taking place in the Oval Office. Of course, 2006’s The Body, The Blood, The Machine was a punchy punk rock diatribe on the state of affairs under neo-conservative Christian influence. Foster calls Now We Can See (out April 7 on KRS) more of an “Obama record.”

“It’s mostly written from the perspective of someone who’s died and is looking back at their time on Earth, realizing their own mistakes and those humanity has made. Now we can see! Yes we can!”

I like her feel-good optimism. The new album is one of my most highly anticipated—i.e., you haven’t heard the last of me doting over Now We Can See. Now you can listen.

“I Let It Go” - The Thermals (demo, Now We Can See)

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The Thermals: Yes they can!

Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008 | interviewZ, musiX, pdX | 1 Comment

I’m going to come right out and say it: The Thermals are a great American rock ‘n’ roll band. There. I said it. The Portland three-piece has been busy putting the finishing touches on its new record Now We Can See, all while celebrating President-elect Barack Obama’s victory, celebrating Thanksgiving, recruiting new drummer Westin Glass, gearing up for a PacNorWest/Euro mini-tour and choosing which label would actually put out their fourth record … sheesh, a great American rock ‘n’ roll band’s work is never done.

In the end the Thermals’ core members, guitarist/vocalist Hutch Harris and bassist Kathy Foster (also of PDX pop punks the All Girl Summer Fun Band), parted ways with Sub Pop and went with Kill Rock Stars. The follow-up to 2006’sThe Body, the Blood, the Machine is due out April 7, with the new single coming our way in 7-inch form on March 10. The Thermals will also play two nights (December 5 and 6) at Portland’s Doug Fir Lounge before heading off to Europe for some dates. TDoL recently chatted with Foster via e-mail about pop music, the benefits of signing with KRS and why Now We Can See is “such an Obama record.”

TDoL: When you think of some of the great pop songs, who comes to mind?
Kathy Foster: The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Prince, Madonna, The Who, The Zombies, Weezer, The Supremes, Built To Spill, Flaming Lips …

Tell me about the decision to sign with Kill Rock Stars … must’ve been a tough one.
Yeah, we thought a lot this year about our different options and about what label would be a good fit, or if we should release it ourselves. Over the past six months a bunch of really great indie labels approached us, but in the end Kill Rock Stars won us over with their aggressive enthusiasm and pro-artist way of doing business (they agreed to all our outrageous terms!). Plus it’s great to work with a women-run label. Maggie bakes us cookies, and Portia [Sabin, president of Kill Rock Stars] does our laundry! Another big reason is that they are in Portland now. They moved down here from Olympia earlier this year. So we’re pretty much there every day now, eating all their chewable vitamin C and playing with Maggie’s [Vail, KRS VP] dog, Jackson, who’s the best dog in the world! Yes he is!

How’s the new record coming along? Any kooky tales from the studio?
The record is pretty much done! We’re finishing up the mastering. It’s called Now We Can See and will come out April 7, if all goes as planned! In the studio, it was only John Congleton, Hutch and me, so things got a little nutty. For some reason we were all channeling Larry David, and talking in really exaggerated New York Jewish accents to each other. We went to John’s studio in Dallas to mix, and Hutch and I went to Dealey Plaza. It was eerie how there are two X’s painted on the street at the points where JFK was struck.

What are you doing differently on this album lyrically or musically?
Well, we worked with producer/engineer John Congleton for the first time, from Elmwood Recording Studio in Dallas. He has worked all across the spectrum: Modest Mouse, Polyphonic Spree, Explosions in the Sky, Smog, Erykah Badu, The Roots, Kirk Franklin, R. Kelly(!) and tons more. I just looked him up on Wikipedia, and I really think this sums him up: “Congleton’s production is usually notable by a signature dark sound and a rhythm section that is very large and enveloping.” I was gonna say he’s really into making the rhythm section (that’s all me baby!) sound big, so this album has a much bigger bottom than our others. It was almost gonna be titled Does This Album Make Our Ass Look Big?. The songs are more dynamic and more developed. Also, Hutch feels the lyrics are the best he’s ever written. Yes they are!

What are you going to write about with Dubya leaving in January?
Luckily, Obama won the election, (YES!! We are STOKED!) because this record is SUCH an Obama record. It’s mostly written from the perspective of someone who’s died and is looking back at their time on Earth, realizing their own mistakes and those humanity has made. Now we can see! Yes we can!

Track listing for Now We Can See:
When I Died
We Were Sick
I Let It Go
Now We Can See
At The Bottom Of The Sea
When We Were Alive
I Called Out Your Name
When I Was Afraid
Liquid In, Liquid Out
How We Fade
You Dissolve

“St. Rosa and the Swallows” - The Thermals (The Body, the Blood, the Machine)

“How We Know” - The Thermals (Fuckin A)

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