The Seedy Seeds Interview: SXSW 2010

Cincinnati-based group the Seedy Seeds came together in 2005 when original members Margaret Darling and Mike Ingram decided to form a band in order to learn the instruments they had owned for years. The result was a folk-inspired electronica group that incorporated pop, bluegrass and indie music. Darling and Ingram eventually invited their friend Brian Penick to play live drums for them, and the Seedy Seeds have been a trio ever since. With the release of a 7-inch titled 'Roll Deep' approaching in April, the band is setting off on a tour that will lead them to Austin, Texas for SXSW.

How did your band form?

Margaret Darling: Mike and I met each other randomly at a party hosted by a mutual friend two days before the end of 2005. We just sort of happened to start talking about music and bands and being in bands, and in the course of the conversation we pledged allegiance to one another that we would start a new musical project in which we aimed to play instruments we had owned for years but never bothered to learn. So we did that. Mike and I started the band in the early 2006. We released an album and then started working on another album and decided that we really wanted to incorporate a live drummer to add more dynamism and depth to our recorded sound. So we called upon our old friend Brian to see if he wanted to play drums on a new record. After the recording process we decided that we got along so well and we really liked the sound, so we asked Brian to join the band and we've been the Seedy Seeds ever since.

How long did you own your instruments before deciding to play them?

MD: When I bought my accordion I tried to work really hard at learning it, but I was in college and I had roommates, and they weren't particularly supportive of my new instrument of choice. So to avoid overly dramatic meetings with these roommates, I decided to just put it on the shelf. So I had an idea or concept of how the instrument worked. Mike and I met up at our first practice, me with the accordion and him with the banjo, not really knowing what we were doing and just trying to make sounds that weren't cacophonous.

Mike Ingram: I think that was kind of the main point. We had these instruments, and we taught ourselves to play them kind of for this band. I don't think I would have ever learned to play the banjo that I owned, but I had played guitar and stuff before, so it wasn't a starting from scratch sort of thing. The concept of the band originally was to only play instruments that we didn't know how to play. It fell into us also playing guitar and things we already knew how to play as a supplement, but that was the original concept.

How would you describe your sound?

MI: It'd be electro-pop, banjo and folk instruments and folk sensibilities while also being pop with electronics and dance.

BP: Folktronica.

MD: I love reading how other folks are interpreting our sound. I think one of my favorites is Idolator, [who] wrote us up as "Appalachiatronica."

Where did you come up with the name the Seedy Seeds?

MD: When Mike and I first started practicing, we hadn't exactly established our sound. We were really focusing on getting the instruments down, and then seeing where that would take us. I guess I had decided that we were going to make music that's something like a cross between ... do you remember what it was, Mike?

MI: You said it was Toni Basil and Deerhoof.

MD: Oh, yeah. I knew that we wanted the electronic element to it, but something that was really high-energy and fun. So when we were talking about what to name the band, we were going back and forth and trying to keep in mind something that was clever, but playful -- something that was going to reflect the imaginary form of music that we never really pursued. I don't remember exactly why "the Seedy Seeds" popped into our heads, but it seemed like a really nice combination of similar-sounding words with very different meanings -- a word that is representative of growth and things that are young and fresh, and cycles, and then putting that with a word that's used to describe unsavory characters. It seemed really fun.

What are your musical influences?

MI: We're influenced by a lot more music than we listen to. I think it's interesting because none of the three of us would agree on what we actually would listen to in the van, because we all listen to completely different music and kind of hate each other's music. I think that's what's so cool about it, is that Margaret will sit down and be like, "You have to listen to this trance song. It's really cool. It does this one thing." And I'm like, "I hate this, but I understand what you're talking about. That's really cool." It's very scholarly, I suppose.

Brian Penick: I'd say the one thing we absolutely agree on is listening to ''50s on 5' while in the van. We can listen to it for hours upon hours and still listen to it and enjoy it.

MD: We can all kind of get together and pick out a song here or there, and pick out a song that's doing something that's really dynamic or interesting.

What groups are you planning to see at SXSW?

MD: We're definitely looking forward to going and supporting our friends from Cincinatti: Pomegranates, Sad Things, You, You're Awesome [and] the Harlequins. Personally, outside of that, there are so many incredible bands. I will drop everything to go see Jason Lytle. He is the one guy that I really, really need to see no matter what.

MI: If it's anything like my experience last year, what I actually want to go see doesn't really matter because it's where I will be herded. It's hard to walk by a bar and hear, "Hey, this is good," "Hey, I suppose we should go to this." And then you get stuck watching an amazing band that you've never seen before. I'm really interested in sort of walking around and seeing what I can absorb from the music in every single square inch of the city.


Brandy Keller is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.