Tennis Blame the Internet for Their Image -- Top 100 Acts at SXSW 2011

When husband-and-wife duo Tennis first emerged on the blogosphere last year, there were a lot of question marks and very few places to find the answers. Now that the band has released their much-anticipated debut, 'Cape Dory,' we've gotten to know them a little more. Like the fact that their record was the result of months of writing on a sailing trip that the pair embarked on, or the fact that they can create one heck of a melody as heard on dynamic songs like 'Marathon.' In anticipation of their SXSW showcases, Spinner talks to Patrick Riley -- one half of Tennis -- about the Internet, album art and Auto-Tune.

What was the intention of the band?

We were just writing music for ourselves. We didn't have the intention of making music professionally and I'd say this really happened by accident. We just told four of our friends to check our MySpace page and it just all snowballed from there.

When did things change?

The second we started playing live shows. Everything happened so quickly. We were just an apartment band and we thought we'd never ever play live shows. I had a career that I was happy about and had no intention of quitting but the second we started playing live we were forced to quit our jobs. And when we quit our jobs we were like, 'S---, we've really got to do this!'

The band picked up really quickly through a lot of popular blogs -- do you think the Internet has pushed you guys a bit too quickly?

Yeah, I'd say so. I think the biggest problem we had was that we weren't allowed the opportunity to define ourselves -- the Internet defined us, for us, in basically every respect. From how people viewed us to what bands we got associated with to what type of listeners we'd have; none of that was even close to our choice. It was hard to get used to but we're definitely flattered that people are even listening to our music.

Even your artwork was chosen for you.

Yeah. We were debating on two different pieces of artwork for our album and someone just took the picture of Alaina and posted it, saying it was the album cover. Then Pitchfork and maybe 80 other blogs took the photo and said it was our cover, so we didn't have a choice. Stuff like that is our band in a nutshell. Like, we have demo versions of all our songs online. I don't even know how people got them!

Was it too fast for your own good?

I don't think there was any way to control that stuff. We didn't have a publicist or anything so the demand is there but it can't be met by the band.

What did you listen to growing up?

I really liked Grandaddy a lot and listened to a lot of them growing up. Just the simplicity of it has influenced our music and we take a lot of those songs to heart when we're writing.

There's a definitely throwback vibe in your music. Was the band's sound a deliberate decision?

Yes and no. I think after the sailing trip, that was just the mood we were in. The sound back then was just much more simpler and there weren't any computer programs to manipulate sound. We just wanted songs that people can listen to and be happy.

Would you ever consider using something like Auto-Tune?

No. I don't think we're into making music that's beyond humanity! Our drummer just said 'Who are we to play God?'

Catch Tennis' SXSW Set on Wednesday, March 16 at Club de Ville (900 Red River St.) 12AM.

Watch Tennis' Video for 'Cape Dory'
MORE SXSW COVERAGE ON SPINNER
Keep Austin Weird: Fun Things to Do at SXSW | SXSW Survival Guide: Advice, Tips and Tricks From Artists | SXSW Road Trip Guide | Top 100 Bands at SXSW 2011
Latest SXSW News | All Things SXSW