In Michael Azzerad’s seminal rock manual Our Band Could Be Your Life, he says “You could be beholden only to yourself and the values and the people you respected. You could take charge of your own life.”
White Lung are the kind of band Azzerad would have loved. Does love. So much so that frontwoman Mish Way frequently contributes to Azzerad’s website, The Talkhouse. White Lung are a band that have done everything the right way. Not the easy way, but the right way. Now full disclosure- frontwoman Mish Way not only writes a column for Westender (see Sex With Mish Way), and is a dear friend of mine. We’ve played music together, drunkenly watched Stevie Nicks on YouTube till 5am, and a few more things I best not mention in print.
We connect via the internet in her adopted home of Los Angeles, where she is decompressing from one tour and gearing up for the next.
Hello Mish, how’s LA treating you?
LA has been treating me exactly how LA treats people and only people in LA know this. Right now, LA is being a total bitch, really making me work for it… My fiancé and I are house hunting, which is a gross nightmare. Other than that, I do love this city and the people I have met here.
You've become a thinking person's household name. What’s it like, after being a band since 2006, to finally gain this kind of recognition?
I did this interview the other day where the writer implied that my band was undeserving or that people thought we were undeserving because we did not work very hard or something of that nature. We have been around for a very long time. We have dragged our asses around the continent over and over. We pushed ourselves because no one else was going to push us. I am glad that we are getting some recognition and that things are going well. I am also glad we are not some flavor-of-the-week band who will evaporate as quickly as they came. That is not our story.
Do you ever find it tough being in punk, where your peers are predominantly male?
I don’t have any issues with the so-called male dominance of punk. It has never caused me to feel inadequate in relation to my peers who also make music. I have a bigger problem with being clumped together with other female front-women who’s musical style and political views have ZERO to do with mine, but because we are both front people with tits, our names become glued together. That infuriates me. That’s sexist. That’s lazy.
How has touring changed for White Lung since your humble mini van beginnings?
Touring is the same except we get treated way better. There’s hotels. There’s a green room with food and alcohol. But it’s still the same deal: Driving all day, loading gear, etc, etc. You know how it goes. There’s more airplane rides. There’s more expenses, but you are being paid more so it evens out. The stress is the same, even when you have a tour manager (glorified babysitter who has the most annoying job in the world, god bless all TM’s). The only thing that REALLY changes at this level is the slight upgrade in amenities. The job itself, putting on a great show, is still the same.
I recently re-read one of your pieces about how being in a relationship fucks with your creativity. You are now getting married. Are you worried it will affect your writing in any way?
It’s hard not be scared of this…especially when we have always thrived by writing about our frustrations and what is the most common, consistent human frustration? Sex and love. It’s a limitless topic that kind of just drags you in circles. I am terrified because I know I can’t fall back on this subject anymore for songs. I also don’t have a drug addiction to write about anymore, so that’s off the table too. My two favorite subjects: Sex and drugs. I am going to have to look beyond that and start telling stories that do not necessarily belong to me. Or maybe something terrible will happen?
GOD FORBID. I have a hilarious memory of you from the tour we did together that involved you waking up from a van-nap and immediately opening your computer to start writing a sex advice column. How do you maintain such a prolific writing career while touring so extensively?
I actually feel like my writing has suffered this year with my touring schedule and it has made things quite difficult. When I was freelancing full time a few years ago I would publish 3-4 articles for Noisey a day, plus a few more in other random magazines, I’d be doing locals a few times a week and doing copy writing for apps as well as sex advice for a men’s website working mostly on campaigns sponsored by razor blades because that copy pays. I was hustling. I would keep a log of how much money I made every day and I wrote 7-9 hours every day. Now, I’m so lazy. This next year White Lung has a big break from touring and I am focusing on some new projects. A lot more writing. It has always been a challenge, but a great challenge. I will never stop writing.
Finally... the inevitable- what's next for White Lung?
A big, fat break and then we write our next masterpiece.
White Lung are Mish Way, Anne-Marie Vassiliou, Kenneth William and Hether Fortune. They play Electric Owl on Friday, Dec. 5. Advance tickets $13. Doors at 8pm, show 9:30pm.
