Bleached is the Los Angeles based duo of sisters Jessica and Jennifer Clavin, who are both ex-Mika Miko. They make retro bent pop-punk music that really draws on the 60’s twang. The band has released a few 7″ singles to date but we can expect more from them in the future.
As a pre-NXNE warm up, we sent 15 questions to Bleached via email to find out a bit more about them, and they responded with some awesome answers – thanks Jennifer & Jessica! All of the questions were answered by Jennifer except the first couple which included Jessica. Let’s get on with it….
Please introduce yourself / yourselves.
We are Jessica and Jennifer Clavin from Bleached.
What was the first album you ever bought?
Jen: The Slits – “In The Beginning”
Jess: Velvet Underground – “white light white heat”
When and what made you first pick up an instrument and when did decide you wanted to be in a band?
Our dad had a bunch of guitars laying around the house. Jess decided she wanted to play bass so she got one for christmas in like 7th grade. And then in like 9th grade I decided to start playing one of my dads super heavy home made guitars. We would go to show every weekend and I remember watching this girl band and thinking “wait why aren’t we in a band?”.
What are the best and worst parts of being in a band with your sibling?
We get along really well and get each other really well so it’s super easy and we don’t fight. Fortunately there is no worst part.
You will be playing the Bruise Cruise for NXNE on June 16th. Bruise or cruise – which applies better to Bleached and why?
I thought it was booze cruise.
Jennifer is a NXNE veteran. Did you play at Lee Palace for NXNE 2010 with Cold Cave? How was it touring with Wes and co.?
Yeah NXNE was fun I think 2 years ago. Also I remember we did this really funny/weird dj set where we just all sat in chairs and stared with no expressions. Wes and I dated so it was fun being in a band with my boyfriend. And also playing a completely different style music was nice. But it’s funny because we are both inspired by most of the same music.
While playing with Mika Miko, Jessica said, “If we had to choose to be better live or recorded, we’d go with live.” Do you still hold the same opinion for Bleached?
No! That’s so funny because we all used to say that. But I feel like it’s totally equal now. I want to put on a good entertaining performance but I also want our songs to be perfect to my expectations when we record.
You just came off a European mini-tour where you played the Primavera Festival. What was your favourite band at Primavera?
Omg that was our best most fun show so far. My favorite band was Veronica Falls. Best current band ever!!
Any festival tips as we head into festival season?
Sunblock, water!, Psychedelics, and a hairbrush.
Jennifer, you recently tweeted that you were seriously thinking of moving to Belgium. What made you love it so much?
It was so beautiful with the cobblestone roads, vintage clothing shops, the best espresso I have ever had, and really awesome people. It seemed really peaceful there.
On your blog (hellobleached.tumblr.com), I was noticing some Metallica and Black Flag. If you could choose one, which would it be and why?
Omg this is hard. I grew up obsessing over Black Flag, I even have a tattoo. But Metallica is so epic and perfect that I kinda feel like the album Ride the Lightning may be the soundtrack to our lives right now. Mika Miko both did covers of Black Flag and Metallica too.
How did you hook up with Molly Schoit who directed the video for Searching Through The Past?
She did a video for our old band and she is a friend of ours. She is amazing! We are lucky we got to work with her again.
What’s your favourite live venue that you have played? What do you love about it?
Silencio in Paris. It’s designed by David Lynch and so amazing and creepy looking. It wasn’t like your typical venue and I like playing weird places. Like a boat!
One last question, why should people care about Bleached?
Because we love what we are doing and hope it makes other people happy too. <3
Bleached NXNE 2012 Showcases
- Silver Dollar Room – Thursday, June 14 @ 12AM
- Silver Dollar Room – Friday, June 15 @ 12AM
- Panache & M For Montreal’s NXNE Bruise Cruise – June 16 @ 1:30
nxne.com/2012/panache-m-for-montreal-present-nxnes-2012-bruise-cruise - Silver Dollar Room – Saturday, June 16 @ 1AM
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