The Light FootworkWhen I first emailed about doing an email interview for Another Form of Relief, they accepted but warned me that it might take them a while to get answers to me. This was back in may, proving they really weren’t kidding. I tell you this not as a complaint or anything like that, but more because it was a pleasant surprise for me that they would still take the time to get this back to me all those months later when most would have just tossed it aside. I mean this isn’t exactly an important publication I have going here, just a blog with a few crazy readers. I guess my main point here is that are very cool people.

For those of you not familiar with The Light Footwork, their album, ‘One State Two State’ is one of my favourites from this year, and with good reason. It’s a charming, witty record that’s generally a joy to the ears. Think something along the lines of the lyrical stylings of early Pavement crossed with the wonderful sounds of Beulah while still sounding entirely fresh and you’re on the right track. The band is the project of songwriting duo Jay Underwood and Becca Willhelm, both of whom were kind enough to answer my inane questions.

How are you today?

Becca: I’m pretty good. I don’t have a hernia. I thought I did, but I don’t.

Jay: Nothing a snort of paddy couldn’t fix.

How did The Light Footwork originally come about?

Becca: Sometime in early 2004, we’d both recently moved to Palo Alto and were looking for something musical to do. As luck would have it I heard some of Jay’s stuff and he heard some of mine and we thought we’d try out playing together. I was a little concerned that he might be a psycho killer, but he seemed pretty normal on the phone, so we arranged to meet at the Caltrain station in Palo Alto. I would be wearing a brown backpack, and he would be in a Subaru. That night we ate Taco Bell bean burritos and drank whatever beer he had, and then we wrote The Art of Communication Part 1. And we’ve been neglecting our families, significant others, and jobs ever since.

Jay: I am a psycho killer.

Where did the name The Light Footwork come from?

Jay: It came from the google translation of an email written to me in Japanese. I don’t know what the Japanese character meant, but google thought it meant “Light Footwork” so I added that to the mental list of possible band names, and then it grew on me, and I convinced Becca it didn’t suck. I’m not sure if she was ever really convinced, but i still like it. What do you think?

Is it true that the two of you are on entirely different continents much of the time? How does this impact your ability to make music?

Becca: It is true, Jay is in Ireland and I’m in California. It has been this way for the last year. This has put quite a damper on touring, but Jay is coming back in a week and I anticipate that it’ll make this all much easier. We’ve both continued writing new material, mainly just small pieces of songs which I suspect will all fuse together during the first month that we’re back together in person. I’m really excited for Jay to get back. YAY!

Jay: I’m now back, hence the delay in returning these answers to you. Sorry about that.

There are a lot of comparisons between your music and that of Beulah. Given Jay’s connection to the band this would be inevitable, but who else do you cite as the major influences on your music?

Becca: We’re big on Malkmus. Other than that, I’m probably most influenced by random classical music (most recently, I’ve been on a Scarlatti kick).

Jay: I like random music too, 70s prog is big.

How helpful do you think the internet has been in getting the word out about your music?

Becca: Since we’ve been in different countries, the internet has been the sole source of getting the word out. The blogs have been amazing – we’ve reached far more people through word-of-blog than through formal reviews and radio combined.

Jay: True dat.

What do you think you’d both be doing if you weren’t making music?

Becca: Since the time we’re making music is basically in our spare time, I suppose if I wasn’t making music then I’d spend more time outside, bikeriding and playing more team sports. Actually, I’ve always wanted to take up boxing. Every time I go on business travel I watch boxing in the hotel (I normally can’t watch boxing because I don’t have cable at home). Yes, I think I’d join a small boxing gym and start getting my nose all smashed flat and my ears all cauliflowered.

What does the future hold for The Light Footwork?

Becca: Well, if we get big then I’m going to do celebrity boxing. Other than that, I’ve got no idea. We’re definitely planning to put out some more albums and finally play some shows. We’ve got half of a music video filmed, so we’ll probably finish that up sometime soon. After that, I’ll probably die prematurely of a cancerous brain tumor and Jay will sit on the organ recipient list waiting for a new liver because he probably ruined his in Ireland, and that’ll be the end of us. So we’d better smoke it while we’ve got it.

Jay: The transplant went well and I’m back to writing songs, which will be easier to rehearse now that we share a house again and have a new practice space. Viva las light footwork

MP3 The Light Footwork – Coastlines Are Landmines (expired)
MP3 The Light Footwork – Exit Row (expired)

The Light Footwork: Website || Myspace