The Grammatically Incorrect, Musically Awesome, An Horse

Musicians Kate Cooper and Damon Cox hadn’t been playing together for very long when they were offered an opening slot on Tegan and Sara’s 2008 Out Of Hibernation US tour. It was pretty soon after that when they were invited to open for Death Cab For Cutie on their Australian tour. For good reason, Kate and Damon’s band, An Horse, has found great success in impressive time. And this includes their steadily increasing fan following – from the lesbian community, to a national television audience when they appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman. Cherry Grrl recently caught up with the unique duo to talk about their career so far, goals for the future, and their very popular album, Rearrange Beds.

Cherry Grrl (CG): Okay, so let’s get the basics out of the way first – what is the story behind the name, An Horse?
Kate: I was having a grammar conversation with a friend about the use of “an” before soft and hard h’s. He used “An Horse” to exemplify his point. I liked the way the words sounded. We often talked about it and he eventually made a sweater with An Horse written on it for me. It was a nickname of sorts that stuck around.

Damon: We are actually looking into replicating the original An Horse hoodie to sell at shows.

CG: How did you two meet and how long have you been playing together?
Kate: Damon and I both worked in an indie record store in Brisbane. The store was a little basement store. We used to just hang out and drink coffee and talk about music. We have been playing together for a little over 18 months.

Damon: Before we met we were aware of each other, as we knew of each other’s bands we were playing in at the time. I was already working at the store when Kate started. We connected right away. We used to go to shows and get drunk and toy with the idea of maybe playing together one day. It took two years of talking about it before we actually did.

CG: How did you each first get your start in music?
Kate: My Mum and Dad took me to a Rolling Stones concert. I could only play piano and trumpet. I saw them and decided that’s what I wanted to do. So I saved up for a guitar and spent years being shit at it. It helps to be a nerd who can handle sitting for hours by themselves.  Especially in high school.

Damon: My parents bought me a drum kit for my 14th Birthday. I was so fucking excited. I got up at like 4am and set it up right away. All through high school I drove everyone in my family crazy but they were always supportive. I never had a plan B. I have always wanted to be a musician for as long as I can remember.

CG: What is it about the two of you coming together musically that works so well?
Kate: I don’t know, to be honest. But I do know that we both play very well together. It takes a certain kind of person to really listen. I think Damon really listens to what I bring in. In turn, I really listen to him. It’s hard to articulate.

Damon: Agreed. It’s not calculated or planned out too much. It just really works, which is so great. I’ve played with a lot of people but I’ve never had such a strong connection as I do with Kate, both musically and personally.

CG: How do you describe your sound?
Kate: Honest.
Damon: Yep.

CG: Who do you each consider to be your musical influences?
Together: Sleater Kinney, Fugazi, Tegan and Sara, Neil Young, Death Cab for Cutie, Patti Smith.

CG: What can you tell us about Rearrange Beds and what the process of making that album was like for you?
Kate: Well when we began making it we didn’t even really know we were making a record. We went into the studio late December 07 and recorded five songs. We didn’t really know if we would release them. We were just both keen to get them down and listen to them, play them for our friends. We did that. It turns out that some of our friends really dug them and asked us to tour. So we toured the states, got a record deal and decided to record five more songs to make a record. The second time we went into the studio, even though things had changed slightly, the process was exactly the same. We went to Magoo’s church in the bush one hour out of Brisbane. We recorded, we drank tea. We hung out – his two-year-old daughter would burst in during takes.

Damon: Then we mixed with Howard Redekopp who lives in Canada. We’d never experienced mixing long distance via the internet, but it was exciting to wake up each morning with a new mix in our inbox. We’d listen, go back and forth a bit if any changes had to be made. It worked out really well and wasn’t stressful at all like it can be sometimes when mixing a record. Howard was amazing. We still haven’t met him in person. I’m sure we will though.

CG: What are some of the themes or topics explored in the album?
Kate: The songs were written during a period of time that was rough for me. Really shitty, but I think the songs aren’t bleak. They might come off like that initially but I think there is more to them than…you know…a broken heart, etc. They are bigger than that.

CG: Do you each have any tracks off the release that you consider to be your favorites or ones that you think fans will particularly enjoy?
Kate: I really like all the songs. I can hear fans sing along to “Little Lungs” and “Postcards” at shows, but I think maybe I only hear them because at times, parts in those songs are quieter.

Damon: I go through little phases of having favorite songs to play, but I really do like all of them. At the moment I’m really enjoying playing “Company.”

CG: You recently played The Late Show with David Letterman. What was that experience like for you?
Kate: Letterman was a lot of fun. We have a wonderful team of people that we work with and they are so supportive. A lot of them were there as our wing men and women. They had our backs and we had a great time. It was amazing. After the taping though, Damon and I had to drive six hours to somewhere in upstate New York. We watched it in some seedy highway motel. That was bizarre.

Damon: Haha yes, that was surreal. Kate was jumping up and down on the bed and was having mini-freak outs in case we sucked. I think we did ok. Which is a relief. When we were sitting around in the dressing room before we played we were trying not to think about it too much. But it’s hard when there are photos of past guests on the walls staring at you. It was fucking great though.

Kate: Yeah I think Damon and I didn’t even talk about what we were doing on the day of Letterman. It was like we were denying it to each other. I was thinking…Damon seems really calm, okay cool. I am calm. He was probably doing the same thing.

CG: What have been some other highlights of your musical career so far?
Kate: Just being able to play with Damon most nights blows my mind. It’s a continual highlight! When you find someone you feel really good playing with it doesn’t get much better…except when bands you really love ask you on tour. It’s pretty safe to say being able to do An Horse full time. We get it, we are lucky.

Damon: For sure. I feel the same. And being asked to tour with your favorite bands is so great. We are longtime Death Cab, New Pornographers, and Tegan & Sara fans and we have been blessed to have played with all of those bands.

CG: What would you each say is your favorite part about being a professional musician?
Kate: Getting to play every night and constantly getting to meet amazing people. We also get to drink a lot of coffee from all over the world. Bodie from Point Break looks for the perfect wave. We look for the perfect cup of coffee. It’s an eternal search. There has yet to be a “50-year storm” cup.

Damon: Haha, for sure.

CG: What’s up next for An Horse? What are your future goals?
Kate: Damon and I have already started writing new songs. We will be touring for the most part of this year. When we get some down time we will write a new record. I guess they’re the goals – tour and write.

Damon: We’d love to get to Europe too. It might be a little while but I’m sure it will happen.

For more about An Horse visit http://www.anhorse.com and http://www.myspace.com/anhorse.