Limp Bizkit – Interview

With a lead vocal triple threat made up of guitarist Tasha-Ray Evin, older sister and keyboardist Lacey-Lee Evin, and bassist Louise Burns, as well as an accomplished drummer in recent addition Kim Urhahn.

How is everything going?

Everyone: Great!

How has life changed?

Tasha: We are never at home anymore. We get to travel all the time and see all these incredible cities. Who knew I’d ever go to Tennessee.

What is it like to have so much attention placed on you?

Tasha: Everything has been really exciting. We are just enjoying the adventure as it goes. I don’t know if we fully realize what is going on. We are just enjoying it.

Lacey: Personally I don’t think we have changed. Our lives have changed a bit. But we don’t see our families and I feel guilty. But it’s worth doing. Yeah (Everyone laughs)

How important is it to you that the fans and everyone knows you write your songs?

Lacey: We always have to defend ourselves and prove we aren’t manufactured. At the same time we don’t try to hard and that it is expected. To us it is weird that some artists don’t write their own songs. We could never do that. It’s something that we have always known. We want to emphasize it but at the same time we don’t want to exaggerate it because then it sounds desperate.

Kim: We all have been writing all our lives so it is nothing new to us.

Everyone: Yeah.

When did you start picking up instruments and writing songs?

Louise: There are songs that we wrote individually on the record. Lacey has a few, Tasha has a few and I have a few. When we work with songwriters like Matrix and Linda Perry they have their ideas and we have ours. I’ll go home and work on an acoustic guitar and bring it to the band and we work it out. Right now on the road we are driven more by lyric because we don’t have instruments to write the music.

I interviewed the Donnas and they said when they play a lot of people don’t think they really play instruments and are a novelty. Do you find it funny that people have such a hard time imagining a girl rock group?

Kim: It’s weird.

Tasha: I think people have certain expectations about us. But once they get there they realize we can play.

Louise: I think it’s crazy that people believe girls can’t really play. It’s sexist.

What’s the latest with the tour upcoming?

Tasha: The Warped Tour puts it on every year; it’s called the Ladies Lounge Girls Garage. It supports women’s acts. It’s going to be a cool tour with all kinds of music. We wanted to play shows where there is a mix.

Is there anything that could have prepared you for all of this?

Everyone: No.

Lacey: I don’t think we had any idea until you realize it has been a week and you don’t know what state you are in and you haven’t slept more than four hours a night for the last month. (Laughs)

I think a lot of kids have this notion that it’s all fun and games.

Tasha: It’s a lot of hard work and you really have to love what you are doing and you have to surrender to it. You have to enjoy it. It’s a fun thing if you let it be a fun thing.

Is it easy to stay focused or like you said some days you don’t know what state you are in so it’s hard to get into the moment?

Tasha: For me personally, I try to concentrate on what is right ahead of me. I don’t think about the next few days because it gets a little scary to think you are going to cross four states tomorrow. (Everyone laughs)

When you were preparing for the album release was it just a hope it might do okay, or was the record label preparing you for the record blowing up?

Kim: It’s always been a hope of ours.

Tasha: Yeah, whatever happens happens, as long as we can keep playing our music we are cool with anything.

Lacey: Every band has great supporters and we have the best fans in the world. We really appreciate them a lot. But everyone has people who don’t care what you are doing, but they can do their own thing.

How do you feel about the idea that you might influence some girls to pick up instruments and start a band?

Kim: That’s amazing.

Lacey: I can’t explain how cool that is. To inspire someone that much you can’t explain how you feel about it because it’s amazing. It’s inspiring for us and makes us want to keep doing it.

Who inspires you?

Kim: I don’t think we could all agree on one. The other three could probably agree on one.

Lacey: I’ve been listening to Annie Lennox.

Louise: I wish I could play like Flea, but what bass player doesn’t?

Kim: I wish I could play like Brandon from the Youth.

Do you look down the road?

Tasha: We’re just lucky to be able to travel and tour and play all these cities. It’s great to meet people. Everything has been happening that we have always hoped for.

Kim: We just hope we can have longevity. I know if I can be playing drums when I’m 80 I’d be a happy girl.

Lacey: That would be awesome.

Tasha: I’d also play in my skirts and high tops. (Everyone laughs)

What was it like going on stage for the first time?

Louise: Scary.

Lacey: We were nervous, but after a few songs it really is fun.

Tasha: The nervousness wears off and you really get excited.

Is there anything that can replace that rush?

Everyone: No. (Laugh)

Louise: That is why we do it.

Lacey: When you have fans screaming at you – wait never mind I’m a loser. (Laughs)

Tasha: When you are onstage that is the greatest feeling in the world.

Are you excited about the future being wide open?

Tasha: Yes. I just hope we can have the longevity and make a career in the music industry.

Louise: Not many seventeen year olds have a record deal on their resumes so that is pretty awesome.

+ Charlie Craine