On the eve of her debut “live” gig, I had an opportunity to catch up with Wiggy from Curdle about her solo country (and beyond) project, Tulsa Queen.
Tulsa Queen
The Ginger Quiff: I’m assuming the name comes from the great Emmylou Harris song, tell me about the inspiration behind Tulsa Queen? Which other country artists inspire you?
Tulsa Queen: It sure does. I absolutely love that song. When i first heard it i couldn’t get the chord changes and the lyrics and the whole feel of it out of my head for weeks, it’s so gorgeous. I just love country music (the good country music, not the shite!) I love how painful and bloody and boozy and honest it can be when it’s at its best.
It’s like 60’s girl group music like the Shangri La’s in a way – you’ll never hear songs like it when the feelings are so on the surface in such a raw and honest way. Not in a wuss kind of way, there’s nothing wussy or lame about it, in fact it’s the opposite.
My absolute favourite country musician is Gram Parsons, I think (I think?) I have everything he ever recorded but every now and then I get a lovely surprise of something live or a demo I never heard. I also love Tammy Wynette so much, she really sang with a tear in her voice and she just has such a moving sound, I love the way she would stand really still but belt out this massive sound, and I love the Trio album from Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt and Dolly Parton. That was a big inspiration. Also the Davis sisters, for their beautiful harmonies and just how much misery they can pile into a song! I had a Skeeter Davis record as a teenager and I’d listen to the one Davis sisters song on it on repeat. I could go on and on, there’s so many!
Inspiration
GQ: I know your music from being a fan of one of your other bands, Curdle. Although, the music style is different, judging by your Instagram posts, your lyrical content is similar. That is quite a combination. How would you describe Tulsa Queen and where do you get your song/lyric ideas from?
TQ: I’m just a big fan of blood and guts! That’s always been my theme, for whatever reason! I love horror movies, Angela Carter and Shirley Jackson. The whole blood and guts thing went perfectly with Curdle’s music and since country music is so blood and guts anyway, it goes perfectly with that too! Having said that, I don’t think that everything I do with Tulsa Queen could be called country, it’s kind of morphed into other things, but one of my big big inspirations with that was Emmylou Harris’s Wrecking Ball album which is so many things, you couldn’t just call it country even though she’s a country artist really. It’s one of my favourite albums.
Gram Parsons
GQ: What is your favourite Tulsa Queen song?
TQ: I think my favourite is So Long even though I find it the hardest to play! I’m secretly dreading playing it live, eek. It’s my favourite because it was the first one I wrote for Tulsa Queen and it’s about Gram Parsons. I wrote it from different accounts of him wearing red nail polish, playing live to one person, and crying while he played She Once Lived Here by George Jones. Also about how some people say he had to be physically held up to record his vocals for Wild Horses (some also say this isn’t true) and how his version of that song still managed to be way better than the Rolling Stones – in my opinion! He was such a beaut.
One of my favourite things about Gram Parsons was that he was such an imperfect musician – he made mistakes constantly, but the perfection is in the imperfection if you know what I mean. Anyway I wanted to call that song GP but then I thought people would think it was about a general practitioner. Then I thought, well I’ll use Gram Parson’s full initials and call it ICP. But then that sounded like it was about Insane Clown Posse, which I didn’t want either. My lovely pal Laura from Dorothy Hale suggested I call it So Long so she solved the problem!
Lockdown
GQ: COVID 19 has impacted everyone, however, despite the continuing emergence from lockdown, venues and live music will be one of the last things to be able to return. Firstly, how have you coped during lockdown?
TQ: I’ve been grand really, I’ve missed a lot of people so much and that was very hard. I just tried to focus on music though and just write and write and play and play. I got an autoharp and a new Ebow so those were damn good distractions. I wrote new songs and tightened up old ideas a bit, also I got so into body pump (weightlifting) that I worry I’m getting a bit burly! Or is it prison ripped? Nah just burly. It’s just so ace. I can’t recommend it enough and you feel like you can crush everything which is surely a positive.
Gigs
GQ: What was the last gig you saw and played?
TQ: The last gig I played was at Sleazy’s with my Curdles, it feels like so long ago. The last gig I saw was Angel Olsen at the Barrowlands on Valentine’s day and that was lots of fun. I’m so in the past when it comes to music so it was nice to go along to a gig that was by a new (ish) artist that I really enjoyed!
GQ: With the emergence of the #letthemusicplay campaign, what would your message be to the government and individual music fans regarding supporting independent music in the present climate?
TQ: Oh boy. I don’t know really, I guess the most important thing is making sure everyone is safe and alive, so gigs will happen when they happen. I only want these things to start when they are fun and safe and not dangerous and shit.
But in terms of music fans I’d say watch live streams, I know they’re not as fun as gigs but get yourself a big wine and have a nice time.
And go on Bandcamp! Listen to a bunch of stuff and buy some songs and albums, try listening to some things you might not usually listen to and also support the musicians you like by sharing their music with other people. All these things are lovely and so helpful.
Summer of Sleaze
GQ: Despite the circumstances, you’re playing your first ever gig streaming on Nice n Sleazy – what can we expect? How do you feel about “flying solo” without a band around you?
TQ: Absolutely terrified. Properly scared! I have no one to turn round to to say “aaaaw shit” or to be scared with me! Also it’s just me and a guitar /sometimes autoharp so there’s nowhere to hide. But I’ve just decided to enjoy it. It’s so nice to be asked and if I fuck up I’ll just keep going! I’m playing six songs – two are online on soundcloud and bandcamp and those are So Long and Bloodstain. The rest are new to everyone except me! My autoharp and Ebow are involved. I’ll just sing and sing and have a laugh. And some wine.
GQ: Tell us what is next for Tulsa Queen – how can people support you/what plans have you got for releasing music?
TQ: Oh I’ve got a whole album ready in my head, it’s just a matter of getting it recorded now. I’ll be putting out new songs on Bandcamp and Soundcloud just as soon as I can get back to recording so look out for those – and I have Clare of Curdle and Wild Potato Designs working on some really lovely album artwork for me, so it’ll be super pretty when it’s done.
Curdle
GQ: It would be remiss of me not to ask about Curdle, obviously you’ve not managed to get together as a band for a few months, what is happening with the band – have you been on a hiatus or have you still be active online?
TQ: Oh we’re working away! We’ve been working on a new song called Bloodbeat about stalking someone who you want to kill so business as usual in the lyrics department! It was pretty shit to realise we couldn’t have band practice over video chat as the instruments were all delayed. I’m sure a lot of bands had this problem! I had this problem practicing with Dorothy Hale too and it was such a shame because we were all so looking forward to playing music together in both cases. I asked pals about this and a friend told me “physics is not on your side” in regard to this problem so I realised video band practice probably just couldn’t happen. Hopefully it won’t be too long till real life band practice!
Thanks to Wiggy for taking the time out to chat.
Tune into her set on Friday 3rd July on Nice n Sleazy’s “Summer of Sleaze” stream via their Facebook site