I love when bands from one of the hippest cities, Austin, Texas, come through town and Follow That Bird! is a threesome from Austin, two girls and one guy—nice ratio. They play cute girl-fronted indie rock ‘n’ roll. Their band is so adorable you’ll want to squeeze them until they die.
They don’t spend a lot of time preening however. According to the Austin Sound, “the trio delivers a heavy yet melodic punch, bruising riffs and bass lines accentuated by Tiffanie Lanmon’s fervent drumming and Lauren Green’s punkish, jagged vocals.” Sounds like a winner to me and when they open up for fellow Austinite Bill Callahan at Plush this Friday, it’d be wise to follow along.
Below, Mitchell Tellstrom, Tiffanie Lanmon and Lauren Green answer some questions about missing out on “Sesame Street,” Austin in all its music glory and what’s going to happen to the band in the future, hopefully.
AZNB: I could talk about “Sesame Street” all day—and I do. How knowledgeable are you about the 1985 Jim Henson movie? Did you take your name from the film?
Lauren Green: Not very, to be completely honest. I’m not sure if any member has actually seen the movie. We took the name from a “Dora the Explorer” book titled, “Follow That Bird!” We have never read the book either but I’m assuming she followed a curious bird around, meeting up with talking maps and crossing chocolate mountains along the way.
Mitchell Tellstrom: I’ve seen the movie. It was one of my favorites growing up. I joined the band more recently and was a little disappointed when I found out they hadn’t named the band after the movie. Books are good, too, I guess.
Who’s your favorite Muppet?
MT: As a bass player I of course prefer the Swedish Chef. Who doesn’t love a rubber chicken?
I guess you don’t constantly think about the Countmobile when you are touring?
LG: This is technically our second tour, the first being this past weekend. We rode on an old school bus with four other bands to play in Denton (Texas) and Dallas. The tour was made up of bands that are part of an Austin record label/multimedia company called Monofonus Press, who were kind enough to ask us to come along. I think I would trade the bus for the Countmobile any day.
It looks like you’re coming out to Tucson to play with Bill Callahan and then going straight back to Austin to play with him again there. What’s your motivation for coming all the way out here? You must be pretty stoked to play this show.
LG: I’d say! It is also a great opportunity and we thought, ‘Why not?’ Tucson’s not terribly far and we’re playing El Paso and Albuquerque along the way. Besides, two members, being Tiffanie and myself, have never witnessed ‘The Thing.’
Is this mini-tour going to lead to a larger tour in the fall?
Tiffanie Lanmon: A fall or winter tour is certainly due. We haven’t started to plan any routes or make inquiries, but it is definitely something that is brewing right now.
How do you like Austin and what is it like competing for attention on-stage and off in such a musical town?
TL: On any given night you could see so many solid local acts. We don’t see competing shows as competition, but as something we wish we weren’t missing due to our own.
MT: You seem so positive. There’s also a jading side of being involved in such a thriving music scene. Any night, I can go see great bands and friends, but sometimes you can kind of brush it off as just another show or I have better things to do. I regularly try and regularly fail at reminding myself how amazing the music scene is in Austin. And there’s a lot of that in Austin.
Isn’t there such a thing as band overload? What do you normally do when SXSW is happening in Austin?
TL: Well naturally, we play! This past year we played at four different showcases. In between playing we try our best to catch other bands that have made the pilgrimage.
You have a self-titled EP out on Waterloo Records, but what else is on the horizon for Follow That Bird!?
TL: Waterloo Records is actually a local record store where you can purchase our EP. We self-released the EP last October. We were asked to be a part of a compilation of Texas bands that will be out this August, and we’re really looking forward to that release. For now, we’re focusing on writing and have plans to record a full length later this summer.
MT: Single should be on the way too. I hope.
Is there anything you’d like to say to Tucson?
All: FOLLOW THAT BIRD CANT WAIT TO GET OUR HANDS ON ALL THAT CACTI!!!
Come out and follow Follow That Bird! and Bill Callahan who play Plush this Friday, July 3. Tickets are $12 and the show starts with Follow That Bird at 9:45 p.m.
