interview: io echo

as you may or may not know, I am infatuated with the catchy dance-rock from LA based band io echo. their cover of the Beatles song "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" is one of my favourite things, ever. I had a chance to ask the band a few questions, and they had a great sense of humour, so read on below.

A few days ago, I saw a commercial featuring “Doorway”. When and how did that come about? It’s interesting how a lot of indie bands get mainstream recognition via phone commercials. How do you feel about it?

Leopold: The director of the commercial became a fan of the band when he saw us live. He developed this whole idea for the commercial based around us and pitched it to Sprint. Licensing is so important for indie bands, especially in the age of file sharing.

The commercial also made me realize that your given name is Joanna. It clicked that io is like “jo”. Is “io” your stage name or have you adopted it in other aspects of your life as well?

Joanna: My mother wanted to name me after a Bob Dylan song, "Johanna." Conveniently, my father wanted to name me after his mother, "ioanna" which is Greek for Joanna. They settled on ioanna, which is the name on my certificate. That's where the io comes from. My friends call me "io" or "jo." Sprint chose the American spelling of my name.

The Cure or The Smiths?

Joanna: Joy Division.

The last time we spoke, you were working on a full length album. How is that coming along? What does it sound like and when can we expect a release?

Leopold: We are currently working on a bunch of new ideas and will record them over the summer, so I suspect you will hear it before the year is out. It sounds like God’s Vagina.

You are based in LA. How do you like the music scene there? Would you rather be anywhere else?

Joanna: The music scene here is very nurturing. I think it's a great place to live if you are a musician. NYC, my hometown DC, London-- yes I identify with these places more. But the Los Angeles community is really positive and supportive and I think it's an extremely exciting place to be right now.

io echo resonates a lot with horror punk. The Misfits, Siouxsie and the Banshees—did you listen to these bands growing up?

Joanna: We love Siouxie but we did not necessarily listen to her growing up. Growing up I listened to a lot of dead British and German classical composers and also bands like The Cramps, Aphex Twin, Jonathan Fire*eater, (the kids from Jonathan Fire*eater went to my brother school, St. Albans and I looked up to them so much, even before they were Jonathan Fire*eater, when they were The Ignobles), Enigma, and a lot of DC punk and old school hip hop. But with The Cramps and Jonathan Fire*eater I think there is a lineage which you can trace back from those bands to Siouxsie, Bauhaus, and even further back to the Birthday Party and Suicide, perhaps even Silver Apples. I look at it kind of like a family tree.

Your music is grounded in dance-pop. Some people seem to think that dance music lacks substance. What role do you think dance music should play? What purpose would you like your music to serve?

Leopold: The people who think dance music lacks substance do not understand the purpose of dance music. Our music is not strictly dance, but all the songs are groove based. Whether it be a slow ballad or a frantic song, the groove, the way the rhythm section is locking, that is what makes you nod your head and is attractive to us. There is no specific purpose I would like it to serve. I made it, I poured my heart into it, I gave it to you. Do with it what you will.

Your cover of The Beatles’ “I Want You (She’s so Heavy)” is chilling and phenomenal. What drove you to play it for the first time? Is Abbey Road your favourite Beatles record?

Joanna: Thank you. Someone contacted us and asked us to play a Beatles tribute show. It was probably our third show as a band, but I had just seen the Horrors play at the same venue the week before so we wanted to play there too. After we played, the owner of the club came up to us and expressed that our version of Heavy moved him and that we had to put it in our set on a permanent basis. So we did. My favourite Beatles' record? Abbey road and The White Album are my favourite Beatles albums.

How did you meet Leo and when did you decide to form a band?

Joanna: We met at a seance. I raised him from the dead and he just followed me home. I was thinking about starting a band at the time, so I told him he might as well make himself useful if he was going to be hanging around, so he said that Jimi Hendrix had showed him the basics of guitar one night when they were chilling in hell, and that was that.

What’s the best thing about being on tour?

Leopold: Exploring the communities and subcultures of every place you go. It's fun to get lost in a new city and see where you end up.

What was the first song you wrote and how did you feel after finishing it?

Joanna: "Catapedaphobia." I felt shy about it. It was fairly recently, actually. I haven't been writing for very long.

What do you like to do when you’re not making music?

Leopold: Fuck



io echo - I Want You (She's So Heavy) (The Beatles cover) [mp3]

visit the band on MYSPACE