There are few girl crushed I hold closer than my crush on Speedy Ortiz's Sadie Dupuis. From her blatantly girl power lyrics to her no-bullshit attitude and earned MFA in Poetry, she, along with the rest of the band, has proved that Speedy Ortiz is a force to be reckoned with.
After listening to their newest record, Foil Deer, they were secured as a must watch. I sat down and talked to the band at Austin's Fun Fun Fun Fest this year on high school, girl power and their favorite Austin eats.
How long have y'all known each other?
Sadie Dupuis: Five or six years.
So you didn't know each other when you were super young, like high school young?
We're all from different places. Unfortunately no, when these guys were in high school, I was a lot older than them.
What were y'all like in high school? Or what do you think you were like?
Devin McKnight: I was pretty much the same, but I was kind of a jock. I played football and I didn't play guitar. I knew how to strum stuff, but not really play.
Why did you pick it up after that?
DK: Just wanted to rock, man.
Makes sense.
Darl Ferm: I never played football. Not at all. I was in a band throughout all of tenth grade.
Was it a good band or a shitty tenth grade band?
DF: It was definitely a shitty tenth grade band, but I loved it.
Any girls from it?
DF: Not really, I was a huge nerd. And then I didn't do as much for the rest of the time I was in high school, except for make movies with my friends, which weren't very good either. But, you know, we tried.
What about you, Sadie?
SD: I was an overachiever, as fuck. I was the track captain and president of Model UN and on the student council. I wasn't a snitch, but I was straightedge until last year. I was the only one of my friend's who was trying to drink Ouzo all the time. I did theatre and played music, but it was more singer songwriter, like Cat Power.
Were you at all interested in Riot Grrrl music in high school?
SD: Yeah, I knew about it. But it didn't have that label. I liked Sleater Kinney, but I didn't really play punk stuff.
What about now, do you listen to much of that music now?
SD: It's hard because I think that I like a lot of bands that espouse those politics, but don't know if I was particularly enamored with the label since it really doesn't depict a style of music. Sleater Kinney, for example, doesn't sound a whole lot like Bikini Kill. I've played guitar since I was twelve, so I liked stuff that was complicated, kind of "noodley" guitar stuff like Helium and Mary Timony. But I don't know if anybody would call them riot grrrl.
Did you consider yourself a feminist in high school?
SD: Yeah, to some extent. But I didn't know as much about it until I was in college. It was more like "I can do math better than all you boys".
Sadie, all of your lyrics are very directly feminist. What would you want to tell young musicians who really are into that and who look up to you?
SD: Play a lot and write songs all the time. In high school, there weren't very many women who played rock instruments and so I played a lot by myself. But once I got to college it was easier to be in a band. If you want to play guitar, don't let it bother you that you're the only one in your scene. Keep doing your thing and you'll find your people.
Darl, what about you? What were you like in high school?
DF: What was I like in high school? I'm pretty much the same as I am now: same height, same baby face. I really don't know, I guess nerdy.
Seems like a common theme.
SD: I think it was in the Guardian, there was a review of us on our last tour that said something like "they look like the people the cast of Glee would have picked on".
Ouch, that is pointed.
SD: yeah, but like he's a rock critic who just cited Glee so okay. But yeah, we're nerds.
Have y'all seen anybody else at the festival?
DF: We actually just got here. We saw Johanna Gruesome, which was fucking great. We rushed the stage during the last song and they handed us some guitars to make noise on.
Sadie: We saw Shamir in the distance.
I saw him a few weeks ago and it was a life changing experience.
DF: He played a show we played a while ago at the Mohawk, and we just saw him hanging out afterwards but we missed his show.
SD: He's over there smoking a cigarette, and it's his birthday today. He's great.
Is there anybody else y'all want to see?
SD: I want to see Grimes
DF: American Football.
Are y'all doing anything else fun while you're in Austin or just work?
SD: Hell yeah. I'm trying to go to the Alamo Drafthouse on Monday.
You have to try the fried pickles.
SD: I can't because they're not vegan. But I've had them there, and I used to have a scar on my chin because I bit into the fried pickles and the oil squirted on my chin.
DF: we're also big fans of Juiceland.
How could you not love Juiceland? What's your order?
SD: Definitely the hemp one, the Orange Kush.
DF: I like Torchy's a lot too.
SD: and Kerbey Lane too. So good. I make everybody go to all of my favorite food places every time we go anywhere.
Last question to y'all: what is your go-to hangover cure?
DF: Emergen-c, water and sleep for three hours.
DM: disgusting, salty and greasy food.
SD: I'm going to throw not drinking onto the table. Make it noted that I did a sassy hand gesture with it.
(Note: she, in fact, did)