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Australia's indie-pop duo An Horse only have an EP and a full-length album under their belt, but that hasn't held them back. The band has already toured with Tegan and Sara, had their song “Postcards” appear in a car commercial and appeared on The Late Show With David Letterman - all without having a manager. I had a chance to sit down with the two on their recent tour with The Appleseed Cast.
Laila Hanson: First question, why don't you guys have a tour manager? An Horse: We can't afford one. There's no money in rock and roll. The people who do [have them] can't afford them either. I mean, we could probably get one, but it's just going to cost money. We don't want to spend money. It's only the two of us, so there's not really a point. We're very independent people, I guess. We're not really in a stage yet where we can afford to pay anyone. It's kind of superfluous at this point; we're completely capable people, it would be a waste of money.
LH: Do you think that it being just the two of you makes things easier on the road? Do you have less equipment? AH: Definitely. Like, we travel in a minivan, and everyone laughs at us for that, but it's cheap on fuel. It's all we need at the moment, especially when it's just the two of us.
LH: How would you say your EP differs from your full-length as far as themes? AH: Half the EP's on the full-length, but I wouldn't say it really differs. That's a question I've been getting a lot of lately, what you write about, and the themes, and stuff like that. And I guess the underlying theme is always kind of something about me and my life. So, you know, there's no great shit. And I think some of the songs that were on the album were written around the same time as the EP too. I think we had three songs written when we made that EP. Maybe one or two songs were written later.
LH: Do you think your popularity has gone up a lot since doing North American tours? AH: Definitely people are coming out to see us, but it's a gradual process. But we're really happy with the way things are going. The people that are there to see us are generally really passionate about the album.
LH: Are you planning any more tours? AH: Yeah, we're pretty much going to be on the road all this year. We're going to keep touring and eventually find houses, but not for a little while.
LH: Do you think the music industry these days is more dependent on touring as opposed to signing to a label? Because 10 years ago, it was probably the opposite. AH: Yeah, absolutely. Touring's very important, and it's the only way you can really connect with people. Financially as well, you can't make money from record sales.
LH: Your song “Postcards” was used in a commercial for a car. AH: Yeah, it was only in Australia. But we didn't get cars or anything. It was funny because I hadn't told anyone about it, and I was at one point watching television with my flat-mates and it came on. And they were sitting there, and looked at me, and I hadn't seen it yet either, so I was like “Oh, yeah.” And they were like “What the fuck? You didn't tell us? Dude, you're in a Mercedes ad!” And I was like “Oh, yeah, it's kinda weird.”
LH: Well I guess if you're nonchalant about it, that's the way to go. AH: Well, it's not like I could buy a house with it. It wasn't like, “Yes! This is the commercial that bought us houses and cars!” They gave us like, a couple hundred dollars.
LH: Do you like touring or recording better? AH: Both the same. I think when you've toured an album to the point where it all starts to sound the same, it's time to go into the studio. But if there's a demand, touring's great.
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