Dylan Fuentes, guitarist and vocalist of FairLady, handed me a pair of earplugs before I entered the garage, then closed the door behind me. During a practice performance of a medley of four very different songs, I was advised by drummer Nick Medina to further protect my hearing with a pair of noise-canceling headphones. Afterwards, guitarist and singer Eric Herschler said that they had played more gently than usual, for my sake.
FairLady, spends one day a week in this garage crammed between boxes, rugs and other storage items. The quality of the recordings on Spotify also confirms that they had recorded their most recent album in this same garage. However, FairLady said their natural habitat is on stage.
In the past 2 years, FairLady has cranked out two albums, an EP and has gone on tour. Their first album, “Keep it Clean” uses a lot of shouting and spoken word, and is more consistent as far as themed garage rock infused with the occasional melodic crooning.
Their second album released later in 2013, “With Love From Machine,” is much softer with more instrumentation, an evolution that led into their most recent EP, “Locals Only,” a concise concept album that tells the story of the misadventures of a cowboy named Cunnilingus Jack who falls in love with a prostitute, followed by a series of events that gradually results in his death.
While playing a surprisingly good cover of the Beatles’ “I Want You,” Fuentes grabbed a retired violin bow and proceeded to use it on his guitar, producing the wobbly sounds heard in the instrumental parts of the famous song. For the song before, Herschler played a brief harmonica solo.
Their many influences come from their range of interests. The drumming syncopation reflects Medina’s interest in Jazz. Herschler’s favorite band is the Beatles, whereas Fuentes is a Modest Mouse fan, which explains the often not-so-harmonic vocals and heavy instrumentation.
While the vocals are sometimes all over the place, the instrumentation is right on, and the show is even better. For FairLady, the antics are what it’s all about — they wear vintage suits, dresses and the occasional nurse costume on stage, alongside a mannequin that they regard as a real girl and their fourth band member, Victoria Blair.
“Everything we say is with a wink and a nudge,” Herschler said.
Fuentes’ guitar strap is painted with the Venus symbol, and dozens more are painted on their white van. While it has nothing to do with the mysterious origins of their name, they said that they want to be associated with the symbol as crusaders for liberation of man’s inner woman.
Q: Tell me about the beginnings of FairLady.
Dylan Fuentes: Me and Victoria used to be in a band, it didn’t work out, moved to Seattle, came back, recorded the first album then shortly after that Eric weaseled his way into the band and we met Nick on craigslist.
Nick Medina: Woo, sketchy internet guy.
Eric Herschler: Still sketchy.
DF: We sat down and wrote six songs and we finished recording … and we just got back from a tour … it’s been six months since we actually became a band.
Q: Where have you been on tour?
DF: We did a baby tour, Long Beach, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo. Fun fact — we were there the night before the riot.
EH: They were so pissed that they weren’t able to see us the night before that they just started a riot.
NM: It was really fun playing Isla Vista though, we were just on a front porch blasting out over the street with all the kids walking by and stuff.
Q: Could you pick a sentence to describe what your music sounds like?
EH: It’s like peanut butter with a twist of lemon.
Q: So it’s refreshing but it kinda sticks to the roof of your mouth?
NM: Those are exactly the feelings we’re trying to evoke.
DF: Lime or lemon?
EH: Who the f–k would put lime in peanut butter? What is this, amateur hour?
Q: Tell me about the mannequin, I mean Victoria.
DF: She can only be mentioned as Victoria.
NM: She still hasn’t found her true calling. We give her the tambourine, we give her the melodica, but she still just hasn’t figured out how to play it…
DF: We just really connected on a deeper level. We had the same taste in music and wanted to do all the same things.
Q: Was this a real girl, or…?
EH: She is a real girl.
Q: What type of inspiration does she give you guys?
NM: She’s always composed at shows, she never freaks out.
DF: I always just think, ‘What would Victoria do?’
NM: We were playing at this record store and it was super small and she was sitting right behind me and it was like a motherly figure putting her hand on my shoulder.
Q: Where does the band want to be in five years?
EH: I kinda gave them an ultimatum like, okay, if I graduate college and there’s nothing happening … I don’t wanna be that awkward 40 year old still in a garage band. I feel like if I’m not big by late 20s … it’s not in the cards, not going to happen. I want to [be a band] because I don’t want to have actual responsibilities in life.
Q: Can you tell me about the Venus symbol? Why is it all over the place?
EH: There is a lot of animosity on both sides when it comes to gender, and I feel like guys are really afraid to embrace their feminine side. Girls aren’t really afraid to embrace masculine side because its more socially acceptable, but you can’t imagine seeing a guy wearing a dress. That’s more like a promotion, when we drive around with the van. I’m constantly surprised about how much positive feedback we get.
Q: Do you guys usually dress up for your shows?
EH: We made a bunch of rules in the beginning before we played music. One was obviously not to introduce our songs because no one cares; not to take breaks; and we don’t wanna be that one band where everyone’s wearing a T-shirt and gym shorts, because that’s so boring.
NM: Like I get it you wanna look like you don’t care, but if you don’t care then why is anyone else gonna’ care? … If you’re gonna play it live, it’s gotta be a visual experience too.
EH: We’re not really a serious band, like we take our music very seriously but …
NM: We don’t take ourselves seriously.
EH: I listen to our music and I’m like ‘Eh.’ I listen to the recordings and its kinda’ a let down of sorts. Its so neutered compared [to live]. Live, you’re lucky to hit 85 percent of the notes but who cares because you’re spinning and jumping around.
NM: We’ve never decided what we’re gonna do up there … [but] every time I play someone comes up to me and says ‘You look like you’re having a ton of fun when you’re playing.’
FairLady and their music can be found on Facebook, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, iTunes , Spotify, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube and Amazon. If you make it to one of their shows, you’ll get a fresh custom CD and maybe, a few stickers.