Sailey Williams
We recently caught up indie band The Prettiots as they packed the house for their performance at Hotel Chantelle in the East Village. The all female band which consists of ukelele extrordaniare & lead singer Kay Goldberg, drummer Rachel Trachtenburg, and bassist Lulu Prat took the stage in matching tie-dye shirts and impressed listeners with a mix of sultry and pop sounds! Check out our interview and images with the band.
Interview & Photo(s): Christine Nieves
The Prettiots is one of the most original & genius band names we have heard quite a while. There must be an equally awesome origin story?
Why, thank you – but actually the story is not that great and is mostly just awkward. There was this really really tall tech guy at the juice place I used to work at, and he wrote something on Facebook about how pretty people who are idiots only get by on their looks being called Prettiots, and we were in dire need of a new band name and it sort of just stuck .
What sparked the idea of incorporating the ukulele as a staple instrument into your sound?
It’s the happiest sounding instrument ever and what I like to write music on.
You recently covered The Misfits’ “Skulls” & Miguel’s “Pussy Is Mine”. What do you look for in perfect cover song?
Death or sex. I like to do covers of songs you wouldn’t expect a bunch of seemingly sweet young girls to do, plus something we can take and totally transform which is why songs that are seemingly totally out of our genre work so well
How would you describe your songwriting process?
Usually I will be walking down the street and think of some silly rhyme or one liner and sing it into my voice memos on my phone while looking like a crazy person and then when I get home I’ll write some music to it and call the girls and have them tell me if it’s shit or not
The Prettiots was recently cited as one of the “Top 10 Rising Female-Fronted Bands in NYC”. How does it feel to have such acclaim so soon into your journey?
Simply dope. It feels amazing and were so honored to be recognized so soon. I mean it’s a lot of pressure because we haven’t released that many tracks publicly but I think we live up to the hype.
Living in the era of “Social Media” how important are websites like Soundcloud & Tumblr in sharing your music and brand?
Our website is actually a tumblr so very important! It has definitely become a vital part of being in a band now a days. This is where I plug everything write? Theprettiotsmusic.com! also we are on facebook twitter and instagram.
Your sound seems to be influenced by the NYC underground. Are you ladies #TeamLES #TeamChelsea #TeamWilliamsburg? Any favorite bars you frequent?
Rachel grew up on the LES, I grew up in the West Village and Lulu grew up in Brooklyn, but now Rachel and I are based in LES and Lulu lives in Philly (deserter) so I guess we are team LES? If we had to pick a team we’d probably be team LES but none of us were cool in high school so we weren’t really ever picked for any teams. In terms of bars…most of us aren’t old enough to legally go to bars, but my boyfriend bar tends at Mamas on 3rd and B and Kingston Hall on 2nd Ave! I should have probably said something cooler here…
How would you define your personal style? How does it relate to The Prettiots style?
Theres definitely a specific aesthetic we play with as ‘The Prettiots” – a lot of florals and plaids and miniskirts, very young and poppy and 90’s, but personally all of our styles vary. While we were living upstate recording we mostly wore bathing suits and Hanes t-shirts and jeans we got at Salvation Army because none of us remembered to pack anything.
Your song “Dreamboy” was definitely a crowd favorite during your performance at Hotel Chantelle. Why do you think fans relate to this track in particular? Have you ladies found your “Dream Boy”?
Dreamboy is really relatable because it’s really honest. It’s about aimlessly floating around NYC and being single and being bored and sort of losing hope. Rachel and I definitely have found our dreamboys. If you’re above 6′ 3″ and interested in being Lulus dreamboy you can reach her at 184938(REDACTED)!
What has been your most memorable performance experience?
At one of our first shows, literally everything broke and I had to tell bad jokes on stage while the sounds guys ran around trying to fix everything, so we’ll definitely remember that.
We understand your debut album is currently in development. What might fans expect?
We’re actually typing this while in the studio right now so we’ll let you know! It’s gonna be a lot of fun and gonna make you laugh. It’s going to sound really big and there are a lot of handclaps. Handclaps are really important.
Check out their single Dreamboy Below!