PODCAST: Sounds of Berklee—Lady Pills
Ella Boissonnault (left) and Alison Dooley B.M. '16 (right) of the band Lady Pills
Image by Clayton Smith
Most new bands grind it out on the local scene until they build enough of a buzz to release a record and, from there, leverage the album to land bigger shows and audiences. By the time rock band Lady Pills released its debut full-length, Despite, in July 2016, they'd already moved from basement shows in Boston's robust DIY scene to the vaunted stages of major concert festivals such as South by Southwest (SXSW) and Boston Calling.
Keeping that momentum going, the band, composed of professional music major Ella Boissonnault (guitar, vocals), Alison Dooley B.M. '16 (bass, vocals), and interim drummer Nicole Pompei B.M. '16, is fresh off a set at Lollapalooza 2017, where it shared the bill with everyone from Chance the Rapper to Arcade Fire. The group rode in style on a tour bus cosponsored by Vans Off the Wall and the Berklee Popular Music Institute (BPMI), a yearlong program that provides Berklee artists and music business students with on-the-ground experience in the booming music festival industry.
On this week's Sounds of Berklee, we're featuring the Lady Pills track "Old Song," which showcases the band's affinity for punky, fuzzed-out guitars alongside ethereal melodies and unexpected song structure. The song was recorded with founding drummer Claire Duhring B.M. '16, and released just prior to the band's Lollapalooza set.
Producer: Bryan Parys
Engineer: Brian Rajaratnam
Recorded at the BIRN studios
Watch Lady Pills perform a live version of "Old Song" for BIRN Alive: