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Arts & Music

Gimme Five! Laura King of The Moaners

Melissa Swingle never met a slide guitar solo she didn’t like. Fortunately, she also took a shine to Laura King.

Melissa Swingle never met a slide guitar solo she didn’t like.  Fortunately, she also took a shine to Laura King. After Swingle’s Trailer Bride hit the rocks, it was King she called on to join in a new project and together the two women set off to produce some of the most interesting and earnest indie-blues this side of the Mississippi.  As The Moaners, the women balance a fair share of trance inducing guitar riffs and clamoring drum bursts, tossing in an occasional singing saw break to create a sound-scape as dense as it is startlingly simple.

Not satisfied to rest on the laurels of their critic-and-crowd-pleasing  past releases (2005’s Dark Snack and 2007’s Blackwing Yalobusha) the women have tackled the road gaining fans across the country and spent time readying new tracks for this fall’s much anticipated Nocturnal.  Though the uncertain release date for a new record will leave more than a few people groaning, the opportunity to catch The Moaners along with Pinche Gringo and Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs at The Cave this Saturday is nothing to moan about.

Now just five over-serious questions for the lady keeping the beat:

1. If your band were a historical event, what would it be?

The French Revolution…we like to make heads roll.

2. What made you pick the band name? Why “Moaners”?

When we first started playing music together we had no lyrics, and when we listened back to band practices all we could hear were moans.

3. Describe your typical band practice experience.

We set up in the kitchen and hash it out.

4. Who/what might be a few inspirations or influences that might really surprise people?

Chopin, Black Sabbath, Bessie Smith, The Monkees, Django Reinhardt, Flaming Lips, and many more.

5. What did you dream of being when you were a kid? (how ’d that turn out?)

Melissa wanted to be an Indian Brave and declare war on the white men. Then she grew boobies and couldn’t go shirtless anymore like Indian Braves do. And she realized she was white. It didn’t turn out well.

Laura has always wanted to be a musician writing her first song at age 5 called “My Baby.” It’s working out well.

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Ramble over to The Cave this Saturday to hear The Moaners in action. And by all means, give Laura a high five when you see her!