The post-punk duo Strange Names have been playing live music together for the past two years and have already received an impressive amount of attention for their new wave and retro pop style music.
Members Liam Benzvi (from Brooklyn) and Francis Jimenez (from Minnesota) met early in their college career in Minneapolis and quickly realized they had a strong musical connection. In the past two years they’ve played alongside the likes of Yeasayer, The Walkmen, Matt and Kim, and more.
With big things in the works, Strange Names is putting out their first full-length record in the spring and are releasing the first single, “Ricochet,” in January 2014. Their vintage electo-pop vibe is a must see tomorrow night at the Majestic when they open up for Gemini Club on the Red Bull tour, and there really is no reason to not go — it’s free with RSVP.
I had the chance to talk with Benzvi and Jimenez about their current tour, songwriting style, and the band’s upcoming future.
What is your music writing process like?
“Currently, we’ve been a lot more collaborative in the flesh than we have been in the past because we’ve been more focused on playing live and getting the music really tight. Before we were just sending each other demos and building on each other’s songs. We still do that occasionally but not to the degree that we used to.”
So you’re currently on a Red Bull sponsored Tour; how is it different than touring alone without a sponsor? Do you prefer it?
“Part of us loves the thrill of just hitting the road and improvising your way across the country, but touring can be a very stressful and exhausting thing. When your tour is sponsored you don’t have to worry so much about where you’re going to stay, promoting each show, how you’re getting paid, lots of things. That allows you to relax a bit and focus more on the performances. Overall, that can make touring more enjoyable.”
What is something about the music industry you never realized until you became a part of it?
“Like lots of other industries, social media radically changed the game. There’s a lot of pressure to have a huge online presence and put out tons and tons of music in a short amount of time. You have to be so much more visible and you have to create that visibility for yourself. It can be a ton of fun, or it can just suck.”
As far as venues go, you’ve played many different sizes. Do you feel like crowd response is better in a smaller or larger venue and which is your preference?
“We like playing larger venues with better sound systems because we try to make a big sound, yet have all the elements come out crystal clear. When the sound is right and we’re not worried about it on stage, that’s when it really clicks for the audience.”
Why the name “Strange Names”?
“We have to correct people on their pronunciation of our names — which don’t really seem that weird to us — very often. We were brainstorming band names one day, combining random adjectives and nouns, and when we landed on ‘strange names’ we both thought it was kind of funny. Serendipitous maybe.”