Motif Interviews Ellen Kempner from Palehound

This weekend is the 7^th edition of the Boston Calling Music Festival happening at City Hall and once again the bill is stacked. Australian garage rock sensation Courtney Barnett, up-and-coming folk-pop artist Elle King, the indie rock sisterhood of Haim, singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens, Swedish synthpop queen Robyn and British electronic duo Disclosure are just a few that’ll be performing. Music lovers will be rejoicing through the abundance of talent gracing the stages and it’s guaranteed to be a blast. If you’re going this Memorial Day weekend, then you’ll definitely be in the right place.

Another act playing Boston Calling is Palehound, who’ll be kicking off the Saturday festivities on the XFinity Red Stage at 12:55pm. The Boston indie rock act, led by Ellen Kempner, has been causing a buzz ever since their debut album Dry Food was released last year.  Ahead of their performance this weekend, I chatted with Kempner about the origins of the band, moving to Boston, her thoughts on the festival’s lineup this year and what the future holds.

Rob Duguay: How did Palehound come to be?

Ellen Kempner: I was just recording some demos in my bedroom for a while, I was playing solo stuff around. Playing solo is hard in some contexts because a rowdy punk band will play and then I’ll get on stage and play these quiet, sad songs. People then will start to talk while you play and I was getting fed up with playing sets like that. I just wanted to be louder and I also played a bunch of instruments while recording the demos. I tracked some with drums, they were meant to be full band songs. I put a touring lineup together and that was that.

RD: You’re from a suburban town in Connecticut by the water and you live in Boston now. When you first moved to Boston did it take any major adjusting?

EK: Yeah. I also grew up close to New York so I definitely had some experience in cities; it wasn’t completely foreign to me to be in a city. It took a huge adjustment to live in one; all of the sudden my resources are times 10. It was really crazy because I also didn’t know that many people when I moved here so I was stepping into a completely new scene and it was really scary at first. It was a huge adjustment; at first I was terrified and I never left my room and then it all just happened because Boston’s scene is just so welcoming. I ended up meeting a few people, some through others I already knew from moving to Boston, and it got me off to a good start.

RD: Along with being a musician you also attended Sarah Lawrence College. Did it get difficult when it came to balancing the life of a musician with that of a student?

EK: Yeah, that’s kind of the reason why I ended up dropping out of school (laughs). You would go on tour and then you’d miss three weeks of classes and I was pretty screwed. I’ve always loved studying but once the album came out and I was getting opportunities to tour, I couldn’t let it go and I had to take the opportunities that were given to me. School will always be there and I don’t know what will happen with me musically if I pass it up. In the future I want to go back when I can afford to, but this is something that doesn’t come along all the time. Sarah Lawrence was also a little much for me socially. I had a good time there but I didn’t have as great of a time as I could have. It wasn’t like I was really happy at school so it was pretty easy for me to make the decision to leave.

RD: It seems like it was a logical decision to get out a situation you didn’t like and dedicate your time to something that you love doing. When you’re getting opportunities to tour around the country and you’re getting these kickass gigs you can’t pass them up.

EK: Yeah, it just made a ton more sense. It was scary at the time but ultimately it was a good idea. I would have graduated this year if I stayed, but I don’t really have any regrets.

RD: Are there any acts playing Boston Calling that you’re excited to see as a fan?

EK: I’m particularly excited about the day I’m playing, Saturday, which is going to be nice. Courtney Barnett is playing, who I love and haven’t seen yet. I’m very, very excited to see her. Also, Lizzo who is an up-and-coming rapper, is playing so those are the two that I’m most excited to see. I want to see Sufjan Stevens on Friday, too. I’ve never seen him either, but I feel like I’m definitely more excited to see Courtney Barnett and Lizzo.

RD: Palehound’s debut Dry Food that came out last year received a lot of critical acclaim from a lot of outlets. You even got to play NPR’s Tiny Desk Series. When can we expect a follow-up?

EK: I’m actually working on it right now. I’m working on writing stuff right now, it’s kind of a little slow. I’ve never had writer’s block before, but I kind of do right now, which is very frustrating actually. I started writing some stuff, but it’ll definitely come out sometime next year.

Buy tickets to this weekend’s Boston Calling Music Festival happening from May 27 – 29: http://bostoncalling.com/tickets.html; Listen to Palehound on Bandcamp: http://palehound.bandcamp.com