When Portland band Magic Mouth went on tour last year, it was opening for the Gossip.
“We’d actually never toured before,” said drummer Ana Briseño. “It’s kind of terrifying that being your first tour, the venues we were playing. But it was great.” The queer quartet was a perfect pairing with the Gossip, as Magic Mouth has a similar aesthetic in their sound; elements of pop, disco and soul over what Ana calls “a basis of rock and roll.” Having played in all different kinds of bands (from punk to noise to indie-pop) Ana has been drumming since she was 15 and begged her parents to buy her a kit.
“My parents got me a drumset in a box kind of situation from, like, Guitar Center,” Ana said. “I begged them for three years to get me a drumset so they broke down and bought me one and I kept it in my bathroom and practiced every day after school. I think I was a lot better then because I had time to do it everyday and I just kept doing it. And I’ve been in like a million bands ever since.”
Magic Mouth started as a two-piece: Ana on drums and Peter Condra on guitar.
“We met in 2009 and kind of talked about playing music together. Then Brendon Peters came in on bass and met Chanticleer shortly after he moved into Portland from San Francisco. He started playing with us, we were really into collaborations on. We have a ton of people collaborate with us but Brendan’s the one that stuck around.”
With Chanticleer Trü on the mic, Magic Mouth found its footing. Seeing them play live is an incredibly fun experience, and now four of the most-danced-to tracks are on the new EP Devil May Care.
“[We recorded] the ones that we liked the most and we felt like showcased our sound and were concise together,” Ana said. “Those are definitely people’s favorites too. So we thought we’d record them and get them out there.”
The band is on the road this fall and hopes to record a full-length album for release next spring. Ana said that touring makes them stronger and that the foursome never fights. (“It’s really chill.”)
But the best part is definitely being behind the kit and on the stage each night.
“It’s definitely the easiest part,” Ana said. “Especially touring. You have to makes sure no one rips you off, you have to to get to the venue, than you actually get to to do the show and have fun. It’s great, it’s definitely the fun part. I’ve been doing it for a long time too. I love it. I just want to keep doing it.”
Devil May Care is available now. Check out magicmouth.net to see when they’re playing near you.
