by Shea Roney (@shroney2)
Earlier this year, Uniflora, the Chicago-based trio of Quinn Dugan, Ruby O’Brien, and Theo Williams, shared their debut album More Gums Than Teeth with us all. The album finds the young artists raising a ruckus, blending off-center pop licks and post-punk nostalgia to create some newfound classics that will linger in your favorite record shop for years on out. With roughly tempered fixations, unfretted and unguarded, Uniflora exudes a sound that blends a type of confidence and curiosity that many work years to obtain – a collection of one-liners, some backpocket magic, a sock with a hole in it and a heart that still has a lot to learn.
In the leadup to Ugly Hug and Post-Trash’s benefit fest this Sunday at the Empty Bottle, both sites are featuring each project on their respective sites. Uniflora hits the stage second, rearing their sweaty punk spirit and indebted melodies. The trio chats with Shea Roney about being labeled a “youth” band, balancing ego and confidence, and their latest projects.
SR: As a band you are often labeled as a “youth band”. How does that sit with you? Do you feel like it opens more doors for you as a band, or vice versa, limits what you are able to reach?
Quinn Dugan: Yeah it’s really inescapable at this point, kinda like how if we were a band of chipmunks that would have come up at some point in every interview. It’s not really something to be proud or ashamed of, nor is it something we try to sell ourselves on. I’d hope our music lands somewhere on the scale between childish and mature, especially because the music we consume ranges from bands that broke up before we were born to the other band of kids down the street. Maybe it’s made some people more interested in listening to us, but also plenty of people who have heard us have no clue we’re this young. We’ve definitely lost opportunities being deemed too “young and unreliable” but that also sort of lets us do what we want without having a lot of extra pressure on us.
SR: On that youthful note, what do you think makes Chicago’s younger bands stand out from other scenes across the country?
Ruby O’Brien: 1000000%. I mean there isn’t really a city in the world right now that has produced genuinely good young bands and been so generous toward their career that they have real, respectable, label and gigging opportunities. I think it’s definitely got a lot to do with the opportunities. There’s this Midwestern friendliness in Chicago that I often mention to my friends in NYC when they ask about the music scene here, because it’s a genuinely unique quality we’ve got. Like, what do you mean a dive bar wants to host a young band AND pay them ADEQUATELY?! I think everyone is just supportive here, and it makes a giant difference for young bands to get their footing. The opportunity almost feeds into the creativity—gives us a platform to become better as a band!
SR: Being a rockstar was my dream in high school. As seniors in high school yourselves, what’s it like playing in a band that can headline The Metro, play on bills with Beach Bunny, go on tour, and then have to go to calculus the next week. Does that bring an ego with the territory? Do you feel like high schoolers or are you ready for what’s next?
RO: Personally, I feel like I’ve got a high ego in school and a really tiny one out of school. Dude, it is unreal to invite your teacher to see your band play at Metro ha. But then when I’m out of school and meeting bands like Beach Bunny, I’m like, damn I’m not even the coolest person in the room right now. It just shows me that the possibilities are endless. But yeah, having to do school work can be super hard and unmotivating. I just wanna gig and do what I love, but I’m facing the responsibility of an impending college degree and, more imminently, a calculus quiz every single week. So yes, you will often find me in the green room or even sitting on my drum throne during the soundcheck confused AF by my math homework.
You released your debut LP More Gums Than Teeth earlier this year. Now on the outside of the release process, how is that album sitting with you? What sort of things have you sat with and absorbed from the whole ordeal?
QD: Even though that was this year it feels like it was ages ago. I used to think it was an exaggeration when bands or directors or whoever say they’re already thinking about the next thing as soon as they release a project but I kinda felt that with this album. Our release tour was fun but it was really brief and as soon as we got home I was already thinking about new songs, forgetting that people were only now getting to listen to the album. Whenever I listen back to it now I’m pleasantly surprised, especially with how some split-second decisions (ones that didn’t seem very important at the time) ended up pretty cool. The crowd noises on “Cat Fist” or some of the vocal harmonies (which were assembled basically on the spot in the studio) or even the bassy organ on “Malcolm” are some of the coolest things on the album and were all pretty spontaneous. I guess the takeaway from that is to have fun with the little details the next time we record because they age very well.
SR: Anything coming up that you all are excited about? Do you have any projects outside of Uniflora that you are working on?
Theo Williams: We’re recording a couple new songs in January that we’re excited about! Not sure what its deal is yet - if it’s going to be an album or an EP, but it’s still exciting. We’re also doing a soundtrack for a movie our good friend Jack Mascucci is directing, which will be fun. Ruby and I have a side project with Jackie Cywinski from Neptune’s Core and Lottie Malkmus called Leroy the Poet that we’re hyped about, too! We’re playing our first show on December 15th in New York opening for The Bug Club.