I asked Jone Stebbins of Imperial Teen about the band’s upcoming LA show, cooking for Eddie Vedder, and whether we can expect new songs in the future (spoiler: yes!).
Photo Credit: Pat Chen
After The Show: I can’t believe it’s been 5 years since Feel The Sound came out. What can you share about new Imperial Teen songs?
Jone: We are working on new songs and have a pretty good start. We like to write together, in the same room though so it’s a little slow going as we live so far away from each other….
The pick slide and guitar work you do in “Yoo Hoo” sounds so good! Do you remember how you first came up with that?
I don’t really know how to play “lead” guitar so I just kinda made it up as I went along. I wanted it to sound reckless, crazy and a bit frantic – it’s different every time I play it!
What’s the story behind the long friendship between that dog. and Imperial Teen? I believe that “Birthday Girl” is about Anna Waronker?
Anna is a dear friend and has worked with us as a producer on The Hair The Baby The TV & The Band and also ON. We have recorded in her home studio. Yes, a line or two in “Birthday Girl” were inspired by Anna if I remember correctly!
Besides the standards (“Yoo Hoo,” “Ivanka,” etc), what can the LA audience expect to hear at the April 8 show?
I’m not 100% sure yet. As the opening band our set will be a little shorter and we usually try to do a few songs from each record… all to be determined!
Are there any Imperial Teen songs you haven’t played in a long time but want to? I’d absolutely love to hear “Pig Latin.”
It’s kinda crazy but we have so many songs now after 5 records and a normal set is 13-15 songs so yeah there are lots we don’t play! I will throw “Pig Latin” into the mix for consideration.
What’s the story behind your Eddie Vedder Stew recipe?
Oh geez, that was a long time ago… Jennifer Finch from L7 came to a party we were having (Lynn and I were housemates at the time) and she brought this then unknown guy, Eddie Vedder, with her. I had made a curried stew to serve… they were the first people there and the last to leave so he got a few bowlfuls in. He really liked it. This was about 30 seconds before he became famous… so of course when Pearl Jam blew up we started calling that stew “Eddie Vedder Stew” as a lark. It is really good. It’s in the cookbook called I Like Food, Food Tastes Good by Kara Zuaro.
How have Will, Lynn, and Roddy changed over the years as bandmates and musicians? And how has your attitude towards performing changed over the years?
We all have matured but still can be totally silly when we are together. We all still really respect and adore each other.
I guess it’s not as scary as it once was. We have played a lot of shows but now we don’t play very often so it’s almost like the early days – full of excitement. We really treasure our time together so live shows are even more special than ever.
Thanks for sharing Jone! Check out Imperial Teen open for that dog. at the El Rey in Los Angeles on April 8, 2017.