Here at THP, we love every genre of music you can think of, and we love branching out from the norm to satiate our musical taste buds (a palate that we would deem impeccable, thank you very much). Today, we travel back in time with Davis IL, who has recently been placed on our radar, and the song ‘Queenie Pie’ is everything we love from a retro banger, including the new music video which features a fierce femme lead! It’s a perfectly well-blended video of modern and nostalgic visuals, and we are absolutely vibing with it! Check out the song and video below!
What a banger! We couldn’t wait to ask Davis IL some questions about the song, his musical process with the video, and more in this exclusive interview! So without further ado, let’s get the buzz!
You’ve previously stated your first experience in music was in band class learning piano and singing rock n roll, how did that experience lead you to pursue music as a career? How did it influence not only the music you make now but also the music from your first band Growwler?
Those were formative moments: every day after school or even during lunch period, sitting at a piano & trying to figure out how to make it work. And being around a room with all this manic, adolescent energy towards showing each other what chord or riff we learned the night before. It influenced the bands I’d start later because it helped me meet people/lifelong friends that were of the same mind in wanting to not only learn to play but learn how to write.
Many of your influences “keep the blues alive” as you previously stated, what is the biggest aspect of blues music that drew you to that particular genre and made you want to incorporate it into your current music?
I think the blues is a genre but also a way at looking at music because a lot of the stuff I grew up hearing, it all comes from that form…”Blues had a baby named Rock & Roll” that’s a lyric I never forget. I was a record geek first & read as much as I could about music history. You hear the origin of confessional songwriting and using chords/melodies that break the rules. If you teleport to any random decade of pop music, the blues is there musically, lyrically, & thematically.
How would you say that that type of music has overall affected you as an artist/songwriter/musician?
I wouldn’t say anything of off my latest LP is strict blues, but I do know my musical choices would be nothing without it. I need to write ‘Dusty’s Blues’ for my puppet though.
Your new video for your song ‘Queenie Pie’ flawlessly mixes retro and modern-day visuals, how did the theme and inspiration for this video come about? Was it difficult trying to bring this song to life through a video or did you find it easy to tell the story through the video?
Thank you so much, that means a lot! Its theme definitely has plenty of inspo. Specific lyrics to an area of San Francisco (where I wrote the song) called North Beach. The story of the song itself loosely inspired by the dancer Carol Doda who was made famous there. There was a mural of her done just this year, which was rad to know! And then the video itself has a fierce femme lead and all these homemade neon signs we used are taken from the actual real life “signline” of Broadway St there. The real ones will recognize Golden Boy Pizza! We then filmed live segments of my band performing and that’s actually the audio you hear on the video, not a studio overdub. It’s a music video/raw live document.
So I don’t think it was too difficult, but I guess it’s up to viewer if they vibe with the presentation.
What is one thing you hope that your fans (and new listeners) will take away from the ‘Queenie Pie’ video?
Well, I hope they dig the song foremost and maybe they wanna see it played live (Shameless Plug Warning!) as I’m doing a release show day after its release on 4/12 at The Escondite in LA. Aksi I’d say I hope they learned about a place called Vesuvio after listening.
You released ‘Queenie Pie’ back in 2020 and are only now releasing the stellar video for the track. Did the initial video idea change over the last three years or did it come to fruition exactly how you envisioned it from day one?
Yeah, you’re right! And how’d those years from 2020-23 go by so fast?? It came to fruition from conception more or less. The imagery & vibe of a nightlife scene was most important. I did want to shoot the live band sequences on the stage of a dance club, but maybe we’ll just book a show there someday!
Does this song still have the same meaning for you today as it did back when you initially released it? If not, what has changed?
I don’t think the song’s meaning has changed. I think parts of songs are funner than others to sing live now, like the outro breakdown just works best in front of an audience. Carol Doda passed back in 2010s, so it’s also cool to keep her history living when I intro the song.
For the ‘Queenie Pie’ video, did you draw visual inspiration from any of your musical influences and try to channel that during filming? If so, who and what should we look for while watching the video to see those influences represented?
Believe it or not, Beyonce’s ‘Lemonade’ video series was stylistic influence on trying to make something epic & “widescreen” We even shot the thing on an Oakland soundstage with full film crew of collaborators and friends. But then we wanted there to be a performance element to it, influenced by the ‘Get Back’ rooftop film with up-close on stage shots. And as I said, the audio you hear is actually captured on the soundstage that day by an engineer. So it’s sorta hybrid of a stylized video + raw bootleg. But more then anything, it’s inspired by the nightlife of North Beach.
What was your favorite part about writing and filming ‘Queenie Pie?’ Did you get to work with anyone during either process that stood out and/or gave you any advice about your art that will stick with you forever?
Oh man, it was oodles of fun. The actual studio version (which folks can stream everywhere) was recorded on this amazing mixing console at Ex’pressions in Oakland. We got these hot shit horn players (s/o Red Beans & Rice) to track a very slick arrangement done by Patrick Weber. Then convinced the horns to show up for the video; the close- ups of them are hilarious and sexy all at once!
The engineer/co-producer for the song was Tony Hultkvist and he really brought the disco groove bounce I was looking for. Oh, and of course, the video director Chelsea Nobbs was a true auteur to work with.
You spent some time in LA as a co-writer and not releasing your own music, how does the music industry differ from being a recording artist yourself to being just a songwriter? Did you learn any skills during that time that helped you improve your own songwriting abilities?
Yes, it’s such a different beast to write for/with someone then to write for you alone. Like writing solo, you can try 100 different idea because you only one you need to pass the audition for. But writing collaboratively is all about finding that one idea out of 100 and giving it the best possible chance- so a lot more pressure there. It’s sometimes almost like dating because you really have to align on a lot of things out of the gate & you’re working eyeball to eyeball like at a dinner table. It pushes you to look at music from another’s perspective and genre. So broadening my palette for writing is one thing it has done for me.
What made you decide to get back to releasing your own music instead of just writing for others?
I missed it so much! Especially being a front person for a project, that’s such a unique feeling. When I took a break to be a sideman, you just don’t get that same type of pressure of being center stage. It’s still hard work to back someone up proper. But I think just having an outlet to scream & shout my own melody is something I can’t satisfy anywhere else.
We know from a past interview that you’ve stated some of your previous influences as Badfinger, CCR, Angel Olsen, and David Ruffin. But we gotta know which artists (or songs) you currently have on repeat?
Oh, my favorite question of interviews! I’m still waiting for the great LP of ’23 but a lot of my friends released some great music already like Coolhand Jax (also based in Highland Park) just put out a top-notch bedroom pop single. Also on a heavy Alice Coltrane trip these days: her harp and keyboard playing is something else (check the LP “Ptah”), and of course that new Lana. Oh, and The Lazy Eyes, v v good! Australian rock & roll is so alive and well these days!
We love it! Amazing! There you have it honey poppers, an in-depth Q&A with Davis IL, and hopefully a sneak peek into one of your new favorite artists!
What do you think of ‘Queenie Pie’ and the new music video for the song? What do you think of Davis IL? Let us know in the comments below or hit us up on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
Buzzin’ for more on your faves? We gotchu, HONEY!
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