Ask a band what they sound like and you will most likely get one of two answers. One, you will be blasted with a slew of adjectives and odd-ball similes like “it sounds like a rusty Iron Man getting it on with a mermaid.” Or two, you will get some statement to the effect of “Uh, I don’t know, it’s too hard to explain.”
When I asked New Zealand transplants The Mint Chicks what they sound like, I got the most honest answer I have ever received as they stated that they were too close to their work to really classify it and thus invented their own genre title. At present, The Mint Chicks claim to be “Troublegum,” and it’s a fitting moniker.
A mix of The Beatles, The Ramones and perhaps a dash of Devo, The Mint Chicks pack a sound that can satisfy the most diverse audiophile. Under their belt are two EPs and two albums, though they can be hard to come by as the albums were originally generated in New Zealand.
They also have recorded new material here in Portland for an album yet to be released called Screens. In the meantime, to get your Mint Chicks fix, or to simply check them out, you just have to go to one of their plethora of shows here in Portland.
Ruben Nielson of The Mint Chicks was generous enough to allow the Vanguard to pick his brain recently on the subject of the Chicks’ frenetic tunes.
Richard D. Oxley: When and how did the band start up?Ruben Nielson: We’ve all known each other since high school. We used to tell people we were in a band and make up a new name every time and they’d ask us to play their parties, and we’d basically set up a bunch of random equipment and improvise. My brother, Kody, recorded a demo and wrote a bunch of songs, and then asked us if we wanted to be in this new band he just came up with.
RO: Where did the name come from?RN: It’s slang from our high school. Mint Chicks are good-looking girls and everyone uses that term where we come from.
RO: You’re originally from New Zealand, why did you decide to move to Portland?RN: We moved here in January this year. Last year we toured through the U.S. and stayed here in Portland with my uncle for a couple of weeks, and kind of just loved it for some reason. Quite a lot of my family lives here.
We didn’t realize it was considered such a music Mecca until we’d been here for a few months and people kept asking us about it. We’re very reluctant to promote Portland. We’re a bit guilty because we’re part of a wave of outsiders that are flooding in.
RO: Are there any other groups or artist you enjoy from Portland?RN: The Wipers have been one of my favorite bands for a long time, and also I’ve been a big fan of Sleater Kinney and Dirtnap Records. In terms of new bands, probably all of the bands we’ve played with since we got here have been pretty cool in one way or another. It’s kind of uncanny.
RO: Who did you listen to that you may consider influences upon your music?RN: I think if you consider Phil Spector and everything he was attached to, from the Ronettes, to Plastic Ono Band, to The Ramones (but not Celine Dion), and then take Brian Eno and everything he’s been involved in, from Roxy Music, his solo stuff, to Bowie, to No New York, to Talking Heads (but not U2)-you’ve almost made a clean sweep.
RO: What was the first album you bought?RN: Probably Bad. Kody (my brother who plays in this band) used to draw giant posters of Michael Jackson in his leather suit and would cover it in so many zips it was ridiculous. There would literally be zips on the zips. He was 6.
RO: If there were a sandwich made in honor of The Mint Chicks, what would it be called and what would it be made out of?RN: It would be crunchy peanut butter, sweet Thai chili sauce, a fried egg, fried onions and mushrooms, but I have no idea what it would be called.
Mint Chicksw/ Brett Vogel RottureNov. 20, 9 p.m.21+