WL 366 - Sunday, June 3 – 10pm
Purveyors of: malfunctioning android kitten noises

If you haven’t heard 123Ten’s hit single, “Squirrel Babies” you are so far out of the loop you probably don’t even know your own name anymore. Quickly call your mother to remind you of your identity (she would like to hear from you anyway), then come to Sneaky Dee’s to hear some silly, sometimes dark and dissonant girly synth-pop.

Tell us a story! What happened to transform five ordinary teenage girls into beloved synth-pop goofballs?

I think I can safely say that not one of us was ever ordinary. That said, sailing on tall ships made us goofballs, and the abundance of folk music in our families made us love synth-pop, in a backwards kind of way.

You go to school with The Miles, right? Let's hear some sweet schoolyard gossip.

Okay! Well, Jesse has curly hair, that's pretty big news. Oh, and once in grade seven Alex got angry at a kid pretending to be an anarchist, so he kicked a garbage can into some lockers. Also, Steve has a big...heart.

Here are three ways in which people have described your music. Please tell me who is right and who is wrong.

"Preposterous": RIGHT

"Annoying drivel": Annoying -- RIGHT. Drivel -- WRONG. Every word bursts with meaning.

"Epic": For 5 year-olds maybe. RIGHT.

Supplemental question: what do you tell family members if they ask you what your music is like?

Misinformed-edu-synth-pop/nu-rave.

Who writes your songs – everybody together or somebody apart?

Complete and thorough collaboration is our key. We all write the words together, which usually involves a single idea for a song and we build on it as we go. Most but not all of our songs are based on a single event that we found hilarious (ie: Casey the wheely dog), or a rhyme that was too good to pass up (insert clever rhyme). Anna is the beat master mind, though we all contribute to the sound. We usually just start from scratch, decide what we like and fabricate a rough beat, and then Anna cleans it up and finishes it. Everyone has input and influence always, except the absent Lisa and Rachel who have better places to be, like Thailand and Peterborough.

Also, very small keyboards (especially piano-fun) are sometimes integral to our creative process.

Back in February you opened for Final Fantasy at the Tranzac. He is famous now. When will you be famous?’

September! Anna and Rosy will be away all summer sailing as executive officers (first mates) on two 72-foot long brigantines. The STV Pathfinder and TS Playfair are operated by the non-profit organization Toronto Brigantine, and crewed by teenagers only, except for the Captains. Basically, it's the only real reason there is for taking two months apart from 123TEN. That said, some ship-to-shore band communication may be in order. By the way, if you like tall ships, check out www.tallshipadventures.on.ca, and help keep an awesome program afloat!

By Evan Dickson