the nogoodforme.com interview: Misha

A recent Stereogum Band to Watch, Misha formed when its two members - John Chao and model Ashley Yao, who grew up together in Taiwan - randomly ran into each other in New York after being out of touch for 15 years. Given the crushing charm of both the band's backstory and its newly released debut record Teardrop Sweetheart, we shouldn't have been very surprised to find that Ash and John make for the world's most adorable interview subjects.

Still, the cuteness overload sort of konked us over the head and now we're dreaming of becoming best friends with the couple at some point so we can wear Stella McCartney cashmere jumpers together and go visit fascist facialists and not make out to Rush.

In the meantime, we're playing Misha's songs A LOT, especially the loungy one that somehow slyly references both "Baby Got Back" and "The Girl From Ipanema" (it's called "Anaconda," and it's currently battling Harry Potter for control of my brain - which is a miraculous feat indeed). Go download their lovely "Summersend" over at Pitchfork and prepare to spend the next few minutes wistfully going "awww..." over and over again.

How did Misha come together? Misha came about because I [John] was working in California while Ash was in New York, and I was sending her music almost daily as little toys or presents. And then she started getting into the spirit and giving ideas and edits and so forth, so by the end of the summer we had a lot of songs, including the Tomlab single, "In A Hundred Years."

Who are your favorite bands? Ash says she has fewer long-term favorites, since she doesn't do as much music, but she loves Duran Duran and David Bowie. For me, I have a few musicians or bands that I love that I've listened to over and over again: Joe Henry, Jeff Buckley, and Crowded House are very close to me, and then Astor Piazzolla, Joseph Spence, Arto Lindsay, Los Lobos, Jayhawks, Burt Bacharach, lots of old Chinese and Bollywood music, of course The Beatles and Pink Floyd, Bill Frisell, Nortec Collective, Ron Sexsmith, almost anything else by Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake, lots of stuff by Jon Brion, and Dwight Yoakam and Wallace Roney and Artur Rubinstein! He's awesome.

Name one record you loved when you were a little kid that you still listen to today. The Velvet Underground and Nico for Ash. For John, Louis Armstrong's Greatest Hits.

What have you been listening to lately? Fugiya and Miyagi, PB&J, Junior Boys, and Hot Chip for Ash. For John, Richard Thompson, Bert Jansch, The Beatles' Love and Bob Dylan.

Who's your number-one all-time music crush? Technically, our answer is each other. But if you asked Ash, really she'd say The Strokes. I think when I was younger, I had a crush on Sam Phillips and the lead singer of Shivaree and Wong Faye. Ash also wants to know if Johnny Depp counts as a band. Even if not, Johnny Depp.

Favorite makeout music? Al Green! Sad to say, but it's true. He's the bizzomb. Also, Brenda Holloway, and anything by Burt Bacharach. And Nusrat. It used to be Radiohead, when we was angsty. But never, never ever was it Rush. Ever. That never happened.

What do you like to wear onstage? This is hard, as we've never toured together. But...if imaginary, it would have to be dresses: Ash likes Vanessa Bruno, Stella McCartney, and our friend Thomas Chen's label Yitan for Ash. (Tommy's an up-and-coming designer who went to Parsons with Ash's sister Annie.) I'm going to go with a t-shirt that's not too tight or too loose, and corduroy pants. This makes me sound like I'm a beardo disco lovah, but really, I like cords. They'z comfee.

Name one clothing/beauty item you always take on tour with you. Caudalie grape water, according to Ash: It's a facial spray she likes a lot. (According to me, one could easily mistaken it for fabric freshener if one were in a rush and one's jacket smelled "iffy" due to the hot New York summer.) And a Stella McCartney cashmere jumper for the clothing item. My beauty item is a toothbrush, AND toothpaste - this is definitely one of those "don't take one without the other." This goes for shoes and socks as well. (Trust me on that last one.)

Tell us a beauty secret. Ash says drink lots of water, and go see a good facialist once a month. Ash goes to a facialist in the city. (I almost typed fascist. This is probably subliminal.)

Who are your style idols? For Ash, Kate Moss, because she can put anything together and look good. Plus she's versatile - she can look grungy or sophisticated. Career-wise, she's been very successful, which is admirable, even if she's not the greatest role model, no pun intended. And Ethel Park, Ash's friend who's an assistant fashion editor at Vogue - Ethel has the best accessories and combinations. She always has the "it" pieces from all the shows. Ash is very jealous.

Any favorite fashion designers/labels? Yitan again. Thakoon. Marc Jacobs. Nicolas Ghesquiere. Demeulemeester. Phillip Lim.

What are your favorite places to clothes-shop in your city? Aside from Barneys and Barneys Co-op if Ash had the money, it would have to be Beacon's Closet in Brooklyn, and Opening Ceremony in Nolita. And Century 21, which has good cheap stuff.

Any advice for girls/boys out there looking to start a band? Um, it's so hard to give advice when we're just figuring it out! Definitely make music you want to listen to, not just what's cool right now. And don't do the easy thing too much, because if it sounds too easy to you, it probably will sound too easy to someone else. Have fun making music - and don't think everything else sucks. Definitely trust your instincts: If something sounds a little off, or doesn't feel good, change it! It's okay if it screws things up, because taking a chance is always better. And sometimes, watch TV or do something else while you're making music, it will make getting past writer's block a lot easier.

Posted by Liz in Interviews
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