An Horse — Kate Cooper and Damon Cox — is playing with Kaki King at Park West this Thursday. North by Northwestern spoke to Kate over the phone about the upcoming show, musical influences and chocolate.
So you have an upcoming show in Chicago — what are your thoughts for that concert?
We love Chicago. I feel like we’ve played there a handful of times. I love the city, it’s really beautiful. And the crowd’s really good there, so I’m excited. It’s one of the shows that I’m more excited about.
How did you get into music?
When I was 16, my parents took me to my first rock show, and it was the Rolling Stones. I remember watching it, and I was like, “Wow, I think I want to do that.” And my parents were like, “No, no, no, I think you should go to law school.”
Was that difficult to decide to go into music?
Yeah, it was a difficult decision for sure. I really enjoy studying and school…I have friends who are lawyers, and that’s great. But this isn’t for me, yet. Definitely pursuing music is a difficult decision to make because you have to go away a lot. But it’s all worth it.
Your music has been described as “folky, indie and pop.” How would you categorize your music?
That’s tough, to be honest. I mean Damon and I used to work in a record store together, and it specialized in more of punk music. I don’t necessarily think we’re a punk band. I grew up listening to Fugazi and Sleater-Kinney, but I mean, I don’t know what we sound like.
I think we can play with Kaki King and do shows with Tegan and Sara and then we can do shows with the Silversun Pickups. I think we’re quite versatile. It’s not one thing or another, I guess.
Your band name is quite original — what’s the story behind it?
It was a grammatical conversation that my sister and I had that lasted many months. It became an argument, and she was trying to tell me it was correct, and I said it wasn’t. It was just kind of a joke that kept going, and in the end, she made a sweater for me that said “an horse.” I used to wear it around and people would ask me, “Are you in a band? That’s a good band name.” In the end, we ended up using it. I mean, people love it or hate it. Murray the Wiggle thought it was cool.
What other music influences have shaped your music sense and music style as a band?
I guess we were really lucky in that two years before Damon and I started playing together, we spent every day listening to records together. I can’t really pinpoint one influence because it was the record store that influenced us. We’d always talk about music and play each other things. Discovering music together was — I mean, maybe all bands should get to do that. It’s amazing. The best music taste is an eclectic taste. I love Fugazi, but I also love Kylie Minogue.
What are three things you absolutely can’t live without?
Well, my girlfriend. Chocolate. And coffee. Probably in that order. Chocolate is definitely more important than coffee.
What kind of chocolate is your favorite?
Oh, I don’t know if I have time to discuss this in-depth…You see, it’s different where you go, even if it’s branded the same. Like Cadbury in Australia is way different to Cadbury in the U.S. or U.K. I love chocolate in Australia — it’s kind of standard. I’m kind of like a low-brow chocolate fan, but not low-brow enough to eat Hershey’s. That’s just crap. I like milk chocolate.