HAVING already made such an impact in Scotland and beyond under the name ‘Crystal’, it may have come as a surprise when the grunge outfit decided to rebrand as Dead Pony. We caught up with Anna and Blair to discuss it all, from reasons behind the new name, line up changes and signing to LAB Records.
What’s the thinking behind the name change?
Blair: There were a few changes in the band: Lizzie left, and we started writing songs that were a bit different, so we felt like we were starting a new period and it deserved a name change.
Why did you choose Dead Pony?
Anna: Me and Blair wrote a song which is now called Everything Is Easy which was originally called ‘Dead Pony’ and when we had the idea to change the name of the band Blair suggested using ‘Dead Pony’.
Blair: I also think it’s just a cool name. It’s different, it stands out. ‘Crystal’ was quite a common name and ‘Dead Pony’ is quite the opposite.
How do you think you’ve changed as a band since we’ve gotten to know you?
Anna: Blair’s gotten fatter and my boobs have gotten smaller! I think we’re also more comfortable and confident musicians now than we were before.
Blair: We’re much better at songwriting now than we were as ‘Crystal’.
Signing a deal is a huge milestone for a band. You’ve recently signed to LAB Records, how do you feel about joining their impressive roster?
Blair: I am very, very happy about it because I think they’ve got a lot of very cool bands like Vukovi, Hockey Dad, St Martiins and Mealtime.
Anna: Obviously getting signed is a great achievement, but also the recognition of all the hard work and graft put into being in a band means a lot. It shows that if you just graft and graft and graft then good things do happen to you.
You recently shared a Fleetwood Mac cover, it’s good to see you’re collaborating being creative during the lockdown. Are you managing to get much writing done and how is this affecting your creative process?
Anna: Yeah, I wanted to do the cover with Lizzie because we hadn’t sang together in months. I just thought we’ve both got all this free time so we may as well try and do something quite productive. For the first two weeks of the lockdown though I felt so uninspired, but for the last few days I’ve been writing every day!
Blair: Not much has really changed for me apart from the fact that I can’t sit down with Anna and actually write songs, so that’s been quite annoying. But I dropped off a mic at Anna’s so we’ve got a method now where I’ll send stuff to her and she can record stuff and send it back.
Anna: We’re really lucky in that most musicians today have the tools to create demos at home so that at least when this is over we will be able to look back on all the positive stuff we managed to do.
Are there any songs you wish you had written?
Anna: I think the greatest song ever, ever written is Islands in the Stream by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rodgers, but I wish I had written Honky Tonk Angels by Dolly Parton.
Blair: I wish I wrote Song 2 by Blur.
Who else are you listening to right now?
Anna: I’ve been listening to Doja Cat, and I really like the new Dua Lipa album, and then just the classics really.
Blair: Honestly, Nickelback.
Anna: You must be depressed. I’ve been listening to the new Fabric Bear tune a lot as well.
Blair: I’ve been enjoying Snash’s new tune ‘Pigs’ a lot recently. Besides them, Viagra Boys and The Mysterines.
What’s next for you guys?
Blair: We’re releasing Everything Is Easy on May 1st!
Anna: After that we should have more music on the way, then we just can’t wait to get back to gigging!
The band you once knew as ‘Crystal’ are now known as ‘Dead Pony’ across all online platforms:
