Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside. Photo by Liz Devine.
Portland, Ore.-based rock frontwoman Sallie Ford is “somewhere between Detroit and Philadelphia” when DCist reaches her by phone. Though based on the West Coast, she grew up in Asheville, N.C. and traveled extensively at her puppeteer father Hobey Ford’s side as he performed for audiences across the U.S. After earning the attention of nouveau-folk heavies like The Avett Brothers, Ford and her bandmates, The Sound Outside, have toured relentlessly since 2011, playing back porches in West Virginia to crowds of thousands at sold-out festivals. Before Ford and company breeze through Virginia tonight at Iota Club and Café, she told us how she came to be in a band with a group of young Alaskan fisherman and what she thinks of the D.C.-set hit Netflix series House of Cards.
Your dad’s a puppeteer. Did you grow up knowing you’d become a performer?
I always knew I was going to be something creative. My family was always big into performing and I felt embarrassed. I did do some performance stuff as a kid, dancing and playing violin. But I didn’t realize that if you do a lot of performing you get over the kind of nervousness of doing it. As far as music, it’s the best art form for me.
The other members of the band are former Alaskan fisherman. How did you all find one another?
Two of them are from Alaska. One of them has gone fishing…once. Tyler cooked more on the boat than he would fish. Were you a fisherman, Tyler? [Ford consults Tyler Tornfelt]. Okay, he’s a fisherman. When I first moved to Portland there were a bunch of kids from Alaska who all lived in this house together. Ford [Tennis] came to one of my shows and asked if I wanted a drummer. He was already playing with Tyler. Then I met Jeff while he was street performing in Portland.
What would he perform?
He had a four string guitar. He’d play “This Land is Your Land” and I just kept seeing him all the time, and eventually we decided to play music together.
Did you grow up listening to rockabilly, or psychobilly? You get branded as the former a lot.
I listened to The Beatles growing up. A lot of soul: Etta James, Aretha Franklin. I did start listening to The Cramps, which is psychobilly, right after we put out the first record. Though I think of them as just more rock and roll. I blame it on the French. They called us psychobilly and then Americans started doing it. Journalism’s contagious. We take more inspiration from jazz and blues, and rock and roll, but it’s all related.
How did you approach Untamed Beast differently than you did Dirty Radio?
I started listening to a lot of surf rock. I really like The Ventures and Dick Dale. I didn’t want a sound that was boxed into one thing. I wanted all the songs to be connected, but not have the same sound.
Your voice gets compared to jazz greats like Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, then your lyrical style gets compared to modern artists like Snoop Lion. Is there anyone you’re trying to emulate?
Not anymore. I guess I like female singers. I was listening to jazz music when I first started listening to music. More recently, when I heard Sharon van Etten she blew my mind. Cat Power. Older jazz singers. I like the idea of contemporary and old music inspiring me.
I’ve seen you play a back porch in West Virginia and a sold out festival to a crowd of thousands, yet you brought the same energy. How do you maintain that, week to week? Is it different now that you’ve been touring for several years?
Sometimes it’s not as exciting as it was when we started, but we’ve also learned how to perform better. The chemistry of the band is key–it doesn’t matter if we’re playing for four people, or practicing.
Your lyrics often cover sex and debauchery. Is your personality such that you talk openly about this in conversation, or do you find it easier to sing about?
I think with my peers everyone’s a little more open about sex and a little more open about being able to cuss. My parents are pretty open minded. That’s what I would normally talk about with my friends. No matter what, when you write a song it’s going to be overdramatized because it’s taking a point of view on something and simplifying it. It’s condensed to something simple. I can relate to all my lyrics. I just appreciate other art that’s like that: things that are open-minded and talk about what it’s like to live life in your 20’s, like that TV show, Girls. It’s not just fluffy. It makes you pay attention, but it’s humorous, and it has relevance to your life.
Has the band has been through DC a few times now? Most recently you opened for Thao [& the Get Down Stay Down]. Do you have any favorite venues here, or spots you like to hit up while you’re in the District?
I liked that last spot we played.
The Black Cat?
Yeah. We’ve actually only played D.C. that one time. We were supposed to open for Jolie Holland but we had to cancel that night because we went to play Letterman. I used to go through D.C. as a kid. I liked the spots outside of it as well in Virginia and Maryland. It’s a really international area, and the food’s really good. And I liked that underground train station food court. Do you know the one I’m talking about?
I do.
As a kid my dad traveled a lot, and I’d go with him–the whole family, or I would just go–I was home schooled so I could do homework on the road with him. And I just started watching House of Cards…
What do you think?
I’m not that politically savvy, so maybe it’ll teach me something. It’s good.
I burned through the whole season in a weekend. Don’t do that.
I won’t. The other new Netflix series, Orange is the New Black, is really good too. Check it out.
Sallie Ford and The Sound Outside play Iota Club & Cafe tonight at 8:30 p.m. South Rail opens. Tickets are $13 and available at the door.
