MUSIC THAT FIRED US UP
A CONVERSATION WITH THE TAILSPINS’ OSKAR AND JULIA BUIE
When we consider the expression ‘everything old is new again’, we are generally talking about addressing the issues of today, by mining the wisdom of the past. Applying this idea to music, it is interesting when young artists take a look backwards for inspiration, and give a stylistic nod to their musical forbears.
Case in point can be found in the music of The Tailspins. Late of Salt Lake City, Utah, but now based in Los Angeles, the husband-and-wife duo of Oskar and Julia Buie have been thrilling audiences with their unique blend of music. Drawing on touches of pre-WWII jazz, jump blues, swing, 1950s rock ‘n’ roll, and a soupçon of calypso, The Tailspins have developed a style that is all their own. Usually working as an acoustic duo, they are known for their smart-yet-sparse guitar arrangements, and incredibly tight vocal harmonies. They are also proficient recording artists, with their 2023 EP release The Tailspins, and their recently released single, “Inmate Number 99” under their belts.
Working under the name ‘Oskar and Julia’ since 2015, the pair adopted ‘The Tailspins’ as a moniker while recording their debut EP in 2021. Regarding the name change, Oskar notes, “What’s different for me is, having a band name is separate from your personal life. It’s kind of nice, just a different feeling. You feel more incognito, as opposed to being completely exposed. It’s not like we’re acting any different, it’s just that being called by a band name is just a lot nicer.”
Despite their throwback sound, The Tailspins do not consider themselves to be stylistic purists, or purveyors of a particular genre. Says Julia, “I think we were listening to everything that’s been out, over the last couple of decades, just growing up, and then listening to things as we were getting more interested in music as a profession. It seemed like there was a gaping hole where these old genres were, where you can’t really listen to this anymore, unless you’re willing to search for this stuff. There was a resurgence of swing in the ’90s, but it kind of seemed like people hadn’t been touching on this for a while. These were some of our favourite genres to listen to, and to make our own, as far as storytelling, and the specific sounds that we can make, like harmonizing. A lot of our influences are The Mills Brothers, Louis Prima, and Cab Calloway. Some of the harmonies that were happening, with Louis Prima and Keely Smith, it felt like a lot of that was missing. So, we played the music we wanted to hear, that wasn’t available.”
Considering the original 1940s and ’50s wave of jump blues, jazz, and swing, with the likes of Calloway and Prima, and the second coming in the 1990s, with such acts as Lou Bega and The Brian Setzer Orchestra, it appears that the time may be right for a resurgence of that music. When the question is raised about the possibility of their band being at the forefront of a musical revival, Julia laughs and asserts, “Not really! There are so many people that are doing jump blues and swing, and all these things. But, they specifically do jump blues or they specifically do swing. They are masters of maintaining the traditional art of all that. We don’t really claim to even be trying to hold up the traditional sound of these genres. We’re saying that we are a mix of these things, when we list our genres on our Instagram bio. We don’t want to try to claim that we’re doing something to keep those genres going. We’re just trying to be ourselves, and play the music we like to hear. We like to mesh different genres together and try to come up with maybe something a little bit new, but also draw from those genres heavily.”
PURCHASE THE TAILSPINS EP VIA BANDCAMP
While there is no denying that The Tailspins are a powerhouse duo, they acknowledge the guidance and kindness of friends, namely, producer Adam Bradley Schreiber, and bona fide rock star, Jack White. Oskar picks up the story: “It was crazy. We were (performing as) Oskar and Julia and we were kind of going through an identity crisis thing, because we didn’t know what kind of music we wanted to play. It wasn’t really swing or anything like that, when we were Oskar and Julia. It was acoustic duo stuff, funky kind of stuff. We met with a cool producer, and he guided us, showing us that this style was possible for us. I think, as musicians of today, you don’t really see the possibility of playing this style of music. When our friend Adam showed us and guided us into this style of music, it really stuck. We really focused and learned how to produce the songs, in a studio situation, and how to make them come to life. We wrote the songs, brought them to him, and he made it all possible.”
“That was going to be under ‘Oskar and Julia’, but while we were there, recording the music, it was suggested that we ditch how we were doing it before, and how we were promoting ourselves before, and we changed the name to a band name. We were more like personalities online, before, to the point where it was barely about the music. It was more like influencer stuff, ’cause that was just all we knew. We dropped that, and kind of went all about the music. We had a band name, and we left the personal side out of it. While we were there recording, it was amazing – we had decided to become The Tailspins there. We started an Instagram account while we were at the studio. It was just a video of us preparing to record, that we posted on our Instagram. Within the first hour that we put it up, Jack White followed us!”
Jack White was sufficiently impressed by The Tailspins’ short clip on Instagram, that he offered them a spot on his Supply Chain Issues Tour. Clarifying the situation, Oskar continues, “We didn’t play on the main stages. He already booked all that up, but he saw us and wanted to make room for us on tour. Gracious as he was, he made room, and made sure that we were accommodated for travel, and fed us, and let us walk around backstage. We were a part of it. It was amazing! We played the concourses and vestibules, as people walked in. It was fun! We were made completely welcome and the production manager gave us tags and said, ‘You guys can go wherever you want’. So we spent that whole tour watching Jack White’s show from the side, and it was great. It was a blast!”
The Tailspins’ early days were certainly auspicious, and that positive trend has continued. They play live dates in and around their adopted home of L.A., and in addition to releasing a new single, they are currently on a 10-date tour with the all-female surf rock band from Toronto, The Surfrajettes. While the styles of the two bands may seem like an odd pairing, The Tailspins are excited to share the bill. Says Oskar, “It’s awesome. The Surfrajettes are on the label Hi-Tide, and we’re on the label Nu-Tone, the sister company. Originally, the Ichi-Bons were going to join the Surfrajettes on the leg of the tour that we are going on, but they had to do something else, so we were fortunate enough to receive that opportunity. It definitely won’t be the same kind of crowd, but it’ll be interesting, won’t it? A lot of people are hitting us up, telling us that they’ll be going to the show, cause they saw that we’d be playing at one of their favourite venues with The Surfrajettes. So we’ve already been able to benefit from that. The Surfrajettes are incredible. It’s remarkable what they are able to do.”
While they continue to work at releasing new music, playing live dates, and growing their audience, The Tailspins know who they are, and they know what they want. When the question is posed about their place in the future of retro-inspired music, their response is pragmatic. In Julia’s words, “ I would say we’re not necessarily doing this to try to influence other people, or the music industry, or different genres. We’re just there to have a good time and try to be authentic to ourselves, and play music that we like.” For Oskar, “That’s nowhere near what we’re thinking about, which is interesting. I think we’re just in our own world, and will see what happens… You listen to music because it’s comfortable, but you forget that what is around you, influences you. Subliminally, or in other ways, it will influence you, I think – just being more intentional, and more cautious of what’s coming into your ears. What we did was, we kind of stopped listening to what we normally listened to and really focused our energy on observing that music that fired us up.”
Catch The Tailspins, Currently On Tour Supporting The Surfrajettes:
2/14 Indianapolis, IN – HI-FI Indy
2/16 Denver, CO – Oriental Theater
2/17 Durango, CO – Animas City Theatre
2/18 Albuquerque, NM – Sister
2/20 Los Angeles, CA – Zebulon
2/21 Sacramento, CA – Harlow’s
2/22 San Francisco, CA – The Chapel
2/23 San Jose, CA – The Ritz
2/24 Long Beach, CA – Alex’s Bar
2/25 San Diego, CA – Casbah
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