Tennis Live on KCRW

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Tennis’ album “Young and Old” is by far one of my favorite records of the year. As I explained to the band, the music creates a feeling that I want to have, so I find myself listening to it quite a lot.

The band is centered around married couple Alaina and Patrick Moore. It was fun watching them interact behind the scenes. When I asked Alaina what song she sings in the shower, Patrick piped in that he was more qualified to answer: all R&B, particularly “Weak” by SWV, “Emotion” by Destinys Child (and the Bee Gees before them), and various Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston songs.

The reason? Alaina was homeschooled until high school when she found herself in a public school where everyone listened to hip hop and R&B exclusively. She had never even HEARD a Led Zeppelin song until Patrick played one for her!

The clearest influence in their music is 50’s and 60’s pop and Alaina said it was a turning point in their pursuit of music when they started listening carefully to how songs from that era were recorded. It’s clear they have a very specific sound they want to capture. They produced their first album “Cape Dory” on their own and had only one person in mind for their follow up: The Black Keys’ drummer Patrick Carney.

Patrick said there was no “Plan B” if he said no. But luckily he said yes! And is on board to produce their next one whenever they can all find the time to get back in the studio.

For now, check out this very excellent set of pop songs.

Also, some fast facts:

Alaina’s first love is philosophy. If she could bring any musician back from the dead to hang out for a night and talk music, it would be Trish Keenan from Broadcast. For Patrick, it would be producer Joe Meek.

Tennis returns to LA for a show at the El Rey in August.

RR