Popdose Q&A: On the Road With Crushed Out

The easiest way to get your ass handed to you in a bar is to tell a dude you have a crush on his wife. Unless that dude is Frank Hoier, singer/guitarist for the rock duo Crushed Out, and your crush is of the rock star variety. How could he blame me? His wife, Moselle Spiller, is a smoking hot percussion combustion engine that keeps their blistering crazy train club anthems on the rails. So then technically I am crushed out on them both. Listen loud and you will be too.

Blues-soaked rock and roll axe shredder with brunette drummer/wife? We’ve seen this species before in the White Stripes and Black Keys — but since Meg got out of the kitchen, someone had to step in and start cooking again. Moselle is Meg White and Alison Mosshart rolled into one — a drummer with frontwoman swagger and total command of the stage. Frank sings like he plays guitar — hair raising, goose bumping shred and squeal offset by daydream smoothness.

Their new album, Want to Give, makes ear worming, lighter waving, foot stomping, head smashing rock and roll look absolutely effortless. Ten feisty tales of swagger, excess and heartbreak that absolutely kill in my iPod when shuffled with the Stripes, Hives, Keys and Rev. Horton Heat.

Crushed Out – Push Down & Twist

Crushed Out – Weigh You Down

To promote the record, they’ve been playing clubs while crossing the country and dotting the I’s several times over. Hot on the heels of opening for Social Distortion in California, they careened into the Pacific Northwest for shows in Bellingham, Seattle and Portland. Yesterday, Moselle checked in with POPDOSE, most likely from a truck stop somewhere along the 5.

POPDOSE: CRUSHED OUT is steadily building a fanbase one sweat soaked show at a time. What’s your life like on the road?

Moselle Spiller: We travel in a big white van, just the two of us. A few small suitcases of performing clothes, camping gear, skateboards and various art materials like sketchbooks, cameras and computers. We act as our own record label from the road so we also have lots of merch and posters and all the production materials to make things work.

What do you do between gigs? Do you see the sites? 

When the weather permits we like to visit state parks and camp on our days off. One of the things we miss most from having a steady home is cooking, so we bought a little Coleman stove so we can make our own healthy food instead of eating junk food from the truck stops.

Our epic tours have covered every corner of America so we have had many colorful gigging experiences. Mostly good. Times get crazy when we have to cover really long distances between back to back shows. Things get a little scary when you have to drive hours after a late night show and then find yourself at a cheap motel in the middle of nowhere.

Any great discoveries? The World’s Largest Ball of Twine perhaps?

Our coolest discoveries have always had to do with the vastness of America. There are so many unique natural areas that we have been lucky to visit from the Redwood forest to Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Canyon and the Florida Everglades.

Most bands that log a ton of miles usually wind up hating each other, how do you and Frank keep the romance alive and keep the solo records at bay?

I don’t think we’d still be doing this if it wasn’t because we are are a couple. Living in a van for seven months on end is not for people who are simply friends or coworkers. You have to love somebody to be as strong as we have to be to survive our lifestyle. We were boyfriend/girlfriend for years before we started playing music, so the relationship came first and then the band sprouted out of our mutual appreciation for music.

Back when you were called Boom Chick, you had a penchant for dreamy, flowing dresses. Did a style and musical shift occur when you two renamed the band CRUSHED OUT?

There was no musical shift with the name change because our current album and songs were completed before we changed our name to Crushed Out. We actually worked hard to carry over the key elements that defined our personal style despite the name change. We love purple and seafoam green, black/white and gold. Sharks and the ocean. Elements of early blues music and surf culture. I think artists whose success lasts decades are often known to reinvent themselves and change with the times. Bowie and Madonna are great examples. I think if you’re inspired it’s healthy for your fashion to evolve and ours is slowly.

In the early days I wore more long hippie dresses because that was just my personal style when I was learning to play drums. In the last few years I’ve gravitated more towards leotards and tighter fabrics because drumming is so athletic; it makes my performance better to be comfortable and free!

Now POPDOSE is 100% against crass and shameful product placement, unless it is a product we already consume in crass and shameful amounts. So here ya go, time for a taste of cool, refreshing PBR and CRUSHED OUT live in concert:

Want To Give is on sale right now at Amazon. Connect with Crushed Out online and facebook. After they destroy Seattle tonight (January 25, 2013) at the Sunset Tavern, they head down to Oregon, out to the Midwest and back East. If you’re lucky enough to live in one of those cities, and smart enough to buy tickets, you are about to rock, so we salute you.