Beauty Pill

CHAD CLARK, formerly of the eclectic Washington DC group Smart Went Crazy, formed Beauty Pill. You might also recognize Chad's name from his production credits, including the Dismemberment Plan's Emergency and I, and the continued re-mastering of previously released titles from Dischord Records. The band--Clark (vocals, guitar), Drew Doucette (guitar), Jean Cook (Wurlitzer, vocals), Ryan Nelson (drums) and Basla Andolsun (bass)--describes themselves as "a band that can help you out if you like songs." They've been through several lineup changes, and have only released two EPs, one full length and a handful of comp tracks in the relatively long time they've been together. Blame their limited output as a band on adult responsibility, a handful of side projects, and the desire to stay motivated during changing roles later in life.

Formed roughly six years ago, that seems like the only real time that the collective members have sat down and thought to themselves, "Hey, we're in a band. Let's pay more attention to this!" Currently, Clark is on sabbatical from recording to work full-time on Beauty Pill. The band is writing, recording, and, echoing Clark, "making new sounds," meaning that Beauty Pill is expanding outside the realm of "after work and on the weekends," and into the "full on from here" title that Beauty Pill and their music fully deserve. This is Beauty Pill's time now. Describing the sounds of Beauty Pill is arduous. Tracking their history is a task. But falling in love with them, that comes easy.

Explain Beauty Pill's history. It's been through quite a few chapters already.

Chad: The band has always been a group of people orbiting a central set of ideas. To pursue these ideas, I have always sought a certain degree of innocence in my collaborators. I don't hold expertise as an important value. I believe in the word "amateur" and I don't think it's a shameful word. Amateur means one who does it for love of the process. Jean was best known as one of the world's best violinists before Beauty Pill, and we have yet to use any violin in our music. We asked her to sing. And it worked out. Jean's singing gets stronger and more authoritative with each passing day. When he joined the band Ryan played a drum kit with no toms, largely because he didn't think he was any good at drum rolls. In the process of working around this limitation he came upon a style that is all his own and is very difficult for conventional drummers to emulate. As for me, I can't play normal chords on the guitar, and my voice has a permanent and inescapable sandpaper effect built in. I found a style within those limitations.

Jean, you've only recently come to play in Beauty Pill. How did that come about?

Jean: Late last summer I was driving home from Rhode Island where I had just recorded some ideas for a duo project with Chad. He called and asked if I'd like to sing for Beauty Pill. We talked it through and it sounded like it might be fun. I met with Basla, Drew and Ryan and we all seemed to get along. We played some shows; it was pretty great.

Was it difficult to redefine the lead female singer position?

Jean: I don't know. I learned to play keyboards and sing and play fry pan, which is what Rachel did. Some of the things that are different are practical. My vocal range is higher than Rachel's so I had to rework how I sang some of the songs. Some of the songs Rachel used to sing that were easier for Chad to sing, he picked up. I picked up a few that Chad sang.

Drew: I think we're a lot more organized with Jean. It seems like there is more organization and order because Jean is a super computer freak.

Chad, during one show you said that you perceived the band as asexual, like you felt each Beauty Pill song should be able to lend itself to either male or female fronted vocals without altering the state of the song. Why? Do you think it's important to be a part of a band that's comprised of both males and females?

Chad: I prefer pansexual, encompassing both genders, 'cause I think Beauty Pill is sexy. That's certainly one of our agendas. This gets into a tricky area--ascribing traits to genders--but I do feel that one of the things Beauty Pill stands for is championing female energy in punk music. We believe in strategy and seduction and detail and grace as tools for subversion, in lieu of brute force. That being said, feminine energy does not only come from women. And masculine energy does not only exist in men.

Jean: The experience of hearing both me and Chad sing two versions of the same song doesn't just have to be about gender. We also sing about smuggling drugs and killing celebrities. There is an element of fantasy and detachment that has to do with heavy yuppie concerns like urban alienation and existential crises, and these elements weave their way through our songs in a very non-gender specific way. Rush hour traffic, a bad night at a club, and a nervous breakdown don't strike me as particularly male or female experiences. Whether Chad or I sing a particular song, sometimes it's a choice. But a lot more I think it's about what's going to sound good on a particular night.

Now that I think of it, it's not just Beauty Pill. I can't actually think of any songs out there that can't be sung by both a woman and a man. Can you?

Chad: That's a good point.

Future plans for the band?

Chad: I want the next record to be saturated with color--hot, fresh, and electric. Phillip Glass with dilated pupils. That's what I want out of music these days. True psychedelia.

COPYRIGHT 2005 High Speed Productions, Inc
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group