Thee Oh Sees

Photo by John Anderson

San Francisco garage-psych quartet Thee Oh Sees supply insane energy to every stage they plug into. Keyboardist Brigid Dawson fielded our questions.

Austin Chronicle: You've been called the silver lining in Thee Oh Sees sound.

Brigid Dawson: I'm a caveman piano player. I'd never played an instrument before John Dwyer said, "You'll have to learn to play keyboards," so I learned on the road years ago. It's been both the funnest and most challenging thing I've ever done.

AC: How's touring with Austin's OBN III's?

BD: It's been wonderful to be on the road with a band that's so young and so great. Me and John checked them out in Denton and it was such an awesome show that we immediately started making plans to tour together. Listening to bands that you love on tour is part of the whole reason you do this.

AC: How have you made the adjustment from playing small, sweaty clubs to big outdoor festivals?

BD: For me, it was scary at first. Such a big stage and big crowd of people who don't really know who you are, but the more you do it, the better you get at creating the right energy, which I find heartening.

AC: Floating Coffin, your seventh album in six years, has gotten a lot of praise.

BD: That helps more than any technique. Our minds are still engaged to what music can be and we keep changing to keep it interesting for ourselves.