"When I was pregnant, I became a lot more connected to my life. I moved into my body."

AN INTERVIEW WITH TANYA DONELLY
February 2002

Q: It's been a while since "Lovesongs For Underdogs"; why did it take so long to release "Beautysleep", your new record?

Tanya: After "Lovesongs..." was released we toured and worked the record for about a year and a half. Then I got pregnant almost immediately after that. My original plan was to finish the record while pregnant and then tour six months after my daughter's birth. Then she was born and I changed that plan and the months became years. Throughout this time, we continued to write and record and finally finished this past summer.

Q: How do you feel the birth of your daughter has affected your songwriting? Would you like to see her become a musician of her own when she grows up?!

Tanya: Gracie has effected everything I do; my eating, sleeping, playing, working and thinking have all changed. When I was pregnant, I became a lot more connected to my life. I moved into my body. This grounding made me write more directly, though I didn't realize it at the time. Grace is already very interested in the drums and she writes her own songs. She's a big Ramones fan. And Van Morrison.

Q: Tell us about how The Breeders started. Was it a way for you and Kim to do something different from Throwing Muses and Pixies respectively? How did Josephine Wiggs and Brit Walford get into the picture?

Tanya: Kim and I started the Breeders after the first Throwing Muses/Pixies tour. We'd become close on that tour and wanted to hang out and play. It was also becoming increasingly obvious that we both needed an outlet for our own songs, and there was no room for that in the bands we were in. Josephine came into the picture after Kim saw The Perfect Disaster (Jo's band at the time) play somewhere, and Brit was recommended to us by a few people.

Q: As a member of Throwing Muses or The Breeders, did you ever feel that you didn't have much space to express yourself?

Tanya: Kim and I were actually planning that the first Breeders record (Pod) would be all Kim's stuff and the second would be mine. But then I left the Muses and ended up forming Belly instead, mainly because Kim was in the middle of another Pixies record. So there was potential space for me there. In the Muses situation, Kristin and I had an set formula whereby I would only contribute a song or two. And that went fine for us until I started writing more frequently. It wouldn't have worked for us to try to shift that balance.

Q: How did it feel when you left Throwing Muses? Were there hard feelings at the time?

Tanya: There were no hard feelings. Sad, but not hard. Kristin and David and I are like family to each other.

Q: How do you remember the early days of Belly?

Tanya: The early days of Belly were a blast. We did a very good job of enjoying that experience in the beginning.

Q: "Star" was a very successful album, were you surprised to see this enthusiastic response and see the album get a Grammy nomination? Do you still listen to it now and then?

Tanya: I've been listening to "Star" a lot lately because I'm writing the liner notes for a Belly compilation that's coming out on Rhino this spring. It's a much odder album than I tend to remember. So yes, it is surprising that it did so well. We knew we wouldn't get those Grammies, but it was a great party.

Q: Which is your own favourite, "Star" or "King"?

Tanya: I'd have to say "King". Some of the best lyrics I've written are on that record. And I have wonderful memories of recording with Glyn by the ocean. I can taste salt when I hear this stuff.

Q: Was it a disappointment to see that "King" didn't follow the commercial success of "Star"?

Tanya: We were horribly disappointed. And we didn't have the strength to recover from it and circle the wagons again. It's too bad because we might have had another record in us.

Q: How did it feel to disband Belly?

Tanya: Sad and necessary. And a big relief. There was a lot of pain being dealt and received and it was time to walk away. Since that time, most of us have made reparations and are on pretty good terms.

Q: A lot of people talk about a whole "female movement" which involves artists like Suzanne Vega or Sheryl Crow.. do you feel part of it? And are you aware of what the big audiences tend to listen to these days?

Tanya: I don't feel like part of any movement that's specifically female, but I guess I tend to be attracted to and involved with bands that include women, because I think that can make music more interesting. I'm marginally aware of what's popular these days, but I'm completely (and comfortably) out of the cultural loop.

Q: There's a rumour that you're going to be in Throwing Muses again, is this possible?

Tanya: I'm not rejoining the Muses, and the Muses still aren't really a working band, but we did just do some recording together. Kristin's new songs are so so so very good.

Q: How did the collaboration with Mark Sandman (of Morphine, and sadly not with us anymore) occur?

Tanya: I'd wanted to work with Mark for a long time, and when we ran into each other in clubs (often), we'd say 'hey let's do something together sometime'. Then when we were recording "Moonbeam Monkey", I felt like it was missing an edge. And I wanted the dark angel's gender to be ambiguous and not some fairy godmother type. So Mark came in and added his creepy coolness to it.

Q: Do you have any message for all your friends in Greece? If I remember correctly, Belly were supposed to come to Athens for a gig in November 1995; there were even posters, but the gig never happened...

Tanya: I think we were supposed to play there with REM but Mike Mills got sick and we canceled a bunch of dates. Poor Mike, but poor us too. I've always wanted to go to Greece. I think everyone over here wants to go to Greece. As far as playing there goes, it never seems to be financially feasible for some reason. I would like to say hello and send my love to you all. I'll get there someday.