Nice Purse

Nice Purse, the brainchild of Ian Nygaard and France Camp, may not take themselves seriously, but they take not taking themselves seriously very seriously. It’s this attitude that creates the infectious music that can be found on their recorded material, and that creates an incredibly energetic live show. And it’s that live show that’s brought them the most intention. Don’t mistake the fun loving attitude – Nice Purse knows how to play. Bandmate James Wolfeatens says, “It’s like going and watching a group that doesn’t know what they’re doing, but they’re having fun with it, and are surprisingly tight."

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For a band that willingly admits they rarely practice outside of their live show, Nice Purse is more than willing to admit they care about style as much as anything else. Even with their gear, it’s just as much about keeping it fun and stylish as it is related to performance, sometimes even more so. “Jay uses some old stuff; he’s got one pickup and it’s tinny. I play a hollow body box from the ’60s and it sounds like shit, but it’s cool,” Nygaard says. It’s not what they have, though, it’s how they use it.

In regards to the newer material, bandmember Jeff Lorentzen says, “We’re louder. Really loud now. It’s kinda weird how that happens – we were like a folk band, kinda. Now, we’re super loud, in-your-face. Jay’s songwriting is still singer/songwritery and poppy.” And with the new album being more “instrument oriented,” according to Lorentzen, this follows their logical progression from a cute indie rock band who could easily have opened for Kimya Dawson to a band that’s actually trying to do something new and different. It’s this evolution that will likely be the most apparent as they progress and grow. [Performer, August 2011]