{"id":62313,"date":"2026-04-13T15:34:51","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T15:34:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/interview-on-smiths-influence-new-tour-dates\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T15:34:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T15:34:51","slug":"interview-on-smiths-influence-new-tour-dates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/interview-on-smiths-influence-new-tour-dates\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview on Smiths Influence, New Tour Dates"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tIt\u2019s very tough to offend the four members of the buzzy, post-punk throwback band <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/brigitte-calls-me-baby\/\" id=\"auto-tag_brigitte-calls-me-baby\" data-tag=\"brigitte-calls-me-baby\">Brigitte Calls Me Baby<\/a>, because they\u2019ve already heard it all. \u201cPeople say, \u2018Oh, it\u2019s like Elvis had sex with the Strokes, who invited the 1975 and Interpol to the orgy,&#8217;\u201d says frontman Wes Leavins, \u201cnot realizing what that ends up doing is piquing people\u2019s curiosity \u2014 because I don\u2019t know any band that sounds like those combinations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tThat eclectic fusion of influences, which also includes a healthy dose of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/the-smiths\/\" id=\"auto-tag_the-smiths\" data-tag=\"the-smiths\">the Smiths<\/a>, has helped Brigitte Calls Me Baby rack up millions of Spotify plays, an appearance on <em>The Kelly Clarkson Show<\/em>, invitations to open for the Strokes, Muse, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/morrissey\/\" id=\"auto-tag_morrissey\" data-tag=\"morrissey\">Morrissey<\/a>, and a string of sold-out club shows all across the world even though they formed a mere four years ago. At the moment, they\u2019re taking a very short break following a long run of dates in Europe, where they travelled across the continent by van and lugged around their own gear.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s exhausting,\u201d says bassist Devin Wessels. \u201cBut it\u2019s also the only thing that we really know how to do, and the only thing we want to do. And it\u2019s a dream to be that far from home and people know who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Brigitte Calls Me Baby - We Were Never Alive (Official Video)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EjpUBmCOkVY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tHome, for Leavins, is the tiny East Texas town of Nederland, right across the border from Louisiana. As a kid in the early 2000s, he listened to everything from disco to Nineties hip-hop to punk. But as he got a little older, he gravitated more towards Eighties post-punk and new wave. \u201cFor me, that\u2019s the beginning of alternative music,\u201d he says. \u201cGuitars became something different, and there was the invention of certain synths. It was an innovative time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tCable television was his window into a world far from Nederland. \u201cI watched MTV, MTV2, even BET, and all those things,\u201d he says. \u201cThe videos that would come on were the Strokes, Modest Mouse, and Arctic Monkeys. And I just loved that. It lit me up. It was this reality that some people had, and I knew that I\u2019d like to be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\"brands-most-popular \/\/ editors-pick-module lrv-u-margin-tb-2 lrv-u-border-a-2 u-box-shadow-5-5 lrv-u-padding-lr-1 a-span1 u-padding-b-1@tablet u-overflow-hidden\">\n<h2 id=\"section-heading\" class=\"c-heading larva  lrv-u-text-align-center u-border-color-black a-font-theme-primary-xxs lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-letter-spacing-0063 lrv-u-padding-t-050 u-padding-b-0375@tablet lrv-u-padding-b-050@mobile-max lrv-u-border-b-2\">\n<p>\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tLeavins took a big step towards that dream in 2016, when he landed the part of Elvis Presley in the traveling production of the Broadway show <em>Million Dollar Quartet<\/em>, which is a fictional retelling of the legendary 1954 Sun City Records jam session between Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\t\u201cIt was a nice opportunity to make some money and get out of where I was from in Texas,\u201d he says. \u201cBeing in front of people every night for a year at that age, I realized that your voice is a muscle and there is a craft to this. It was constant dopamine to experience something new every night.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tThe timing of all this was very fortuitous, since director Baz Luhrmann was in the early stages of planning his Presley biopic, <em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/tv-movies\/tv-movie-reviews\/elvis-review-1371769\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/tv-movies\/tv-movie-reviews\/elvis-review-1371769\/\">Elvis<\/a><\/em>, and didn\u2019t yet know if he would land a lead actor capable of delivering the vocals. Veteran Nashville producer Dave Cobb \u2014 who has worked with everyone from Chris Stapleton and Sturgill Simpson to John Prine \u2014 became aware of Leavins because of <em>Million Dollar Quartet<\/em>, and thought he\u2019d be perfect for the vocal role. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tThis ultimately became moot, since <em>Elvis<\/em> lead actor Austin Butler proved quite capable of doing the job himself, but it still brought Cobb and Leavins together. \u201cHe was the first person who was successful and very involved in the industry that saw something in me,\u201d says Leavins. \u201cWe had a lot in common, and we\u2019d talk about the Cure and the Sundays and Cocteau Twins. I was just shocked to hear how eclectic his tastes are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tBy this point, Leavins had moved to Chicago, and he formed Brigitte Calls Me Baby after working on an under-the-radar solo record with Cobb in 2021. (The band name comes from an unlikely pen-pal relationship that Leavins developed with French actress <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-lists\/brigitte-bardot-best-songs-1235491221\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-lists\/brigitte-bardot-best-songs-1235491221\/\">Brigitte Bardot<\/a> when he was a teenager.) They played their first gig at New York\u2019s Mercury Lounge in the summer of 2022, and followed it up with a Lollapalooza afterparty back in Chicago where they shared a bill with Inhaler. Within weeks, they built up enough buzz from their high-energy live set and eclectic fusion of influences that they landed a spot opening for Muse at the 2,500-seat Riviera Theater. \u201cThat was mind-blowing because it was our fourth gig,\u201d says Leavins. \u201cBut I didn\u2019t feel any pressure. I just felt excited.\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\"brands-most-popular \/\/ recirculation-modules lrv-u-margin-tb-2 lrv-u-border-a-2 u-box-shadow-5-5 lrv-u-padding-lr-1 a-span1 u-padding-b-1@tablet u-overflow-hidden\">\n<h2 id=\"section-heading\" class=\"c-heading larva  lrv-u-text-align-center u-border-color-black a-font-theme-primary-xxs lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-letter-spacing-0063 lrv-u-padding-t-050 u-padding-b-0375@tablet lrv-u-padding-b-050@mobile-max lrv-u-border-b-2\">\n<p>\t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Brigitte Calls Me Baby - Impressively Average (Live)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/c7HanKLg0WM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tThat excitement continued when they signed with ATO and went into the studio with Cobb to record their 2024 debut LP, <em>The Future Is Our Way Out<\/em>. Soon they were watching their debut single, \u201cImpressively Average,\u201d hit Number Nine on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart and score nearly 1.5 million plays on Spotify. They even opened for Morrissey at three European shows, including the singer\u2019s hometown of Manchester, England.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tLeavins has been endlessly compared to Morrissey because of their similar singing voices. (He also styles his hair in a pompadour much like Moz circa 1985.) \u201cMy voice is particular, and I\u2019ve known that since I was a teenager,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen I was younger, I wanted to sound like <a data-id=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/beach-house\/\" data-type=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/beach-house\/\">Victoria Legrand<\/a> or <a data-id=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/damon-albarn\/\" data-type=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/damon-albarn\/\">Damon Albarn<\/a>, but I don\u2019t.\u201d He ended up embracing the similarity: \u201cWhen you hear Morrissey sing, you know it\u2019s him. When you hear Jeff Buckley sing, you know it\u2019s him. When you hear Alex Turner sing, you know it\u2019s him. And so to live in any of those worlds in anyone\u2019s mind is flattering to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tWhen they finally came face-to-face, Morrissey didn\u2019t mind. \u201cHe was very warm to us, very welcoming, very funny,\u201d says Leavins. \u201cHe did a lot for us, putting us on those shows and giving us that platform. I think some of that audience shows up to our gigs now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tThe group, which also features Jack Fluegel on guitar and Jeremy Benshish on drums, released their second LP, <em>Irreversible<\/em>, this March. \u201cIt\u2019s different in so many ways,\u201d says Wessels. \u201cOn the first record, we were finding ourselves. Wes came to us with a lot of these songs he had already written. They were great. But it was nice to go into the second record as a band. We sat down as a band and decided what we wanted this record to be. To have that intention and to have the luxury of time and be able to set a roadmap for ourselves \u2026 that made a huge difference.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Brigitte Calls Me Baby - I Can Take the Sun Out of the Sky (Official Music Video)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/r6mXnolb9KY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tTheir new single, \u201cI Can Take the Sun Out of the Sky,\u201d originated as a voice memo that Leavins and Wessels recorded in just a few minutes while waiting around to head off to an airport. \u201cWe had the song structured, arranged, and the bulk of what you hear on the recording track,\u201d says Leavins. \u201cWe refined it over the course of maybe five days.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tThe video shows a young woman flipping through a magazine where the members of the band appear and lyrics to the song appear on most every page, even in the ads. \u201cIt\u2019s like a magazine where you can enter the world of the band,\u201d says Leavins. \u201cAnd we thought, \u2018Well, it\u2019d be kind of fun if we made this a magazine that\u2019s sort of like the greatest of the most inventive critiques that we\u2019ve ever gotten.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tThey welcome the critiques about their sound. \u201cThe worst thing we could do is run from that,\u201d says Wessels. \u201cOf course, we love great music, who wouldn\u2019t? And we\u2019re inspired endlessly by all sorts of different artists. And if people want to brand us a certain way, well, they\u2019re welcome to do so, but it\u2019s not all that bad.\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\"brands-most-popular \/\/ recirculation-modules trending-in-article lrv-u-margin-tb-2 lrv-u-border-a-2 u-box-shadow-5-5 lrv-u-padding-lr-1 a-span1 u-padding-b-1@tablet u-overflow-hidden\">\n<h2 id=\"section-heading\" class=\"c-heading larva  lrv-u-text-align-center u-border-color-black a-font-theme-primary-xxs lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-letter-spacing-0063 lrv-u-padding-t-050 u-padding-b-0375@tablet lrv-u-padding-b-050@mobile-max lrv-u-border-b-2\">\n<p>\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tFor now, their focus is gearing up for a long string of American dates across April and May, including a sold-out show at New York\u2019s Bowery Ballroom. They\u2019re still traveling by van and staying in cheap hotels, and they don\u2019t mind. \u201cI just want to keep playing the shows,\u201d says Wessels. \u201cI want to keep writing songs. And if I had to travel in a van and share hotel rooms with these guys for three more years, I\u2019d do it. This is what I want to be doing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tLeavins feels the same way, at least for now. \u201cThe $50-a-night hotel rooms are fine, and we make do and share rooms,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I am very much looking forward to staying at the Four Seasons. I\u2019m not going to pretend. That sounds wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-features\/brigitte-calls-me-baby-interview-smiths-influences-1235544593\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s very tough to offend the four members of the buzzy, post-punk throwback band Brigitte Calls Me Baby, because they\u2019ve already heard it all&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":62314,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop","article","has-excerpt","has-avatar","has-author","has-date","has-comment-count","has-category-meta","has-read-more","thumbnail-"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}