We are looking forward to The Current's 20th Anniversary Celebration, two nights in the First Avenue Mainroom. Tuesday morning, we focus on night one of The Current's 20th Anniversary Party, which happens on Friday, January 24. It's going to be a special one: Frank Black performing his 1994 solo record, Teenager of the Year; DJ Jake Rudh of Transmission kicking off the night with a dance party to get everybody energized; and Minneapolis shoegaze band, she's green, opening for Frank Black in the First Avenue Mainroom.

The past couple years have seen a fascinating rise for she's green. They kicked off 2024 by playing First Avenue's Best New Bands of 2023 showcase. Then in April, they received the most votes and support in The Current's very first Minnesota Music Month Scouting Report. And now this gig with The Current's 20th Anniversary Celebration — and later this year, they’ll embark on their first North American tour.

Ahead of their set on January 24 at First Avenue, all five members of she’s green — Zofia Smith, Liam Armstrong, Raines Lucas, Teddy Nordvold and Kevin Seebeck — joined Jill Riley for a conversation on The Current's Morning Show. You can listen using the audio player above, and you’ll also find a transcript of the interview below.

Interview Transcript

Jill Riley: Hey guys, welcome to The Current.

Various: Thank you. It’s good to be here.

Jill Riley: Yeah, we're happy to have you. Have you guys been kind of reflecting back as you're in the present and looking forward, but just kind of reflecting back on the trajectory of the past year.

Liam Armstrong: Yeah, I mean, starting it off with playing First Ave was kind of insane, and that was, like, one of the coolest experiences of my life, was being on that stage. And we had some awesome shows. We went out to New York. We played at Cornell. It was just super fun to kind of like start going around the country and playing our music.

Jill Riley: It was actually that First Avenue Best New Bands showcase, where I got to meet you guys for the first time. Raines, one of the guitar players from she's green — Raines, I remember we met at the merch table because I wanted to pick up one of your T-shirts, which I did remember to wear this morning. Now I have to tell you a little story about this T-shirt: I was wearing it out in the wild. There was a gentleman that walked by me, and he stopped, and he kind of backed up, and he was looking at me, and I was like, "Yeah?" as I'm flipping through the racks, and he goes, "Excuse me, are you wearing a she's green T-shirt?" And I went, "Yes, I am." I'm like, "Are you a fan?" He goes, "Yes, I'm a fan. And in fact, I'm the dad of one of the members." I got to know whose dad it was, because we took a picture together, and he sent it over. So Kevin Seebeck of the drummer of she's green. That was your dad?

Kevin Seebeck: Yep, that was my dad. He sent that over to me, and that made his whole week. That was so awesome.

Jill Riley: Yeah, it was, it was really fun. Just the pride on his face. It was so fun to have that moment. And it just happened to be the T-shirt that I was wearing that day.

Kevin Seebeck: That was incredible.

Raines Lucas: In the group chat, I remember Kevin like, sending the picture of his dad, being like, "Look what just happened!"

Jill Riley: No, that was great. I just and I love that. I love having those moments. So The Current's 20th Anniversary Celebration, and you guys are playing night one part of the lineup. It's DJ Jake Rudh of transmission kicking off the evening. It's your set, and then Frank Black performing his 1994 solo record, Teenager of the Year. Now, Frank Black, most famous for being in Pixies. You guys excited for this show or what? Teddy, you have a very resounding YES going on, so I would love to hear your point of view.

Teddy Nordvold: I mean, what can you say? Like, it's one of the foundational kind of, like indie-rock bands from the 90s whose music made a huge impact on my life. In fact, I think, like when I first joined this band, we had barely written any music. We were working on music, but when we were starting to like gear up to play shows, we were looking for songs to cover. And I remember we started rehearsing "Gigantic."

Jill Riley: Hey, Zofia, how are you feeling about opening up for Frank Black?

Zofia Smith: I'm extremely excited. Yeah, I've also looked up to that band for a really long time, and just being able to be on the same bill is incredible.

Raines Lucas: I mean, I would say we've shared a lot of great bills with a lot of great artists, but this one is special because it's my friends and family who aren't really tapped in to the same music scene as us, this is when they're like, "Oh! That's crazy. You're opening for Frank Black of the Pixies. That's really wild," you know? So it's a fun one to tell people about, because I think him and that band have had such a massive impact for so many people. Everybody knows Frank Black, you know?

Jill Riley: Yeah, that's incredible. I'm just so pleased to see you part of that lineup, helping The Current celebrate the 20th anniversary of this radio station. This is a big deal, I mean, to celebrate a public media station that's been around for this long. I have to ask you guys now, because as a station, you know, we've been on the air for 20 years. How would you say that the support of having a radio station play your music on the airwaves in this market, in Minneapolis-St. Paul, but beyond, have you felt like you really feel that impact? Liam, do you want to speak to that?

Liam Armstrong: I think we wouldn't have as much local support as we do without like such a great public radio station, and that's always like finding the new bands in the cities and just like putting them on to the platform.

Raines Lucas: Yeah, we have all talked amongst each other about how much The Current meant to us, like, growing up. We're all pretty young, and I just like, remember getting driven to school as a kid or to hockey practice, and like, Jill, your voice was like an important part of my childhood. When I met you, I was like, "What's going on? I know your voice." Beyond that, it like Liam said, The Current does so much for the local music scene. I mean, one: it's just given us a lot of exposure to people, because I think people really trust The Current — like, if The Current is promoting somebody, it means something. But also, they just are very active. And everyone knows about The Current, and I feel like it plays a role in a lot of people's lives in Minneapolis. So to be able to be a part of that is a crazy feeling, and it has definitely had a huge impact on us.

Jill Riley: I'm talking with the band she's green. I got every member on the line this morning. Zofia, Liam, Raines, Teddy, Kevin, they've got an EP, Wisteria. And on The Current, it's likely maybe that you've heard the song "Syndulla" and "Bleed." So my question for you guys, I thought I read somewhere that you are recording some new music. Is there a is there a plan for a new release in the new year?

Zofia Smith: Yes, there is. We're finishing up a couple songs right now. Definitely an album coming in the future.

Liam Armstrong: Yeah, we have a single coming out very shortly, within the next month or two.

Jill Riley: Did you guys go into a recording studio this time around? If I'm not mistaken for the EP, you did some more home recordings.

Liam Armstrong: So the recording process for these songs was kind of pretty eclectic. We did a lot of home recordings, but we also went down to Chicago and recorded with Henry Stoehr of the band, Slow Pulp.

We also worked with Sonny diPerri on the mixes for these songs. So yeah, we were kind of all over the place. I think what our plan is for music going forward is to really hop in a studio after we come back from tour and then get to work on a longer-form project.

Jill Riley: I understand you're going on a big national tour in 2025. Do you guys want to talk about that?

Raines Lucas: We are going on tour with the band Glixen, who we met playing a show with them in Iowa, actually, and then we played with them in Minneapolis at the Cloudland Theater. And they're very cool, and we really love that band. And it's crazy, because the most shows we've ever done in a row is probably like two or three, and we've only played outside the Midwest one time, and then this is going to be like 30 cities across the U.S. and Canada, and it's going to be amazing, but also a wild experience. We don't know what to expect.

Jill Riley: She's green hitting the road in 2025 for really, your first national tour. And well, and I will say international tour, quite frankly. So thank you so much, you guys, everybody, for checking in with The Current this morning. And thank you so much for being part of The Current 20th Anniversary Celebration. January 24, night one featuring DJ Jake Rudh of Transmission, Minneapolis band she's green, and Frank Black, who is, you know, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the record Teenager of the Year by going on tour and stopping in various cities. And it just so happens that it lined up that he could do The Current's 20th Anniversary Celebration. If you are looking for your ticket information, just go to thecurrent.org/anniversary and we would love to see you one or both nights. But I know I'm especially looking forward to January 24: she's green — Zofia, Liam, Raines, Teddy, Kevin, all on the line. Thanks for making the time this morning, and best of luck with everything you have coming up. And we're looking forward to a great show at First Avenue.

Zofia Smith: Thank you.

Liam Armstrong: Thank you so much. Jill.

Jill Riley: Yeah, well, thank you. Love you guys, and we're looking forward to the show, and we'll go out here on The Current with one of your songs. Here's "Bleed" on The Current.

Credits

Guests – she’s green
Host – Jill Riley
Producer – Nilufer Arsala
Digital Producer – Luke Taylor

External Links

she’s green – Bandcamp

she’s green – Linktree