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n the front row of the Mates of State show we attended, there was a teenage couple dressed exactly like the band, animatedly singing along to even the unreleased songs. We understand the desire to be Jason Hammel and Kori Gardner. For one thing, they've created a unique pop sound — Kori on organ, Jason on drums, both on overlapping vocals — that's refreshing in its joy. For another, they put on a riveting live show with no gimmicks or banter, just their own chemistry. Hooksexup sat between the Mates on a sofa to discuss touring and threesome propositions. — Gwynne Watkins

I have to ask you about your wistful looks onstage and what's going on in your heads.
Jason: It's usually like (in Marvin Gaye voice) "Wait 'til I get you home."
Kori: No, it's not! They're more like: You know what, I'm embarrassed to look out there. There are people staring at me. I don't want to mess up the next part. Can you hear my vocal cuz I can't hear it? or —
Jason: Or, Wow, that sounds good —

Kori: Or, This sounds AWESOME, I'm having fun!
Jason: Or, this sounds TERRIBLE. Whatever we're thinking, we're communicating that thought to one another.
Kori: One time, we read this article, at a live show, they were like, "At one point, Kori mouthed the words 'I love you' to Jason during a song." And I was like, "Are you KIDDING me?"

I've read from you guys in interviews that getting married and becoming a full-time band happened at the same time. Were those the same decision for you?
Jason: It just coincidentally happened the same year.

Did you play at your wedding reception?
Kori: We played a Bright Eyes song.
Jason: There was one point in the wedding, though, that the DJ strayed from our requested music —
Kori: Oh, God.
Jason: And it happened to be the Grand March or whatever — when you make your entrance?
Kori: I had told him, I want us to walk in to "Loro" by Pinback. I just love that song. I don't know what the words mean, but we love the song, right? And right when we're lining up to come in, he comes up — he's this guy named Doug E. Jam — and he comes up to us in line and he's like, "I had to kill the first song. It's got words on it." I was like, "I don't care! Use that song!" He's like, fine.
Jason: So he uses "Loro" for all the wedding party. And then right when we're going down the stairs, all of a sudden —
Kori: "Dadadada!"
Jason: It was the Austin Powers theme song.

You have this reputation for being cute and wholesome, so I want you each to tell me one unwholesome thing you've done lately.
Kori: [Laughs] I'm wholesome!
Jason: Ummm, Kori watches a lot of porn.
Kori: No I don't. Be honest!
Jason: You don't watch a lot of porn?
Kori: No, but you do. You watch Girls with Glasses practically all the time.
Jason: Talk about your porn habit.
Kori: Porn is good! I guess that's unwholesome.
Jason: Or maybe that's wholesome nowadays.
Kori: I haven't watched it in a while, though.
Jason: You liar.
Kori: I know of something pretend unwholesome that I did. I had a big bag of acidophilus with me in the hotel room, and I was like "let's leave some here and cut it into lines for the cleaning people."

I like that you fake-trash hotel rooms. What's the most embarrassing song on your Ipod?
Kori: I have some songs from the Rent soundtrack on mine.
Jason: You have "White Lines."
Kori: That's not a bad song, that's a good song.

When you look back on your discography, do you have images associated with each album?
Kori: When I think about recording Team Boo, I think about how we were in Willie Nelson's studio in Texas for three weeks. Once we found Willie Nelson's weed in a book in the studio. Not his weed, but we found his roaches everywhere. And $600 cash.
Jason: In a book.
Kori: Flat, stuck in this book, like drug money or something. His nephew was there, and he said, "Oh, just keep it, he won't even know."
Jason: We were like, "We're not taking the money!"
Kori: We were like, what do you do with $600 from Willie Nelson?
Jason: He wasn't around, but his nephew took us to into his house so we could look around.
Kori: For this album, we were home, and we had a baby So we were bringing her to daycare and then coming to the studio, and picking her up from daycare and feeding her lunch and then bringing her to the babysitter and coming back to the studio.

Have you ever been propositioned for a threesome by a fan?
Kori: Yes.

Does it happen a lot?
Kori: [To Jason:] That girl from Miami?
Jason: Yeah! A couple times, maybe.
Kori: I think people say it jokingly to us. And they write to us and say that, so they don't want to show their faces.
Jason: Or they say, "I'd sleep with you both."
Kori: I had a girl basically molest me onstage. She was on E or something. I mean, we invite dancers up if they really want to. That's cool, come dance onstage.
Jason: We were like, "You're excited, come on up." We didn't even know she was on ecstasy.
Kori: So we start the song, and pretty soon I feel hands going up my shirt from behind, and I'm trying to do the song, holding my elbows down.
Jason: She was like, "I love you! I love you! I love you!"
Kori: She kept sticking her hand down my butt-crack. It was so funny. Then we're like, "Okay, someone needs to take this girl home!" [Laughs]
Jason: Her friends were like, "Sorry, she's on E."

Well, that's all I have.
Kori: We'll let you know if we think of anything else we do that's unwholesome. Jason likes to dance around naked. He can't go from the shower to put clothes on without putting on a little show for me.
Jason: You always look! Even when I'm discreet. I've tested her.
Kori: You're never discreet. This is discreet, ready? [She starts walking, then stops and wiggle her pelvis.] He swims naked, too.  n°

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© 2006 Gwynne Watkins and hooksexup.com.