Cali rock duo Deap Vally are blowing us away with their new EP, Get Deap! They tell us more about stripper fans, Muse and, er, crochet.

Deap Valley come from a world where ferociously stompy rock’n’roll still rules supreme (and the White Stripes never broke out). With a cult following built off the back of a few blistering singles and no-holds-barred live performances, Lindsay Troy and Julie Edwards aren’t so much women who rock as they are rock stars who happen to be women. Troy, who does vocals and guitars, gets deap-er with us.

Is it true that you two meet at a sewing class? 

We met at a crochet class. I got the urge to take up crochet and went to a class at local yarn store in my neighborhood. Julie was teaching the class. We really hit it off. We talked a lot about our musical histories and bonded over our struggles as artists. Basically I kept popping into the shop all the time after that to visit Julie because I thought she was the bee’s knees. The next thing you know we were in a band together!

For those who haven’t heard your music, how would you describe your sound?

Soulful, heavy, groovy, and unapologetic.

Who in particular influences you, both musically and style?

We worship Led Zeppelin. They are the holy grail of rock music. They are an endless well of inspiration. We love strong, talented women like Joan Jett, Nina Simone, Tina Turner, and Karen O. We love the Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, Son House, and Nirvana. I could keep going. Our aesthetic is very important to us. Visually we draw inspiration from The Ramones, Jem and the Holograms, Valley Girl, Thelma & Louise, and 1970s socialites.

You seem like you have a lot of fun onstage together, what’s the best reaction you’ve ever had from a crowd?

We played the 1234 festival in Shoreditch and a man in the audience got completely nude, per my request.

One of our first UK tours was with notorious party animals The Vaccines, how was it?

Epic. It was like rock’n’roll summer camp, except colder. There were four bands on the bill, which is fairly uncommon. It was us, the Vaccines, DIIV, and Pale. Everyone really bonded. The Vaccines really made us feel at home… They even made sure we had Thanksgiving dinner! I already miss them all. It was really awesome to play to such a young crowd. Lots of cute, young, boy-crazy girls. We got a lot of girls telling us after the shows that we had inspired them to start a band. That made us really happy.

You supported Muse for some big arena gigs in Europe, how did you feel about playing to that many people?

I think it’s incredible–It’s the dream. We’re just really honoured that Muse asked us to support them. And we’re getting to visit such snowy, beautiful places. We’re in Helsinki right now. Tonight I ate reindeer for the second night in a row. Mmm.

You also toured Japan – what are audiences there like?

They were awesome. Smiling and grooving and really feeling it. I loved them. I had “I love you, Tokyo” and “British Airways lost my luggage” written on my legs in Japanese. I think they got a kick out of that.

And finally, who would you have in the middle of a perfect Deap Vally sandwich?

Bill Clinton <3