College Times

Media Credit: Courtesy MSOPR

Given that their catchy-as-all-hell electropop debut full-length Common Reaction just hit shelves a few months ago, you may not have heard of Uh Huh Her. But chances are, you’ve unknowingly heard the duo – or seen them – before.

Leisha Hailey, formerly of ’90s indie rock outfits The Murmers and Gush, moonlights as Alice Pieszecki on the hit Showtime series “The L Word.”

Camila Grey, formerly of LA lo-fi group Mellowdrone, has contributed as a session musician on recordings for the likes of Kelly Osbourne, Busta Rhymes, Dr. Dre, Melissa Auf Der Mar and Hanz Zimmer.

Grey recently spoke with College Times about Uh Huh Her’s upcoming first visit to Phoenix, the dynamics of a duo and being “show-boaty.”

College Times: What can we look forward to from your live show?
Camila Grey: It’s definitely going to be different. We’re kind of changing it up; we’re a full band at this point. There are going to be lights, there are going to be electronic elements. It’s going to be a completely different show. I don’t think we’ve ever been to Arizona, we’ve never played there before, so I don’t think anybody has any expectations since we’ve never been there.

What’s the toughest part about transitioning from a two-person group to a full band on stage?
Certainly, when we were playing with our iPod, it was definitely a little less dynamic. I think now, being a full band, it’s just about everybody vibing together and having this chemistry. There are so many elements to it.

Do you feel like you’re still winning people over when you play live?
To an extent, yeah. We’ve had such an amazing audience thus far. They’ve been really supportive of us, and I guess the goal is to win over new fans, and mainstream, and tackling all that. To kind of have a niche audience.

How involved were you in the production of Common Reaction?
Very. I produced the EP, and we did the record in the same vein, where we did everything at her house or my house, in our little studio, we did a lot of the demos that way. And then we took mainly most of those tracks and transferred it to our producer Alclay’s place.

Your list of past collaborations are all over the map. How do those come about?
Just being a session player, being a studio musician, you meet people and then those people introduce you to new people, and that’s kind of how it works. So that’s how all that came about: a little bit of luck, a little bit of
talent.

What was the most unexpected?
I think that definitely the weirdest collaboration I’ve had is with Tricky, because we’ve never actually met. We’ve been communicating via our managers or e-mail, and he actually did a bunch of remixes for me of some of my stuff.

What’s the main difference between being a session musician and playing in your own band?
It’s a huge difference. It’s the difference between doing your job and kind of being in the background, and just kind of getting by without having to actually show up and perform. Now, the tables are completely turned, and you’re having to show up and really kind of take control, which is something I wasn’t really used to. So having another person up there certainly helps you kind of, I don’t know, be a little more – I don’t know, what’s the word Leish – show-boaty? I don’t know, it’s like having somebody to lean on, or something.

Uh Huh Her w/The Fashion, Martini Ranch, Saturday, October 18, 7 p.m., $15

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