Dubb Nubb, returning as buskers to this year’s fest, serenade their listeners with songs of soldiers, mud cities, and kindergarten weddings. When they’re not busking, they do things like lead songs at Hebrew School and deliver singing Valentines (with fellow 2012 T/F busker Lizzie Wright) around Columbia.
The duo recently became a trio when their older sister Amanda joined twins Delia and Hannah in order to help them keep time on the road last spring. Look for the twins warming up the T/F crowds this year with their freaky, folky ditties. For a preview, visit their BandCamp page, or listen to their session on Daytrotter.
—Zac Early
T/F: What kinds of experiences did you have growing up that made you give songwriting and performing a try? What kind of music was playing in your home?
DELIA RAINEY: Well, Hannah started playing guitar when she was ten. Our dad plays guitar and he taught her how. We always grew up listening to music. My parents blaring music on the stereo like every morning is how we woke up.
HANNAH RAINEY: A very artsy, musical family.
AMANDA RAINEY: And they took us to see a lot of shows. We would go to concerts in our pajamas on the weekends. Going to shows was such a part of our family.
T/F: When did your older sister Amanda join the band?
AR: I joined in May, because we were going to do a little tour after they graduated from high school.
HR: You kinda joined our recording in March.
DR: That’s true.
AR: I did play percussion on some of their recordings, but that was like sitting at a full drum set. And so, when we were trying to figure out what to do for this tour, I had some drums in my parents’ basement…but I didn’t want to really pack a whole drum set. So, I just found this drum my dad had, an old banjo and it broke. He had taken it apart and used it as a drum. I just started playing it and it sounded cool. One thing that I like about adding the percussion in is that it kind of… [Turning to address her sisters] You guys are amazing at what you do, the dynamics and stuff, but they weren’t really that good at keeping a steady tempo [laughter].
HR: I am like the queen of rushing. I just want to go faster. It’s really bad.
AR: So, I feel good about keeping them on tempo.
DR: It’s good to have that heartbeat of the song. It really adds a lot of texture. I think it can be more epic now.
AR: I was booking shows for them, coordinating their recording, and merch and all that for three years. It’s been awesome to actually play with them as well. Not just bossing them around.
T/F: You boss them around?
AR: Sorry, was I really bossy?
HR: You’re still bossy.
DR: But it’s OK, because you’re the boss!
T/F: You were a hit at True/False last year. What do you enjoy about playing the fest?
HR: It’s fun to have an audience and play for people who didn’t come to hear us play. It’s kind of fun to see people’s reactions. People come up to tell us good job; it’s really rewarding.
AR: It’s not like they came to a show and never heard of the opening band. They came to see a movie…
DR: Sometimes we play the little church venue; everyone was into it. It was so much fun. The acoustics were great. We could sing really loud, and we got to see a really good film! I think Columbia is so much fun around this time.
T/F: What are your plans for this year’s fest? Just do your sets? Or will you try to go to parties, see other films?
HR: I want to go to some of the shows, definitely. Maybe all of them. The other bands sound so cool. And I’ll definitely go to movies.
DR: We didn’t get into some of the parties last year because we weren’t twenty-one. That was a problem, I remember.
AR: Yeah, you’re still not twenty-one. [Laughter]