Hailed by NPR and Pitchfork as the new “buzz band” to watch, dreamy surf-pop outfit Tennis take a break before their three night run in Las Vegas to discuss living and playing in their hometown of Denver. 
Brianna Hernandez, PopWreckoning: How is it returning to Denver from being on tour? After receiving so much attention nationally, is it strange to return to Denver where you are still relatively unknown?
Tennis: Really great. Denver is the most comfortable city to live in and after being in big cities every night. It’s the only place we want to be.
BH: Prior to Tennis, you played in various bands in Denver. Which bands?
T: James has played in much more memorable acts: Tjutjuna, Mothership and a bunch more. All the bands I played in were so bad that we couldn’t get shows in Denver and the DIY scene hadn’t started yet. Thank god for house shows because we couldn’t even play a show in Denver as Tennis in the beginning.
BH: Who are some of your favorite musicians in Denver?
T: Gauntlet Hair keeps putting out some really amazing stuff. The new Woodsman record is, in my mind, their best yet. Can’t go wrong with Tjutjuna either.
BH: What is it like playing for a crowd at home in Denver versus elsewhere?
T: We have a lot of really great people at our shows, but we also have the most amount of critics. Denver press has always been our most negative, and in that sense, it’s a bit weird. Aside of that, we love playing at the Hi Dive and always have a great time.
BH: When you aren’t on tour, where are some of your favorite places to be in Denver?
T: Our favorite bar is the Great Divide Tap Room. Really great people there and the best beer in town. We also find ourselves at Forest Room 5 quite a bit. But our favorite place to be is at Bistro Vendome for their Sunday brunch.
BH: Your last album chronicled a sailing trip. Will your next album follow in suit? How do you feel about concept albums?
T: We haven’t put any restraints on our writing yet, so at the moment, it isn’t going to be treated as a concept album. I think most albums can be tagged “concept” albums; it’s really hard to write 10 or so songs that are so disjointed that they can’t be associated with each other.
BH: What are you listening to now? What would people be surprised to know you listen to?
T: We’ve been listening to a lot of R. Stevie Moore lately. Some Jackie De Shannon, too. I don’t know if those are surprising or not.
BH: How would you describe your sound?
T: We’ve been using the word “vintage” a lot in reference to the production techniques we used on the album. I don’t know. We try to make things sound like a human being made them.
BH: How did you meet one another?
T: Alaina [Moore] and I [Patrick Riley] met in an Analytic Philosophy class. I’ve known James on and off since high school.
BH: Any plans to move from Denver…or to take another sailing trip?
T: We are definitely planning another sailing trip. Don’t really know where or for how long, but it’s going to happen. We talk about moving away from Denver, but we never make the necessary steps to do so. I think Denver is a place you always talk about moving away from but never do.
BH: What is your favorite part about touring and playing live?
T: I really like hearing Alaina’s voice live with a room’s natural reverb. As for touring, we love visiting our favorite bars, diners, restaurants, beaches, people, etc.. in every city. It gives us some sense of routine when we go to the same places every time we tour.
BH: If you weren’t Tennis, what would you be doing instead?
T: If I wasn’t in Tennis I’d probably be fixing up boats or something.
BH: Where did the name Tennis come from?
T: White people, I assume. The name doesn’t mean anything to us which is the purpose of a band name, right?
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