Q&A: Sadie Dupuis On Birth Charts, Dr. McDougall’s Ramen, And Her Dog Buster + Watch Speedy Ortiz Play “Dot X”

Tino Tran

Q&A: Sadie Dupuis On Birth Charts, Dr. McDougall’s Ramen, And Her Dog Buster + Watch Speedy Ortiz Play “Dot X”

Tino Tran

Prodding punk quartet Speedy Ortiz with a variety of odd and unrelated questions might be a budding tradition at Stereogum. Last August at Outside Lands, we discussed Donald Trump, musician beefs, and the band’s comradeship with comedian Hannibal Buress, and at Sasquatch!, after Speedy’s set at our Toyota Music Den, I talked with lead singer/guitarist/songwriter Sadie Dupuis about her budding interest in astrology, which Whole Foods locations are superior to others, and her updated Song Of The Summer pick. Check that out plus a video of the band performing “Dot X” below.

STEREOGUM: I was really excited when you collaborated with Lizzo and Lazerbeak because I’m from Minneapolis and they’re some of our hometown heroes. I was wondering how that came about and how you found out about them them.

SADIE DUPUIS: Mike [Falcone, Speedy Ortiz’s drummer] sent me the “Batches & Cookies” video when it came out and was like, “I think you would like this.” And he was right. So I bought her record and then got really into it. I hit Lizzo up about doing a remix and she was like, “Cool, who should produce it?” And I was like, “Um, Lazerbeak.” So we had this remix in the works and, around the same time, this Google thing came up where they wanted two artists to write a song with each other over Google Hangout. We were already talking about the remix, so it transitioned into doing that. We did the Google Hangout thing before we ever met, and we got to record that song in a studio — a really fancy studio — and then the next day, she came with me to the Silent Barn to do her vocals for the remix. It was cool to work with her in like a super pro studio, and then the Silent Barn. She’s crazy pro, super talented.

STEREOGUM: Based on your Twitter, you’re pretty into astrology. Do your horoscopes or what you read about your chart influence your life at all in any actual serious way?

DUPUIS: I don’t think in a serious way, but I definitely make my friends tell me their birthdays, birth times, and birth locations so I can be like, “Here’s why you’re fucked up.” Two of my best friends are Capricorns, so if someone tells me they’re a Capricorn I’m like, “Come on in.” Scorpios I take with a grain of salt. I’m a Cancer, and I feel like I’m very Cancer.

STEREOGUM: Like you’re very sensitive, right? What are the other defining traits?

DUPUIS: Stomach pains. I don’t like to leave the house. But I’m a Sag rising.

STEREOGUM: What does that tell you about yourself?

DUPUIS: Sagittariuses love to travel, and they’re creative. I guess that makes some sense. I’m a Taurus moon, and I don’t really know what that means. I found out that I have Mercury and Venus in Gemini. That’s bad. That means I’m wishy-washy and crazy in love and in thought.

STEREOGUM: Being a vegan on tour, what are your go-to snacks?

DUPUIS: I stockpile lots of dehydrated stuff and Dr. McDougall’s ramen. I think they should probably sponsor us, because I eat like two a day on tour.

STEREOGUM: Is there a certain flavor?

DUPUIS: I will eat all the flavors. Lately I’ve been into the split pea. There’s a baked tortilla one. They sell it at Whole Foods. We went to the Boise Whole Foods the other day, which is my favorite Whole Foods, and I spent like $100 there. Just on, like, ramen and seaweed.

STEREOGUM: Why is it your favorite Whole Foods?

DUPUIS: You start to notice differences. Boise has an oatmeal bar that’s, for whatever reason, priced differently than other Whole Foods. So we always stock up on that in the mornings when we’re leaving. It’s a pretty big Whole Foods. The one in Detroit is pretty good, too. For whatever reason, all the ones in San Francisco are pretty terrible, probably because everyone goes to actual co-ops there.

STEREOGUM: Do you ever hit up the local co-ops?

DUPUIS: Mhm. Iowa City has a great one. Kalamazoo, Michigan has a great co-op. All the Midwestern ones are really great.

STEREOGUM: I also saw on your Instagram that you have a dog, and I would like to hear about the dog.

DUPUIS: He’s with my mom right now. She’s been sending me tons and tons of pictures of him every day.

STEREOGUM: How long have you had him?

DUPUIS: Let’s see… almost six years. My mom lives in the woods, so he’s like dissocialized now.

STEREOGUM: What’s his name?

DUPUIS: Buster. He’s a pit/boxer mix. He’s a good little guy. He just curls up. He’s really sweet.

STEREOGUM: Have you had him since he was a puppy?

DUPUIS: Yeah, I adopted him when he was about four months old, and he had mange. He was a rescue from North Carolina, and they just found him. A farmer was going to shoot him, and they called animal control, and a rescue team got him. He had mange so badly all over his face that he was like blind. His eyes were scabbed over. He’s really a success story. On Valentine’s Day, actually, I adopted him. In 2011. So yeah, he’s going to turn six soon.

STEREOGUM: When we interviewed you last summer, we asked you what your Song Of The Summer was, and now we need an update for this summer.

DUPUIS: We have friends in the band Jackal Onasis, and they just put out this song. It’s really great.

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Speedy Ortiz’s Foiled Again EP is out now via Carpark Records.

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