Tennis recently returned to the CPR Performance Studio a few days before the release of the album "Yours Conditionally." The Denver indie band has been on tour for much of 2017, and they head to California this month to play Coachella Music Festival.
More from OpenAir Sessions:
- Slothrust Blend Rock And Jazz Influences On 'Everyone Else'
- Strange Americans Return To CPR's OpenAir To Preview New LP
- WMN And The Queen City Of The Plains Features Prominent Women Of Denver's Music Scene
Tennis performed four songs from the new album. They spoke with Alisha Sweeney about the feminist message behind "Ladies Don't Play Guitar," how their recent sailing trip inspired "Yours Conditionally" and getting "Girls" actress Zosia Mamet to star in the promotional videos for the album.
Check out our Inside Track feature on Tennis for more on the story behind "Yours Conditionally."
Stream the session and watch Tennis perform "Ladies Don't Play Guitar" above.
Interview highlights:
Singer and keyboardist Alaina Moore on writing the song "Ladies Don't Play Guitar":
"I was feeling really frustrated because I was thinking: 'I only play piano because I'm a girl.' Just the accident of my gender. It never occurred to anyone to hand me an electric guitar. ... I have an inner shredder that will never be known to the world, unfortunately."
Guitarist Patrick Riley on self-releasing the new album:
"We wanted to have one album that was truly our identity. We didn’t want anyone else to help out. We didn't want a label to help out with how people perceived the album."
Songs performed:
- "Ladies Don't Play Guitar"
- "Fields Of Blue"
- "Please Don't Ruin This For Me"
- "Modern Woman"
