VH1's "You Oughta Know" franchise has been highlighting artists on the rise and serving as a "who's hot" barometer since 2005. This year, for the first time ever, they brought artists from the current roster and artists from past years together for a festival-style concert at New York's legendary Roseland Ballroom. VH1's resident music expert Jim Shearer hosted the event with other celebrity music lovers introducing their favorite artists. The concert featured performances by each artist as well as breathtaking collaborations and cover songs. The show, which will give an inside look into the personal lives of the artist as well as showcase their performance, premieres Thursday November 21 at 9 p.m. ET.
Music Times chatted with a few of the "You Oughta Know" artists on the red carpet before the show. Check out what they had to say, and make sure to watch them on November 21.
YOK ARTIST: HAIM (rhymes with "time")
MEMBERS: Alana, Este and Danielle Haim and Dash Hutton
BIO: This trio of sisters, hailing from California, have been making music together since they were kids. Their parents were musical hobbyists and had instruments lying around for the girls to play with at a young age. The began as Rockinhaim, the Haim family cover band. The sisters played shows together on and off until 2007 when they were pursuing education and touring with other bands. Thankfully, they made their return in 2012 with their debut EP Forever, and enlisted Dash Hutton of the Los Angeles band Wires on Fire to play drums. The EP's title track started making waves in the U.K., earning the No. 4 spot on NME's Best Songs of 2012 list. They recently released their debut LP Days Are Gone to widespread critical acclaim. Since then, they have signed to Jay-Z's Roc Nation management team and have been touring in support of the album. Haim sounds like a mix of Fleetwood Mac, TLC, Destiny's Child and Shania Twain, or what Vogue calls, "stripped-back nu-folk-meets-nineties-R&B-pop," and have a joyous, youthful energy that invigorates the powerful music they play.
Up next for HAIM is a 2014 European tour with dates selling out quickly. We hope to see them around the U.S. festival circuit this summer.
MT: What festivals are you hoping to play this summer?
Este: We went to so many last summer, and all of them are equally amazing. I hope we hit Coachella. That's like a dream of ours to play Coachella being from California.
Alana: Even if we don't play, we're going to be there.
Este: It's kind of like a yearly staple. Definitely growing up, we based our year around to Coachella.
Alana: I once had to drop a class because the final was during Coachella.
Este: Priorities, you know.
MT: We've all had to fake an illness or a funeral or wedding for a festival, let's be real.
Este: If it's a festival, story checks out. What are they going to do? Ask you to produce a body? My goodness. Knock on wood. Why are we talking about this? (Laughs).
MT: Yes, this just took a very morbid turn. Moving on. Being sisters, you obviously can't get along all of the time. What's the one thing you fight about most?
HAIM (Simultaneously): Clothes
Este: We are all basically the same size. So, when we all buy things, it becomes common knowledge and communal.
MT: So who has the best fashion sense?
Alana: Danielle.
Este: Danielle.
Danielle: No, no.
Alana: Yeah, you do.
MT: Who has the best taste in music?
Alana: Danielle. Look (laughs) Este isn't saying anything because she thinks it's her.
MT: I guess that might be a hard question to ask a group of musicians who are also sisters.
Este: You know what I think it is. I think collectively, we all kind of have the same taste in music. But we enjoy bringing music to the table that we think each other might like. Like Danielle and I basically both got into Kate Bush at the same time in a weird way a couple years ago. We both kind of brought it to the table together. It was a weird sisterly thing. And Alana brought us the Palma Violets.
MT: So this being "You Oughta Know," what bands or artists you do you think we ought to know about who aren't here tonight?
Este: We've been spending a lot of time in the U.K. and there is an amazing music scene coming out of the U.K. at the moment. Like we said, Palma Violets are amazing and Chvrches. Chvrches is f***king rad.
MT: So having toured a lot over in Europe, what's the main difference you've noticed?
Alana: The food is very different over there.
Este: The food is delicious
MT: Did you all travel a lot before breaking as a band?
Este: No. You know that's mostly why we wanted to play music together because we wanted to see the world together also. And what's a better way than to go on tour.
MT: What has been one of your favorite places?
Alana: Glastonbury.
Este: Well that's been our favorite festival. I personally loved the Netherlands and Sweden and Denmark. Finland, we had a really, really fun time.
Alana: The U.K. I just love London so much.
Este: Yeah. Every city in the U.K. is a f***king party. It's so much fun.
Danielle: I had the best time in London. Actually Glasgow up north is a really great music town, and Manchester, too.
Este: As you can tell, we love the U.K. And Ireland - Dublin is amazing and the people are so sweet.
MT: Well looks like I'm getting the signal to wrap it up. Can't wait to see you all perform.
Este: Oh yeah. It's going to be fun!
Check out their hilarious video for the Days Are Gone single, "The Wire," featuring former SNL cast member Jorma Taccone. Let us know what you think in the comments section below!
