Linda From Work, a fierce Seattle-based rock band led by Hillary Tusick (vocals/guitar) and comprising Elliott Gregory (guitar), Shayla Riday (bass), and Sam Nowak (drums), offers a high-energy sound marked by driving melodies and powerful vocals. Their sophomore album, "The Night Is Short," embodies a defiant spirit, showcasing emotional garage rock with bold vocal melodies, intense guitars, and an energetic rhythm. Reflecting themes of anger, anxiety, and longing, the album presents a cathartic journey through the night. Praised by Martin Douglas of KEXP, the band's track "Jealous" stands out as one of Seattle's best rock offerings, solidifying Tusick's status as a formidable rock vocalist.
How did the band form and what does the band name mean?
The band was initially formed by myself (Hillary) and Sam in 2018 and later on, Elliott and most recently Shayla joined on guitar and bass respectively. It's been amazing to not only be in a band with our best friends, but to be in a band that just clicks musically and creatively! The name was inspired by a terrible coworker - everyone's got that coworker that's not the most awful person in the world, but they might be the world's most irritating! Linda's totally the person who'd spend hours telling you about her niece's dance recital or overshare about her cat's health issues in the office. The kind of person who just makes you wanna scream, you know?
Previous musical projects? How'd you first get into music?
Previous musical projects? How'd you first get into music?
From a very young age, I knew I wanted to be a musician so I've been writing songs and playing for years. Most of the time I was making music on my own, but once I moved to the PNW I played with a couple projects. Sam and I both were in Biblioteka playing drums and keys/guitar for a couple years. Linda From Work is actually Elliott and Shayla's first band! Elliott's been playing guitar for years, waiting for the right project to come along and Shayla started playing bass more seriously during Covid lockdowns. We're very lucky that we got to snap them up for this project!
First concert that you ever went to?
First concert that you ever went to?
Hillary - The first concert I ever attended was No Doubt and Blink 182 at Blossom Amphitheatre in my hometown Cleveland - I was 13 and was absolutely mesmerized. I wanted to be on that stage myself!
Shayla - The Presidents of the USA at the Showbox in Seattle - I got to mosh and crowd surf and got thrown onstage and high fived Chris Ballew!
Sam - My dad took me to Rush in Austin when I was kid - obviously wanted to be a drummer after that show.
Elliott - Joe Satriani
What's your writing process like?
What's your writing process like?
Usually, I start with a general feeling or vibe that I want to write about and create what I can the skeleton of the song - basic chord structure and melodies. Then I'll take it to the rest of the band to flesh it out and develop the rest of the song as I finalize the lyrics! When a song comes together quickly and naturally, you know you're onto something great.
What other artists or songs inspire your music?
What other artists or songs inspire your music?
Linda From Work's sound has always been heavily influenced by the garage rock scene of the early 00's, specifically the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol, The White Stripes, and Metric. Fiona Apple has been a lifelong inspiration to me as a vocalist and lyricist - I certainly have her tendency to be a bit wordy when writing! Veruca Salt and The Donnas were early influences as well, you can definitely hear them in our music. A more recent influence to our sound is A Giant Dog, based in Austin, TX. The fact that they can be both highly melodic while having such driving, hard rock instrumentals is definitely something we strive for as well with our sound! Lastly, we always try to challenge ourselves while writing, to push ourselves to think bigger and more creatively, whether that's melodically or rhymically. Bands like The New Pornographers and Queen really inspire us to try out the unexpected when writing!
What's the live experience like and your philosophy on playing live? Do you think the music live should be identical to the recorded version or should it be it's own thing?
The feeling of playing live is hard to really describe for me. It's exhilarating and adrenaline-inducing, but at the same time feels as natural as breathing. Playing music together is just seriously so much fun for all of us, and when we get to play together in front of an audience, the energy of it all makes it even more of a rush! That being said though, we do try to make sure our live sets sound close to our recordings. I think personally that the songs would be lacking if we couldn't recreate at a live show what we recorded in a studio. Live music just might have more energy behind it!
Has the band toured? What has the touring experience been, best shows? worst shows?
Has the band toured? What has the touring experience been, best shows? worst shows?
Linda From Work has done shorter runs around the PNW and West Coast, but this current spring tour is our biggest undertaking thus far! We've had a blast touring so far - we travel well together, which is essential for those long hours on the road. I think Sam wins for the worst show: when touring with another project, we were playing a house show in Oakland. They had assured us ahead of time that there would be a drum kit for him to use. Well, we arrived, that wasn't quite true - there were some drums, but some things were missing. The worst was there was no snare stand. He had to use a flower pot upside down and hold the snare between his knees for the whole set!
What's up next for the band?
After our spring tour, we'll be playing some summer festivals around Seattle including Belltown Bloom and Capitol Hill Block Party. We're planning on playing more shows out of town as well, with another west coast tour in the works for the fall. We're also hard at work writing our next album and will be headed into the studio later this year! Linda will be busy this year, that's for sure.
https://www.lindafromwork.com/