The French Tips Are Here For All Your Love And You Should Give It To Them

“Tips for days!” yells a high-toned voice from the middle of the crowded floor at The Neurolux in downtown Boise, Idaho. “No, you for days!” responds The French Tips’ Rachel Couch from the small stage at the back of the venue. As the Boise-based threesome close out their final song of the night, waves of adulation wash over the room, officially releasing The French Tips’ sophomore album, All The Rage, into the universe. 

Angela Heileson, Rachel Couch, and Ivy Merrell formed The French Tips in 2016 out of a shared love for dance-heavy angry punk. The group’s first album, It’s The Tips, received an overwhelming reception upon its release in 2019, garnering the band a spot on tour with alt legends Built to Spill and several other appearances with mythical acts Tacocat, Death Valley Girls, and Sleater-Kinney. However, when the pandemic derailed plans to record their second album, the group opted for a slower approach, methodically planning every aspect of their upcoming release. The result would be a hard-hitting, eleven-song ragger unassumingly delivered in a sugary, pink package.

All The Rage makes masterful use of the ‘90s loud-quiet-loud formula while building an evolutionary bridge to today’s iteration of punk rock. The French Tips met with me in the arcade at Emerald Lanes in Boise, Idaho, for a round of skee ball while we chatted about their new album, touring plans, and the band’s extensive love of snacks. All The Rage is currently available through The French Tips website and at The Record Exchange in downtown Boise, Idaho.  

Ivy Merrell of The French Tips performing at The Neurolux, photo by April Massey

AM: When you met, you were playing in different bands around the Boise scene; what drew you to start playing music together?

Ivy: We were in bands that started playing shows together, so we got to know each other and formed a mutual admiration. At some point, we decided we wanted to try doing something together. We had the opportunity to learn a few covers and play together, and we really enjoyed it.

AM: Your sound is a blend of some very different genres, like dance and punk, that are not typically heard together; how did you curate that sound, and what are some of the influences that contributed to it?

Ivy: We all wanted to play music that was fun and had a hook in it that made it captivating to an audience, but I do not think we are capable of playing stuff that does not have a lot of raw rage in it as well. That is how the sound developed. We wanted to make music that was fun to play and fun for people to see, but that is what our voices are; they come out of that punk scene.

Angela: We were all in punk and rock bands with a bunch of dudes, but we had different backgrounds of stuff that we liked to listen to growing up that was influencing what we wanted to play. We have a big mishmash of what we like. We might throw on something dancy and fun, or maybe we want to play some disco beats. 

Ivy: We all wanted to sing and harmonize, too; I think that was part of it. We wanted to make it really collaborative.

AM: The three of you share writing and vocal duties; what led you to make that decision, and how does that inform the music-making process for you?

Rachel: All of us separately developed our voices. Angela did vocals in Desert Graves; I did as well in a few previous projects. Ivy was iconic in the scene for her voice. When we got together, it was not one of those things where we decided you are going to do the vocal melody. We all brought our own additions to the table, and they were all very different from each other, which helped make our sound. We are truly collaborative. It is really cool, for instance, how Angela writes. We will start writing something new, record it, then she will go home and mess around on some vocal melodies and send them back. It will turn the song into something we would have never conceptualized without that. The same thing with Ivy and myself; we collaborate, but independently we might hear a vocal melody over the chorus or backups. So it will get pieced together organically as well.

Ivy: With three songwriters, there is always so much energy. If one of us does not have a strong feeling or idea for something, someone else can hear it and turn it into something unexpected. There have been a lot of situations where we will come up with a riff, but if it were just left to me, I would not necessarily know what to do with it, but then Angela or Rachel will take it and do something incredible with it. It is really exciting to play in a group where someone always has an idea. There is always a direction for a song coming from one of us.

 Angela: I have been asked many times, “who is your lead singer” actually, there is not one, and I like that. That is why our songs are so different. Ivy and Rachel switch off bass and guitar; they both play those instruments differently, which gives a different vibe and sound as well. 

AM: You were in the middle of making your second album when the pandemic hit; how did that change the process of making that album for you?

Ivy: It really took the wind out of our sails. When everything shut down in March of 2020, we were scheduled to record that May. We were in the last stretch of getting everything ready to go, we had songs ready to go, and we had a timeline in our mind of when we could release the album. After everything shut down, it took a long time to figure out how we would move forward. We still really wanted to record locally with Zach at Rabbitbrush studios. But in the end, we did have more time to write and finish things differently than we might have had we not had that time. We got to add a few more songs and ended up recording in January of 2021.

Angela Heileson of The French Tips performing on stage at The Neurolux, photo by April Massey

Angela: When we finally got in the studio, it took longer than we thought. Our first album was more of an EP.  I know I did not have any personal experience recording with much more than like an iPhone in the middle of the room. I was not taking it too seriously, but then the album started taking off. Listening to the first album can be a little cringy for me, so I had some stuff picked out that I wanted to work on and clean up this time around. We spent a lot more time in the studio experimenting, and it was really fun.

AM: You tapped into a lot of local talent not only to record this album but also for the cover art and marketing concept; was it important to you to keep the album's making as local as possible?

Ivy: Angela does a great job of thinking about how we can prop up other local artists through the work that we are already doing. With some of these things, it never would have occurred to me that there would be an opportunity to collaborate with another local artist. Everything we do, we always research to see if there is a smaller or local option that will meet our needs. With how many disappointments there were during the pandemic, it felt really good to be able to support and collaborate with other locals.

AM: You have created a sound that feels like an evolution or a passing of the torch from the ‘90s riot grrrl sound; was that intentional?

Ivy: The first song we learned how to play together was a Le Tigre song. So whether it was conscious or not, from the beginning, that sound was built into how we were learning to play music together. 

Rachel: After the first time we played live together, we actually did not talk for a few months. Then I watched a Bikini Kill documentary, and I thought, I have to text Ivy and Angela right now; we have to start this band. But, with that being said, before that, I cannot say I was influenced by riot grrrl. I love and respect that movement so much, but I was in a completely different place in the ‘90s. We were not continuously driven by trying to capture the essence of that sound.

Ivy: We opened for Sleater-Kinney when they came to town, which was pretty exciting; growing up, they definitely influenced me. One of the cool things about playing music is you are always in this kind of evolutionary tree. Inspired by the things that came before you while also being a part of whatever is happening now. So in that way, music can connect you to the past and the future in exciting ways that are less tangible than what we might think of in our everyday lives. 

AM: Are there any specific music or artists in particular that you leaned on to get you through making this album?

Angela: I know this is not music, but I watched a lot of The Expanse during the making of the album. I attribute the song “Faded” to that because it has a very strong space vibe. 

Rachel: I know this is a very unpopular thing to say, but I did not listen to any music. 

Angela: But she was in school; she was head down through the pandemic getting her masters.

Rachel: Aside from that, I feel like there was this time in my life from 18 to 22, and I think there is research on this; you just sponge in more information in that time period. When you get older, you tend to go back to that time in your life. That resonates with me; the music I was introduced to at that time is stamped in my brain and the window kind of shut after that. I like music, but I have been riding on the influence from that time in my life ever since. 

Ivy: Music got inspiring during the pandemic in a different way, though. There were so few opportunities to see live music, and it was such an emotional time for everyone. I heard this bluegrass band playing in a garage while I was walking down the street, I have never been into bluegrass, but it was so moving just to hear music being played live. So being able to write our record was similar in that it felt like an emotional experience that existed in this special bubble that was very different from when we were playing shows, and it was business as usual. 

Rachel Couch of The French Tips performing on stage at The Neurolux, photo by April Massey

AM: Do you have any tour plans in the near future?

Angela: We are still working out those details, but we will probably do a few weekends away. Seattle, Portland, we have a show coming up at the Shady Grove Music Festival in Pocatello. In September, we will be going on tour with Built to Spill.

AM: What are some of your favorite snacks in the rehearsal room or on the tour bus?

Ivy: Oh, we are big-time snack fans.

Rachel: I feel like our baseline is pretzels and hummus. 

Angela: Fizzies.

Ivy: Dark chocolate and fruit.

Rachel: If I feel really fancy, I will bring some deviled eggs.

Ivy: We go all out. 

Rachel: When we filmed the music video for our single “Rearview,” we got this huge snack spread. It was this massive cheese plate. It lasted us all day, it was great.

Ivy: Veggies and homemade ranch.

Rachel: Ivy makes the best homemade ranch.

Ivy: Angela makes us baked goods sometimes.

Rachel: Just a crap ton of cookies.

Ivy: Banana chips are good.

Angela: Are you still naming snacks?

This interview has been edited and condensed