The Varsity Theatre was taken over Tuesday by “noise-pop” duo from Brooklyn, N.Y., Sleigh Bells.
The group consists of vocalist Alexis Krauss and guitarist Derek Miller backed by electronic music. They started two years ago, and they’ve been touring ever since.
Most fans don’t know Miller grew up as an LSU fan. His grandparents, father, sister and brother-in-law are all University alumni. Miller said he briefly attended Florida State University before leaving to perform in his first band, Poison the Well.
“I was kind of a traitor by not going to LSU,” Miller joked. “[My parents] definitely hoped that I would come here.”
Miller said he has made several trips to Baton Rouge throughout his life.
Miller said Poison the Well was part of the hardcore scene, much different from the electronic pop-rock sound of Sleigh Bells.
“Hardcore is violent. There can be a lot of fights,” Miller said. “There’s a lot of energy, but it can be really dark. Now there’s just as much energy, but it’s more of a party atmosphere. I much prefer it. We’re half band, half almost a DJ set, which is much different than Poison the Well.”
Critics have struggled to define Sleigh Bells’ unique sound, but Miller said that hasn’t hampered the popularity of the band, which sold out the Varsity on Tuesday night.
“If people want to call us noise pop, fine, I don’t care,” Miller said. “I mostly focus on trying to make records. We don’t spend a lot of time trying to define it. I’m not really precious about it.”
Miller estimates he has written about 95 percent of the music up until this point, but has recently started collaborating with Krauss.
“I’ve written almost everything to this point. It’s hard for me to kind of let go, let someone else get involved, but I need to,” Miller said.
Having recently played Coachella, Miller said he prefers playing his own shows to festivals, but has met a lot of his favorite artists through festivals, including Spike Jonze, Switch and M.I.A.,who recently signed Sleigh Bells to her N.E.E.T. Record label.
“The Coachella show was really big,” Miller said. “I’ve been to Coachella eight or nine times, mostly as a spectator, and I always told myself I would play it, so that was really satisfying.”
Sleigh Bells’ success came fairly quickly, considering the band formed a little more than two years ago. The group was discovered after a friend posted two of their songs on Spike Jonze’s blog, who then showed them to M.I.A. The rest is history, Miller said.
“Before I met Alexis there was this fear that I would never get to make the records I wanted to make,” Miller said. “I had all these songs I really believed in, and I’d see bands and think, ‘I can do that,’ so it’s kind of surreal.”
According to Miller, fame has not affected him in the least.
“We’re not famous. Michael Jackson was famous, but we’re growing — slowly,” Miller said. “I think of everything we’ve accomplished, and it feels like it’s been a long time.”