Teresa Green unloaded the process behind their single Shake it Like the Phasmid and share the tracks that inspired them.
Inner West’s Teresa Green, is a band full of six impressive musicians that synergize their creative ideas together to concoct an expansive sonic sound for listeners and have recently dropped their second single, Shake it Like the Phasmid. The group intertwines their passion for human rights and environmental action by forming a community doused in musical expression.
Teresa Green embraces a wide range of genres that they infuse within their own creations. Elements of Jazz, Folk, pop, punk, and metal slide through their sound in carefully produced ways. Through their latest single, Shake it Like the Phasmid, the band explodes with high energy and turns the bluesy classical sound into a modern interpretation that is enriched with adoring harmonies, powerful lead vocals, and enticing melodic textures of harmonica and rich keys.
Teresa Green gets into the process behind Shake it Like the Phasmid.
Shake Like the Phasmid was the first song composed by Stewart before we put the band together. Written back in 2019 the song really took shape once brought to the full band. Stew and Sam then brought the song to Pat and hearing him improvise some vocal lines was the moment we knew we had our lead vocalist.
After rehearsing the track over and over with the full band we could really start to see the vision coming to life, with Grace adding a beautiful melody for the bridge section. With the addition of Liam’s thumping drums and Joel’s keys we were in love with what we were hearing, the only thing that could make it better was Sam whipping out his harmonica to add that final touch.
Shake Like the Phasmid is a song about Phasmid’s (stick insects). In nature, they blend into leaves and trees, and to simulate the natural surrounding they will begin to shake as a breeze comes through to look like leaves blowing in the wind. We wanted to track to simply be about shaking like a Phasmid, but also a track that talks about no longer blending in and breaking free to have a boogie.
Tracks that inspire their sound
Inspired by tracks such as Yer Blues by The Beatles and almost the entire early music of Led Zeppelin, we really let these tracks shape how we put the song together. We wanted to capture the grittiness of their tracks but once again reimagine them with a more modern sound that is uniquely Teresa Green. In regard to the inspiration for the bridge, This Is Sally Hatchet by Father John Misty really set the tone of what we wanted to do there. Another huge inspiration for creating a big sweeping round of harmonies in that bridge was the band Grizzly Bear who is iconic for that.
Yer Blues – The Beatles
Norwegian Wood – The Beatles
The Lemon Song – Led Zeppelin
Uncle Remus – Led Zeppelin
This Is Sally Hatchet – Father John Misty
Everyday – Weyes Blood
Two Weeks – Grizzly Bear
Young Lust – Pink Floyd
Sure Feels Good – Willie J Healey
The Thrill Is Gone – B.B. King (live in cook county jail)
Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp – George Harrison
Bloody Well Right – Supertramp
Roadhouse Blues – The Doors
Spanish Castle Magic – Jimi Hendrix
What a beautiful collection of incredibly crafted and well-produced songs that have touched the members of Teresa Green and pushed them into their own experimentation as they bend through genres and sounds through their music.
If you haven’t heard Shake it Like the Phasmid yet and you absolutely love the songs above, then get the hell on it! Check it out here and bask in its energy.
