Following the demise of New York's beloved Vivian Girls, Katy Goodman picked up the pieces, found a new home in the Los Angeles sunshine, and has found her own creative voice in her band La Sera.

Their most recent album, Music For Listening To Music To, was recorded by Ryan Adams and is the first record since Katy and La Sera guitarist Todd Wisenbaker tied the knot last year.

Just before the start of their current tour with Titus Andronicus, which hits the Fonda on May 23rd, we talked to Katy about Los Angeles, cute dogs, and what it's like to make a record the old-school way.

DoLA: Where do you like to eat in LA? What do you order?

Katy Goodman: Todd and I live in Silver Lake. Our favorite spots are Forage, Sqirl, and for coffee we're always at Cafecito Organico. Those are our main go to spots. At Forage I'll get salmon with two sides. They have this roasted beet salad I always get and then I'll get the citrus salad. Todd usually gets steak and the kale salad with the bread crumbs in it. He always gets that.

DoLA: Where do you like to get a drink in LA? What do you order?

Katy Goodman: I don't drink, but we've been to Thirsty Crow a lot because it's near where we live. Also the bar at Stella. It makes you feel really fancy whenever you go there, which is cool. 

DoLA: If you had zero dollars and had to leave your house, what would you do for one day in LA?

Katy Goodman: Ha! That's what I do normally. First we'd walk our dog to the dog park at the Silver Lake Reservoir and go around the entire lake. From where we live it's about five miles. Spending zero dollars is hard. Normally what I like to do is go to coffee shops. Like, if I'm out and about and want to hang out for a little, I'll go to a coffee shop, grab a coffee, and spend a couple hours sitting and hanging out. That's not zero dollars but it's pretty close. It's like three dollars. Something I love to do, too, is go to the Americana in Glendale just to go walking. It's not cool at all. I love it. I loved the fake snow at Christmas. It's hilarious. People go there and bring their adorable dogs. I don't know if it's just to show off how cute their dogs are, but I love it! 

DoLA: Where did you buy your last record and what was it?

Katy Goodman: I almost never buy records anymore. I'm pretty frugal in general. Todd buys records all the time. He would say the Melrose Flea Market. He goes every Sunday. That's where he'll buy records. I think the last time I bought a record was at Amoeba in Hollywood. I think it was Cate Le Bon.

DoLA: If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be and why?

Katy Goodman: I'm gonna give a real cheesy answer and say Greta Morgan from Springtime Carnivore because we actually did on a record that's gonna come out in the fall. She's my best friend in LA. I was like, “You're the person I wanna work with,” and she was like, “Let's do it!” so we did. I made that dream come true.

DoLA: You recorded your new record, Music For Listening To Music To, with Ryan Adams. He's notorious for his love of analog. How did tracking to tape influence how you approached the the record?

Katy Goodman: It was great. We love recording tom tape. It meant we rehearsed for the record a lot before we went in, because tracking to tape can be a lot more tedious of a process. The more takes you have to do the harder it becomes. We worked for months perfecting every part. When we went in we did most of the things in first or second takes because we were very prepared. Our thought was, since it was all analog, we're going in there and nailing it. That was our goal. 

DoLA: You recently solidified your line up as a three piece. How has that changed your live performances?

Katy Goodman: I love being a three piece again. Maybe it's just because I found my home on stage as a three piece in Vivian Girls, so maybe my experience just is inclined towards being a three piece. When me moved to a four piece in La Sera it was fun, but there's something about being a trio that makes it so much tighter. I love having half of the stage up front to run around in. It's so much more freeing to have endless room since I don't have to worry about hitting someone in the face with my bass. It's like we've really locked in like never before. I haven't felt this comfortable on stage since Vivian Girls. I feel like we're really coming into our own. This tour is about to start and I'm so excited.

DoLA: There's a noticeable contrast in your new songs. Half the songs are rooted in finality and endings, yet the rest are written very much about the new beginnings in the last couple years of your life – moving to California, getting married, finding your own creative voice. Do you find there's a duality in how those events played out?

Katy Goodman: Definitely! When I write a song it's usually about the past or the future. I'm either having angry memories of the past or hopeful for the future. I do think the year we spent writing these songs was definitely half the old times were crazy and terrible versus my new life is great and I love it. Todd's been in the band since 2012, but now we're married and it feels so much more like a full partnership. It's like, “We're doing it! This is our life now!" This record is a celebration of that.

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