Le Butcherettes Interview (2011): Chino Moreno, Dave Grohl, & Omar | Ryan Minic, Ryan's Rock Show

In a 2011 interview with Ryan Minic of Ryan’s Rock Show, Teri Gender Bender and Jonathan Hischke of Le Butcherettes discussed their journey as a band, their connection with Omar Rodríguez-López, and their experiences touring with Deftones and Queens of the Stone Age.

Teri reflected on the early days of Le Butcherettes, when it was just a two-piece band. She recounted a pivotal moment when they played a show where the power went out, but they kept playing regardless. Unbeknownst to them, Omar Rodríguez-López was in the audience. Impressed by their performance, he invited them to lunch, and that meeting eventually led to him producing their debut album. She recalled the lunch being ironically held at a seafood restaurant despite most of them being vegetarians, laughing at the absurdity of the moment.

The conversation moved to Omar’s eccentric recording process, with Teri describing his studio filled with mannequins, typewriters, and bizarre masks. She shared how Omar encouraged her to experiment with song structures, sometimes adding additional choruses or pop elements, which was initially outside of her comfort zone. The album was recorded in just one week, with Omar playing bass and guiding the band through the process.

They also talked about Le Butcherettes’ experience touring with Deftones, particularly Teri’s guest performance on “Knife Prty” with Chino Moreno. She admitted being nervous at first, fearing fans wouldn’t accept her stepping in for the female vocal part, but the crowd was welcoming, and it became a recurring highlight of the tour. Chino even suggested that she join them on “Passenger” as well, showing his support for her as an artist.

The band also shared tour stories with Queens of the Stone Age, with Jonathan recalling an unforgettable moment when they found themselves on a train with Them Crooked Vultures (featuring Josh Homme, Dave Grohl, and John Paul Jones). They were trying to play it cool, but Dave Grohl broke the ice by offering them drinks, saying “Don’t be jerks, come have drinks with us!”—which led to them having a surreal conversation about YouTube videos and Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon with John Paul Jones.