Bands like the Bare Naked Ladies and the Tragically Hip play off cleverly chosen and awesomely inappropriate band names to gain attention for their mediocre music. Such is not the case with Portlandí¢â‚¬â„¢s The Blow, whose silky synth pop is worthy of all the recent praise and far from the hangover inducing white stuff.

The blow was originally the banner for Olympiaí¢â‚¬â„¢s sweetheart musician and performance artist Khaela Maricich. Khaela was joined in 2004 by Jona Bechtolt (Y.A.C.H.T.) who jumped on board to record the limited edition ep Poor Aim Love Songs, forming the unstoppable tag-team duo that we know today. Khaelaí¢â‚¬â„¢s sultry and insatiable vocals are enhanced by Jonaí¢â‚¬â„¢s R ní¢â‚¬â„¢ B beats and Super Nintendo aesthetic to form a unique and calculated indie-pop experience. The two both come from opera and performance backgrounds which lend a narrative element to their syrupy sweet pop melodies that will have you dancing and singing yourself into a sugar induced coma.

Khaela has just embarked on a European tour after signing to Tomlab records (Final Fantasy, Hey Willpower, Xiu Xiu), performing The Blowí¢â‚¬â„¢s songs without Jona who is currently busy with work on his solo project Y.A.C.H.T. I caught Khaela on the phone after her show with Deerhoof in Cologne, Germany to talk about castles, coconuts, soda pop, and the finer sides of the pop music industry.

This is your first full-length tour of Europe, How receptive have the audiences been?

The audiences have been surprisingly good. I have only ever played two festivals in France so it has been nice to be so well received. Also, being released on Tomlab has been great because I have been able to meet everyone on the label and I played with Deerhoof last night which is always fun.

So have you been playing a lot with other bands on Tomlab?

No, I have been headlining almost everywhere which has allowed me to talk a whole lot more. I have been presenting the record as kind of a story, you know, trying to put it into context for people. It has been hard though. At the show I just played in Spain, I talked in Spanish for the whole set. In the past decade, I have never been as tired.

Have you had anytime off in Europe to enjoy the scenery?

I just had the day off in Cologne so I have been walking up and down the Rien enjoying the castles. I am just really into castles right now. The idea that there are this big stone building that were hit with big battering rams and marked the hand-off of power is really intense. There is such as strong medieval history here. I used to go to medieval fairs when I was ten so I still like to imagine that I can hear the horse-drawn carriages going clip clopp like coconuts. You and Jona have backgrounds in performance art which is more malleable and temporary than a record. How has it been creating something so permanent?

I think that a record is an awesome document. Performances are just a live expansion of that work that will hopefully deepen and enhance its perception. Touring in September with Jona was an all out dance party with jumping and crowd surfing and a forcefully energetic, wild, fifteen-year-old myspace awesomeness going on. Europe has been more mellow. I have been able to flesh out the record a bit moreí¢â‚¬ ¦ talking about why people write songs and why people listen.

Speaking of myspace, I have noticed that you guys have a pretty big online presence with your own myspace and blogs. How does that direct and immediate interaction with your fans influence your work?

There is a sort of intimacy that comes with talking to fans online. People are right there and really listening. It has really helped to boost my confidence about being more emotionally direct and honest. I feel like Paper Television is much more honest than my other alblumsí¢â‚¬ ¦ more truthful and giving of my emotions.

Okay, this one is kind of random. You and Jona are often drinking soda pop in your videos and photo shoots so I was wondering what your favorite kind of pop was?

Hahaha, thatí¢â‚¬â„¢s a good question. I actually doní¢â‚¬â„¢t really like pop at all. It is Jona who has a serious soda fixation. He is really into regional sodas. You know when people go traveling and they ask you if you want them to bring anything back? Well Jona always asks for sodas so he has made me a lot more adventurous. I think in the video for í¢â‚¬Å“Knowing the Things That I Knowí¢â‚¬  we are drinking a really nice, delicious apple soda from Mexico.

Well thatí¢â‚¬â„¢s about it. Is there anything you want to say to Vancouver?

I miss you Vancouver. Well I miss Canada in general. The first place we went to on the tour was Sweden and I was trying to figure out what made it so magical and then it hit me: it is like an even better Canada. But no, trust me, that is a huge compliment to Canada.

You can catch Khaela at the Sasquatch festival at the gorge on May 26th or with Electrolane and Tender Forever at Richardí¢â‚¬â„¢s on May 27th.

www.myspace.com/theblowus