Where did your name come from?
Andrew Leland: Hang is Dr. T. You know, it’s like the classic band name structure: John and the Shingles, or whatever. So, Hang is Dr. T and I’m the women. I’m sort of her back-up band.
Hang Le: Yeah, and T is my middle name and people always make fun of that middle name. Of course, it could not be “Dr. T and the Man.” It sounds so weird.
AL: The name just kind of represents what we are. Hang is very technical and she uses a lot of electronic equipment. She’s almost like a doctor on stage and I’m more feminine, more like the women. I’m supporting Hang. She really is the frontwoman. People assume right away that Dr. T is the man. We’re upsetting the standard.

What kind of music do you play?
AL: Hang is from Vietnam and I am from New Mexico. All of the same music is available in both of those places, however we both have different readings of it. I mean, I think when you listen to our music, you can hear Vietnam shaking hands with New Mexico in Ohio.

Do you write all your own songs?
HL: Kind of. I try to and then we collaborate. I try to get some idea and then we work on it.

What kind of music do you listen to?
AL: We both have pretty disparate influences. We both come from different backgrounds.
HL: I love Yo La Tengo. I listen to world music. I listen to a lot of stuff from Africa, Asia, Asian Rock.
AL: I like similar types of things, but also different bands — The Shags, Camper van Beethoven, Snakefinger, the Residents.

Where on campus do you play?
HL: Actually, we haven’t had a big performance in public.
AL: We play house parties. We started out practicing, playing for ourselves a lot and playing for other people was almost a secondary thing. Hang and I both are passionate about music.

Do you have any shows coming up?
AL: There’s a show at Poland, at 121 S. Professor and it’s actually a benefit for the radio station on February 28.

What instruments do you use?
AL: We switch around a lot.
HL: I use electronic music, so I use my computer. I have a lot of help from my friends in the TIMARA department. It’s really hard, but really attractive...the high tech bongo.
AL: Hang, one time, was playing on the laptops and she said that she almost felt like she was playing a set of bongo drums. There’s this combination of the organic and the synthetic going on. I play mostly drums, which are acoustic, and some guitars with some distortion, but mostly the drums, occasionally piano.

Where do you think you’ll go with this in the future?
HL: It’s like Oberlin is the land of music because you have such a huge, famous conservatory. We do not really intend to become so famous — rockstars or whatever, because we just play for our friends to make people happy. It’s just our passion and we want to pursue it. I do not really want to release some CD album and become famous with all that funky stuff. I respect the inside music — when you play, I play and we have fun and people who listen to us have fun and that’s enough.
AL: I agree.

Interview conducted by Arts Editor Julie Sabatier