Indie Anna: Tell the people who you are.
Tricia Davis: I’m the video producer, stylist, tour manager, and merchandise/branding manager for Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.
It’s kind of offensive, but also very funny, that when I Googled you the first thing that came up was “girlfriend,” as if you’re Pamela Des Barres or something.
[laughs] Yes, I’m also Ben’s [aka Macklemore’s] girlfriend.
Who is your original style icon?
My mom is my style icon for sure. She was a model in the ’70s, and she kept everything. I frequently raid her closet. It’s full of treasures. I wear all her boots. I’m really into all things ’70s right now.
You went to school to become a nurse; how does that play into this gig?
Well, first aid is always in order! And the guys don’t know this, but I book our hotels on tour in proximity to Whole Foods.
Given that there is still a lot of sexism in the music business, and with the way you look, I’d imagine some promoters don’t take you seriously as a tour manager. How do you handle that situation?
The guys talk all the time about racism … in hip-hop, and I have to remind them that sexism is a huge issue too. If a club promoter isn’t taking me seriously, I get very . . . insistent. I’m not afraid to be a [lowers her voice] bitch.
Honey, any girl who voices a strong opinion is always going to be called a bitch . . .
If someone tells a joke or says something offensive, I shut it down right away. I just have no tolerance for it.
You guys have had quite a year—give me some 2011 Macklemore highlights.
We played sold-out shows in Dublin and London where all the kids knew all the words to the songs, which was incredible, and when I inquired how, they all said Facebook. Bumbershoot, obviously, was the biggest one. We grew up going to the Key, and to have it packed with fans singing along just made the energy in that room amazing . . . I’ve been with Ben for so long and remember those first shows with four fans in the audience. That day, the sound of his feet walking up to the stage in silence and then hearing that crowd erupt had me in tears. Having Shawn Kemp there was great. People said he showed up because we paid him, but we invited him because he is a part of and loves Seattle.
We can’t talk Bumbershoot without talking about the “My City’s Filthy . . . Seattle” T-shirts. It was a mob scene at the merch table.
It is our #1 selling T-shirt. An amazing local sign artist named Sean Barton actually handcrafted all the lettering. And it’s a quote from the song “The Town.” Filthy is definitely a verb that kids in the Northwest somehow latched onto.
If you could change one thing about current Seattle fashion, what would it be?
I see all these girls running around in cheap plastic boots. Even though I’m a pescetarian, I’m a big fan of leather. Especially vintage leather. You’re better off with a thrift-store pair of cowboy boots, than those . . .
Payless specials?
Exactly.
