School of Rock: Lumineers' Lass Neyla Pekarek Talks to the Beijinger

Class is in session. Today's lesson: the virtues of good old-fashioned folk over modern electro pop. Do you have doubts? No matter. Neyla Pekarek is used to schooling naysayers – from bratty teens during her stint as a substitute teacher, to jaded audiences during her current role as cellist and backing vocalist for The Lumineers (performing at Tango on February 11). Below, Pekarek tells us how the classroom readied her for the world's stage, how she has learned to play nice with her male peers, and how she dealt with her band's hit "Ho Hey," inspiring some all-star class clowns to play chicken.

You said that you had never played in a band before joining The Lumineers, adding: "The closest thing I had to it was a barbershop quartet that I traveled with and competed with. It was an all-female group, and it was very, very different from what I do now." What is the biggest difference between being in an all-female group then, and being the only girl in The Lumineers now?
I think it's always hard to be the "only" anything in a group. I've typically been in situations that were much more female dominated, so this has been a big change. I've never been so aware of being a woman, but it makes me proud to be in the industry owning a business with my band mates. The boys are like brothers to me, so we fight and we make up and we respect each other.

What did you learn then from the barbershop quartet then that still applies to The Lumineers today?
Barbershop gave me so many skills. Not only making me a better musician, but also leadership skills, work ethic, ensemble skills, and the main thing that I think really applies to The Lumineers – doing what you need to do for the bigger picture, to better the group as a whole. You're not always soloing or showing off what you can do. You're making choices to better the song that aren't always necessarily showcasing the best of your abilities.

You also worked as a substitute teacher before The Lumineers broke big. Are you better able to handle hecklers and bad crowds on this tour, thanks to your time in the classroom?
I'm quite happy to not be doing a whole lot of classroom management these days, as that was never my forte as a teacher. It's tough. I think teaching is much like performing though. Especially as a sub, you have to walk in so confident so your students know they can't walk all over you. Taking a stage, especially as a newer band, is the same.

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon recently featured an 'all-clucking' cover version of "Ho Hey" performed by the show's host, country star Blake Shelton, and actor Nick Offerman. They donned chicken suits and dubbed themselves "The Chickeneers," for the performance. How does it feel to have a song that is popular enough to inspire zany comedians like Fallon?
We were quite flattered. At one time, we thought our music was never going to be heard much beyond our family and friends. So having huge names like that singing our song – even if it was in a chicken suit, we feel lucky and take it as a huge compliment.

The Lumineers perform at Tango on Feb 11 at 8pm. Click here for more information.

A version of this article appears in the February 2014 issue of the Beijinger.

Photo: Richard Barnes