The Doubleclicks

The Doubleclicks are a nerd-folk musical duo based in Portland, Oregon and Los Angeles, California, consisting of siblings Laser Webber and Aubrey Turner (formerly Aubrey Webber).[1][2] They first became known for performing nerd-friendly comedy music, including songs about Dungeons & Dragons, dinosaurs, and other geeky themes. While their later songs retain those elements, there has been a stronger focus on feminist and other social issues, and more personal themes.[3][4]

This article is about the nerd-folk duo. For the internet ad-serving company owned by Google, see DoubleClick. For the computer term, see double-click.
The Doubleclicks
Two musicians performing on cello and ukulele
The Doubleclicks performing in 2013.
Background information
OriginPortland, Oregon, United States
GenresNerd-folk, Comedy, Singer-Songwriter, Geek rock
Instrument(s)cello, guitar, ukulele, electronics
Years active2011–present
MembersAubrey Turner
Laser Webber
Websitethedoubleclicks.com
Photograph of the siblings in woodland.
Laser Webber (left) and Aubrey Turner (right)

History

Personal

The Webber siblings grew up in Westford and Boston, Massachusetts listening to the Smothers Brothers (particularly their version of "Streets of Laredo"), "Weird Al" Yankovic and Tom Lehrer.[5][6] They are part of a musical and artistic family; their father, Stephen Webber, is a music professor at Berklee College of Music, and they claim to have been playing music since before they could read; their mother, Susan Webber, is a fiber artist and former Spanish teacher.[7][8] Both attended Abbot Elementary, where they first learned to use stringed instruments, and Westford Academy, with Aubrey graduating in 2003 and Laser in 2006.[7][9] They were part of a rock band in high school but had no plans to form a duo.[6] Laser moved to Portland, Oregon to study International Affairs at Lewis & Clark College (with a year at the Anglo-American University in 2008) and Aubrey studied classical cello at the Berklee College of Music before moving to Portland as well.[6][10]

The Doubleclicks
Photograph of the siblings almost back-to-back in front of a microphone stand, with Laser holding a cat-shaped electronic piano.
The Doubleclicks in January 2014 (Laser holding the cat keyboard)

The siblings performed as a duo on open mic nights before booking a real gig at Mississippi Pizza.[6] At first, the band was a part-time endeavour. Laser worked as a freelance writer and journalist, at the Beaverton Valley Times and Portland Mercury,[6][11] while Aubrey was a home-care provider for seniors.[6][12] The band started their YouTube channel in 2011 with a 6-month song-a-week project and has since been releasing songs on YouTube and CD and touring throughout the US. They write many songs that are funny and emphasize geeky topics.[11] Laser initially wrote most of the songs, but has described their more recent songs as a collaborative effort. They often perform at pop culture conventions, at entertainment events such as w00tstock, and in nontraditional music venues such as comic shops and game stores.[13]

Their second album, Lasers and Feelings, debuted at #7 on Billboard's Comedy Albums chart.[14] Their fourth album, President Snakes, debuted at #4 on the same chart and moved to #2 the following week.[15] The following albums, Love Problems and The Book Was Better, each debuted at #1 on that chart. [16] [17]

The Doubleclicks made a video for their song "Nothing to Prove" about acceptance of women in geek culture.[10][18][19] The video featured appearances from celebrities including Kelly Sue DeConnick, Wil Wheaton and Adam Savage—and was covered in print and online media, gaining over 1 million views on YouTube.[20]

In 2014, The Doubleclicks ran a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for their third album, Dimetrodon, produced by Mike Phirman.[21] The campaign raised over $80,000 and was the most successful Portland music Kickstarter to date.[22][23] Laser quit his day job in December 2011,[7] while the success of the Kickstarter campaign allowed Aubrey to quit her job as well, leaving both siblings able to work full-time on being the Doubleclicks.[12][23]

Music
Photograph of the sisters; Aubrey on the left playing a cello and Laser on the right playing a guitar.
The Doubleclicks performing in January 2014

Commonly the lyrics to their songs are written by Laser while Aubrey creates the music.[24]

The Doubleclicks have described themselves as part of the nerd-folk genre; which is similar to geek rock and nerdcore but without either drums or rapping.[6] Their participation in geek music was not originally intended; it grew naturally from their music and allowed them to tap into the nerd community. Laser stated in 2012, "I don't know if we ever really intended to write 'geeky music'—and that's not exclusively what we do. I write songs about things I think about, which are love, depression, and games and movies"[11] and later, in 2014, "Everybody has self-important, sad love songs. We were doing something that was still earnest, but instead of talking about trees or nature or clubbing, we were using World of Warcraft as a metaphor for sadness."[5] Separately in 2014, he further explained "Our songs are essentially about feelings and about our own experiences. It just happens to be that the metaphors we are making are nerdy ones because those are the cultural touchstones we have."[24] With the increase in the geek demographic, the duo believes that the "geek music" distinction may be becoming redundant.[25]

The group has toured and performed with other performers of geek-friendly music, including Molly Lewis,[26] Danielle Ate the Sandwich,[27] and Lucia Fasano.[28][29] They have been featured performers at Jonathan Coulton's annual JoCo Cruise,[30][31] and Coulton sang on one track of their 2017 album Love Problems.[32]

Discography
Photograph of Laser playing a guitar and singing into a microphone.
Laser Webber in 2012
Photograph of Aubrey playing a cello.
Aubrey Turner in 2012

Demo album
  • Beta Testing 1-2-3 (CD & online, March 2011)

Studio albums

Live / "greatest hits" album
  • Dinosaurs and Feelings: Live and Great Hits (online only, April 2022)

EPs

Compilation albums
  • Song-a-week (Demos) (online only, February–September 2011)
  • Song Fu 2012 (online only, January–December 2012)
  • Weekly Song Wednesday (online only, September–December 2013)
  • Monthly Song Monday (online only, March 2014-?)
  • Weekly Song Wednesday: Season Two (online only, May 2014-July 2014)

References
  1. "Spotlight: The Doubleclicks Concert". Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  2. "The Doubleclicks Covered the MST3K Theme with a Cat Keyboard (Premiere)". Nerdist. May 2, 2017.
  3. Presley, Katie (27 February 2017). "New Music Monday: The Doubleclicks 'Women Know Math'". Bitch Media. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  4. The Doubleclicks (14 December 2016). "Sensitive Badass". YouTube. Retrieved 23 September 2018. If you haven't yet realized that we are political, you haven't heard us so we will start yelling
  5. Barron, Joe (September 26, 2014). "The Doubleclicks' nerd rock in Ardmore Oct. 5". Ticket Entertainment.
  6. Vondersmith, Jason (16 May 2012). "The Sound of Nerd". Portland Tribune.
  7. Russell, Melissa (September 15, 2012). "Musician talks shop; recalls youth". Westford Eagle. p. A6.
  8. Notman, Alex (March 6, 2014). "Double Trouble". Eugene Weekly.
  9. Russell, Melissa (September 15, 2012). "Nerd rockers revisit Westford roots". Westford Eagle.
  10. Clarey, Brian (October 16, 2013). "The Doubleclicks: Sister Act Sings a Song (of Fire and Ice)". Yes! Weekly.
  11. Henriksen, Erik (April 26, 2012). "Dungeon Masters: The Doubleclicks Destroy Children's Souls". The Portland Mercury.
  12. Mohan, Marc (January 21, 2015). "The Doubleclicks kick off a busy 2015, including a pair of weekend Portland shows: The Week in Geek". The Oregonian.
  13. Maiuri, Ken (October 10, 2012). "Clubland: The Doubleclicks perform Monday at Modern Myths in Northampton". Daily Hampshire Gazette.
  14. "Comedy Albums". Billboard. July 27, 2013. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  15. "Comedy Albums". Billboard. September 12, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  16. "Comedy Albums". Billboard. September 9, 2017. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  17. "Comedy Albums". Billboard. May 18, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  18. McGinnis, Jeff (July 30, 2013). "McGinnis: The Doubleclicks take aim at 'fake geek girl' criticism". Toledo Free Press. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  19. Moody, Jennifer (August 4, 2013). "Geek girls, represent". Albany Democrat-Herald.
  20. Nothing to Prove - Geek Girls & The Doubleclicks, retrieved 2022-03-12
  21. "The Doubleclicks' New Album "Dimetrodon" + Weekly Songs!". Kickstarter. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  22. Greenwald, David (February 18, 2014). "Geek-pop duo the Doubleclicks hit $80,000 with biggest Portland Kickstarter music project yet". The Oregonian. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  23. Vondersmith, Jason (10 June 2014). "Songs for nerdly ears". Portland Tribune.
  24. Granshaw, Lisa (April 24, 2014). "Debunking the 'fake geek girl' myth with the Doubleclicks". Daily Dot. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  25. Selinker, Mike (January 8, 2013). "Geek Love: Kirby Krackle, The Doubleclicks, and the soul of nerd rock". Wired. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  26. Riechers, Mark (October 1, 2012). "When it comes to nerdy ballads, the Doubleclicks get specific". The Daily Madison Isthmus.
  27. Henricksen, Erik (2017). "Danielle Ate the Sandwich, The Doubleclicks". The Portland Mercury.
  28. Angela (August 16, 2016). "West Coast Tour with Lucia Fasano!". The Doubleclicks. WordPress. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  29. Eye Spy LA staff. "Eye Spy LA Music Entertainment - The Doubleclicks at Genghis Cohen with Lucia Fasano in West Hollywood". Eye Spy LA. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  30. "The Entertainment". JoCo Cruise Crazy 3. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013.
  31. "JoCo Cruise 2017". Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  32. Barron, Joe (17 August 2017). "Doubleclicks' 'Love Problems' is a leap forward". Montgomery Media. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
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