First Aid Kit, courtesy.

Last week I interviewed sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg, better known as country folk duo First Aid Kit. I didn’t know much about the Swedish band until a few friends put them within my sights last spring. Their new album, Stay Gold, is terrific, and fits right in on your playlist next to June Carter Cash and Jenny Lewis. First Aid Kit headlines the Fox Theater in Oakland next week, and you can read my feature on the sister duo. Here’s a bonus Q&A that didn’t make it into the story.

What are some of your favorite places to visit in the U.S.?

Johanna: Nashville, North Carolina. We love Portland and Austin, Tex. I don’t think we expected (America) to be so huge. We’ve always felt very welcomed here. I think people appreciate what we do. We have an outsider perspective on country and soul music.

How would you describe your relationship? Are you similar in your hobbies and interests? What’s it like going on tour together?

Johanna: We have always been touring as sisters. It’s hard for us to compare how we would be if we were in a regular band. We’ve always had a close relationship. We always played together as kids, wrote stories and wrote songs together. We share common interests. We love music, we love film. It’s never been hard for us to collaborate. We can be honest. We can say mean things … and I know Klara will forgive me, eventually.

Klara (laughing): Well, most of the time.

What do you do together outside of music

Johanna: We love playing board games and cooking. Because we never get to cook our own food now. When we get to and we’re home, we really love it. Our mom is a film teacher so we’ve always watched movies and TV. Not just watching but also analyzing and talking about things. So we really love going to the movies.

What is your favorite meal to make?

Johanna: I love Mexican food. I’m not very good at making it myself.

Klara: I like soul food that stews in the pot for hours and hours. When you eat fast food on tour, you really appreciate home cooking.

I’ve never seen an explanation of your band name. Why First Aid Kit?

Klara: Music has been a helping hand in everyday life. It’s something that makes you feel less alone. We wanted to make that kind of music. We wanted to be a first aid kit for people.

What single accomplishment are you most proud of?

Klara: We’re really proud to be young women doing our own thing. We hope that can inspire other people our age or younger. We got to sing for Patti Smith; that was something that was very incredible.

Follow Roman Gokhman at Twitter.com/RomiTheWriter.