SXSW Spotlight: The Vivian Girls
The Vivian Girls = Cassie Ramone (guitar/vocals), Kickball Katy (bass/drums/vocals) and Ali Koehler (drums/bass/vocals). They’re an all female Brooklyn, NY based punk/shoegaze/surf trio… and they rock. Their 2008, 22-minute self-titled debut album landed them on just about every “to watch” list last year. Pretty amazing for a band that formed in 2007.
Cassie Ramone took some time before their almost 20 SXSW shows in Austin to answer some pretty straight forward, meat and potato questions via email.
Q: Are you guys looking forward to anything in Austin or at SXSW?
A: We are looking forward to hanging out with all our friends and seeing their shows, drinking avocado margaritas, and eating Mag Mud at Magnolia every day.
Q: Are you looking forward to playing with anyone? Or reconnecting with any other bands?
A: Thee Oh Sees! They are one of the best live bands around today, we can’t wait to see ‘em again.
Q: After SXSW, you have a pretty intense touring schedule. What’s life on the road like? How’s it different from life at home—better, worse… just different?
A: It’s like a really long slumber party. We all get along well and make a lot of jokes. Touring is fun because you get to see a lot of places and meet up with a lot of people, but it can also wear you out, kind of the way going to a party every single night would wear you out. Also missing people back at home can be a bummer.
Q: Pitchfork described you guys as an “overnight sensation.” First, how did it feel to get such an amazing review?
A: It felt, well, amazing! We weren’t expecting anything even close to that. We weren’t even expecting Pitchfork to write about us once.
Q: Why do you think your sound resonates with so many fans/critics? What do you think it taps into?
A: I think it could be because our songs are really relatable, both musically and lyrically. We just put ourselves out there and I think that comes through in the music.
Q: At what point in your musical journey did you realize that you guys were becoming such a hit?
A: We were literally on a journey when we realized things were happening. We were on our full US tour and the first pressing of our album sold out in 10 days. And then we were thinking about how crazy that was, and the future seemed endless with possibilities. t was an exciting time.
Q: How has being thrust into the spotlight so quickly changed your lives?
A: Our personal lives haven’t changed very much at all. We’re still doing pretty much the same things we were doing before the band took off. I mean clearly the band has been a massive learning experience, but we’re not hanging out in hotels with models or anything.
Q: Critics spend so much time defining a band’s sound… how do you guys describe your sound and your influences?
A: Our friend and tour manager Mark tells people that it’s like the Beach Boys meets Nirvana but girls, which I think is a fairly accurate description of our sound AND our influences.
Q: What inspires your music? What makes you all the most creative?
A: It’s weird cuz I play guitar everyday but usually go for a few weeks without really writing anything good and then one day I’ll write three songs in the span of a few hours that we end up using… usually out of nowhere.
Q: What can we expect from you all in 2009?
A: More touring, a second album (we are in the middle of recording it right now!!) and probably a bunch of more singles too!
Q: Any advice for aspiring rock stars… especially female?
A: Work really hard but don’t be overly aggressive about promoting your band. All you have to do is make sure your band is something you think is really good and special and success will come to you.
