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.
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