Friday, January 24, 2020

Interview with Girl Fight

Remove caught up with feminist garage-punk duo Girl Fight to find out about their latest releases, band philosophy, and what lies ahead. 


What are the band’s origins? 
Around the start of the band Jake's other projects had fizzled out and he was itching to start a new project. We both listened to the same music and had just recently seen one of our favorite bands with a two-piece stand up kit. I had no music experience whatsoever but he knew I could figure it out. I clearly remember him saying “we’re going to start a band. You’re gonna drum, sing and write the lyrics. It’ll be fine.” From there out we practiced constantly and took every gig we could find. 

Give us an update. What have y’all been up to lately?
We’ve been taking it a bit slow! Playing shows regularly but taking our time putting together our next release which we are now taking on full force. 

Tell us about your latest releases, the She’s a Killer LP and Swarm EP. 
After we put out our first demo (Fight Back) we had a clearer understanding of how we worked together. We wanted to respond to that and She’s a Killer came together quickly. She’s a Killer elaborated on the core idea of our band by experimenting more with our sound. With the Swarm EP, we were starting to re-evaluate our process and sound - especially with the re-recording of Man Hunt. That EP helped us set the precedent for what’s to come. 

Painters Tapes just put out a tape combining the releases. How did that collaboration come about?
Jake has known Charles Stahl who runs Painters Tapes since he was in high school and Chuck was in middle school. They have always skated together and been into the same music. Girl Fight and Chuck’s band The Stools have played a few shows together and when we brought up the idea of releasing a new tape Painters was down. 


What’s the band’s philosophy?
We love the idea of aggressive positivity - to allow people to express their frustration in a fun and constructive way. As one of our favorite bands, Idles, put it ‘joy as an act of resistance’. 

Any particular message you’re trying to get out there? 
We want people to come together and get talking. Release their anger through shouting lyrics or dancing or banging on drums or whatever gets it out. Things can be serious and fun at the same time. 

 

Who are some of your musical or non-musical inspirations? 
Ellen: The Gits, AC/DC, The Stooges, L7! The news inspires rage so that helps too. 
 Jake: skateboarding, Jay Reatard, Black Sabbath, and cute animals. 

What are some of your favorite bands you’ve played with? 
 There are too many to list! The ones at the top of our list are: Teener, Kitten Forever, The Stools, Pussy Riot, Macho, and Dear Darkness 

What’s next for the band? Any future plans or goals? 
We just wanna keep on making records that we are better than the last for as long as we possibly can.

Questions by Joey Molloy