Meinhof: 'a mix of punk, metal and a mountain slide'

Photo by Robak.

I was lucky enough to catch three piece punk band Meinhof in full flow at The Cavendish Arms, Stockwell in the middle of February. A few weeks earlier I had decided to travel down to London to see one band in particular although by the day of the gig that had grown to two, which was good as I looked at the timings list and realised the main reason for coming down couldn’t make it! Anyway that is where Meinhof come in, they were more or less unknown to me, I had heard a few bits and bobs online, and they were absolutely amazing! Struggling to convey the power and force that Meinhof are live I ended up describing them to a friend as sounding at times like ‘Motorhead on speed’, which is probably doing them a disservice. Comprised of original members guitarist Jarek and Rosy on bass and vocals and now Davide on drums they have been going since 2006. Their first album, The Rush Hour of Human Misery came out in 2007 with subsequent releases including Endless War in 2016  After their set I was able to have a chat with songwriter and guitarist Jarek including asking whether they would be interested in doing an interview, fortunately they were.

Q: Could you give us an overview of Meinhof? I think you are from three different areas of Europe, how did you meet?

Jarek: I immigrated from Poland a decade and a half ago. Rosy is Spanish and Davide comes from Italy. All of us have a common interest which is punk, the idea that also bring some sort of people together. Basically, I met Rosy at a punk gig a time ago, we both are the original members of the band. Davide is our new drummer, I knew him before, but first we got into a friendship because our other passion, tattooing. Then I discovered, that he can also play the drums, so he naturally joined the band when our previous drummer could not cope with all the commitments anymore.

Davide: I joined Meinhof less than a year ago...I’ve seen them playing through the years in London...  

Q: When did you start? Has the line up stayed pretty constant?

Jarek: We started around 2006. The line up hasn't stayed constant, we used to have many different band members, even Rosy was just singing at the beginning, then she also adopted some bass guitar skills, which helped to establish some sort of stability in the band.

Q: Had any of you been in bands before?

Davide: I was playing in a band before joining Meinhof but we split up just before and we never did more than some fucked up gigs in London squats. Also a couple of weeks ago I joined two friends and we just started playing together in this band called Slap.

Jarek: I got my first punk band in late 80's... I used to play for two bands that managed to gain some sort of popularity on the DIY punk scene in 90's Poland, Silna Wola and Guernica Y Luno. Rosy: My first band was back in the 90's...I've play for different bands as a vocalist which gave me experience in performance and writing.  

Q: Was having different musical/punk cultures to draw on useful? Have you managed to synthesise those different influences? Or is that a stupid question because punk styles are universal and transcend cultural boundaries!?

Jarek: I think that you can be both right saying that being raised in different cultures requires to synthesise the different influences on some level, but on the other hand, punk style is pretty universal thing, and you can quite easily communicate and understand through it with people who live in far away worlds from each other. This is what happens when we travel with the band! You meet people who share with you some similar views and passion, and even when you talk to them for first time in your life, you feel that special connection between you and them, they seem to be your friends long before you even knew them... That's the beautiful part of punk!  

Q: How would you describe your sound?

Jarek: I think it is rooted in so called "d-beat", influenced by crust... Recently we are experimenting with adding a bit of thrash metal into our sound... I don't know, it is pretty hard to answer this question, haha... We are trying to achieve something unique, however without some strict classical formula it wouldn't be punk music anymore, would it?

Davide: I think our sound is something like a mix of punk, metal and a mountain slide...  

Q: Are any of you in other bands as well as Meinhof?

Rosy: I'm playing with Kill Bitches To Dress Foxes which is all female band and I also sing in Erege which is band formed in Brazil a long time ago.

Jarek: Not me, I am sort of not capable of being really devoted to more than one project...

Q: I think your first album The Rush Hour Of Human Misery came out in 2007, what sort of issues were you singing about on that album?

Jarek: The Rush Hour Of Human Misery was a pretty experimental thing, because we have recorded it without a real drummer, instead we used the drum machine, however there was no intention to cover it up, so you can easily recognize that the sound is pretty "digital" on this record. In general, we are trying to be politically aware, and that's reflected in our lyrics, I guess. You know, singing about loads of issues, very often repeating and bringing up subjects which were already raised by many other bands many times... I believe, that as long as these problems are existing in the world, there is no valuable reason to stop singing about them, in hope of change...  

Q: Three albums and roughly 10 years later you have released Endless War, are the subjects you engage with on the different albums similar but from a slightly different positions as you are older and wiser or do you tackle different subjects completely?

Jarek: Five albums... Yeah, I can say, that the majority of subjects remain the same... Do we really see a meaningful change around us to abandon the need of voicing out our ideas and hopes? Is our rage smaller than a decade ago? Not really... Well, everybody learns all his life, we can even discover that what we believe and stand for is not relevant to a changing world anymore... For example, this is what happening to me when I think of religions... I am in a constant war within myself how to treat the subject, sometimes I think we should allow people to believe in whatever the fuck they want, and as long as they don't harm others, it is completely OK to believe in any sort of bullshit, but sometimes I think, that our sacred tolerance should be limited for the sake of humanity...

Q: What sources do you draw on in lyric writing? Books, films, current events, your own experiences?

Jarek: It can be anything, really... I am a big fan of movies, so they inspire me a lot! But I think, that the most of subjects come from your daily experiences, observation and reflection.

Q: How does the creative process work in Meinhof? Is there one main songwriter or is it very collaborative?

Jarek: At the moment, I am the main songwriter. I am in the band from the very beginning, in fact I projected a style and the way to express the band's music format even before Meinhof was a performing act... The band is very important part of my life and I understand that it can be sometimes difficult for some to comply with my ideas, but with the passing of time I am more and more open to others opinions and suggestions. At the end, the band consist of three people, all of them possess a unique set of skills, which is crucial for the final result.

Davide: I have nothing to do with the making of songs and lyrics but I'm enjoying both as we all  feel quite the same way about what is around us. For sure I would be happy if these lyrics could wake up the minds of some people...  

Q: Your songs are driven by a strong political position, how did that politics take shape? Is your politics constantly evolving?

Jarek: Well, my politics are evolving all the time, as you are constantly exposed to new informations, to say the least. However I am a liberal, sympathizing with anarchist and antifascist ideas, which builds a base for my political stance.

Q: Do you hope that your music would wake people up to notice what is going on around them politically and socially?

Jarek: Would I still do it if I don't hope for that?

Q: I guess Meinhof would be classed as anarcho-punk, how would you say that scene is doing? Is it quite strong and healthy?

Jarek: To be honest, I don't know anymore... Punk is still a noticeable part of social culture, but on the other hand, it has lost its potency throughout the last decades... And anarcho-punk is just a fraction of what we call DIY punk scene, so let's be honest here, contemporary anarchists have a very marginal influence on what is happening in the world. Is it a real strength capable to effectively change the reality? I'd like to believe that, of course... Healthy? Well, nobody is perfect, also there is no single political or social idea perfectly right about fucking everything! Anarchism is just one of possible ways, and it would have to evolve and adapt to some circumstances if confronted with practice. I know a few people who call themselves anarcho-punx, and they are utter assholes, haha...

Q: Claudia Mesch wrote in ‘Art and Politics’ that mainstream culture is market and media driven (1) do you think the punk community with its ethos of DIY art and grassroots participation can be a site of resistance to passive capitalist consumption? Can the punk scene be something that encourages activism?

Jarek: I believe the punk community is a resistance to capitalism consumption, otherwise I wouldn't be a conscious participant in it! On the other hand, being part of resistance doesn't mean that we always win... We live in a particular reality, and there is no ultimate escape from it. Obviously, sometimes capitalism consumption can spoil our scene, we can see some examples of it... But the real fight is a struggle where you wrestle with the world you oppose, and where is struggle there are also compromises... Of course the punk scene encourages activism, and that's clear, however punk is a dying thing, so the activism is not to scale it used to be, in my honest opinion. -

Davide: I think punk can encourage activism but is not enough by itself to make it happen... I think activism is something even deeper in the personality then music...

Q: In the book 'One Chord Wonders' Laing comments that first wave punk created space for women to deconstruct and explore gender (2). Do you think that is still true of the punk/DIY scene or have gender stereotypes reasserted themselves?

Jarek: It depends... On one hand the punk scene is strongly influenced by feminism and female emancipation, but there are still some cases of sexism present anyway. It really does depend on individuals. Our scene is not perfect, it never was and never will be, but I can proudly say that it is still a kind of safe haven for women... Especially if you compare it to the outside world which is full of sexism, male dominance and brutal abuse towards women.  

Q: A lot of female musicians seem to experience a degree of sexism, an essentialist assumption that because they are a woman their musicianship will be less than a man's! What has your experience been like in the anarcho-punk/DIY scene? Is it a better place for women than other sub-cultures?

Rosy: I believe that anarcho-punk/DIY scene is a better place for women as we've opened our minds to more information than the newspapers or tv provide, and this give us a bigger view of how the real world is, but despite this there always will be some ignorants you can find in the way.

Davide: I guess women find a man-built society anywhere they are, but I don't see much of this assumption in the punk scene... In the contrary I think bands with girls are quite welcomed... But that's also a kind of sexism!

Q: Overall are you encouraged by the punk scene over the last 10 years? Do you think it has survived, thrived and developed in a positive way?

Jarek: Well, I will be a part of the scene even it will be long time gone, haha... It definitely survived, but unfortunately I wouldn't be so positive saying that it is developing... it is rather declining... But fuck it, we are still here aren't we?

Davide: I don't think the scene is improving or developing much, we are in London and there are quite a few of places where gigs are going on, but still, I think it is always less and less. I don't think the anarcho-punk is doing so well in London, there are a lot of bands but the amount of gigs on the full DIY spectrum are just a few, especially since the criminalisation of squatting...

Q: You are a band that plays all over Europe, what would your take be on how people are responding to the class war of neoliberal austerity being imposed all over Europe?

Jarek: Not that it is so important to mention, but we also played in Asia and South America... Well, that's a difficult question! You can see some protest and resistance, however I am afraid, that a wider activity or political awareness of people is suppressed by the most powerful weapon they have, consumption. When politician manage to secure the basic needs of their citizens, then nobody even ask for freedom anymore... That's why nationalism is on the rise worldwide! You could think that the working class would be the most resistant to those devastating tendencies, but here lies the surprise. The 19th century classical meaning of class war where workers fought to liberate themselves from capitalist oppression is not the characteristic of the today's world. To the contrary, nowadays the working class is the motor for nationalism, xenophobia and racism, fueled by political populism and ignorance. Look at Brexit…

Davide: I think since this new crisis people in Europe are fighting back less and less because they have much less time, energy and hope to change things as many are struggling to get to the end of the month... Also together with the austerity there's more police oppression and violence.  

Q: You have spent 10 years stimulating others to thought, how have you avoided becoming jaded?

Rosy: Music is among the things that give sense to my life so if one day I can't do it anymore that will be my last day in this fucking world!

Jarek: Well, I guess, the reality bites you each and every single day, so how could you possibly  be emotionless, unconcerned and bored?! Hahaha...  

Q: What are Meinhof's plans for 2017?

Jarek: There are some, I don't know if they are worth mentioning... But maybe a new album that we are planning to record this year...  

Q: What musicians, thinkers, writers have you been particularly influenced by? And who have you been enjoying lately?

Rosy: One of the bands I really enjoy back in the 90's is Minor Threat but I'm a very open person who like loads of bands and different styles of music. I love to read better than watch movies and George Orwell is one of this writers that make me see things how they really are and have a big influence in my way of think about this world. Now I'm reading a book about science by Richard Dawkins call "The Magic Of Reality" which is very interesting.Talking about thinkers,definitely Erich Fromm is among others,one of the most interesting that I've had read. Jarek: Well, too many to mention! I don't have any particular mentors to be influenced by... I am reading a biography of Ulrike Meinhof right now! We don't admire her and have never supported terrorism as a form of struggle for a better world, as it even sounds absurd, but she was a very interesting case and yes, I am enjoying her story, hahaha…

Bibliography.

1) Mesch, C. (2014) 'Art and Politics; a small history of art for social change since 1945', I. B. Tauris, London & New York.

(2) Laing, D. (2015) 'One Chord Wonders; Power and Meaning in Punk Rock', PM Press, Oakland, CA, USA.

Photo by Robak.

Brian Case: Tense Nature.

Photo by Zoran Orlic .

In a 2015 interview Brian Case, the frontman of Disappears, commented in response to a question about the band's last album Irreal, 'Yeah, that's something we really focus on - stripping away as much fat as we can and having this direct hit...'.That philosophy has carried on into his first solo album which, while very different from Disappears musically, has that same sense of pushing at boundaries. Brian's album Tense Nature was created by reordering and reworking guitar samples and small drum loops and is an unsettling listen, its twelve tracks closer to sound sculpture than traditional ideas of music. It is also an album that amply rewards the attention and time needed from the listener to access its intelligent sophistication.
Brian kindly agreed to an interview to discuss this work.

How long has the gestation period been internally for Tense Nature, is it a realisation of something that you've been thinking about a long time?

It's was about a year or two maybe? The first set of material I was playing solo ended up becoming another project I am involved in called Bambi Kino Duo with EVI player Justin Walter. That group of music needed something and was based more on live performance, it needed to react with another person and instrument. But I still wanted to do something by myself so I started sampling my guitar and editing those samples in random ways. From there it was a matter of figuring out how to make those samples interesting, figure out how to add some other elements to them.

Were there any people or bands that helped give you a sense of what you were trying to create?

Structurally I wanted to group things like Music For Films or some of the Moebius soundtracks, small pieces making a larger whole. There's also this Will Sergeant soundtrack called Theme's for "Grind" that works a lot like that. 

You have been in several bands and obviously that involves collaboration and,I guess, negotiation. What was it like working solo?

It's cool to have a vision and see it through, but I really love the collaboration in a group setting. It's exciting to think you know what's going to happen with a song or idea and have it come out completely different. This was a little more about trusting that these small pieces were going to form some kind of whole picture, so it had it's own twists I wasn't expecting. The two processes are really different from each other.

It sounds like an extremely complex album, was it difficult to realise technically?

Not so much. I guess you have to be able to edit yourself which is the hard part, but I've gotten pretty good about that in recent years. I mean, when something isn't working I feel like it's really obvious. I think the harder part is not giving up on something that you know has a place somewhere, even if you can't see it in front of you.

Is Tense Nature a realised vision, did you know what you creating from the start or was it more evolutionary than that?

It all came from hating playing solo, I hate it still. But I thought it was important to do something like that, to get uncomfortable and see what happens. I want to have the ability to do music on my own and these songs are the beginnings of that. They evolved from some pretty terrible shows!

In 2015 Disappears toured and released an interpretation of Bowie's 'Low'-I wondered whether covering 'Side 2' of Low was helpful in any way-such a musical shift for Bowie-did it encourage you?

Maybe inadvertently - I think everything you're processing, studying, creating gets into you in some way. But I think I'd started down this road a bit before then - I've been trying to play solo for years and I think it just pushed it's own way out.

Have you any plans to perform the album live-where would be most suitable, art gallery or club?

Good question - it'd definitely be better in a space where people can focus on the subtle nature of it, maybe that's not a rock club with a bar and a huge stage with a guy pushing buttons on a box. But sonically it requires something that can push some really low sub frequencies and that's usually not how galleries are set up. I'm still figuring it out....I'm doing some shows in Europe in the fall (2016) and they'll be opening for a band so it will be more rock situations for now. 

This is your debut album, can we hope for any more to come?

I've got some new stuff I'm working on and I've changed my set up a bit so that always leads to new music. I'm hoping to have some sort of release planned for early 2017.

Thanks to Brian for his time and words. Tense Nature is out on Hands in The Dark Records.

Loud Women Volume One.

There has been a lot of talk over the last few years about the imbalance of Festival lineups where female musicians are almost noticeable by their absence and unless you’re a particularly unaware straight white male it’s obvious-as the Guerilla Girls and others have repeatedly pointed out-that western society/culture/art is shaped by sexist, racist, heteronormative attitudes. Enter Loud Women, a DIY collective that started in late 2015 to champion women in music primarily through putting on gigs around London. Last September they hosted the first Loud Women Festival at T. Chances, I went down because Petrol Girls were playing and expected my usual Fest experience, you know, a couple of other bands that are really good and loads of bands that are fine but not really your thing. I was completely wrong! This was wall to wall quality punk/garage/rock, with a smattering of acoustic sets.

So, 2017 and along with the gigs and another Fest later in the year Loud Women have come up with a compilation album, LOUD WOMEN Vol. 1, twenty one tracks by female fronted bands and female musicians. The predominant style is punkish which reflects LW’s ethos and makes for an exciting, energetic aural experience.

Now the tricky bit, how do you review 21 tracks without skimming over them or boring people who can’t actually hear what they are reading about..OK, I will pick out my particular favourites which will in no way imply that these tracks are actually better than the rest and in fact when you buy this excellent album you’ll wonder how I missed out…(insert your favourite).

Oddly three of the first four tracks are by bands I know and like already, ‘DIY’ by Dream Nails is catchy pop punk (positive) about female capability and personal development, Petrol Girls track ‘Touch Me Again’ is melodic hardcore dealing with sexual harassment and assault, ‘Audrey’ by DOLLS is psych garage about something (possibly) vaguely dark. All three tracks are excellent along with Bratakus’ ‘Pollution Evolution’ which is catchy, raw immediate garage punk. The Empty Page is a change of tack into quality 90s type alt/indie rock and it’s excellent; lyrically incisive and intelligent.

Yeah I know that is all of the first five tracks listed as highlights but whoever decided on the track ordering got it off to a very good start!

‘Poor Liam’ by The Ethical Debating Society is good Undertones style punk, next up is Gladiators Are You Ready, drastic tempo changes around a great riff-sounds like it’s held together with sellotape and chewing gum, I like it. Next up is ‘Out Of My System’ by Deux Furieuses which strangely reminded me at times of The Foo Fighters but despite that is really very good. Fight Rosa Fight; great pissed off punk-they were great at LW Fest and this track does them justice.

GUTTFULL, Little Fists, The Potentials are all good, the first includes sax, always a plus. The Nervous Twitch track ‘Something Wrong With Me’ stands out with a catchy 60s garage vocal/keyboard thing going on, but the next track that really does it for me is IDestroy’s epic rock, this is air guitar music at its best!

Where are we up to? Track 15. Madame So, ‘Black Is Beautiful’, this is really very good indeed! Multi layered pop rock, great languid vocals, chiming guitar, inventive, captivating.

Fightmilk, Bugeye, Argonaut are again all good indie/punk with some insightful, intelligent lyrics, they’re followed by The Wimmins’ Institutes’ ‘Nando’s’, which reminded me of ‘Toast’ by Streetband for some (unknown) reason, but much, much better!

The penultimate track is ‘Riot’ by Lilith Ai, I caught her live last year and this song is as good as I remembered it being.

Last up is a spoken word track ‘Real Rape’ by Janine Booth which explores the issues also confronted by War on Women in ‘Say It’, the contradictory, excusing, victim blaming attitudes held by parts of society towards rape.

Dream Nails, Bratakus, Petrol Girls, DOLLS, The Empty Page, IDestroy, Madame So...21 tracks that are varied, intelligent, feminist. Every track on this album is at least good and evidence that grassroots rock is in a very healthy state. If you read ‘Girls To The Front’ by Sara Marcus and wondered what happened subsequently or just like garage and punk do yourself a favour and get this            

Kill Bitches To Dress Foxes: Life, Politics, Punk.

Photo by Pawel Dziurawiec. 

I first came across Kill Bitches To Dress Foxes on one of those meandering journeys through the internet, this one started by news of an exciting looking gig. Previously known as Medication Time, this London based three piece all girl punk band is comprised of Ale on bass, Itxi on drums and Turko on guitar. With a variety of musical backgrounds and citing influences as wide as Municipal Waste, Emma Goldman and Andy Stanton they kindly agreed to an interview about punk, politics and other stuff!

Could you give us an overview of KBTDF? How did you meet? When did you start? Had any of you been in bands before?

I ( Ale, bass) met Itxi Eskorputa (drums) 6 years ago when I came to London. We always talked about doing an all girl band but we didn't know how to play music at all! Three years ago I started to learn bass and tried to push Itxi and some other friends to do this but it wasn't happening ‘cause we couldn't find a guitar player until a year ago Itxi met with Turko Vein (guitar) in a gig ( they were friends already) and she said she'd love to join us. A week after we had our first practice and it was the best time in a very long time for the three of us. Another friend, Claudia, joined us in the next practise as a singer but she left after a few months and we decided to keep it as three and "sing" ourselves. Turko Vein plays in other 2 bands, Meinhof ( bass, singer) and Erege (singer). Itxi used to sing years ago in a band from the Basque Country called Y tu que coño miras! and for me this is my first time!

Why did you start, was it all about making music or did you feel you had things to say?

We started this as a therapy, just to let out all the anger, frustration and disappointment in our lives, as Itxi always says " I need to express myself through Punk!". We also wanted to see each other more often and to do something different rather than get wasted, so now we still get wasted but we also make music in the meantime, or at least we try!

You used to be Medication Time I think, when did you change the name?

We found out after a while that there is another band from the late 90's called Medication Time and we decided to change it.

How did you decide on the new name?

It was Itxi's idea, she was at a party and a friend said "Kill foxes to dress bitches" and she thought... Kill bitches to dress foxes! I loved it instantly and then we convince Turko V who wasn't very keen on it at first but know she likes it ( Itxi and I are very persuasive)

Who would you list as musical influences?

We could list almost everything because we listen to almost everything

Did you have a fairly clear idea of the sound you were aiming for from the start or has it evolved?

Not really... We just play what comes from our hearts :)

You have played a few benefit gigs, would you describe yourselves as a political band?

Well, we are all involved in political activism somehow (social justice, animal rights, refugees, women rights...) and that obviously reflects in the music.

What sources do you draw on in lyric writing? Books, films, your own experiences?

Mostly own experiences, from our point of view on things in general ( politics, sex...) to funny stories that happen to us partying or going to work... There has been a few times that on a break at the practise I would tell them something that happened on a night out and Turko V made a lyric out of it straight away! Obviously those songs won't make any sense for anybody else but us but who cares!!

How does the creative process work in KBTDF? Is there one main songwriter or is it very collaborative?

Well at the beginning it was mainly Turko V doing music and lyrics, now Itxi and myself are writing stuff as well

A lot of female musicians seem to experience a degree of sexism, an essentialist assumption that because they are a woman their musicianship will be less than a man's! What has your experience as musicians in the punk/DIY scene been like?

We haven't experienced sexism in the punk scene so far.

It seems to me that there has been a real upsurge in feminist punk bands and Riot Grrrl over the last couple of years-is that true or was I just missing it!?

It looks like it yeah! And that's really positive. Every time you see more female members in bands or all girl bands at the gigs and hopefully it will keep growing, it was about time!

Capitalism tries to create a sense of anxiety  and insecurity, in women particularly. What resources of resistance have you drawn on in a sexist, capitalist society? Writers, musicians, thinkers?

The worst part it's the feeling of competition that capitalism puts on women to see each other as the piece of meat that "wants to steal my boyfriend from me" or "the bitch that looks better than me" and it works pretty well to keep us apart, that's why we need to cut all that crap and stick together. To mention some women that inspire us on this matter: Emma Goldman, Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill), Wendy O. Williams ( Plasmatics)

Do you think a sense of community and exploring your creativity helps in resisting those pressures to conform and consume?

Of course it does, cause you are doing exactly the opposite they want you to do

Does the punk scene still have a DIY ethos that can help encourage activism and creativity?

Yes it does, as to start with DIY and punk go together, at least from our point of view

What are your plans for 2017 -are you going to be out playing live, what plans do you have for releases?

First we are going to learn to play better and then we'll see :D

What bands and writers have you been enjoying lately?

Bands: Municipal Waste, Cancer Bats, Sleep, High on fire, Accused

Writers: Andy Stanton, Paulo Coelho, Allan Poe.

Big thanks to KBTDF their Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/kbtdf/  

Feminist Riot Grrrls Peach Club.

Photo by Poppy Marriott.

Towards the end of last year three piece Skinny Girl Diet played The Owl Sanctuary in Norwich, having interviewed them in June I was interested to see them live and went along. Supporting them that night were two very impressive local bands, first up were Sink Ya Teeth followed by the full on Riot Grrrl punk of Peach Club, a four piece made up of Katie Revell, Rebecca Wren, Charlie Hart and Amanda Mackinnon who, for some reason made me think of the very early days of punk and the album 'Live at The Roxy'!. Formed in April 2015 Peach Club quickly released debut single 'Not Your Girl' and, after a few line up changes, they solidified in January 2016 as a four piece releasing in quick succession 'The Bitch Diaries' EP, 'Gr8' and 'White Girl'. A while after the gig I contacted them for an email interview.     

Could you give us an overview of Peach Club? How did you meet? When did you start? Why did you start?

Katie: We're an activist punk band. We're hoping to revive the riot grrrl scene from the 90's but make it way more inclusive since it was pretty racist/transphobic back then. We all met through each other and past band members and luckily we all get on like a house on fire! We started, PROPERLY, as a four in January '16 and it's been pretty crazy since then! We started this because we care a lot about spreading a positive, powerful message about equality and empowerment.

What had you been doing before? Had any of you been in other bands together at all?

I (Kat) started a band with some friends but it didn't work out so I went solo for a short while but then I decided I wanted to expand and become part of a band. Luckily I had a friend who was a drummer who joined for a little while and she introduced me to Amanda who is our bassist. After a while unfortunately our original drummer left the band so I put posters up around our home town, Norwich, advertising for a new drummer. Becca got in contact with me really quickly and she joined straight away. We were a three piece for a while and then we got Charlie involved and now we're definitely the dream team. I think other than silly bands for GCSE music we weren't in any other ~proper~ bands. 

Who would you list as musical influences?

Definitely bands like Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, Hole, Black Honey, Deap Vally etc. I'm personally really influenced and inspired by disco/electro acts too and if I wasn't doing punk I would definitely be doing that.

How did you decide on the name?

It's a bit silly really, but when I was solo I had peach coloured hair and adopted the nickname 'Peach' and was 'Peach Hex'. When I started the band with the original drummer she said she wanted to keep the peach element as she saw it as kind of a metaphor, like the band name is all cute and soft (like a peach) but our music is raw and rough. I love it, it's like 'this is what you expect us to be, cute and soft, but actually we're fucking badass'.

Did you have a fairly clear idea of the sound you were aiming for from the start or has it evolved?

We always wanted something gritty and loud, we're hoping to evolve our sound a bit next year, perhaps incorporating more elements and effects (if we can afford it). I like our music to be simple and not too complicated but with punchy and powerful lyrics. 

You had 4 releases in 2016, 'The Bitch Diaries' EP, 'GR8', 'White Girl' and 'Mission Impossible'. Could you talk us through the tracks, what sort of subject matter were you exploring?

'The Bitch Diaries' is a whole EP mostly about empowerment. 'Equivocator' and 'I'm A Bitch' are definitely about exploring female sexuality and owning it and not being afraid to use it. I love the idea of making female sexuality... completely normal, because it's pretty ridiculous that (it isn't) anyway, right?... 'Go Away' is just about being left alone to make your own decisions. I'm sure everybody has had SOMEONE tell them 'you shouldn't do that because you're *this*' and it's SO frustrating. For us, this song is about the way people try and tell us what to do with our music and lives and bodies because we're women. Simple as. 'My Best Friend' is a celebration of female solidarity. There is something so sacred about female friendship, it's so special to me which is why I adore being in a band with three other fantastic and beautiful girls. 'Gr8' is essentially about being so cool nobody will ever forget your name/face haha. To be honest, it's a bit of a silly song but I love it! 'White Girl' is about women who believe feminism isn't necessary because they, personally, have not faced any sexism. 'Mission Impossible' is about all the men in bands who have told us how difficult it's going to be for us and that we have to 'keep practicing!'. There's a few bands in our home town who've said this to us and at a gig recently one of them told us he was shocked at how much we've improved. I should have told him to go fuck himself but unfortunately I'm too polite and just wrote a song about it instead. 

What sources do you draw on in lyric writing? Personal experiences, books, films?

A mix of personal experience and experience's I read online. I want to include everybody in my writing, so I have to take from the experiences of trans/woc/disabled people to help develop my lyrics so they are more inclusive. I try really hard not to talk over other people, and play their oppression off as my own, and I hope to collab with someone who is not white/cis soon so I can learn how to help lift voices up properly.

Often female musicians have to put up with sexism from men with essentialist attitudes, and some bands (eg Petrol Girls) have confronted the sexual harassment that women have to deal with in music.  What has your experience been in the punk/DIY scene? Is it a better place for women than other sub-cultures?

As I mentioned early, we have met a fair few sexist pricks in our short year as a band. On the other hand, we've also met some absolutely amazing bands who are so supportive and not in the slightest patronising. The main problem we face is people not taking us seriously because we're a young band, not because we're girls. I definitely do not think the punk scene is as bad as the pop scene, and we're hoping we can help that in some shape or form.

It seems to me that there has been a real upsurge in feminist punk bands and gigs over the last couple of years-is that true or was I just missing it!?

I think there's always been feminist punk bands floating around, but they didn't label themselves as 'feminist'. The new surge of feminism is really helping underground feminist bands come to light as we're always searching for new ways to spread a message. 

Capitalism tries to create a sense of insecurity and anxiety about appearance in women particularly, encouraging them to construct a sense of self based on visually pleasing society. Do you think having a sense of community and exploring your creativity can help in resisting those pressures? 

Having a community where we all encourage and support each other really helps to lift those pressures. I think we're at a point in time where a lot of women are no longer concerned about other people liking them but liking themselves which is very important. We're in an age where self-love is no longer frowned upon and is encouraged which I think really helps reduce insecurities we may have, and promotes happier and more rounded self images. Women are starting to realise now that they do not have to be skinny or have eurocentric features to be beautiful, and that beauty comes in so many different forms, and that no matter what the media shows us this fact is true. 

What are your plans for 2017 -are you going to be out playing live, do you have any plans for further releases?

We're really hoping we can gig more around the country and less in our home town. In fact, our first gig of the year is in London which is super exciting. We're probably going to write and record some more next year, we're always writing new material and working on new stuff so no doubt there'll be new PC material next year! 

What bands and writers have you been enjoying lately?

I've been listening to lots of The Cure lately, Robert Smith is an incredible writer and a huge influence to me. We've been getting a lot of influence from Deap Vally lately, we really dig their sound.