image//terry woelfer words//liz pelly
When I first saw the Vivian Girls in the summer of 2008, I was immediately in awe of their badass punk rock influences, mixed with shoegaze-y group vocals. The trio has since released two full-length records via In The Red, several 7-inches via various DIY labels like Woodsist Records and their own label Wild World. The girls’ next single, “My Love Will Follow Me,” is set for release via Wild World in February. Guitarist/vocalist Cassie Ramone recently answered some questions for Artist Advocacy about the band’s history, influences, side projects, and current favorite music.
Have you guys always known you were going to be rock stars? What were your initial expectations when you started Vivian Girls?
I don’t think we ever wanted to be rock stars, but we always wanted to play music and be in bands. Our initial expectations were to make music we really liked, play a lot of shows, and tour. (Our secret initial goals were to play in front of 300 people, and for Pitchfork and Maximum Rock’n'Roll to both write about us!)
How would you describe your level of success as a band, and how do you describe what you’re doing to friends and family who might not “get it”?
I usually describe it as fuzzy punk to people. It’s hard for us to gauge our level of success. Maybe a moderately successful indie band?
In the past you guys have used the term “Girl Gaze” to describe your band. What is Girl Gaze? Who are some Girlgazers, and what do you guys think 2010 has in store for the genre?
I’m pretty sure Katy was joking around when she Tweeted that!
How did the Babies come to exist? Are there any other side projects?
It’s actually kind of (not really) a funny story–my friend Kevin and I were at a show right before last Christmas. The show ended kind of early in the night, and we decided to head over to a dance party about ten blocks away. I asked Kevin if we should pick up some “road sodas,” and he immediately replied, “DUDE, we need to start a band called Road Sodas.” After the holidays, we met up at my apartment and wrote a bunch of songs on acoustic guitars, and the rest is history! We later changed the name because Road Sodas was a little too goofy for the type of music we play, and the Babies was the only band name we could all agree on.
If you were making a mixtape of your current favorite bands in the world that everyone should know about right now, who would be on it?
Washed Out, Pearl Harbor, Happy Birthday, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Yellow Fever, The Beets, Grass Widow, and Woods.
You’ve mentioned before that you are really influenced by Black Tambourine. Can you elaborate on how their music influenced you? Have any other artists influenced you this much?
We actually weren’t that influenced by them to begin with. It’s another vaguely funny story–we’d never heard of them, and then after one of our early shows, our friend told us we sounded like them. We checked them out shortly thereafter and liked their music a lot, especially the reverbed vocals. That’s when we decided to start using Holy Grails on our vocals. A few artists have influenced us really heavily from the beginning, and continue to influence us to this day, like the Wipers and many 60’s girl groups. Our most recent influences are Neil Young & Crazy Horse and Patience & Prudence.
Do you guys think 2010 is a good time to be playing in an indie rock/punk band in NY? Or in general? Do you wish you’d been born in a different decade?
Yes, but not necessarily having to do with playing in a band. I think right now is a really good time for indie music, thanks to recent technology. However, I do often wish I came of age in some other part of the 20th century because I (even though I use them) view the internet and cell phones as somewhat of a burden. Because, with them at our disposal, life is a lot less romantic. However, it’s hard to know if living in a different time would have been good for me. In the end it doesn’t really matter, and I’m happy to be where I am today.
What is the best part of being in a DIY/independent band in Brooklyn right now?
It’s really great getting to meet all the fantastic people in our community.
What was it like living and playing music in New Jersey when you guys first started?
This band actually started in Brooklyn. I’d been living here for over 5 years and Vivian Girls started almost 3 years ago. That said, we were definitely all in New Jersey bands before, Katy and Ali more so than me. They went to school at Rutgers in New Brunswick and I would go there often to hang out and go to shows. The scene there was really fun and cool. It was similar to the Brooklyn scene in many ways, but smaller and more centered around houses than lofts.
What have been the highest point and the lowest point of the history of the Vivian Girls?
There were a lot of low points on our early tours. We think the high point is yet to come, but making it all the way to Japan and Australia was probably our highest point thus far!
