If you haven't heard yet, Vivian Girls are all the rage right now! This trio of ladies are putting out some of the most intense garage rock, punk, riot grrrl, music out there these days and because of it they have been rewarded with a slew of high profile shows around town including this Saturday's huge East Village Radio Music Fest happening at the Seaport! Their record will be re-dropping in October so be prepared for that and make sure you check out these fine ladies of rock as soon as they hit your town!!!
PTST: You guys seem to be playing a show in New York practically every night, how do you guys keep it fresh and exciting so that the audience keeps coming back? Do you ever turn down a show?
Ali: Every show is different, I think a giant part of shows being fresh and exciting or not has to do with the audience. When an audience is into it we feed off of it and vice versa and it's a blast.
Cassie: I'd say we turn down about half the shows we're offered. We just get offered a ton of rad shows, and it's like, why not live it up man?
PTST: In the span of a week you will be playing the last ever show at McCarren Park, Death By
Audio, and East Village Radio Festival, is there one that you're more excited to play then the
other? What would you tell people to get them to attend all three of these shows?
Ali: I think we're all pretty excited any time we're gonna play a show. That's one of the best parts of being in a band! Playing with Sonic Youth is a dream come true of course. All of these shows are of a very different nature, so I'd leave it up to the audience to decide what sort of atmosphere is most appealing to them; a gigantic once in a lifetime show at McCarren pool, a fun DIY party at Death By Audio, or an all day festival with a ton of awesome guests at the South Street Seaport. I don't think any of those are too shabby.
PTST: After that the rest of the year seems to have you on the road playing a ton of shows, how
do you get yourselves psyched up to play a show every night?
Cassie: We love playing shows, so it's very rarely that we're not excited to play one. Drinking coffee before a show always helps, though.
Ali: Once you get to a venue and there are people there to see your band, even one person, I think it's hard not to get psyched up.
PTST: How do you fit writing and recording into a schedule as chock-full as yours is?
Ali: It's tough but Cassie constantly writes songs whether she's in a band or not, so when we all get together to write we usually have a bunch of things just waiting to be worked out or we come up with it on the spot. We're all friends so finding time to get together isn't that difficult. Band practice is equal parts business and party.
Cassie: Like yesterday we did a live recording session for WFMU and while they were setting up mics and equipment and stuff we took that half hour to start practicing a new song we've never all played together before.
PTST: Are there any plans to record a follow-up to your self-titled release?
Ali: Of course!
Cassie: Yes! We already have about half of a second album written. We want to write the rest and record it as soon as we have time.
PTST: Speaking of the self-titled album, it's about to be re-released on In the Red. How's your
experience being on a label been so far? Is there going to be anything different on the label
release that wasn't on the original?
Ali: It's been amazing, we really lucked out. Everyone we've worked with is very genuine and hardworking.
Cassie: Nothing too different. I fixed a few things with the cover art and the album was re-mastered for the ITR pressing, so it might look and sound a little better, but not by much.
PTST: It seems like Vivian Girls have grown at a very fast pace, how have you handled becoming a buzz band? Are there any draw backs to having the spotlight on you like you do right
now?
Ali: It's definitely odd but it's great and I think I speak on behalf of us as a whole when I say that we're really grateful that so many people are paying attention to us.
PTST: Last year when you guys started this band, did you ever think to yourselves that in a year you'd be opening for Sonic Youth, touring the world, and releasing a record on a label? How
do you top what you've done this year for the next year?
Cassie: The only thing we wanted when we first started out was to play Brooklyn house shows with our friends bands, go on tour, and put out an album. Those were literally our only goals. I feel so lucky with all that's happened to us, it's unbelievable. The thing we're most excited about right now is recording and releasing a 7" ourselves. We're putting together these packages which include a 7", t-shirt, and some postcards and buttons, limited to 1,000. We're also silk-screening everything ourselves. So stoked.
Vivian Girls - "Tell the World"Vivian Girls - "Where Do You Run To?"Vivian Girls on MyspaceUpcoming Tour Dates:
09-06 New York, NY - South Street Seaport09-12 Swarthmore, PA - Swarthmore College
09-19 New York, NY - Cake Shop09-20 Princeton, NJ - Terrace Club
09-21 Philadelphia, PA - Danger Danger Gallery
09-24 Nashville, TN - Exit/In
09-26 Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone (Goner Fest)
09-29 Knoxville, TN - Pilot Light
10-01 Baltimore, MD - Ottobar
10-03 New York, NY - Rocks Off Concert Cruise10-12 Boston, MA - Great Scott
10-13 Danbury, CT - Heirloom Arts Theatre
10-15 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
10-16 Brooklyn, NY - Market Hotel10-17 Baltimore, MD - Sonar
10-18 Philadelphia, PA - The Barbary
10-19 Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel
10-21 to 10-24 CMJ Music Marathon11-08 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom11-10 Boston, MA - Paradise
Who: Those Dancing Days
