When did you first get the idea for Are You With the Band?
To be honest, it wasn't actually my idea. Vinnie [Fiorello] from Paper + Plastic specifically approached me with the idea of a female-fronted poppunk comp and we fleshed out the organization of it together. I have experience putting together CD-R comps of female-fronted bands with For The Birds and have also been in bands for a while now, so it made a lot of sense to connect that way. I did the curating, logistics, a lot of the art, etc. for this comp though and took it as an opportunity to support a group of bands that I really care about and have been invested in over the years.
There were, yes, but I'd rather not list them out of respect for them either declining for whatever reason or not being able to contribute a song. There are also obviously more bands out there that I'd love to have on a comp like this but that couldn't fit on a single LP. It's by no means comprehensive and there's a short list of additional bands in the liner notes that folks should check out as well.
Are you throwing your support behind Planned Parenthood because they're so female-positive, or does it have anything to do with the recent verbal attacks from politicians like Michele Bachmann?
Planned Parenthood is a vital resource for women and people quite literally planning parenthood around the world. This comp was organized before they really came under attack in this country recently, so it's not specifically a response to that. However, regardless of any politician's efforts to defund or discredit them, they deserve our support and do wonderful, incredibly important work for women. Now more than ever, clearly.
In the press release, you're quoted as being "compared to the same two or three groups solely because they have female vocals." What groups are these, and with whom would you prefer to be compared?
If I say what bands we get compared to it will sound like I dislike them, which I don't at all. I just think comparing every poppunk band with female vocals to the only popular ones you know, just because they also have female vocals, is lazy and disrespectful, in my opinion. Part of my goal with the comp is to have people who don't know these bands listen to the wide range of "pop-punk" out there and how they don't all sound the same at all. If you want to compare vocal styles, there's a ton to choose from!
What has been the response to the editorial you did back in February for I live sweat..., "You know what makes me feel unsafe?" ?
I can talk about the response in two different ways. On the one hand, there's been a bunch of negative comments made in public forums that are largely never voiced to me directly. On the other hand, there's been a kind of overwhelming amount of support and well-wishes from a really wide range of people and it's given me the opportunity to have some great conversations and connect with a lot of people, friends and strangers alike. Overall I think the response has been to begin a conversation that some people weren't previously having, and I think that's really exciting. Regardless of how anyone feels about what I wrote, or whether or not they agree with me on everything, I think the dialogue is really important and it's something I'm really happy about.
Has there been any dialogue opened by that editorial?
Absolutely, and I think it's been really positive. Even if there have been arguments over it, I think it's a lot more interesting to argue about sexism than whether or not a band "sold out" or not for the 8,000th time.
Is there any attendant Worriers news or what-not you'd like me to mention in conjunction with this?
Worriers just released our first 7" "Past Lives" on No Idea Records. We're currently planning a short tour and more shows so stay tuned for more on that! The Measure [sa] is playing our last show on the Sunday of Fest at 8 Seconds, so I hope people will try to make it out to that.
