When I was young all kinds of music was played in my house but it was the stuff from the late 50s early 60s that really got me hooked. It wasn’t just limited to music, I loved Happy Days and Sha Na Na (Grease for Peace!) but I remember hearing Dell Shannon’s Runaway for the first time and just losing my mind. From there it was Chuck Berry, The Platters and the American Graffiti soundtrack, a record I played so much my Mother used to shake her head and say “you were born too late”.
So it was when I heard the music of SadGirl I was immediately infatuated (we posted Feel Like Shit as Record of the Day a while back) and finally tracked them down for a little question and answer. Yes SadGirl could be classified as garage, lo-fi, punk – whatever you want, but the fact their music is steeped in the surf and doo-wop of the original era with a whole lot of Ramones to sweeten things up, while sounding fresh is impressive.
The LA trio has recently released a 6-song EP – on a special limited edition cassette (sadly it’s sold out but you can download it from the links below). It’s music for hanging around at the local diner with the jukebox on, or dancing around a bonfire on the beach – these cats have the coolest sound. It’s lo-fi for sure – but the richness of what they are doing shines through – thanks to the overlapping harmonies and the mournful reverb of the guitar – my God that guitar!
This is quite a debut and I for one can’t wait to hear what’s next.
We are…
Paul, Misha and Dakota
People say we sound like….
People say we sound like a lot of stuff, we say we sound like Pulp Fiction meets Back to the Future
We are originally from…..
We are all Los Angeles locals, Misha was born in London and moved to LA when he was 7 onto the same street as Dakota, they’ve been playing music together since they were 12 or 13 years old. Paul was born and raised in West LA
How did you become SadGirl and what’s with the name?
Paul and Misha started jamming together almost two years ago after meeting through work and hit it off musically almost immediately, Misha knew Dakota from when they were kids and we needed a bass player so we gave him the call.
The name “SadGirl” originally comes from an oldies song. The idea of oldies music and classic car culture was adopted by Latino and specifically LA gang culture and “SadGirl” was then adopted as street name for female gang members.
When it came time to name the band, we wanted some thing that represented Los Angeles as much as it did our music; Oldies, Classic Cars, Street culture etc. Its all part of the Los Angeles history
What music has had an influence on your sound?
Chuck Berry, Dick Dale, Doo-Wop ( the Platters, the Coasters)
James Brown, The Beatles, Elvis, Rolling Stones, The Cramps, Hasil Adkins, The Misfits, Bad Brains, Metallica, Buddy Holly, Beach Boys, Hank Williams, Phil Spector and 60s girl groups in general, Joe Meek
Tell us about the scene in LA…
The scene in LA right now is amazing, everyone we know plays in a rad band and is amazingly talented and supportive. It feels great to be part of a really special time in LA music history and share it some really great people and bands
How does the city’s musical history, or landscape influence your sound?
To us the band sounds like what LA looks like. Its dirty and gritty and a little punk rock and romantic and its paradise.
What influences the band lyrically?
Most of the time the lyrics are a bit cynical and maybe even slightly misanthropic, but at the end of the day they are all love songs
Growing up, at home we listened to…..
Misha – The Beach Boys, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Prince, The White Stripes, Sex Pistols, Bob Dylan
Paul – Jimi Hendrix, Freddie Hubbard, The Eagles, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Doors
Dakota – Bob Segar, Arlo Guthrie, Randy Newman , Louie Armstrong, The Kinks
What tunes are on heavy rotation for you…
Misha – Good Bye Toulouse – The Stranglers (Peel Session Version)
Paul – Pour Man – Lee Hazelwood
Dakota – Remember (WALKIN in the sand) – The Shangri Las
If you could only bring ONE record in the tour van what would it be?
Lee Hazelwood -Trouble is a Lonesome Town
When you’re not playing and have some time off, where could we find you…
In the print shop screen printing or in the workshop building and refinishing guitars
The one thing we want you to remember while you’re listening to our music….
It’s Punk
What’s up for 2015?
We’ve got a ton of rad stuff planned for 2015!!! We want to do another 7″, work on a comp with some homie bands, maybe put out a split and another EP so keeep tuned BBs
At the moment SadGirl has a Kickstarter campaign going to raise money to fund a video you can donate HERE.
