Tag: Cumgirl8

cumgirl8 Launch Clothing Line with BABY.TV Telethon

cumgirl8 are neon goths making intraterrestrial post-punk tunes. The collaborative power of Lida Fox on bass, Veronika Vilim on guitar, and Chase Noelle on drums creates a sound both calculated and chaotic, drawing inspiration from The Slits, Diplo, and even video game soundtracks. Their non-musical influences include anime, drag queens, future tech, sex positively and so much more.

cumgirl8 have perfected their brand of punk elegance with hypnotic drum and bass hooks paired with an unmatched on-stage style, all while retraining a sense of humor. It’s no surprise they have been spending their quarantine working on a clothing line that launched Saturday, September 19 with a Telethon to raise money for the LBTQ+ homeless outreach organization Ali Forney Center.

We chatted with cumgirl8 about their debut EP, AIM screen names, and new gear they’re experimenting with.

AF: How was the process of writing and recording your self-titled EP? Are there any stories behind specific tracks you would like to share?

LF: We recorded and mixed it all in three days, tracking drums, bass, guitar, and vocals all together like we do when we’re playing live.

VV: It was very special – we recorded all the tracks live and would dance in the soundbooth to every track. I couldn’t stop crying all those days, maybe because I was PMSing, or maybe it was just the energy but it was pure magic.

CN:  It was sooo magical!!! I don’t think a lot of people realize that we recorded live to tape, not track by track. It was a moment in a room of the three of us together. It still surprises me that we did all of that in two days. We were just so excited to finally record after playing a ton of shows in the city.

LF: My fave moments were banging on the tubular bells, VV playing percussive drill through her guitar amp on “Clay People,” and when Dani came to do a feature on “Clay People” too. Shoutout to Ben Greenberg at Strangeweather for being the best!

AF: You have a really unique bass tone! What’s your set-up like? 

LF: Thank you! I used to play my bass through a Fender Super Reverb… I found my bass for $80 in a recycling shop. It has a super high range and you can change the tone a bunch, almost like a toy. 

CN: Lida, you know that Carol Kaye also played her bass through Fender Super Reverb??? (A guitar amp instead of a bass amp). She had someone cart it for her to every recording session. Lol that amp is so fucking heavy. 

LF: No way!! I don’t miss dragging it around.

AF: Do you have any new gear or sounds you’ve been experimenting with recently?

VV: My favorite sound for my guitar is my synth pedal. It’s so wild. I find new sounds with it every day! We used it for “Clay People” and it’s on some of the new tracks we’re recording too!

CN: Started running my drum machines through The Filter Factory by Electrix and getting crazy little freaqs out of it. I run it through a delay too and go wild. And finding new sounds with VSTs now that I finally bought logic.

LF: I’ve been making my own synth sounds and experimenting with new pedals on my bass, mostly inspired by video games and wind up music boxes. 

AF: What were your first AOL/AIM screen names? What’s your favorite meme format?

CN: chasehatespants. My favorite meme format is solely visual, like Oprah and Whoopi Goldberg’s faces photoshopped perfectly  on top of two girls in a super super sexy Fashion Nova outfits, with their full titties and ass out looking incredible, dancing on a video gamer chairs with a spilled bowl of Spaghetti-Os in the corner of the room. It’s not even funny. I just laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh. 

VV: RuBbErDuCkYvV. My favorite meme format is using make a meme+ (the most basic cause I find the more basic the easier to understand).

LF: Totally – it’s like wtf but it somehow it just clicks.  I never had AIM :/

AF: I read that Veronika would make her outfits before shows. Was that part of the inspiration for the clothing line? 

VV: I make everyone’s outfits! I love making clothes! I don’t really use patterns, I’m more of a trial and error kinda girl with everything I do. I feel like that’s where my creativity comes out the most. And yes, the outfits for the clothing line 100% come from the past looks we have worn for shows. Actually we’re selling the worm outfit I made for the subway show too!

LF: She is literally a tailoring genius.

CN: Veronika made us outfits out of socks we couldn’t find the matches to. We wore them for a show we played on public access TV.

AF: How would you describe your clothing line in three words?

VV: Funky, fun, and neon.

CN: Loving, fearless, confident. 

LF: Hardcore Lisa Frank!

AF: Can you tell us a bit more about your telethon live stream and the organization you raised money for?

LF: It just happened but we’re putting it all on YouTube. We played hours of never-before-seen video content, a new music video, our cumgirl8 collection 0.1 fashion show, and the first live set of our EP since it came out, straight from the studio where we recorded it. We had some technical difficulties but it worked in the end.

The Ali Forney Center provides shelter and services to LGBTQ homeless youth. Their center is located at 224 West 35th Street, 15th Floor.

AF: What are your plans for the rest of 2020 and beyond? 

CN: SO MANY THINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

VV: We take it day by day! Who even knows! But def release a few more tracks and some music videos!!

LF: Shake the 8ball and stay tuned ;)

Follow cumgirl8 on Instagram for ongoing updates.

RSVP HERE: The So So Glos Play Farewell Show at Brooklyn Bazaar + MORE

Welcome to our weekly show recommendation column RSVP HERE – your source for the best NYC shows and interviews with some of our favorite local live bands.

The So So Glos are the quintessential New York City punk rock band. Formed in 2007 in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn by brothers Alex and Ryan Levine with drummer Zach Staggers (who they met in pre-school), The So So Glos have shaped the DIY music scene first hand over the past decade. They co-founded and resided in the venues Market Hotel and Shea Stadium, have released three full length records, gone on countless DIY tours and toured in support of Titus Andronicus,  Diarrhea Planet, Desaparecidos, and more. In anticipation of The So So Glos playing one of the final shows at Brooklyn Bazaar Friday 11/29, we talked with Alex and Zach about how the DIY scene has developed over the past decade, their favorite records to listen to on the road, and where to get the best slice in and outside of NYC…

AF: How is the state of the DIY scene different now than when you first started So So Glos in 2007? How do you think things will progress going into the next decade?

Alexander Orange Drink: It’s been quite a trip to see the DIY scene transform over the past decade. When we started out, it seemed like there were very few DIY spaces where rock ‘n’ roll was welcome. It was way more of a noise rock, (dare I say pretentious) – artsy scene. Despite so many venues closing and an ever changing NYC, I think some aspects of the underground have become way more inclusive for all types of people and artists. If we were in any way a part of helping that move forward I feel grateful.

AF: You’ve toured extensively over the years, what was your favorite band to tour with? Favorite city/non-NYC DIY show space? What’s your favorite tour story?

AOD: There’s been so many friends and extended family who we’ve toured with. It’s impossible to pick a favorite! So many hospitable venues and staff that have welcomed us. The Bottle Tree in Birmingham, AL was always a great place to roll through. They’ve got really cool trailers backstage. One time we got assaulted by the Britney Spears entourage, another time we got strip searched at the border and once my medicine was confiscated in Germany.

AF: What are your favorite records to listen to on the road?

AOD: Modern Lovers, She’s So Unusual, 2Pacalypse Now, The Specials (first album), The Idle Wheel, Songs of Leonard Cohen, too many more…

AF: Where’s the best place to get a slice of pizza in NYC? Where’s the best place to get a slice of pizza outside of NYC?

Zach Staggers: This is a much debated topic for any New Yorker and there are many exemplary spots to get a slice. That said, any pizza experience has as much to do with the environmental factors surrounding the slice. For instance, if you stop at New Park for a slice after a idyllic day in Rockaway, then, at that very moment that is the best slice in the world. Or, say if you are in the godforsaken hell zone of the low to mid 30’s on the west side of Manhattan — Pizza Suprema becomes your messiah. Perhaps, it’s just a beautiful day in the neighborhood, where Rosa’s of Ridgewood provides my staple, comfort pizza. But all this said for the record I like to rep the Margherita slice with the infamous sesame seed crust at Ciccio’s on Avenue U. It’s a little known pizzeria and doesn’t get the respect it deserves. Outside of New York? While there are good slices in Philly and some other select cities I will plead the 5th.

AF: What are your plans for 2020?

AOD: New music coming. Also… pizza!

RSVP HERE for The So So Glos, Wild Yaks, Cumgirl8, Knucklehead & SUO (DJ set) @ Brooklyn Bazaar. All Ages / $13.50

More great shows this week:

11/29 Darkwing, Sleep Leans, Shadow Monster @ Our Wicked Lady. 21+ / $10 RSVP HERE

11/29 Beach Rats, Speedy Ortiz, Restorations, American Trappist, Well Wisher @ House of Independents (4-year anniversary). All Ages / $4-$10 RSVP HERE

11/30 Hank Wood and The Hammerheads, Warthog, Subversive Rite, Dollhouse @ Brooklyn Bazaar (last show!). All Ages / $15 RSVP HERE

12/3 New Myths, Katya Lee + Special Guests @ Berlin. 21+ / $12 RSVP HERE

12/3 + 12/4 The Rapture @ Music Hall of Williamsburg. 18 + / $30 RSVP HERE

12/3 Sloppy Jane, Sweet Baby Jesus, Water From Your Eyes @ The Dance. 18+ / $10 RSVP HERE

12/5 Tallies, Honey Cutt @ Alphaville. / 21+ $10 RSVP HERE

12/5 Grim Streaker, A Deer A Horse, Luggage, Shop Talk @ Trans-Pecos. $10 / All Ages RSVP HERE