NY Rock

Four young Canadians ranging in age from 15 to 17 have hit the big time. With songs such as "Brackish,” off their debut album Spit (Ng Records), in heavy rotation at hard-rock radio stations across the globe, the girls have had to grow up rather fast. Bassist Talena Atfield took a moment out of the band’s hectic touring schedule to chat with NY Rock about some of the finer points in life, such as discrimination, oppression, and, oh yeah, sex.

NYROCK:
How do you balance touring with schoolwork?

TALENA:
Right now, we're looking towards correspondence. We're not doing school right now because this is more important to us. Education is very important and we're definitely gonna get that but right now it's really hard to do school and tour at the same time. The schedule and stuff, you get really tired. It looks like [correspondence] is what we're gonna do.

NYROCK:
Do you discuss it with your parents? How do they feel about the decisions you make?

TALENA:
Our parents pretty much stay out of it. They're really supportive. They realize that this is an opportunity that not everyone gets. It's a once in a lifetime thing. They say, "We trust you that you'll make the right decisions."

NYROCK:
What's the male half of the population like when you tour? Are there any male groupies?

TALENA:
No, we don't have any groupies. It's pretty much 50/50 with the males and females that show up at our shows. It's the same as any other band would get. We have a lot of chicks that like our music too.

NYROCK:
Is there a message you hope to get across with your music?

TALENA:
Life gets tough and everyone goes through hard times. Just be your self. Don't do what everyone else is doing. Have a mind of your own.

NYROCK:
Despite song titles such as "Suck," "Choke," "Do You Think I'm a Whore?" and "Get Off (You Can Eat a Dick)" I've read that you claim your music is not about sex.

TALENA:
It's not at all.

NYROCK:
What's it about then?

TALENA:
Life experiences, basically. Oppression. People mistreating us. People putting you down because you're different. Giving you a hard time because of who you are.

NYROCK:
And you experienced or witnessed a lot of this in school?

TALENA:
Yeah, in life in general. Everyone goes through discrimination and oppression. People look at our songs and try to pick them apart and say that they're about sex, but none of them are. They were written at a pretty young age, so they're not about sex at all.

NYROCK:
Concerning the issue of sex, how is it being an all-girl group in a rather male-dominated genre of heavy metal rock and roll?

TALENA:
I think there are a lot of people who are still really ignorant. They're like, "Girls can't play." They hear it and most times their minds are changed but it's a lot different. I mean, you don't look at most bands and say, "Oh look, it's a guy band." But they do that to us. They're like, "It's a girl band."
We're about our music. We don't want to be known as a "girl band." We want to be known as a band. People take that word "female" and automatically have preconceived ideas that we can't play and that we're gonna go up there and try to sell sex. But that's not what we do.

NYROCK:
You're not afraid to go up there and be aggressive.

TALENA:
Exactly. It's fun. We can play just as good, maybe better, than some guys.

NYROCK:
What do you think about other genres of music, the Latin movement, the Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys contingencies?

TALENA:
I think it's great. They're enjoying themselves. I think it's great that they're getting where they want to be. All the more power to them. You can't have just one type of music. You need a lot.

NYROCK:
Any final thoughts?

TALENA:
We're proud to be where we are at the ages that we're at. Music is always going to be music no matter what the age or gender is.

NYROCK:
What's down the road for Kittie?

TALENA:
We want to take this as far as it can go. We want to get as much out of this as we possibly can. If it goes for ten years, great. If it goes for twenty, even better. We're just gonna do this as long as we can.

RXF21 Magazine

D-Which album was harder to make? "Spit" or "Oracle"?
T-To write or record?

D-Either,
T-I don't know I wasn't there for the writing process of "Spit" or the recording and "Oracle" wasn't that bad I mean we took about a month off to just take time off then. We took about 2 months to record I mean to write "Oracle" just at home in the basement what ever. And then we took like maybe a little over 2 weeks to record it. That wasn't hard at all.

D-Are you working on a 3rd yet?
T-Album? No! We just, the 2nd 1 just came out!

D-What kind of music were you 1st introduced to?
T-1st? Like well my parents when I was little were like listening to AC/DC and KISS and stuff. Guns 'N Roses, Van Halen.

D-Who taught you how to play or were you self taught?
T-I taught myself how to play.

D-What bands really influenced you and who all continues to influence you?
T-White Zombie is like a big influence of mine. I'm a really big fan of White Zombie. I have a lot of like Industrial Techno influences right now, because I don't know it's the kind of stuff I've been listening to...alot of stuff like that. But my earlier influences are like AC/DC and Bon Jovi and stuff.

D-Who is your childhood idol?
T-Music idol?

D-Any idol.
T-Oh God I don't think I had 1!

D-What else inspires you besides music?
T-I like to paint but I don't get a lot of time to do that cause I'm never home. Comic books, I like comic books.

D-What are some of your goals that you have right now?
T-Well I guess just to get this album, you know, going really good and tour for this album; just do that for now...see what happens.

D-Do any of you study the Qabalah, Martial arts, Tantra, Yoga, etc.?
T-No I use to take kick boxing but I'm never home enough for kick boxing anymore.

D-What do you like to read about?
T-Morgan she reads about a lot of different interesting stuff I don't know, I'm more of a fan of comic books because for some reason I can't seem to hold an attention span long enough to actually read an entire book but...

D-What book is "Charlotte" based on?
T-I think it was a book that she read I don't remember what it was called but it's about a guy who used to tie people up in his basement or something. It was a weird book like that something along the serial killer lines I think.

D-Have you read the entire Bible or any of it?
T-I went to a Catholic school so yes I guess I have.

D-WHat's your favorite book in it or Testament?
T-None!

D-Who out of all of you is most drawn to the occult or politics?
T-Politics? I don't know. I think we all I mean nobody is really drawn to the occult in the band really I don't think that's any, but politics we're all kind of like interested in some sort of political aspects I guess I mean aliens if you will, and not that that's really political but I guess that's kind of along those lines. Like all that freaky shit you know, aliens being freaky.

D-Do any of you belong to a religious or political denomination or not?
T-No.

D-What cultures and civilizations interest you?
T-I'm obsessed with Egypt.

D-Egypt?
T-Yeah I love all that like old school like Egypt and like the all the weird stuff and it's creepy. I have Egyptian tattoos actually.

D-What do you have an Egyptian tattoo of?
T-I have the eye of Horus on the back of my neck.

D-So what do you like to do in your spare time?
T-Right now there's not much except for "Grand Theft Auto 3", yeah I'm addicted to that game right now.

D-Are you for the decriminalization of marijuana?
T-No.

D-Are any of you straight edge?
T-No...hell no!

D-How do you feel about serial killers and mass murderers?
T-I don't know. I think it's kind of interesting as to why somebody would actually want to go and you know what would set somebody off as to go and do something like that that's kind of interesting the whole behind it, why people do it I guess. That's about all that's interesting about it though.

D-Are any of you for capital punishment or against it?
T-I don't know I don't really care I guess it depends on what the crime is. Cause sometimes you know if you hear about something that's really bad you're like well I don't know why keep the person in jail like why keep them in jail eating right? And like you know getting to live better than some people when they did something wrong...that doesn't teach them anything. I mean if they put them in jail and like a cell with like nothing like no bed that might be a little bit different but they get beds they get food you know so it's kind of like not really punishing them.

D-So where do you like to tour most?
T-What city or where?

D-Or what country or
T-Tokyo.

D-Tokyo? Cool. You guys eat a lot of sushi there?
T-I can't eat seafood, but everybody else does.

D-So what do you think of Denver?
T-I like Denver it's not bad. I've been here I got some friends here so

D-Has there been riots at any of your shows?
T-I don't think there's been a riot but I do remember in Seattle they had the riot squad out. They were the fire thing the fire hazard and they were going like it was overpacked by alot and they were going to kick half the people out so they had to bring in the riot squad.

D-So which do you prefer, the underground or the mainstream and why?
T-I don't know I just if I hear something that I like then I like it and it doesn't really matter if it's underground or mainstream to me. If it's good music it's good music.

D-Have you appeared on any music soundtracks yet?
T-I don't think so.

D-Do any of you own any businesses outside of the band?
T-No.

D-Do any of you have boyfriends?
T-It's a possibility.

D-Or any plans to get married?
T-It's a possibility but you know who knows. We'll see what happens.

D-So what's your advice to who ever wants to get involved with the music business?
T-The best advice I could give to that is don't change for anybody. If you have an idea of what you want to be and what you want to do and somebody comes along and tells you that you should change to you know get signed or change your style or your music to fit in with what ever the trend is don't do it.