<Bangs><Maggie and Sarah>

Maggie: Hot toddys

Maggie: I was 15, I think? 15 isn't really a good age for getting along with your siblings- I was a cheerleader at the time.

Sarah: I think you should definitely tell him your real age! then maybe he will lay off of the creepy dating thing. in my opinion, that is way too huge of an age difference. i never even kissed a boy untill i was almost 17! i think that's really awesome that you are making stuff on a 16 track, there must be someone at your school or something that would be into collaborating.

Sarah: hey leo, i too love rod! but when i saw him play this year, his moves weren't so hot anymore. and his back-up band was comprised of stiff boring los angeles style studio musician guys. didn't you know that maggie and i both have rod stewart backpieces?! as for coming to england, that is a distinct possibility later this summer, its just a question of finances... but we will be touring the u.s. this spring with lovely brits comet gain!

Maggie: Leo (that was going to be my name if I had been a boy), As president of the Olympia chapter of the Rod Stewart fan club I can assure you that Sarah meant no harm. She is a Rod fan of the highest caliber. She is merely disillusioned by the aging of her idol. I would never be in a band with someone who didn't love Mr. Stewart, where do you think I got my name? As for touring England- hopefully in the early fall. I will try to talk Mr. Defcon into it- we'll see.

Sarah: is this a dance contest? if it was i think maggie would win cuz i have no rhythm and i've never seen kyle dance. but if it were a "too much pants in the booty" competition it would be a three way tie cuz our pants are huge. really big. really.

Maggie: Are you asking who has the most 'back' in Bangs? Oh, I would win.

Sarah: music is not the only "direction" i have gone in, actually it is more of a detour from my original love, visual art. when i was a kid my parents really encouraged me to play music and do art and be weird so that probably helped a lot.

Sarah: why is it that people love to ask us about jem and the holograms? it is seriously some sort of weird phenomenon we can not escape. maybe it is telling us to fufill our destiny: become a cartoon band.

Maggie: I was never really into it although there may be Frenchie and the German Girls dolls

Sarah: yes, they are a handsome band. i think everyone knows who my fave was, a lil drummer by the name of coadeci...

Sarah: Dear Rod, i saw you play at the mercer arena this year, and let me tell you, your moves are baaaaad. not "bad" as in "good", but as in really really shitty. but, i did like how you went backstage every 2 or 3 songs to change into a different colored neon tank top with matching socks. but that girl you have playing violin on "maggie may" is also in the bad moves boat... my biggest tip for spicing up your live show: more soccer balls!

Maggie: I actually think they're a little too lenient, some of the questions have been a bit scandalous...

Maggie: I've never wanted to stop playing altogether but I've wanted to not play with certain bands anymore.

Maggie: Kyle's a capricorn but Me and Sarah we're Virgos!!!

Sarah: actually our drummer, kyle, is a capricorn. he is the only one i know of around here though!

Sarah: touring with the mcd's was awesome! i have to admit, i was skeptical at first because i didn't know any of them and just sort of passed them off as a "dude" band. but they are so fun, we had a great time and caused trouble up and down the east coast... a highlight was karaoke in louisville, KY.

maggie: It was a lot of fun but man it's hard to figure out what you're going to eat or where you're going to stay when there's 11 or 12 of us.

Sarah: i can't really say, i know lots of egotistical snotrags who walk around in many disguises... as for the "emo" type style, i really don't know very many of those boys. but the ones i have met seem allright to me... and you need those floodpants around here cuz the rain is ridiculous.

Sarah: Dating someone who suffers from depression is not easy. my best advice would be to read some books about it so you have a better understanding of how she is feeling and what some of the causes are. open communication and support are super important in this situation... if things seem very serious you may want to suggest that she goes to talk to a counselor about how she is feeling, sometimes just letting off steam to an impartial person can make you feel a lot better.

Sarah: i'd have to go with the go-go's. i like the bangles too, but the albums just didn't compare with the hits, whereas with the go-go's all the songs on the records are classics to me.

Maggie: I totally agree with Sarah on this one. When I was little all I wanted to be when I grew up was a Go-Go. I remember even being aware at seven of how unusual it was to have an all-girl band. I turned eight years old at a Go-Go's concert.

Maggie: I love the Jeffersons- George Jefferson is totally Gary Payton- I haven't seen Sanford and Son for years but I loved it as a child. I'm a huge fan of Mary Tyler Moore

Maggie: Anyone? That's really hard. There's so many... Maybe Dorothy Parker or Keith Moon.

Sarah: hey summer, i would really like to have met my grandparents who died before i was born. as for the other question, i started going to a lot of shows downtown when i was 16 and couldn't believe what i was seeing! even if i wasn't exactly into the music the band was playing, i was just amazed by the fact that you could make a band and play in front of people and you didn't have to sound like the people on the radio and you could yell and scream and be bad or be great and it didn't matter... i had never been exposed to anything like that before. it gave me the confidence and inspiration to start playing guitar.

Sarah: dear brandy, unfortunately i think we are years away from having articles written on women musicians that do not use gender as a main focal point. its true, you would never read an article about the current hot boy band and hear the question "is it hard to be a boy in a band?" or "what do you think about other current male musicians?"... on the other hand, i do enjoy to read interviews of smart, interesting female artists who talk about issues of sexism, feminism, and gender roles. i think it depends a lot on the writer, whether she/he is actually interested in the musician's experience as a woman or just wants to draw boring comparisons and pre-conceived conclusions. for me, a big allure to learning how to play guitar was to challenge people's perceptions that girls have no interest in aggresive music or are somehow genetically pre-disposed to being poorly skilled (chrissie hynde said somewhere that girls are naturally not as good at guitar, which made me sad...). there will always be dumb articles written, hopefully the girls that really want to play because they love music would not be interested or sidetracked by what they had to say.

Sarah: is this steve dore? i know you are in love with walter matthau and steve guttenberg. personally, i think i am a loner for life.

Sarah: some of my favorite movies are: the black stallion, fast times at ridgemont high, the hustler, betty blue, darling, ed wood, the outsiders, and sunset boulevard.

Maggie: Rushmore, Trust, Rock N Roll High School, Darling, The Innocents, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe?, Valley Girl, Meatballs

Sarah: i don't mind if its a discussion of women and music, but it does bother me when people use gender as a way of defining or categorizing the kind of music i play. it seems lazy on the writer's part, and also often draws false comparisons, like the only music ours can be compared to is that of other women. as for women playing music "not being that new anymore", i have been going to a ton of rock shows lately because my friend books a popular venue in seattle so i often get to go for free. of all the shows i have seen recently, i can only think of a couple bands that had women in them, stereo totale and dead moon. where are all the girls?

Sarah: The new record is coming out in May, i believe, if all goes according to plan. As for the song titles, my usual method for songwriting is title first, then the lyrics. so, a lot of the song titles are just words that sound interesting or pretty and then tend to evoke a cerain mood or emotion that the actual lyrics are centered around. But Maggie wrote "Baby's Day Out" and "Ferocious Pocket", so she'll have to explain her process. as for "Lend Me Crumpets"-- its top secret code for a certain rock star.

Maggie: The record will be out in May of 2000 and a tour will follow. Our song titles sometimes mean nothing and sometimes only mean things to us. I randomly title my songs- my new one is called Night Potion and it doesn't even have words yet.

Maggie: I'm a Keith fan- both Richards and Moon.

Sarah: while i enjoy keith's guitar and reckless rock n roll lifestyle, i'd have to say mick. he has an amazing prescence.

Maggie: Beatles- Revolver

Sarah: i like both, but am not fanatical about either band. i like abbey road by the beatles and pet sounds by the beach boys.

Maggie: We're actually leaning more towards hair/glam metal.

Sarah: just as soon as we finish our rock opera...

Sarah: Bands i like: Cheap Trick, Dead Moon, the Gories, Black Sabbath, the Stooges, X-Ray Spex

Maggie: fibonacci friends and Gene Defecon

Maggie: Sarah was actually a child prodigy on the violin- be careful what you wish for....

Sarah: hey, is this someone who knows my sordid past? i did play violin when i was a kid, but i'm sorry to say there will not be a string section on the next album. at least i don't think so, we're not done writing songs yet...

Maggie: Tragically, in all my years in Olympia (20 to be exact), I never went to the Brewery. Don't get me wrong, I've had a few Olys in my time. The stubbys are my favorite. But I always figured I'd go one day and now it's too late. Miller beer is so disgusting, why couldn't it be any other kind of beer? Obviously I need to eat as the more questions I answer the less sense they make.....

Sarah: i think it is really sad that the olympia brewery was bought out. but i don't really know the details and how it affects the workers or anything so i can't really say if overall it is a good thing or a bad thing. but nostalgically, it sucks. the huge olympia beer sign on the side of the brewery that faces tumwater falls is gone and instead this new ugly miller one is there. its weird.

Sarah: dear city of BOSTON, sorry to offend you. yes, i agree that billy is a very generous person, he made us a bunch of great mixed tapes and put on our first show there... but his energy sometimes crosses over into the scary zone, especially when mixed with tequila. sadly, no one has ever bought me a car so i could work-- but i worked so i could buy a car...

Maggie: I know this is for Sarah - regardless- Billy was very sweet to us on our first tour: he paid for our hotel rooms, made us tapes, etc BUT he was extremely inappropriate in his attempts at kissing me on our second tour- I was really uncomfortable and he was insistent. He would not leave until I let me kiss me (after much debate I convinced him that my cheek was better than lips) AFTER barfing (see below question re: my feelings on vomit). It really upset me as he was truly out of his mind that night. I literally had to hide until Leslie from the MCD's thought it would be funny to tell him where I was. I got her back for that later on in the tour.. I know someone else (I'm not sure that she wants to be named) who had a similar experience with his aggression. I also know a lot of people that share your feelings about Billy. I believe he was drinking Tequlia that night. As Jesse Fox used to say: drink tequila=go to jail. Nevertheless, he wins for being most generous and most scary.

Sarah: i am going to make a prediction of what maggie would get: string cheese, bottled water, a small box of wheat thins, and altoids. for me its just wine coolers and laffy taffy... i would by a scratch ticket if it had a picture of rod stewart and pokemon singing a duet, and it was titled "Do ya think we're sexy?"!

Maggie: On tour pit stops always include: string cheese, water, and chips. Before I stopped eating meat it ALWAYS included beef jerky. I have a recurring dream where I win the lotto and after that I always buy a ticket. Sadly, it never comes true.

Sarah: yes, i think we will be going back to denver in the spring when (tentatively) we will be going on a full u.s. tour... but is there any good place to play that isn't the 15th Street Tavern? we had some problems there last time. as for halloween (my favorite holiday), i think i am going to be zombie pokemon, which involves a lot of fake blood and a big puffy yellow suit.

Maggie: We will tour in the spring again and will for sure come through Denver. Do you know anywhere good to play? i haven't decided what I will be for Halloween. Any suggestions?

Sarah: i get my hair done by sean "supercuts" kelly.

Maggie: My hair is also done by Mr. Kelly- he is our stylist and choreographer

Sarah: we have nothing against texas! except once we played a show in an alley behind a strip mall in el paso and it was kind of sad. the cops shut it down before we got to play, so we got in the van and drove all night to austin where otto and the gang were very nice to us.

Maggie: I have nothing against Texas- once we finally put out another record we'll come back through.

Sarah: i think my favorite bangs song is one we are writing right now and is yet to be named. i'm pretty sick of all our old songs although playing "burnout" can still be fun cuz its a little dramatic. there is no way i could name just one favorite song ever, songs i haven't gotten sick of yet are "southern girls"-- (cheap trick), "just like darts"-- (the real kids), "are you the one (that i've been waiting for)-- (nick cave and the bad seeds), and "sovereignty flight"-- (the gories).

Maggie: Tender Thunderbolt is actually my favorite although we never play it. I agree with Sarah it's impossible to just give one song they are too many. Today it's Euro-Disco by the lovely Bis.

Sarah: i'd have to go with rockers. they sleep later and aren't as obsessed with hygeine. plus, i'm not a big fan of that whole helmet-head hair look... but i guess a combo, a "mocker", is the ideal-- striped shirts and white lipstick.

Maggie: I think Sarah is more of a mod than she lets on- her hygiene is impeccable although I hold the record for showering everyday on our last tour. I prefer to be both even though the Who are my favorite all time band, although I suppose only two of them were mods and the other two were rockers.....Ah, a debate for the ages.

Sarah: duh, slim!

Maggie: Have you ever seen them both in the same room?

Sarah: i would have to say it was this character "Anastasia" from a series of books one of which i remember was called "Anastasia at your Service"-- she was a sassy nerd, i identified with her...

Maggie: Ramona Quimby- My cat is named after her. Contrary to popular opinion she is not named after "oooo, Little Ramona". Please don't tell her I prefer dogs. Although I think she's beginning to suspect. I also really loved Turtle- the main character in the Westing Game.

Maggie: Duh, dogs!

Sarah: i have two cats, but i'm actually more of a dog person. i just don't have enough time to devote to owning one.

Sarah: Of course, especially if it was a big black goth cape and you would wear one too, and we would have a picnic in the cemetary and listen to the Cure.

Maggie: I would really love to wear a cape.