Q&A: Kim Theory is Carrying the Riot Grrrl Torch Into a New Generation
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY KIMBERLY KAPELA ☆
Audrey Hertel
THE NEXT GENERATION OF RIOT GRRRL — The Riot Grrrl movement has always been about making space for the next generation of women to be loud, uncompromising and impossible to ignore. LA band Kim Theory embodies that spirit. Named after alternative rock icons Kim Gordon, Kim Deal and the late Kim Shattuck, the all-female teenage band is carrying the movement's DIY edge and feminist roots into a new era through a vibrant blend of indie rock and pop-punk. Their Lollapalooza debut on Thursday, July 30, was a reminder that Riot Grrrl's influence evolves through a new generation of young women determined to build a more inclusive future for rock music.
Made up of Audrey Cymone (vocals), Lula Seifert (guitars), Lucy Fraser (bass) and Zoey Su (drums), the band rocked their debut Lollapalooza set that showcased tracks from their two EPs, Bitch Scene and Trophy Wife, alongside energetic covers of artists they admire, including Chappell Roan.
While conversations around female representation have evolved over the past decade, the band believes there is still significant work to be done — particularly within rock music and behind the scenes of the live music industry.
“There's not enough women in music, especially in rock and less mainstream genres,” the band tells Luna. “Put on your records, plug in that amp, get started because there's so many people who just don't realize that there's a space for them in anything — not music specifically, but in many things.”
Their message isn't limited to aspiring musicians. Kim Theory hopes to inspire women to become part of every corner of the industry.
“We need more women in the rhythm section, drums especially too, because you don't see that a lot,” the band says. “Even if you don't play an instrument, but you want to be involved somehow, we need more female photographers in the industry. We need more girls at shows. We need more girls in the front.”
Kim Theory has already built impressive momentum that continues after Chicago. Alongside hometown performances throughout the summer, the band is set to open for influential Riot Grrrl pioneers Bratmobile this September.
Audrey Hertel
LUNA: Thank you for talking to Luna. Our readers would love to get to know you and your music more. For any readers who aren’t familiar with you yet, what inspires your artistic style and sound?
LUCY: Our band name comes from three different Kims: Kim Deal, Kim Shattuck and Kim Gordon. The theory is how are there so many awesome women named Kim? Their bands — The Breeders, The Muffs and Sonic Youth — are big inspirations to us, along with lots of other really big, important female fronted bands. Bratmobile, being one of them, which we're opening for them in September, Kathleen Hanna, would do anything with her.
LUNA: You just released your newest EP Trophy Wife and a huge congratulations is in order! What inspired the project and what did you feel drawn to exploring for this?
LULA: I think they were just all songs that we had written over time, and then we slowly felt that these four would be really good together. They have similar themes. We didn't know what to pick for a name, and we had a side project called Trophy Boy. Yeah. We were experimenting with the names trophy wife, trophy girl, something like that, and then we got that name that fit a lot of the themes in the songs.
LUNA: What do you hope listeners walk away with after spending time with this EP?
LUCY: I want them to feel excited and energetic, hopefully, in some way.
ZOEY: I want our songs to resonate with what it’s like to be a woman, but also not really getting a choice sometimes and being faced with hardships. I want people to think about that with our songs, and reflect how it affects them, how it affects other women.
LUCY: A song that I really resonate with off the EP that hopefully others will like take away a similar feeling is “Which Way to Go,” and it's about having choices in front of you — maybe you can choose your own path, maybe you can't, but you don't know what to do in life, and there's a right way to go, but you don't know which way that is. I feel that way all the time, especially with any hardship or issue or conflict that has a solution that I can personally solve, whether it's interpersonal or something larger, I always feel so scared to go down that road and fix something. I think there's something good I could do about this situation. I think I can help my friend out here. I think I can help out my community here. But I'm just too nervous too, so I'm not going to do it. I feel like because of that feeling, I resonate with that song a lot. I love when I listen to a song and it captures exactly how I’m feeling. It'd be really cool if it's not this EP,, maybe it's a future release. I just want someone to hear something and they're like, “I totally get it.”
LUNA: Do you have a personal favorite song on Trophy Wife — one that feels closest to your heart or most revealing of who Kim Theory is right now?
LUCY: I like “Artifact” because me and Lula wrote that one. I was listening to The Velvet Underground, and I really liked these chords.
LULA: This was a while ago, and then we finished it recently.
AUDREY: I've always really liked “Stay.” I just think the guitar part is so pretty, and it's always really fun to perform. That's really one of my favorite types of performing because it's at a point in the set where you can just do anything.
LUNA: Can you describe the atmosphere and energy you’ve felt from the Lolla crowd? Was it what you expected?
LULA: We definitely didn't expect that many people to show up for our set because it was an earlier set, and we had heard that people were trickling in because they heard us. I hope they liked us. I feel like they did, and I hope I'm not wrong saying that.
ZOEY: I thought we got a good reaction out of the crowd. We have this one part where Audrey tells everyone they need to dance or mosh or move, and people started a circle pit. After our set, we were walking around and people would give me encouraging nods. Some girl was super into us, and she's like, “I'm in a band. You guys are awesome.” We threw out shirts and she got one of them. It's just really nice to hear that because we have people who support us because we'll support her band.
LUNA: Do you have any specific pre-show rituals or post-show regimens that help ground you or boost your performance on stage?
ZOEY: I play Bassvictim and I make everyone jump around. That's what we were doing last night before the show at the Subterranean in the green room. We were jumping up and down, listening to Bassvictim.
LUNA: How did you prepare for your Lolla set? From building the setlist to rehearsals to mentally getting ready — what’s gone into making this moment feel truly yours?
AUDREY: We've been practicing a lot. We try to get in a couple practices every week leading up to it. We've been practicing our backing vocals, which was a little struggle, but we got there. We made our set list a month in advance, and whenever we would practice, we would just run the set and practice like we were playing.
LUNA: How do you hope listeners — especially your femme audience — can connect with or find power in this new era of music from you? What emotions or messages do you want to leave with them?
LUCY: There's not enough women in music, especially in rock and less mainstream genres. Put on your records, plug in that amp, get started because there's so many people who just don't realize that there's a space for them in anything and not music specifically but in many things. When you see someone else being a part of it, and you realize, “wait a minute, they're like me because I can do this too.” It's a really empowering and beautiful thing because that's how I felt when I was 13 watching girl bands. I was so inspired. I hope people feel the same way with us. I think we need more women in the rhythm section, drums especially too, because you don't see that a lot. I think even just even if you don't play an instrument, but you want to be involved somehow, we need more female photographers in the industry. We need more girls at shows. We need more girls in the front. Go to a show and make a friend.
LUNA: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the rest of the year look like for you that you would like to share with Luna?
LULA: We’re opening for Bratmobile at the Lodge Room in LA and we’re also playing at Darker Waves in Huntington Beach, so we’re all really excited for that. Come to the lodge room September 13. If you're in Huntington Beach, come to Darker Waves in November. For anyone in LA, we play a lot of local shows, small shows with cool bands that we're friends with. Make sure to check us out.
Audrey Hertel
