Q&A: How The Linda Lindas are Forging Their Own Path as Punk Powerhouses
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY IZZY PETRAGLIA ☆
Photography Credit: Jessie Cowan
THE LINDA LINDAS — a band consisting of sisters Lucia and Mila de la Garza, Bela Salazar, and Eloise Wong had a somewhat untraditional start to their journey as a band—learning and creating by throwing themselves into playing live sets. Coming together in 2018 following a GirlSchool LA gig at The Bootleg, they’ve proven their abilities to make their mark within the punk and new wave music spaces.
Opening for the likes of Paramore, Blondie, Green Day, The Rolling Stones, and Smashing Pumpkins, recognition for the girls and their talent has only grown—especially with the release of their 2024 album “No Obligation.”
The album remains true to classic punk but leaves room for a new perspective on the genre with its effortless and honest lyricism. The group find innovative ways to touch on issues close to their hearts through dynamic storytelling from song to song. Having just wrapped up a headline tour across North America this past April, the band and their demonstrated diversity as performers is driving them to succeed as powerful voices in alt-rock spaces.
LUNA was able to catch up with The Linda Lindas ahead of their last few nights of tour–discussing how opening for shows prepared them for their headline tour and the influences behind their work.
Photography Credit: Jessie Cowan
LUNA: I saw you guys open for Paramore a few years ago, and it was absolutely insane. Since then, you guys have also opened for the Rolling Stones, Green Day and Smashing Pumpkins. The first thing I wanted to start by asking is how the reception from all these audiences for all these bands has been for you guys?
LUCIA: I guess the first time that we did something like that was definitely with Paramore. Paramore fans are so fun and so excited. That tour was just really cool, because we're such big fans of Paramore. I think we're trying to build up our own audience for all these different opening gigs and stuff. The audiences are generally super welcoming to us. One of the most valuable things that we also take from it is just getting to watch the bands after we play. That's why I guess it's been really fun to be on this tour. We're starting the last week of it right now. Our own shows and seeing all the work that we've done from the past few years come into these new spaces that are our shows–they’re much smaller venues, but it's super rewarding.
LUNA: I was going to say it's interesting, I feel like all the bands that you've opened for, you've gotten those crowds that are really into discovering new music and actually want to show up for the opening act to take something from it. I imagine it's probably been cool to see the way that's bled into your own headline tour now. Going off that, what would you say you learned from touring with those acts that you've applied to this current headline tour? Now that it's about to wrap up.
BELA: Eloise always talks about how she learned to perform, right? You perform 1010% at all times now.
ELOISE: Yeah, with the Green Day tour, we were playing on such big stages–it felt really difficult for me to connect with the audience. I kind of learned how to perform extra on those big stages to try and feel a connection with the audience. That big performance energy, I try to carry into these smaller venues too. If you saw Green Day's show on that tour, they were playing for two and a half hours, we were tired from running around on that giant stage for 20 minutes. you know. It's just super cool to see how much they put into it. I try to carry that into my own shows.
LUNA: I just saw them and they were insane live. It was so crazy seeing their set. I did want to go back to your album that came out and some of the influences that came with it. I do think listening to your album, it felt like the perfect combination of both garage punk and new wave. I wanted to know how the artists you grew up listening to influence this album but also, how have you strayed beyond just the influences behind it to channel your own sound? I think you guys have done something really cool with the way you’ve merged all these genres together.
LUCIA: It's not super conscious the way that we do it. We have four different writers with four different music tastes. We have four different voices as well that are on the album. It's super fun to kind of play with that. We all grew up listening to different music, but it kind of just comes together in a fun way on collaborative stuff. The sound that we've found for ourselves over the years is just from playing a lot of live shows and touring. That kind of live energy feel is what ties it all together.
LUNA: Perfect. Since a lot of your music does touch on a lot of different social issues, growing up, your overall friendship as a band, what did the journey to find your voice to create music in such a candid way look like for each of you? Especially given the importance you spoke about having an equal voice in the band. How do each of you always ensure all of your ideas are heard and all of your tastes are reflected?
ELOISE: I feel like we just all contribute what we have. We don't really think of it as “Oh, I gotta go get my voice heard in the band.” It's more like “Oh, I have this song. Oh, cool. I also have this song. And this song.” We're all just active in participating in the band and in writing.
LUNA: It seems like you've found such a solid voice for yourselves and made sure each of you are equally reflected–even if it's not a conscious thing that's happening. It seems you’re all on board with everything. What did music discovery look like for each of you throughout your upbringing and who introduced you to the artists that you listened to growing up?
LUCIA: I have parents that are both really into music. My dad works in music. When I was growing up, we would just listen to the music that my dad worked on, we'd be trying to support it. We’d be like “Oh listen to this, because you just finished making this record or something.”
But then my mom is really into 90s indie rock and stuff. We'd listen to a lot of Sleater Kinney, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, a lot of Tiger Trap, stuff like that. I feel like I kind of started discovering my own music taste, around middle school, which was during the pandemic for me. That's also when I started writing songs. That’s when I got into artists like The Beths, Wolf Alice, Amyl and the Sniffers, Mannequin Pussy and stuff like that.
ELOISE: My dad is really into a lot of first wave LA punk from the 80s. So, I grew up listening to a lot of Adolescence, Channel 3, Germs, Dills, Bags, stuff like that.
I'm also into a lot of more current stuff. I really like Trap Girl, Fatty Cakes and the Puff Pastries, and SOUL GLO. I also have a lot of friends in bands like Before You Leave and N600, just Los Angeles-based screamo hardcore bands.
BELA: I'd say for me, I listened to a lot of Pretenders and Talking Heads. That's kind of what my dad listened to. I'm first gen because of my mom, so we listened to a lot of rock en Español and stuff like that. I guess once I got my phone then I had access to Spotify and discovered new artists.
MILA: Lucy and I are sisters, so a lot of what she said also applies to me. I got really into Paramore because our dad was working with them. They’re my favorite band. Then in middle school, I got really into Boygenius. That’s the gist of it.
LUNA: I love the bands you guys listed. Another thing I wanted to ask, since you guys are still fairly young, how do you mitigate maintaining your youth while you working at what is practically at an adult level?
ELOISE: I think we try to keep it fun. I mean, that's the reason we're in the band is because we enjoy playing music and we enjoy each other's company.
MILA: We don't really think of it as work. We also have a really good team at our record label, our management, our agent. They're so good and supportive, plus our parents help out. We just have a good team around us.
ELOISE: For me, once it starts to feel like work, with things that I don't necessarily like to do as much, I have to remind myself of the things that I do love making music with these people.
BELA: Also, what we like to do too if we go to like a country or somewhere that we've never been before, we like to set aside vacation time a week beforehand or after.
MILA: And we just hang out. We schedule in vacation time so it feels like a big vacation all the time.
LUNA: That's good, you hear a lot artists saying don't actually get time to see the cities that they're visiting. It's nice that you guys actually make the time to look around and explore. well. I'm happy you guys just enjoy what you do and you’ve found that balance between having fun while also building your career. I think it's going to do wonders for you guys as you continue to grow as artists. I also wanted to know how you embrace both the strengths and perspectives that come with being young in the entertainment industry while also ensuring you stay protected? I know you touched on having a good team and how your parents help you out, and how you guys keep each other in check as well, but I wanted to know if there's any other sort of contributors that help you guys feel supported and protected in the industry?
BELA: Well, I'd say that a lot of the opportunities that we've gotten, we've kind of gone in blindly without anything to base it on. I think that helps because it's just like we're going to do this and we're going to have fun. It doesn't always feel scary, just because we don't have anything else to compare it to. I think that makes things easier.
LUNA: And then as a band that is kind of rapidly growing and evolving within music, what challenges would you say you’ve encountered and how have you overcome them so far?
BELA: I don’t know honestly. I feel like we've had it pretty easy so far.
LUNA: No challenges are better than having several or even one!
LUCIA: I mean, it's just little challenges. I think just being together for a long time, especially on tour, you know, it's like a family. Sometimes you just gotta get through a day without saying very much, everyone's kind of got to keep themselves in check in a way. But then we go home, we relax, we rest, we come back and it's great. We’ve kind of had to learn very quickly about how our balance works on tour. It's the nature of how we kind of got thrown into it a little bit. But it's all worth it. I think we value each other too much to let anything get in the way of anything.
BELA: One challenge that I feel we had was that we came out of this viral moment and it was kind of like everybody—I mean, now it's not as much as it used to be, but everybody always compares us to that moment. I feel like this record was kind of scary because we were trying to not just let that be all of our identity. We've just kind of gotten over that, and now we have all these new songs and we're a band.
LUNA: I think it's always interesting when you see people come up from a viral moment and then that's all they get attached to. Since then, you guys have done such a good job of going beyond that, especially with the new record. How do you ensure that your music is appreciated for its true value rather than being defined by the fact that you're younger? Additionally, what steps do you take to position your work as a reflection of your talent, creativity, and your unique vision?
ELOISE: I don't know if there's a way to control how people perceive our music or something, we just write what we want to write and or we write what we feel and we put out what we want to.
LUCIA: I think if it's good enough for us, if it's true to us, or if we feel good putting it out then it's just having faith that somehow it might reach the right audience for it. It’s definitely been seen on these shows, which it’s really cool to see who comes out and all these people know the words to the songs. and stuff that's what our perception of it is. I guess just hoping that it’s received well.
LUNA: It’s always the goal that it’s received well, and it definitely shows that it has been!
LUCIA: Going on something like the Green Day tour where—it’s not all of the audience but a lot of the audience are older dudes and a lot of them liked our music. That's just a cool thing that happened.
LUNA: I could see the Green Day fans totally rocking with you guys, I feel like the older heads are usually very receptive to opening acts. Just to end things off, is there anything else that you guys are excited for in the remainder of the year once the tour is wrapped
LUCIA: Yeah, we’re going to take some time off, start writing, and we’re going to Europe in the summer.
ELOISE: We’re excited for Ottawa too!
