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The Eyeliners Offer No Apologies
The Band Discusses Its Debut on JOAN JETT's BLACKHEART RECORDS
from: womanrock.com
by Tracy Fay
I'm on my way to meet the Eyeliner's at BLACKHEART RECORDS, a label they were recently signed too. I'm tired because I stayed out too late last night to see the band open up for label founder JOAN JETT at Webster Hall, but their performance was worth it and really made an impression on me, so I'm eager to learn more about what motivates these girls.
Live, The Eyeliners were loud and confident, radiating charisma and a massive amount of rock n roll machismo. They also appear to be contortionists with their instruments at times, twisting themselves into unnatural positions to play, as if to show the audience, "yes we can play and let me prove it to you." I teased band member Gel about how she scratches her guitar behind her head and she joked back that people actually ask if she does yoga. It's obvious the band's nine years together have been spent focused on performance and musicianship.
One interesting fact you may not realize unless you're a die-hard fan, or you notice the resemblance, is that The Eyeliners are sisters. The three players started their musical interests early; dancing around the house, miming guitar solos they heard on the radio, listening to a lot of 50's and 60's rock their parents played. One impressionable day however Lisa gave the lot their first taste of punk rock and they quickly developed an appetite. Bands like The Stiff Little Fingers and The Ramones inspired the siblings to start their own group. With Lisa playing bass, Gel on guitar, and Laura singing they learned their rudiments and started banging out songs.
During one pivotal practice session, Laura left the mic, hopping behind an old drum set, "to fool around." Lisa and Gel thought it would be fun to teach her a standard, solid rock beat, so they showed her the part for JOAN JETT's "I Love Rock n' Roll." Not only did Laura master it, but she started singing along, discovering she could do both at the same time. What makes that day most memorable today though is that the band finds itself years later actually signed to JOAN JETT's label. Joan has always been an inspiration to them and they couldn't be more excited about the recent teaming.
As I sit down with them at Blackheart's offices, I'm struck by the dichotomy of these women. Their force on stage is a far cry from their in-person timidity and sweetness. One thing that is abundantly clear however is that they are three sisters united not only by blood but in rock-n-roll. They present a united front and a plan to take this journey as far as it will go, unconditionally supporting one another along the way. I am here to talk to them about their new album No Apologies. We open our diet cokes and get down to business…
WOMANROCK: You just released your album No Apologies on BLACKHEART RECORDS. How did that come about?
GEL: We played a CMJ show with JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS in October 2003 and after the show we got to meet Joan and KENNY LAGUNA and they mentioned that they would like to work with us. We just kept in touch and then when we got back home from touring we sent them some demos that we had started for No Apologies. They called us and told us they wanted to work with us so we were really stoked on that.
WOMANROCK: Joan sings and plays on your song "Destroy." What was it like working with her in the studio?
ALL: Awesome!
LAURA: I think surreal is a good word for it. You can't put words to it. We had Joan coming in and playing on a song that we wrote! It was awesome she just got in there, and it was just an amazing, amazing experience. We all sung background vocals together. Never did I think growing up and idolizing JOAN JETT that we would ever have this opportunity.
WOMANROCK: It's like one of your wishes come true; I guess you can cross that one off your list.
ALL: (laughter) Oh Yea!
WOMANROCK: What inspired the title track "No Apologies" and why did you choose that to be the title of your album?
GEL: I think that it just fit what we are always about. It's who we are. We are going to do what we want to do and if you have a problem with that too bad. That's what the song's about. You know, we just never cared what anyone thought of us. We don't make excuses. That's who we are.
LISA: I think it's also saying, even though things seem insurmountable, and I think that's how we were feeling at the time of that song, it's saying we are going to get through this. This is who we are and we are going to carry on.
LAURA: Yeah, I think it's also reflective for us as a band. It reflects who we are and what we've done so far.
WOMANROCK: Listening to the album I definitely got the impression this was a look back for you. There seems to be a common thread of reflection in the songs. You guys have come so far, I mean, nine years! There are a lot of bands out there, a lot of popular bands that can't even make it one year and here you guys are still making it work. I think the title track "No Apologies" is very appropriate for this album.
GEL: Well thank you.
LISA: Thanks.
LAURA: We went through several titles and I think Joan kind of helped us with it too. One day I got a text message from Joan saying, "I think we should go with No Apologies, for the title. I think it's very fitting for the album." It was cool to have her input like that. We actually had three or four working titles.
WOMANROCK: Joan says, "Hey No Apologies sounds good," so probably wasn't hard to argue with that.
ALL: Ha, Ha! Yeah!
GEL: End of discussion. We definitely couldn't argue with that.
WOMANROCK: There are two covers on the CD, "The Promise" by When in Rome, which I believe was featured in the movie Napoleon Dynamite.
ALL: Yes!
WOMANROCK: Has anyone pointed that out to you?
GEL: No, nobody has but what's funny is Lisa saw it on DVD and sent us a text message and said did you know it was on there? We were like, "Oh no." But it was all good. We just liked the song and wanted to do it but it was before the movie came out.
WOMANROCK: The other cover is by one of my favorite bands of the late 70's Eddie and The Hot Rod's, "Do Anything You Want To Do." What inspired you to cover that song?
GEL: Actually, Kenny [Laguna] our producer gave us a CD of songs and told us to listen and maybe we would get an idea for a cover. We heard that song and it just seemed like it fit into what we were trying to say and what we were about. It's the first time we have ever put covers on a record before.
LAURA: It was just the perfect song for us to cover. I mean, Eddie and The Hot Rods just had that rocking sound that we all love so much. It has a great message and it just seemed very fitting for us to do.
WOMANROCK: You've recently had some lineup changes. Laura, you climbed out from behind the drum set to come to the front of the stage. How has this affected your live shows?
LAURA: I think it brings a whole new element to it. It's a lot more fun to be up front. I mean, I would hear people talking to these guys after the show about how awesome the show was but because I was behind the drums and singing I would miss out on a lot of that. As our bands needs were growing, it was sometimes hard for people to hear or whatever so it just became more feasible for me to be up front. It's fun to get in people's faces and interact with them and that was something I was missing being behind the drum set. I'm really enjoying it. It's a blast!
WOMANROCK: You're going on tour this summer to support the new album, playing the Warped Tour again this summer. After that, what's next for The Eyeliner's?
LISA: We would really like to go overseas. We have been invited so many times, but for a long time Laura and I have had a fear of flying. But now we are flying to New York all the time, so we are starting to get over that. So it's definitely something we would love to do.
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