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The Eyeliners: Right between the Eyes
from: www.collegecrier.com
by T. Virgil Parker
There certainly is enough to whine about. Indeed with war, greed and destruction vying for our attention, it is fair to wonder if a little pocket of bliss lingering here and there is not either irrelevant, selfish, or both. This seems to be the philosophy of many of the producers of music we listen to. There must be some cathartic value to the incessantly bad vibes that are being shared on the airwaves of modern rock stations. But I know this: If I were getting my butt shot off in Iraq, I would prefer to believe that I was trying to preserve the right to pursue happiness. I’d want to believe that I was protecting the opportunity for people to get a few ya-yas rather than bla blas.
I’m not suggesting that everything needs to be nicey nice. I do suggest that music, the most powerful tool for inspiration we have, can do more than make us want to jump out the window. Classical music reminds us that life is -or can be- grand. Jazz tells us to sit back and process the mystery. Punk was meant to break down the structures of ignorance and oppression. With anger, to be sure, but also in criminal triumph that involves no crime, or perhaps a few petty ones.
The Eyeliners are Zen-like in their objective to completely demolish the audience. Their weapons: Volume knobs, a hefty dose of talent, and charm that could sell ice sculptures in the Sahara. These three sisters from New Mexico prove that there’s a genetic component to punch and crunch.
Laura was such a complete pleasure to talk to that I’d like to give her a stun gun to get rid of me next time.
T. Virgil Parker: The first thing I’m surprised at is that your music packs so much power.
L: Thank you.
TVP: It seems that Punk has been watered down a bit. You guys are obviously trying to strike a blow against that.
L: I think that the definition has been growing and growing and several different kinds of music that were never really Punk were co-opted. It’s thinning it out .
TVP: The word that comes to mind is wimpy.
L: You could put it that way. For us, our take to songwriting and Punk is that we want impact. That’s what Punk meant to us. The surge of energy and the angst. That is our thing. We write for ourselves and that’s what we want.
TVP: If I’m not mistaken, I think I heard an authentic guitar lead or two.
L: Gel can definitely wail on the guitar.
TVP: There’s not a venue for wailing guitars, usually, these days. You had to carve it out yourselves.
L: Thank you very much. She’s a phenomenal guitarist. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen us but she puts on a real show. She plays behind her back, she’s all over the place, it’s crazy.
TVP: Was this a dream that you and your sisters shared growing up? Or did it just happen?
L: It really just happened. Looking back we could see that it was always there. We literally remembered being tiny little kids banging out rhythms with paper towel rolls. One of us would play air guitar, one of us would sing. It was always there in the background, but it wasn’t until we were teenagers. It kind of brought us back together. Teenagers don’t really want to hang out with their siblings, they’re too cool for that. We immersed ourselves in Punk. Lisa got into it first and we were like ‘this is awesome’. We were buying records and sharing our records. It just went from there.
TVP: It just kills me that there are so few female Rock and Roll musicians. Why do you think that is?
L: The whole music industry is kind of a man’s world. It’s really hard for women to get in there and make a name for themselves. I imagine many get discouraged. There were times when we felt discouraged. You get on stage as a female musician and the first impression that people have is that they’re not going to be able to play their instruments. You really have to fight stereotypes like that, and fight to be on good bills that aren’t just other girl bands, but bands that you sound like, based on your music. If you’re stuck with just the gender as your main thing, your opportunities are very few.
TVP: You guys have to kick extra ass in order to be taken seriously.
L: That’s what I love about Gel’s playing. She’ll play a crazy solo behind her back, pick up a bottle and use it like a slide, spin her guitar, because she can, because she’s that good. The girls can rock just as hard as the guys can.
TVP: You guys are pushing against something, but it’s bringing you where Rock and Roll is supposed to be in the first place.
L: Also, our parents were Rockers back in the day. Chuck Berry and stuff like that. That was what we loved. Nothing else hit us until we were teenagers and we discovered Punk. It was perfect.
TVP: I hear a hint of retro in there.
L: Definitely
TVP: How did you guys get discovered by JOAN JETT?
L: We’d been around for a while, we’d been on Sympathy, and then on Workout Records. It was Fall of 2003 and we got a call from our agent that we were invited to play on the same ticket as JOAN JETT. But it would involve canceling two weeks of our tour, and driving all the way back from Ohio or somewhere. We said we’d do it, no questions about it.
We played the show and it was a great show. After we played one of Joan’s people came and said that she’d like to meet you guys. We went to her dressing room and they said they’d really like to work with us.
TVP: She had a hellacious time of things with exploitation when she was close to your age. I bet she’s taking good care of you guys, after all that she went through when she was a kid in the RUNAWAYS.
L: She was one of the females who paved the way for all other girls who wanted to do this. She made it seem possible.
TVP: This isn’t the best way to put it I guess but you have access to the one of the founding mothers of Rock.
L: She’s awesome. She’s so supportive, she gives us advice. It’s crazy to think that we’re friends with JOAN JETT. I never thought that would ever happen.
TVP: I’m so glad she’s doing this for this generation of rockers. She’s finding some real talent.
L: Thank you.
TVP: How do you write? Do you just plug in and pound it out?
L: A lot of our songs just come about when we’re practicing. One of us gets an idea and we get excited about it and we just go from there. We just want the energy. Back in the day we used to write a song from beginning to end at one practice. We’d be having so much fun that we didn’t want to stop until we were finished. With this album we took a lot more time, which was really cool. We made a conscious effort. Our other albums we wrote much faster.
TVP: Now you have access to a real recording studio.
L: We had an incredible studio, and a lot more time. Our past records were two weeks max. recording and mix and everything. We had a chance to try a lot of different things. We write everything collaboratively. We always work together.
TVP: Does it chance your style having more stuff, more time for tweaking?
L: Not really. We didn’t feel the pressure of watching the clock, super-long days, no sleep for two weeks. That’s crazy. This time we could relax, we got to use different studios, so we got different vibes from different studios, which is always kind of exciting. We got to experiment with different instruments and different things.
TVP: I can tell that you tour a lot. It’s right there in your face even in your studio work.
L: We love what we can do live and we love what we can do in a studio.
TVP: How many cities are you hitting on this tour.
L: I think it’s going to be around twenty.
TVP: That’s a lot of fun.
L: It was going to be a lot longer but we decided to split it up into different regions. After this one we’re going to hit Texas and Florida. Unfortunately we’re not going to New Orleans. We were lucky to go through there on our last tour. Hopefully they’ll restore it
TVP: They have to. John Stewart said that Pat Robertson had two prayers answered that week. New Orleans was destroyed, and Bush got to nominate another appointment to the Supreme Court.
L: And what a nominee. I wonder why he’s not talking about his views on abortion.
TVP: Exactly.
L: Sure, people feel strongly about that, but I think the President has bigger things to work on. Why are so many young men dying so needlessly?
TVP: Does your music ever get political?
L: Every now and then we toss out a little hint. And I’m sure me might again in the future.
TVP: I’ve been dying to ask you this. With three sisters on the road all the time, is it like "You got the red bike, it’s my turn to sit up front."
L: It’s funny. Our personalities are different enough that it all kind of works out. We all have different taste in guys, so we don’t fight over guys. We all excelled at a different instrument and it worked well together. We get along really well together. We definitely do get in fights that probably carried over from childhood, but for the most part we get along really well. We consider ourselves best friends as well as sisters. It’s very nice. When you’re on tour and in very tight quarters it isn’t easy to deal with all the different personalities. Luckily we don’t have to deal with that as much. It works out nicely.
TVP: That’s miraculous.
L: I know. Don’t get me wrong, we do have our squabbles , but it always makes for a really good show. We have an argument when we’re on tour, we get on stage and we just rock out. By the end of the set we’re all laughing.
TVP: That’s a good recipe for a gig, when everybody’s trying to blow each other off the stage.
L: Yeah, then you know it’s going to be a good show.
TVP: What kind of influences go into the music?
L: Everything. We’re so open minded about what we listen to. A lot of really obscure New Wave. We love everything from Punk to New Wave to Rock and Rockabilly. We let it all in, we don’t want to be stereotyped. We’re not trying to fit into any box.
TVP: That’s an advantage that being on Joan’s label provides. Take full advantage of it before Atlantic or SONY snatches you up.
L: Yeah!
TVP: What kind of projects do you have lined up?
L: We’ve got the three tours. We’ve got a big New Years show with Joan and Social Distortion on California. That will be incredible. We’ll be filming another video before then.
TVP: Do you think you’ll be jamming in another 20 years?
L: Who knows? I do believe music will be there in some form or other for the rest of my life.
TVP: It sounds almost like you want to settle down eventually.
L: Twenty years is a long time! Though , I don’t think you can ever get us to really settle down.
TVP: I have a hard time envisioning you reaching for the apron strings after slamming you way through audiences night after night.
L: You’d be surprised actually! I go on tour and I’m rocking every night and it’s this incredible experience. I go home and I want to cook a five course meal.
TVP: I get it, on tour the microwave goes out the hotel window. At home you reach for the cookbook. I like that.
L: Exactly. Our tours are definitely a good time. It is such a party. Being on a Warped tour, it’s been incredible. So many of the people I’ve looked up to are coming by to compliment the show. I never thought that will happen. I never thought it would go this far.
TVP: It’s a really raucous sound.
L: That’s what it’s all about, right? Keeping it real.
TVP: Absolutely. The next time you’re wondering where the check is, remember that you’re keeping it real. Artistic integrity.
L: Just so.
If you have bllood in you veins, I suggest that you give it a good workout by catching The Eyeliners at your earliest opportunity. You can see them at Valenties in Albanyon October 23rd. Call 518-432-6572 for directions.
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