For Day 3 of our Women's History Month homage to artists and bands, I present you Pink Flag from Durham, NC. Bassist Princess contacted me last month in hopes of finding them a Brooklyn show for their upcoming tour. Fortunately I had a tip on Tom Tom Magazine curated event happening exactly on the date they needed.
PINK FLAG
PINK FLAG
In February, Princess Ojiaku contacted me about getting help booking a Brooklyn show. She introduced the band as an all-girl, post-punk trio from North Carolina. Intrigued by the band's name and description, I headed over to the band's website and heard some of their tunes. What I heard was some pretty bass heavy, melodic punk rock. Princess is a Master's student in neuroscience and the bassist for Pink Flag! Her band moniker is Dork Flag. Then there's Betsy Shane (Lucky Flag) on guitar and vocals and Jessica Caesar (Sick Flag) on drums. Together they are Pink Flag. Taken from the namesake first album by Wire, Pink Flag seems to be both a homage to a band they love and also a poppy take on the raw riot-grrrl punk sound of the early '90s. The result is simply good.
Their most recent song is "3 6 9," a cute, poppy song about liking someone. "When I'm with you, I cannot keep my cool. When you're around I get stupid, but FUCK it." The song makes me want to dance around with a smile. "School" is another song with a heavy ass bass that simply rocks. They are playing a pair of Brooklyn shows and a Philly show with Trophy Wife, so make sure to catch them and have a good time. The band is releasing a full-length album soon, which I'm excited to listen to. I had the chance to conduct a short e-mail interview with Princess.
Who is Pink Flag?
P: Pink Flag consists of 3 ladies who came from 3 corners of the country (California, Louisiana, and New York) to find each other in the Triangle area of North Carolina (specifically in Durham, NC). We started playing together in late 2007, so we're a little over 3 years old at this point. This answer has a lot of 3's, but good things come in that number, right?
When did you know you wanted to be a band?
P: I think I always wanted to be in a band. But I think the earliest time I ever actually talked about it with other people was in middle school when Hanson was big. My best friend and I were inspired and wanted to start a band as cool as we thought Hanson was. It never really materialized, though, even though that's when I first started playing guitar semi-seriously, with a sort of fuzzy aim of getting up on a stage someday. I kicked around the idea of starting a band in college, but again, the stars never really aligned. Pink Flag is actually my first band, and I feel pretty lucky to have stumbled across two talented and awesome ladies to usher me into band membership.
Why did you start playing bass?
P: I started playing bass for Pink Flag! Before I'd played guitar off and on since middle school, but I'd always thought the bass was super cool and enjoyed a lot of bass-driven music like Motown stuff, dub, etc. When we first set up Pink Flag, I thought I'd be playing guitar, but I decided I really wanted to switch over to bass.
What's your favorite part about being in a band?
P: Playing shows and having people come up to you afterward and be really excited about what you're doing. Connecting with someone over something like that makes it seem worth it.
What's the most challenging thing about being in a band?
P: I think the main thing is coordination. Being in a band is kind of like being on a team and being in a weird sort of marriage at the same time. It can be hard to balance doing what everyone wants to happen, or sometimes even to coordinate schedules. We have our first full-length coming out soon that took over a year to record because of (among other things) coordinating everyone's schedules!
Have you experienced any setbacks as a female musician?
P: I'm still kind of a baby musician, so perhaps this will change in time, but so far I don't really feel like I have. People in our local music scene are generally really kind of psyched to see women playing music and playing it well, but sometimes it does make you wonder if that response would differ if we were the standard all-male band playing the same music.
What are some of your other hobbies and interests?
P: I'm a pretty big nerd so I like writing about science in my spare time on my blog. I try to keep it interesting and tie it in to topics that are accessible to a general audience, because I just think science is awesome and applicable and useful to everyone's daily lives. Or at the very least, it's interesting! Other interests are bicycles as transport, vegan cooking, and books of all types.
Tell me about your upcoming tour and NYC shows.
P: This is our second tour and second time going up the East Coast, but our first playing in NYC! Our first full-length is done and recorded, so we're trying to drum up some interest for its release later this year.
Thanks to Princess for the interview!
Monday, March 7 @ Public Assembly, Brooklyn, NY
w/ La Defénse, The Workshop Model, and Algae & Tentacles $5. PINK FLAG ON AT 10:30PM!
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=112652585478632
Tuesday, March 8 @ Mr. Beery's, Bethpage, NY
w/ Let Me Crazy
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=192029604161597
Friday, March 11 @ The Commons, Brooklyn, NY
Tom Tom Magazine SXSW kickoff show
Their most recent song is "3 6 9," a cute, poppy song about liking someone. "When I'm with you, I cannot keep my cool. When you're around I get stupid, but FUCK it." The song makes me want to dance around with a smile. "School" is another song with a heavy ass bass that simply rocks. They are playing a pair of Brooklyn shows and a Philly show with Trophy Wife, so make sure to catch them and have a good time. The band is releasing a full-length album soon, which I'm excited to listen to. I had the chance to conduct a short e-mail interview with Princess.
Who is Pink Flag?
P: Pink Flag consists of 3 ladies who came from 3 corners of the country (California, Louisiana, and New York) to find each other in the Triangle area of North Carolina (specifically in Durham, NC). We started playing together in late 2007, so we're a little over 3 years old at this point. This answer has a lot of 3's, but good things come in that number, right?
When did you know you wanted to be a band?
P: I think I always wanted to be in a band. But I think the earliest time I ever actually talked about it with other people was in middle school when Hanson was big. My best friend and I were inspired and wanted to start a band as cool as we thought Hanson was. It never really materialized, though, even though that's when I first started playing guitar semi-seriously, with a sort of fuzzy aim of getting up on a stage someday. I kicked around the idea of starting a band in college, but again, the stars never really aligned. Pink Flag is actually my first band, and I feel pretty lucky to have stumbled across two talented and awesome ladies to usher me into band membership.
Why did you start playing bass?
P: I started playing bass for Pink Flag! Before I'd played guitar off and on since middle school, but I'd always thought the bass was super cool and enjoyed a lot of bass-driven music like Motown stuff, dub, etc. When we first set up Pink Flag, I thought I'd be playing guitar, but I decided I really wanted to switch over to bass.
What's your favorite part about being in a band?
P: Playing shows and having people come up to you afterward and be really excited about what you're doing. Connecting with someone over something like that makes it seem worth it.
What's the most challenging thing about being in a band?
P: I think the main thing is coordination. Being in a band is kind of like being on a team and being in a weird sort of marriage at the same time. It can be hard to balance doing what everyone wants to happen, or sometimes even to coordinate schedules. We have our first full-length coming out soon that took over a year to record because of (among other things) coordinating everyone's schedules!
Have you experienced any setbacks as a female musician?
P: I'm still kind of a baby musician, so perhaps this will change in time, but so far I don't really feel like I have. People in our local music scene are generally really kind of psyched to see women playing music and playing it well, but sometimes it does make you wonder if that response would differ if we were the standard all-male band playing the same music.
What are some of your other hobbies and interests?
P: I'm a pretty big nerd so I like writing about science in my spare time on my blog. I try to keep it interesting and tie it in to topics that are accessible to a general audience, because I just think science is awesome and applicable and useful to everyone's daily lives. Or at the very least, it's interesting! Other interests are bicycles as transport, vegan cooking, and books of all types.
Tell me about your upcoming tour and NYC shows.
P: This is our second tour and second time going up the East Coast, but our first playing in NYC! Our first full-length is done and recorded, so we're trying to drum up some interest for its release later this year.
Thanks to Princess for the interview!
Monday, March 7 @ Public Assembly, Brooklyn, NY
w/ La Defénse, The Workshop Model, and Algae & Tentacles $5. PINK FLAG ON AT 10:30PM!
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=112652585478632
Tuesday, March 8 @ Mr. Beery's, Bethpage, NY
w/ Let Me Crazy
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=192029604161597
Friday, March 11 @ The Commons, Brooklyn, NY
Tom Tom Magazine SXSW kickoff show
f/ DJ Shomi, Babyee Teeth, Nikkie Mcleod, and Shiragirl. $5.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=148326115222264
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=148326115222264
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