Entertainment
Goof- Core Girls: If you don’t know indie band Chastity Belt—you should
Seattle
is home to a diverse array of musicians. Hip-hop, electronic, and experimental
music all serve as a modern soundtrack to the city. But sometimes, one gets
nostalgic for some old-fashioned S
eattle is home to a diverse array of musicians. Hip-hop, electronic, and experimental music all serve as a modern soundtrack to the city. But sometimes, one gets nostalgic for some old-fashioned Seattle wrong. Chastity Belt delivers just that. With a sound ranging from surf rock to punk rock, these ladies pump out some of the most interesting and rockin’ indie music around. And lucky for you, they have a new album out! Time to Go Home comes out March 24 on Subpop sister-label Hardly Art Records. Some more good news: They’re touring. They’ll be in Seattle at the Highline on March 28 with Dude York. You can find other tour dates around the country on Hardly Art Records’ site. The band consists of Julia Shapiro on guitar and vocals, Lydia Lund on guitar, Annie Truscott on bass, and Gretchen Grimm on drums. Hailing from all over the country, these girls are as funny and laid back as they are talented. The good-natured and hilarious Shapiro proved that to us when we were lucky enough to talk with her.
Julia Shapiro: Yeah! At first it started as a joke. Lydia and I came up with the band name before we had a band, or had even been in a band. We just wanted to have the name so we could tell people we were in a band called Chastity Belt because we thought it was funny. But then we decided to actually form a real band, but it was still a joke. Whitman’s Beta frat did this battle of the bands thing, and we signed up for it. We only had one song written. It was six minutes long, and called “Surrender”. It was about taking your Chastity Belt off and surrendering to the god of punk. We put on a bunch of eyeliner and dressed all goth to play it. It was pretty dumb. Then maybe a year or so later we decided to play real songs. And the songs got less and less jokey I guess.
No, I’m from Palo Alto, California. Gretchen is from Michigan. Lydia is from Hawaii, and Annie is from Gig Harbor, Washington.Are you guys all from Washington originally?
What artists have influenced your sound, recently, and of all time?
We all like Courtney Barnett. We’re huge fans of hers, and are touring with her, which we’re really excited about. And, I don’t know if this is true for anyone else in the band, but in high school I was Elliot Smith was my favorite musician of all time, so I think he’s influenced me a bit. Liz Phair is cool.
How has the cannabis culture of the PNW impacted your music?
Sometimes I smoke weed before I write music because it kind of takes me out of what I would normally do. Makes me play and listen to music in a different way. I think it’s a creative stimulant.
I heard you guys have a new song on your record about smoking weed?
The song is called “Joke” and there’s definitely a line in it about being high. But I wouldn’t say it’s just about smoking weed, but we definitely reference it.
IN CONCERT
March 11 with Guantanamo Baywatch @ The Knockout in San Francisco.
March 12 with Guantanamo Baywatch @ The Smell in Los Angeles.
