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MENT Zaslišanje: Charlie & the lesbians

MENT Zaslišanje: Charlie & the lesbians

“Ne vem, če hočem biti 50 in zgoraj brez.”

Peta edicija našega najljubšega domačega showcase festivala MENT Ljubljana je pred vrati. Med 30. januarjem in 1. februarjem se bo v treh dneh na 17 odrih po celi Ljubljani zvrstilo 75 glasbenih skupin in izvajalcev iz cele Evrope. Koncertna mrzlica bo zajela Kino Šiška, Staro mestno elektrarno, večino metelkovskih klubov, Hostel Celica, Orto bar, Klub K4 in Ljubljanski grad, ki se s štirimi odri festivalu pridružuje prvič. Na konferenci ne bo manjkalo zanimivih debat o aktualnih trendih s področja glasbenega posla, udeleženci pa bodo naslovili tudi nekatere širše družbeno pomembne teme, kot so enakopravnost, duševno zdravje in okoljska ozaveščenost znotraj glasbene industrije.

Že smo vajeni, da MENT vsako leto postreže z drugačnimi in svežimi izvajalci. Med njimi smo imeli priložnost govoriti s Charliejem, osrednjim likom zloveščega eindhovenskega DIY punk benda Charlie & the lesbiansČetverico so nekateri že proglasili za mladinske nosilce nizozemskega punka – vsaj po koncertni vznesenosti in odbitosti, čeprav se člani sami s to žanrsko oznako morda niti ne želijo preveč enačiti. Kdo je Charlie in kdo so “the lesbians”, kaj s svojo glasbo sporočajo, kako delujejo in kaj lahko pričakujemo od njihovega prvega nastopa v Sloveniji, v dvodelnem intervjuju spodaj …

*Charlie & the lesbians bodo na festivalu MENT nastopili v petek, 1. februarja, ob 23.30 v Klubu Gromka.

Celoten koncertni program MENTa si lahko ogledate tu.


Photo: Ben Houdijk

  1. del: 3. junij 2018 @ ‘t Hoogt, Utrecht, Nizozemska

Torej, Charlie, kako smo dobili Charlie & the lesbians?

Charlie: Soesja, bobnarka, je moja sestra in je v razmerju z našo basistko Noortje. Noortje je bila že prej v različnih bendih, Soesja pa je ravno začela bobnati. Želeli sta ustanoviti nov bend in potrebovali sta pevca, zato sta mene vprašali, če bi poskusil. Privolil sem, čeprav pred tem nisem še nikoli zares pel pred drugimi.

Kdaj je bilo to?

Charlie: Pred tremi leti? Nekaj takšnega… Na začetku smo zveneli res obupno. RES OBUPNO! Nato je nekoč na naše vaje prišel Mees, zdajšnji kitarist. Takrat ga še nisem poznal, samo z Noortje sta bila znanca, kmalu pa smo postali najboljši prijatelji. Ampak ko se je Mees pridružil, smo imeli ime že izbrano. Zdelo se nam je kul, zato smo se odločili, da ga obdržimo, kljub temu, da Mees v njem ni posebej omenjen.

Vaše skladbe delujejo precej temačne in jezne. So res?

Charlie: Ja, še kar.

Kako se lotevaš pisanja besedil?

Charlie: Večinoma pod tušem.

Te tuširanje jezi?

Charlie: Haha, ne, je pa to čas, ko najmanj razmišljam. Skladbam pustim, da pridejo same. Nato tečem iz tuša in jih zapisujem na telefon. Vsaj večinoma je tako. Spišem recimo polovico besedila, nato ga dokončam, ko smo z bendom na vajah. Nisem ravno jezen, ko jih pišem, imajo pa skladbe nedvomno neko jezo v sebi.

 

“Ni vsem prijetno, ko se jim dereš direktno v obraz.


Prvič sem te spoznala v začetku leta 2017 na Van Onderen, 24-urnem festivalu nizozemske underground glasbe. Spomnim se, da si imel do vratu zapeto srajico in elegantno kapo. Deloval si skoraj preveč “normalno” oz. uglajeno za tovrstni dogodek. Toda zdel si se mi znan, a te nisem mogla nikamor umestiti. Mislim, da sem ti to takrat celo povedala. Nekaj ur kasneje je na kletnem odru amsterdamskega Paradisa nastopil čudaški punk band Charlie & the lesbians, ki sem jih pred tem že enkrat poslušala v živo. Takrat mi je hitro postalo jasno, zakaj se mi zdiš znan, le da te v vsakdanjih oblačilih nisem prepoznala. Odrski Charlie je vedno brez majice, okoli vratu ima pogosto ovit mikrofonski kabel in strastno kriči publiki v obraz ter jo pelje v divje moshpite. Vaši nastopi so na Nizozemskem že kar ikonični…

Se vnaprej opravičujem za nenavadno vprašanje, vendar me zanima, ali sploh še kdaj nastopaš z majico?

Charlie: (smeh) Ne.

Kako je prišlo do te značilne podobe?

Charlie: Ne vem zares. Na prvih nekaj špilih sem bil še oblečen, vsaj zdi se mi … Nato smo preklopili na nek velik krzneni plašč, vendar je bil prevelik in v njem mi je bilo prevroče. Morda sem z njim zdržal prva dva komada, nato sem ga moral sleči. Zdaj si mislim, zakaj bi sploh vlačil ta plašč, če ga bom tako ali tako slekel?! Biti brez majice je zdaj skoraj postal moj simbol. Bilo bi čudno, če bi se na naslednjem špilu pojavil z majico.

Ljudje bi mislili, da je s tabo kaj narobe …

Charlie: Ja! Sploh ne morem več nastopati z majico! Tudi ko bom 50, če bomo še vedno nastopali, bom pač moral biti brez majice. Kot Iggy Pop! (smeh) To je precej zjebano … Ne vem, če hočem biti 50 in zgoraj brez.

Vaši nastopi so nedvomno nekaj posebnega. Zelo energični in divji. Je “odrski Charlie” kot nek lik, persona, ki jo poskušaš graditi, ali se dogaja čisto spontano?

Charlie: Am, mislim, da oboje. Že na našem prvem nastopu sem šel na vse ali nič. To počnem tudi zdaj. Torej je … Ne vem. Kar zgodi se, ko stopim na oder. Ne morem ne početi tega. Ampak je pa tudi neke vrste persona, ki se razvija skupaj z bendom. Čez leta se tudi spreminja. Morda še ne bi rekel, da je ravno persona, jo pa organsko razvijam.

Kako se ljudje odzovejo na tvoj direktni pristop?

Charlie: Po koncertih večinoma dobivamo pozitivne reakcije, bi pa rekel, da je nekatere ljudi v tistem trenutku malo strah? Ni vsem prijetno, ko se jim dereš direktno v obraz. (smeh) Ampak ja, saj razumem … Mogoče tudi meni ne bi bilo. Lahko je jebeno nelagodno. In vem, da jim to povzročam, ampak mi sede. Noro je, ko lahko to počneš! Občutek imam, da lahko na odru počnem karkoli želim. To je kar fino … Malo zbadati ljudi, jih spravljati v zadrego, testirati njihove meje … Zabavno je!

Bi izpostavil kakšne klube, festivale ali mesta, kjer bi res želeli igrati?

Charlie: Le Guess Who. Best Kept Secret, ki je praktično v mestu, kjer živim. SXSW bi bil zakon.

Omenil si dva večja nizozemska festivala. Bi lahko izpostavil še nekaj nizozemskih bendov, ki jih trenutno največ poslušaš in misliš, da bi jih morala spoznati tudi naša publika?

Charlie: Ja, recimo … Ammm, večkrat dobimo to vprašanje in ne bi rad ponavljal imen, ki jih vsi izpostavijo. Iz Nizozemske so mi zelo všeč The Lumes, Sweet Release of Death, Naive Set. Niso tako glasni bendi, ampak so mi všeč.

Kakšna pa je vaša domača punk scena?

Charlie: Še kar v redu … Punk scena na Nizozemskem ni tako velika. Publika ima raje garažne bende. Tudi nimamo veliko “pravih” punk bendov. V resnici ne bi niti rekel, da smo mi “pravi” punk band.

Kaj misliš pod “pravi punk”? Kaj dandanes sploh razumeš pod “punk”?

Charlie: Recimo … To, da delaš, kar želiš. Da delaš svoje stvari in se ti jebe za vse ostalo. Ne potrebuješ irokeze ali modrih las … Lahko si plešast. (smeh)

  1. del: 16. november 2018 @ WORM, Rotterdam, Nizozemska

Nisva se videla od junija… Kakšno poletje je za tabo?

Charlie: Od junija? Uh, to je že kar dolgo. Ja, poletje je bilo dobro. Jadral sem, žural in šel na počitnice. S prijatelji smo to poletje okronali za “zlato poletje”.

Kakšno pa je bilo poletje za Charlie & the lesbians?

Charlie: Tudi dobro. Ni se tako veliko dogajalo, razen, da smo posneli nov EP, dokončali nekaj skladb in spisali nekaj novih.

No ja, to se vendarle sliši kot precej dela … Prav tako ste nastopili na nekaj poletnih festivalih, kajne? In to celo na nekaj večjih na Nizozemskem. Kateri koncert minulega poletja ti je najbolj ostal v spominu?

Charlie: Ja, to tudi. Mislim, da je bil predvsem Valkhof festival dober. Užival sem v tem nastopu. Za nas je bilo malenkost nenavadno, saj nismo vajeni igrati na velikih zunanjih odrih. Najbolj zapomljiv koncert pa je bil verjetno vseeno prvi nastop v Nemčiji. Na tistem festivalu nas ni nihče poznal, pa je bila publika vseeno zelo entuziastična. Odziv je bil neverjeten!

 

“Prej nismo bili ravno dobri glasbeniki, ampak se izboljšujemo.”

 

To je bilo šele drugič, da ste nastopili izven Nizozemske, če se ne motim.

Charlie: Mislim, da ja …

Ste pa že igrali na kar treh showcase festivalih, drži? Torej MENT Ljubljana bo vaš četrti?

Charlie: Ja? Mislim, da bo MENT naš tretji … Nastopili smo na Eurosonic Noorderslagu in na The Great Escape v Veliki Britaniji. Aja, točno, skoraj sem pozabil na Left of the Dial tu v Rotterdamu. Ja, MENT bo torej četrti. Wow, haha!

So občutki ob igranju na showcase festivalih za vas kaj drugačni kot pri nastopih na “običajnih” festivalih?

Charlie: Ja, vsekakor. Na showcase festivalih imaš občutek, da je v publiki veliko profesionalcev iz glasbene industrije, ne samo navadnih ljudi, ki so se prišli zabavati. Vse deluje resneje. Na nek način je lahko igranje na showcasih manj zabavno, po drugi strani pa te drži “na robu”, nabritega. Jasno ti je, da moraš dati vse od sebe.

Že veš kaj o slovenski glasbeni sceni in MENT festivalu?

Charlie: O slovenski glasbeni sceni ne vem prav veliko, sem pa slišal precej odličnih zgodb o MENTu. Slišal sem, da je zelo zabaven! Tak prijeten in prijazen festival. The Great Escape je prav tako zabaven, vendar velik in neoseben. MENT pa naj bi bil bolj intimen, tako da ja… Na Noorderslagu sem govoril s predstavnikom Drowned in Sound magazina, ki je rekel, da je to njegov najljubši showcase festival. Komaj čakam MENT!

To je zelo lepo slišati. Omenil si že, da ste poleti posneli nov EP. Kaj lahko pričakujemo od njega?

Charlie: Drži. EP je ravno v izdelavi in izdali ga bomo na isti dan kot igramo na MENTu. Vsaj mislim tako … Prvi februar, kajne? Gre za dvojni EP, 8 skladb. Izdali ga bomo na Bottom Shelf Records, ki je Noortjina novoustanovljena založba. Ravnokar jo je zaštartala in mi bomo njena prva izdaja. Mislim, da bo drugačen od tega, kar nekateri od nas pričakujejo. Menim, da smo se glasbeno precej razvili. Še vedno lahko slišiš nekaj “starega” pridiha Charlie & the lesbians, vendar smo vsekakor napredovali. Na primer, na tem EP-ju se bolje sliši moj vokal. Lažje me je razumeti. Prav tako smo ga skušali zastaviti bolj melodično. Prej nismo bili ravno dobri glasbeniki, ampak se izboljšujemo. (smeh) Mislim, da se to lahko sliši tudi na novem EP-ju. Stojim za tem izdelkom in vesel sem, kako je izpadel.

 

“Glede imena večinoma dobivamo dobre odzive. Predvsem, ko ljudje poštekajo, da je resnično.”

 

O čem so nove skladbe? Lahko deliš nekaj “insajderskih” skrivnosti?

Charlie: Lahko. Naslov EP-ja je “Paper Trail of Happiness”, kar je še kar ironično. Besedila so velikokrat o sovraštvu do samega sebe, jezi … Glasba je zame kot neke vrste ventil za sproščanje temačnih občutkov, tako da ja, to je to. Pol EP-ja so skladbe, ki smo jih že kdaj igrali v živo, druga polovica pa so čisto novi komadi. Predvsem nov material je še temačnejši …

So tudi koncerti postali temačnejši in bolj divji?

Charlie: Koncerti so drugačni, ampak ne super divji. Nedvomno pa so postali temačnejši, ja. Na MENTu bomo igrali set z novimi komadi. Mislim, da lahko z manj podivjanimi koncerti včasih dosežeš celo več. Ampak je težko. Se trudim. Tudi nastopi se spreminjajo. Vsak je drugačen.

Lahko bi rekli, da je vaše ime drzno, direktno, za nekatere morda celo provokativno. Ga ljudje večkrat komentirajo?

Charlie: Glede imena večinoma dobivamo dobre odzive. Predvsem, ko ljudje poštekajo, da je resnično. Je, kar je … Nikoli pa ni bilo mišljeno kot politično ali karkoli podobnega. Pač, imamo to ime in imamo lezbijke. (smeh) Izjava stoji sama zase. Ne skrivamo je, ni pa mišljena kot politična poteza. Ljudje večinoma mislijo, da je zabavno in kul ime, potem pa kdaj povprašajo, od kod izvira. Mislim, da samo ime tudi nekoliko izstopa. Ko ga vidiš na festivalskem programu, boš verjetno želel čekirati ta bend. To je dobro, ane? Gre v našo korist. No, včasih… Nismo nek politični punk bend, smo pa za širjenje zavesti o LGBTQ skupnosti.

Ko sva se junija pogovarjala, sem te vprašala, kaj zate pomeni “punk”. Se spomniš, kaj si odgovoril?

Charlie: Ne zares. (smeh)

Kaj bi bil zdaj tvoj odgovor?

Charlie: Punk pomeni početi, kar želiš in se ne obremenjevati z ničemer drugim. Mislim pa, da je punk pogosto napačno razumljen. Mi recimo nismo nujno punk bend v tradicionalnem smislu. Pač, v smislu žanra. Predvsem z novim EP-jem se odmikamo od tega. No, za koncerte lahko še vedno rečeš, da so bolj punk, ampak to je morda samo 20 % celotne slike.

O zapomljivih koncertih sva že govorila, kaj pa najbolj zapomljiv intervju do zdaj?

Charlie: Ha, enkrat sva si z izpraševalko po enem intervjuju naredila ujemajoče tatuje.

Wow! Kako se je pa to zgodilo?

Charlie: Dobila sva se za intervju, ki je šel precej dobro. Bil je zabaven, tekel je zelo organsko, sproščeno … To se ne zgodi tako pogosto. V mestu je bil poseben kulturni dan in po raznih lokacijah so se odvijali različni dogodki. Po intervjuju sva tako šla na koncerte, ki jih je v Kapitaalu organiziral odlični ženski kolektiv Mondays, ki tudi sicer prireja različne dogodke v Utrechtu. No, spili smo nekaj piv in bili okoli treh popoldne že malo pod vplivom, saj je bilo zelo vroče. Na eventu je bil tudi tetover. Izpraševalka si je želela nov tatu, nato pa je eden od naju predlagal, da bi si lahko naredila enak tatu. Šla sva na “fuck it” in se tetovirala. Tatu je na mojih prsih, tako da ga lahko vidite od blizu na naših koncertih.

 


Photo: Jostijn Ligtvoet

 

Part 1: 3 June 2018 @ ‘t Hoogt, Utrecht, Nizozemska

So, Charlie, how did Charlie & the lesbians come to life?

Charlie: Soesja, the drummer, is my sister. She is in a relationship with our bass player Noortje. She played in bands before and Soesja just started drumming. They wanted to start a band and they just asked me if I wanted to sing in it. I said okay, even though I never really sang in front of anyone before.

When was that?

Charlie: I think 3 years ago? Or something? It sounded really really awful when we first started playing together. Like REALLY awful! Then Mees, the guitarist, just crashed our rehearsal once. I didn’t know him before, now we’re best friends. But when Mees joined we already had the name. We all thought it was cool, so we decided to keep it without Mees being specifically mentioned.

Your songs are quite dark and they sound angry. Are they?

Charlie: Yeah, they kinda are.

How do you write your songs?

Charlie: Mostly in the shower.

Does showering make you angry?

Charlie: Haha, no, but this is where I don’t think. Instead, I just let the songs come up. I then run out of the shower and put them in my phone. At least that’s the case most of the time. It’s mostly just a couple of lyrics, like half of them maybe… Then when the whole band is together at the practice, I finish them. But I’m not angry when I write them, although they do have anger in them.

 

“I don’t know if I wanna be 50 and shirtless.”

 

I first met you at Van Onderen in Paradiso at the beginning of 2017. I remember you wore this button-up shirt and an elegant hat… You just seemed like a very normal, shy guy who somehow wandered into the Dutch underground scene for his social research project or something. But you also looked very familiar and I wasn’t sure where I could had known you from. I think I even told you that. Then, a few hours later (note: Van Onderen was a 24 hour party/festival with almost 100 Dutch underground bands), I come back to the basement to see this weird punk band Charlie & the lesbians and I see you without your shirt on, microphone cable wrapped around your neck, screaming into the audience with raging eyes. So there you go… There I realized where I had known you from. Your wild shirtless performances are becoming quite iconic… Sorry for the strange question, but do you ever perform with a shirt on?

Charlie: (laughs) No.

How did that even come about?

Charlie: I don’t really know. The first couple of shows we ever did I had a shirt on, I guess, then we switch to this really big fur coat, but it was too big and too hot. I usually managed to do two songs in it, then I took it off. Now it’s just like why bother putting a coat on if I’m gonna take it off anyway?! It’s a thing now. It would be weird if I put on a shirt for our next show.

People might think there’s something wrong with you…

Charlie: Yeah! I just can’t do it anymore. Even when I’m 50 and, if we’re still performing, I’ll just have to do it without a shirt. Like Iggy Pop! (laughs) It’s kind of fucked up… I don’t know if I wanna be 50 and shirtless.

 

“Not everyone likes being screamed at in their face.”

 

There is definitely something special about your performances. They are very energetic and wild. Do you see on-stage Charlie as a character, a persona that you’re building or does it come completely naturally?

Charlie: Amm, I think it’s both. Our first show ever I went head-on. I went all out. It was basically what I’m doing now. So it’s like… I don’t know. It just happens when I go on stage. I can’t not do it. But it’s kind of a persona, too. It grows as the band evolves. It became something different over the years. I wouldn’t say it’s really a persona yet, but I’m naturally developing it.

What kind of reactions do you usually get to your raging approaches?

Charlie: We usually get good reactions after the shows, but people are sometimes kinda scared, I think? Not everyone likes being screamed at in their face. (laughs) But yeah, I get it… Maybe I wouldn’t like it either. It’s really fucking uncomfortable. And I know that I’m doing it, but I like doing it. It’s so great to do it. I feel like I can do anything when I’m on stage! And that’s nice. Teasing people, making them uncomfortable, testing their boundaries… It’s a fun thing to do.

Are there any particular venues, festivals or cities that you would really want to play?

Charlie: Le Guess Who. Best Kept Secret would be nice, because it’s basically in my hometown. SXSW would be sick.

You just mentioned two bigger Dutch festivals. Could you also name a few Dutch bands that you particularly like or think we should definitely check out?

Charlie: Yeah, like… Ammm, we get this question a lot and I don’t want to say the same bands that everybody mentions. Bands that I like a lot in Holland are The Lumes, Sweet Release Of Death, Naive Set. They’re not that loud, but I like them.

What about the punk scene?

Charlie: It’s alright… The punk scene in the Netherlands isn’t that big. The audience likes garage stuff more. There also aren’t that many “real” punk bands. I wouldn’t necessarily say we’re a REAL punk band either.

What do you mean by “the real punk”? What would you say that “punk” even means nowadays?

Charlie: Like… Doing what you want. Doing your own thing and fuck everything else. You don’t have to have a mohawk or blue hair… You can be bold. (laugh)

 

Part 2: 16 November 2018 @ WORM, Rotterdam, Nizozemska

We haven’t seen each other since June… How was your summer?

Charlie: June? Oh, that’s a long time ago. Yeah, summer was really good. I sailed and partied and went on holidays. Me and my friends named it “a golden summer”.

And how was this summer for Charlie & the lesbians?

Charlie: Also good. There wasn’t that much going on, except recording a new EP, finalizing some songs and writing a few new ones.

Oh, but that sounds like quite a lot! You also played some summer festivals, didn’t you? And some quite bigger ones here in the Netherlands. What was the most memorable show of the summer?

Charlie: Yeah, that as well. I think Volkhof festival was especially good. I really enjoyed playing there. It was a bit weird show for us, because it was at a big outside stage and we’re not really used to that. The most memorable show, though, was probably our first ever show in Germany. No one knew us at that festival, but the crowd was very enthusiastic. The response was amazing!

This was only your second time playing outside of Holland, right?

Charlie: I think so, yeah…

However, you already played at three showcase festivals, is that correct? So MENT Ljubljana is going to be your forth?

Charlie: Yeah? I think it’s going to be the third. We did Eurosonic Noorderslag and The Great Escape in the UK. Oh, right, almost forgot about Left of the Dial here in Rotterdam. Yeah, so MENT will be the forth. Wow, haha!

Does playing showcase festivals feel any different for you than playing regular festivals?

Charlie: Yeah, absolutely. When you play at the showcase festival you kinda feel like there are a lot of people from the music industry, not just regular people looking for a good night out. It kinda feels more serious. In some way, it can be less fun to play showcases, but it also keeps you sharp and on edge. You know you gotta play your fucking best.

 

“We weren’t really that good musicians before, but we keep getting better.”

 

Do you know anything about Slovenian music scene and MENT Ljubljana?

Charlie: I don’t really know a lot about Slovenian music scene, but I heard some great stories about MENT. They told me it’s really fun! Kinda cosy and friendly. The Great Escape is also fun, but big and not very intimate. But MENT is supposed to be more intimate, so yeah… I actually talked to the guy from Drowned in Sound magazine at Noorderslag and he said it’s his favorite showcase festival. I’m very excited for it!

Really happy to hear that! You mentioned you also recorded a new EP during this summer. What can we expect from it?

Charlie: Yeah. The EP is now being pressed and it is going to come out on the day we play MENT. I think… The 1st of February, right? It’s a double EP, 8 tracks. We’re releasing it on Bottom Shelf Records, which is Noortje’s new label. She just started it and we’ll be her first release. It’s really exciting. I think it’s gonna be different for what people expect from us. I think we evolved a lot musically. There is still some “old” Charlie & the lesbians stuff, but we definitely evolved. For example, you will now be able to understand me better. We’re also trying to make it a little bit more song-based. We weren’t really that good musicians before, but we keep getting better. (laughs) I think you can hear it on this EP. I’m really standing behind it and I’m happy with how it worked out.

 

“We mostly get good reactions regarding our name. Especially when people realize it’s true.”

 

What are the new songs about? Can you share some insights with us?

Charlie: Yeah… The EP is going to be called “Paper Trail of Happiness”. It’s kind of an ironic title… The lyrics are often about self-hate, anger… Music is like an outlet for me to put my dark emotions out, so yeah, there you have it… Half of the EP are the songs that we already played live before and the other half of the songs is brand new. Especially the new ones might feel even darker…

Have concerts gotten darker and crazier as well?

Charlie: The shows are different, but not super crazy. It has gotten darker, that’s for sure. We’ll be able to play a full set at MENT. I think by trying to do less on stage, you can sometimes achieve more. But it’s hard. I’m trying, though. I think the shows are also evolving over the years. Every show is a bit different.

Some might say that your name is edgy, straight-forward or even a bit provocative. Do people often comment on it?

Charlie: We mostly get good reactions regarding our name. Especially when people realize it’s true. It just is what it is! It was never meant to be political or anything. Like, we have the name and we have the lesbians. (laughs) The statement is there itself. We don’t hide it, but it was never meant to be a political thing. A lot of people just think it’s a funny and cool name, then they ask about it. I also think the name kinda stands out. When you see it on the festival programme, you probably want to check it out. So that’s good, right? It kinda works in a favor. Well, sometimes… We’re not a political punk band, though, but we do want to raise awareness about the LGBTQ community, sure.

When we met for the interview in June, I asked you want does “punk” mean to you. Do you remember what you said?

Charlie: Not really. (laughs)

How would you describe it now?

Charlie: Punk means doing what you want and not caring about anything else. And I do think that punk is often misconceived. We’re not necessarily a punk band in the traditional sense. You know, like genre-wise or something. Especially with the new EP, I don’t see us as a punk band. Well, the shows can be regarded as punk, but that’s maybe 20 % of the whole picture.

Well, I already asked you about the most memorable shows, what about the most memorable interview you’ve had so far?

Charlie: Ha, getting a matching tattoo with the interviewer!

Wow! How did that happen?

Charlie: We met up for an interview, which went pretty well. It was fun and it felt very organic, relaxed… And that doesn’t happen that often. There was a cultural day in the city, so we went to see some shows after the interview. A great Utrecht-based female collective called Mondays, that also organizes a concert cycle there, was putting on concerts at the place called Kapitaal. We had some beers and got a bit drunk around 3 pm, because it was also very hot. There happened to be a tattoo artist with some special offers in the building that day. The interviewer wanted to get a tattoo and then one of us suggested: “Shall we get matching tattoos?”, so we did. We just thought “fuck it”. I have it on my chest, so you’re able to see it up-close at our shows.

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Bandcamp: https://charlieandthelesbians.bandcamp.com/

 

Zaslišala: Eva Kristina Filipčič