The thing about Her Campus is that we want to be diverse and we want to share things that reach all types of readers. Comic books and rock music (of all different branches of rock), are a totally normal and comfortable thing for me, but for some of you it’s just a waste of money and noise. To that I add, yeah, rock n’ roll is noise. It’s angry and it’s loud. It shouts and feels no remorse or regret. It’s blunt and it always has a rebellious mission, whether it’s against society, your parents, the government, homophobia, sexism, racism, hate, and sometimes even yourself. I’ve made rock music my security blanket, my canvass, my blank page, my means of expression and my therapy, because yeah, I’m a pretty messed up person. But I love the music, because it allows and encourages me to feel when it seems like I just can’t.
“Little Insane”
One of my favorite things within the genre is that it has so many different branches. I found out about Kerosene Queen earlier this year, I was curious about this UK based band because they are a part of the riot grrrl scene (a feminist punk rock scene/musical genre).
(From Left to Right: Lexi, Bassist; Benji, Drummer; Charly, Vocalist; and Becky, Guitarist)
I had started following the bassist, Lexi Wright, on twitter and she began to share her art and music with me (both of which I am a huge fan of). I was instantly taken aback by the leading vocals on the tracks she shared with me because they were astronomical and high pitched and reached and reached until they hit heights that would probably give me vertigo. My first thought was “Oh shit, female fronted band. Rad vocals! I’m in.” And I was, I so was. The next thing to do was to submit it to the head banging test, needless to say that it passed. Then I remembered that I write for an online magazine, one that shares rad things with rad, open minded people. So I asked if they’d like to be interviewed and I was lucky enough to get to do so. Here’s what they said!
Kerosene Queen:
About the Band!
-How would you describe the music?
- Kerosene Queen always produces music with a point, you’ll either feel offended (if you do, you should ask yourself why?) or empowered (that’s the point!).
-How did Kerosene Queen start and what has the journey been like?
- Charly started Kerosene Queen in 2011 I believe, and there were many line-up changes until myself (Lexi), & Becky joined in 2013. I am very proud to be a part of this band, I remember hearing ‘Going Down’ for the first time and thinking “Holy shit, I want to be in this band”. The journey so far has been eye opening, confidence building, stressful at times because of the amount of work we’ve had going on all at the same time, but so worth it and I think it’s only going to get better. All our hard work seems to be progressing us further slowly, but surely.
-What’s it like being in the band?
- The atmosphere within the band is very comfortable, and encouraging because you get this sense of knowing these people are going to have your back should you need them too; we talk about everything, sleep at each others houses, eat each others food, travel together, make sure the other is okay etc. It’s like having another little family. The scene…for the most part you’re welcomed with open arms, and so far we’ve been lucky enough to be very well received at shows.
-What’s your favorite song so far, and are you guys working on new music?
- It’s somewhere between “Going Down” & “Out of Control” (unreleased at the moment!) and yes! We’re pretty much always in the middle of writing something new.
-In terms of lyrics, how do you guys go about writing a song? Is it a group effort or more of a one person thing?
- We all write our own parts, come together, play it and that’s when we sit and go ‘Hey, maybe you could try this in that section?’ So it’s kind of a mix, I suppose. But the final product that you hear is what has come together from group effort.
-What kind of feelings do the lyrics usually evoke from the audience?
- Most people who plan to come to our shows know what kind of band we are, what we believe in and what we stand for – I think we usually leave people feeling worked up and ready to take on the world (Lexi laughs). I’ve heard our music be described as “feeling like you’ve been smacked in the face with a mallet, in a great way!” (Lexi laughs again).
-Plan to travel or tour outside of the UK soon?
- Not anytime soon. We need more people to buy our album that’s due out in summer, because we really can’t fund a tour outside of the UK right now; which is a massive shame!
-What does the future hold in store for the band?
- Our album is due to be released in Summer along with our first music video which is super exciting! And hopefully everybody buys our shit, and we can go on a mega tour everywhere! ha!
You can follow the band and their adventure on their facebook, twitter, instagram, and check out their music on the Kerosene Queen site. Enjoy!
“Out of Control”