NEW YORK – As the music industry evolves, it continually embraces new technological advancements, sounds, and trends. However, one issue remains persistent: the lack of female-led bands in an overwhelmingly male-dominated space. At New Colossus, a NYC-based festival dedicated to showcasing underground artists and their talents, there was a refreshing abundance of female-led bands and artists, emphasizing the need for greater representation in the industry. Of the many showcases, I had the pleasure of interviewing bands to play close attention to. 

On our first night in the big apple, we had the opportunity to interview Hotspit, the slowcore-indie rock band hailing from Richmond, VA. Despite what their name might suggest, the band masterfully crafts songs that evoke a wide range of emotions, with lead singer Avery Fogarty delivering expressive lyricism and soft yet strong, captivating vocals. The instrumentalists, Kevin Ganley (guitar), Grant Tolber (bass), and Kurt Bailey (drummer), complement Avery’s performance with an ominous melody that adds an extra layer of depth, effortlessly guiding listeners on a journey shaped by the ebb and flow of their soundwaves. 

KBVR: If you could describe the music you make in three words, what would it be?

Grant: It would be building kind of ominous sometimes; ominous-sometimes–

Kevin: visceral. 

Kurt: slowcore adjacent  

KBVR: Who was your favorite artist in middle school and do you think they’ve influenced the music you make now? 

Avery: Yes,  Flyleaf and absolutely. 

Kevin: I listened to a lot of Elliot Smith growing up. 

Kurt: I really liked the band Copeland in  middle school and I saw them do their Beneath Medicine Tree tour and their drummer on that tour was really awesome. I dont know his name but shout out to the drummer playing on their recent tour. 

Grant: I don’t feel like I was finding my own music in middle school but I feel like I liked Death Cab for Cutie, yeah that’s my answer. 

KBVR: How did you guys all meet? 

Kevin: Avery and I met at an open mic in 2017 and decided we wanted to make music. Grant helped us record our first demos and then soon after joining the band. Then Kurt joined as drums in 2021. We’ve had this line up even since. 

KBVR: Why did you pick the name Stacy in your song (Stacy)? 

Avery: Stacy is a lyric that I threw in there, there’s a lyric “If I fell down four flights of stairs, I would cut off all my hair and change my name to Stacy” I don’t really know where it came from honestly, I think the stairs and hair rhymed and I thought the change of identity was in order. I think Stacy came out of thin air. Maybe the universe knew that we would meet and you would name your car Stacy and it would become your favorite song. I think it was that. 

KBVR: The line that says “If you forgive me, I forgive you and then I never have to have to miss you”, does that have a backstory?  

Avery: Forgiveness and memory and there was a lot of rage in that song. But I don’t really write a song for it to be about one person and blank, but I was probably in a grieving state, yeah. 

KBVR: What does your songwriting process look like? I am assuming its not the same every time. 

Avery: It’s not the same every time. I like to describe it as bringing a skeleton to the room and these guys add meat and muscle. But Grant has written a couple songs for the band and we’ve collaborated on that. Kevin has thrown in some stuff for the new album, guitar rift wise. It’s been cool, the longer we work together the more comfortable we feel sharing ideas and understanding what the other person really wants. 

KBVR: Is there a story or sound that a song came out of?

Avery: The only thing I can think of is this unreleased song, not very exciting to talk about, but it’s one of our heavier songs. We needed a moment within the song to fill some space. Going to the studio for me is very stressful and I get really emotional. I just screamed the word F——————-K and it felt cathartic and nice, it fit the song very well. That’s all I can think of. 

The following night in a dark Arlene’s Grocery on Friday, March 7th, at around 7 pm, the shadowing figures enhanced by colored stage lights struck their first cord. Echoing vocals from the shadows erupted as the surrounding color framed each musician like an aura. The band playing, PANIK FLOWER, a Brooklyn-based band consisting of Sage (lead vocalist), Marco (drummer), Max (bassist), Mila (guitarist), and  Jordan (guitarist). Their sound is very reminiscent of The Cranberries circa 1993 with a Kim Gordon twist. Their performance was highlighted by velvety vocals complimented by heavy bass and guitar riffs. Really capturing the moody atmosphere of the sultry 90’s shoegaze grunge scene. 

KBVR: What’s the meaning behind PANIK FLOWER? 

Sage: PANIK FLOWER, somewhat started as a solo project that I had and I was really done doing solo music, so I was like “I really want to start a band, i dont know whats its going to be called”. My stepdad is this really quirky English guy, not like a little but really quirky, more than you can imagine– he is amazing. He took upon himself to think of band names, he was throwing out a bunch for a few months and then he was like “PANIK FLOWER”. Then I was like “What is it?” and he said “It’s a flower that blooms then suddenly it dies, look it up its a real thing.” I looked it up on google, not there, which was actually perfect because SEO is amazing.  

KBVR: What flower would PANIK the most? 

Mila: Maybe a lily, because they have that super strong scent. I feel like they are super intense when they bloom, and then they have this super– Actually I just realized I don’t know enough about flowers. That’s also the first one that came to mind, I think it works. 

Jordan: I have one. A really strong sativa because if you imbibe in the flower of a very strong sativa you might just panic and I’m now just realizing that our band kinda sounds like a strain of weed. One day we will have our own strain. 

KBVR: In three words, how would you describe your band? 

Max: We use that phrase dream gaze, lot of contradictions, sharp edges blended together, controlled chaos. 

Sage: Yeah I think controlled chaos is something that has been in conversation for us or just how we think about music and arrangements.

KBVR: Your new single “ocd” touches on being addicted to social media, how do you guys get away from everything? How do you separate yourselves when you need to?

Mila: That’s the million dollar question, I feel like. 

Sage: I just got a puppy and she’s been keeping me off social media. But I feel like writing, music, and listening to music. I feel like its really difficult and it’s becoming increasingly more difficult with everything that is going on in the world.
Mila: I feel like I was thinking about this and we had practice yesterday. Honestly practicing not just to be too coincidental because we are talking about our band but just those long stretches of not being on your phone is so amazing then I don’t know then there’s screen time limits but I always override those. It’s an ongoing struggle but yea practice and being with people helps. 

Max: I mean also we dont right? You know, it wins, but it’s also something we create. We are on tik tok and we love it, ya know. I feel like that’s what that song little bit gets into, there’s a contradiction there.  

KBVR: You touched on dream gaze briefly, but are there any artists that have influenced you or are the reason you started to make music?

Mila: I feel like we all probably have slightly different answers which I think is something that’s really cool. I feel like we have very shared common influences but then super distinct, unique influences. I feel like when I was in highschool Beach House was a huge influence for me, obviously less heavy than rock but I feel like some of the ambient rifts for me kind of come through when making music. But, I feel like in terms of sharing, I feel like we love My Bloody Valentine, Cranberries which is why when you said that, that’s the biggest compliment ever, Slowdive, Cocteau Twins. 

Jordan: I was an emo kid and I feel like now I lean towards heavier music but like all shoegaze sort of realm, there’s a band right now, Wisp, big fan. So it’s cool we kind of pull each other in different directions and land in this really cool middle spot. 

KBVR: In 2023, you released your first EP, “Dark Blue”, my favorite track is “Dilute”, is so good. So that song, can you go into that a little bit? 

Sage: That song, yes, it’s the push pull between wanting to be in something so completely but also not wanting to lose your sense of self. I feel like at the time that I wrote that, it was really a part of my life or I was a lot younger and I didn’t know who I was, I feel like it was easy to get sucked into things. I was like maybe I am losing my sense of self. 

Mila: I feel like it’s so funny because we began working on that two years ago as a group of three like you (Sage) had written it and then we were working on it as a group and it sort of evolved but for myself that song started hitting so much like last year. There’s something that just really, I don’t know, I feel like it’s so universal and for myself it was cathartic I’m realizing now, even though I didn’t even write the lyrics. 

KBVR: I heard in April you’re releasing a new EP, what makes this one different from your first?

Max: It’s a lot more of a collaborative songwriting, for example those songs (Dark Blue EP) was written by Sage before and Marco our secret weapon has been popping these bangers out left and right.  F—king crushing it. 

Marco: I can talk a little bit about it. I was alone in the city for Christmas and no one was around so I just wrote for two weeks and a couple of new songs came out of that. 

Mila: I feel like its definitely more dialed in, in terms of all these different influences, just because everyone kind of– Marco obviously bringing a lot of stuff but then flushing out more as a group earlier on. I don’t know, I feel like is a bit heavier I think than the stuff we’ve done before but still has that softness to it. I think we are definitely leaning into more of that shoegazey heavy heaviness and that’s been really cool. 

Sage: Patti Smith is like a huge influence for me personally– or I just love Patti Smith so I’ve always wanted to experiment with spoken word and that’s something that I really explored lyrically and vocally on this EP that I hadn’t done before. That was an interesting thing to explore both melodically and rhythmically. 

KBVR: What about the themes on the new EP, do they differ? 

Sage: Identity and kind of like this looking back at, but also looking forward and maybe also feeling still a little bit stuck. 

Mila: I was just gonna say that I don’t know this captures it but I feel like the last one was a lot more outwards like relationships with other people and then this one is a lot more relationship with oneself and like stuff that comes with that. It’s been really cool. It’s going inward a little bit. 

The band’s new EP is scheduled for release on April 30th, so be sure to mark your calendars or pre-save it on your favorite platform. If you’re in the mood for a dose of dream gaze infused with shoegaze influences, this is an experience you won’t want to miss!

In the wonderland-like venue of Baker Falls, the D.C.-based band Flowers For The Dead took the stage, captivating the audience with their whimsy-grunge sound. This dynamic trio features guitarist and vocalist Jessie Szegö, bassist and vocalist (and occasional cellist) Ella Bushkirk, and drummer Ricky Martinez (Ten Bears). Despite being just three members, they deliver a powerful performance that rivals that of a five-piece band, infusing an airiness into the riot-girl sound.

Playing tracks from their latest album, “Magnolia,” they built an exhilarating momentum, culminating in a closing act filled with shredding guitar riffs and booming bass lines. Songs like “Teeth” and “Ear to the Wall” embody female angst and challenge the narrative that men rock harder. The trio transcends traditional boundaries, discovering their riot-girl sound and whimsical style, creating a harmonious blend that defies the underestimation of femininity in a male-dominated musical space.

KBVR: Where did the name Flowers For The Dead come from? 

Jessie: Honestly there is no meaning, it kind of just plopped into my head, it was gifted to me by the universe. I was like “That sounds awesome”. It kind of had this dark vibe and obviously we are very dark and whimsy, that makes sense. People think it means something but it really doesn’t. It’s just spooky and dark and I was like yeah. 

Ella: Its taken on a meaning though. The way that I think of it is Flowers For The Dead, is ya know, something beautiful and something horrible and lost. Resilience. 

KBVR: What artists have inspired your band the most? 

Jessie: The core bands that all three of us overlap, because we have a lot of influences individually, but that we all like 90’s stuff. We are all into The Breeders, actually when we first met (Jessie & Ella) we saw The Breeders together. Yeah, I think The Breeders, Sonic Youth, and PJ Harvey. I don’t know, we all have individual influences, but those are my quick three off the top of my head. 

KBVR: How did you guys meet? 

Jessie: I met Ricky through a friend, when our original drummer had left. I was like f–k I need a drummer and a mutual friend– he was in another band, playing in another band and he lived like 20 minutes from me. He actually asked for a Flowers For The Dead t-shirt before he joined the band. 

Ricky: I was a band before I joined, I guess that was our first meeting. 

Jessie: He was conspiring. But our other drummer left, and I knew him  through a mutual friend and he joined for a few shows and then we liked playing with him so much that I asked if he wanted to be in the band permanently. 

Ella: I met them through the DC scene. I am in a different band also and we played with Flowers– we actually opened for Flowers album release shows like years ago. Then– I feel like bassists ya know, so unreliable. 

Jessie: We actually grew Ella out of the ground. 

Ella: I came fully formed out of your (Jessie) head. 

KBVR: You recently released your album Magnolia, can you go into the themes within the record? 

Ella: I would say just– it’s definitely a late teens, early twenties album in my mind. Its like finding yourself, kind of like admitting that you don’t fit somewhere. Being like f–k! Oh, wait, its actually much better when I’m not here. 

Jessie: It’s like outgrowing your current environment and the people around you, your life. Being like I need to make a change and realizing maybe the people in my life and this place i am in are not good for me and my growth. 

Ella: Accepting who you are and not trying to be someone that you’re not.  

KBVR: Do you have any new things coming up that you’d like people to know? 

Jessie: So many, we have a new single coming out that we have not announced yet. Its called Tiny Beanie. 

Ella: Its kind of like a diss track I guess. 

KBVR: Oh, against who? 

Ella: Against,  I guess, misogynistic themes in hardcore, specifically. 

Jessie: It’s very aimed at hardcore, but we all love hardcore. We are from DC so we actually love hardcore but it’s been very alienating to be a woman who also does not play aggressive music in a scene full of macho aggressive hardcore bands. So we just feel very alienated in that scene. There’s been a little bit of drama, someone threw dome digs at us, so we’re going to write a song about this just for sh– and giggles. 

KBVR: How would you describe your music in three words?

Jessie: I feel like the word whimsical keeps coming up, cause we’ve got that, I dont even know, just whimsical kind of like—

Ella: I would say interlocking, between the parts, because we are all just kind of doing our own thing and it meshes together. 

Ricky: Explicit. 

KBVR: For new listeners, what track do you think they should start with first? 

Ella: “Rot.” 

Jessie: Very underrated track. 

Ella: It’s a deep cut but it’s my favorite one, so I have to say. 

Jessie: I would have to say “Two of Me.” I know it’s our most popular song but it’s the least jarring of our songs, because a lot of our songs are “Oh, that was a lot” or I don’t know, I feel like it’s the most digestible for people who are maybe new to the genre that we play. But if you’re not new to the genre, listen to any of them. 

KBVR: So, what genre do you identify yourselves as? I know it’s a hard question. 

Jessie: It is a hard question but I feel like people say that we are grunge or alternative rock. 

KBVR: But what are you, as the artist, the person who makes the music, what are you? 

Jessie: The question of our lives, I don’t know, as the umbrella term I would just say rock. 

Ella: With shoegaze elements. 

Having interviewed and attended live shows featuring three incredible bands, I can confidently say that the new wave of female-led acts in the indie rock and grunge scene is advancing the tradition of making their voices resonate and demand attention. While I will always champion the contributions of the Pacific Northwest to indie rock and alternative music, I must acknowledge that the East coast is infusing a vibrant energy that has been notably missing in recent years. 

Though it’s not a competition, if it were, the East coast scene has certainly left a lasting impression on me. I encourage you to venture beyond the familiar comforts of PNW slowcore grunge and explore the sounds emerging from this region.