By Andrew Bansal
Originating from Crete, Greece but calling Los Angeles home for the best part of the last five years, Barb Wire Dolls have emerged as the new voice of real punk rock, displaying a strong element of attitude that goes hand in hand with any compelling representation of the genre. After playing hundreds of shows all over the world and frequenting the Los Angeles/Orange Country club circuit, Barb Wire Dolls have returned to the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood for a month-long takeover of the Whisky-A-Go-Go this March. Playing shows that are open to attendees of all ages and free of cost to anyone aged 21 and over every Monday night, Barb Wire Dolls have already proved in the first two weeks that they have what it takes to conquer the city’s cutthroat scene. Last night, on March 9th, I sat down with the band’s founders, singer Isis Queen and guitarist Pyn Doll, for an interview a few hours before they took the stage for a performance that trumped that of the first week and attracted a larger turnout at the club. Enjoy the conversation below and if you reside in or anywhere near LA, do yourselves a service and see one or both of Barb Wire Dolls’ remaining Whisky shows.
This is the second week of your residency here at the Whisky. How’s it going? What did you think of last week and how are you feeling so far?
Isis Queen: I think that we’ve had a really great outcome with these shows and people are really feeling a great vibe for them because the shows are for the people. The shows are meant so that people can have a reason to come out and enjoy themselves with a bunch of great bands that are real and authentic, and do represent the LA scene. So, these are great shows, they’re fun, and all the bands we’ve chosen to be on these bills really support each other, which is what it’s all about, rock through unity.
So, you guys have actually chosen these bands, and it’s not the venue or anybody else.
IQ: No, these really are Barb Wire Dolls shows (laughs). But the Whisky has been extremely accommodating to us. They really feel the energy that is behind these shows. This place is alive again, and that’s because there’s some authenticity in it, still. We give super props to the Whisky for seeing our vision and being part of it.
Pyn Doll: The Sunset Strip was the place to be, at some point in the 60s, 70s and late 80s, and then it kind of had a little change of guard. The Whisky pretty much started this up because they felt that we were the band to bring back the scene of the glory days. It’s something new, it’s kind of like a punk vibe. This is it. The whole world is watching. Now because of social media, everyone is seeing everything. So, it’s pretty amazing that we’re kicking ass at the Whisky, the most legendary rock club in the world.
You’ve done residencies before, at the Viper Room, On The Rox, the Doll Hut and places like that around here. What is different about residencies as compared to playing any other shows? Obviously there’s a better chance for you to build up something over the course of four weeks or whatever the time period may be.
IQ: The word definitely gets out a lot more, and you’ve got an X amount of time for that word to really reach a lot of people. And it’s easy, as people can’t really forget about a residency as opposed to one show. So that’s the great thing about residencies. We’re doing these to build something up. We’re all in music to be a part of music. It’s not just a one-man show, and that’s the vibe that goes on here.
But I think on the other hand, there’s also the challenge of delivering something new and different every week, because some people, like myself, are coming back to see you again week after week.
PD: That’s why we get to choose and put on different bands on every show, because there’s a different energy and people really see new bands. We do also change up our show sometimes, depending on the night. But the great thing is that it creates a movement, an energy, and it’s on a Monday which is usually an off-night. The Strip is closed on Mondays. The Roxy right now is closed, the Viper Room is closed, but the Whisky is going to be packed tonight. So, it’s a great thing.
Exactly. So, you’ve done shows all over the world in a lot of countries, but I think LA is such a different animal. Do you still feel that there’s a need for you to conquer it, because there’s so much going on here?
IQ: LA has a great energy to it, and it’s very creative energy. Yeah, we have done more than 650 shows in less than four years in 24 countries, and they are all great and unique in their own way, but LA has that vibe, it has that history, and it’s got that energy about it. It’s our second home!
I’ve seen over the last couple of weeks or so, that you’ve been using an old-school way of promoting, by flyering first-hand on the Strip. It has worked well for you because these shows are bringing people. You’re proving that this kind of method still works and it’s needed.
PD: It definitely works, and we keep thinking that we’re going to run into a band passing out flyers on the Sunset Strip and we’re going to get into a fight for territory (laughs). But yeah, I don’t know why people think that if they make just one event on facebook, it’s done. That’s why we put all the bands that play with us and we call it ‘Rock For Unity’ where we hyperlink each other continuously. We have Playground Circus playing with us, and they’ve been going up in number of facebook likes non-stop because we’re all sharing and helping each other out in unity, instead of just having us playing one show, not knowing who the other bands are, and never mentioning anything else. The way we do it, the crowd doesn’t come in to see one band and then leave. Our crowd here at the Whisky comes in early and stays the whole night till the end, because it’s a whole punk rock fest every night.
Absolutely. And you originated from Greece, but the interesting thing is that your sound and your show is very LA punk. Is there something still Greek about your band in any way, musically or otherwise?
IQ: Everything we do, we do it with 100 per cent passion, and I think that’s where the Greek vibe comes in, for sure (laughs). But you know, we are very influenced by the LA punk scene and a lot of bands that came out of here. The Germs, The Bags and X are some of our top favorite bands of all time. It’s the energy that attracts us. You can’t really explain it in words. But everything about us is Greek (laughs), because may be none of this would have happened if we didn’t have the drive and the passion to do it.
PD: And I think because of the crisis in Greece, we had no opportunities there, and they always say that during crisis and hard times is when great art comes out. Whatever we’re doing is what we want to be doing, but it’s out of necessity too, because we would not have come here if the crisis wouldn’t have happened in Greece. We would have done just Europe if we did anything. But LA gave us that opportunity because LA might be in a musical crisis but people are still going out to shows, looking for something good, real and authentic. We’re giving them something that kicks their ass.
Right, and talking of the music, you’ve had two full-length albums and one EP released over the past five years. What else is in the works? Is there a new album coming out?
PD: Yeah, we just finished recording our album in Sonic Ranch, one of the world’s best studios in Texas. It’s done, it’s ready to go, and all we’re doing now is talking to a bunch of record labels that want to put it out. Once we sign this deal it’s going to be for ten years, so we’ve got to make sure that we have the right label put it out, but we’ll probably sign a deal real soon, because the offers are pretty good. As a D.I.Y. band we’ve done very well on our own but it’s time to get the music out where it belongs. And as far as new material goes, we’re constantly writing songs. I wrote a song last night. May be you’ll hear it next week!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mroUk4wwChk
Awesome. Well, your show as I saw last week is as much about the attitude as it is about the music itself. Aside from the LA punk legends that you mentioned earlier, what inspires you to bring that attitude?
IQ: I think the whole key to punk rock is just being yourself, and by being yourself you bring the attitude to the table. I don’t know what goes on, because I’m not viewing the scenario that goes on stage. I’m just part of it. The reason we’re having fun is we’re being ourselves and letting the music speak for itself.
Where do you see punk going? So much of it is being dominated nowadays by pop punk and all these other varieties of punk. Old-school punk is somewhat missing. What do you think?
PD: I personally think that punk died when Sid Vicious died, and I’ve pretty much not gotten into any punk bands since ’78, but there’s been some great stuff that’s come out. Obviously a new scene came out of Orange County and some of those things like The Offsprings and stuff is cool, it’s punk. Punk is like art and love. It’s huge. But we started this band because we were bored and disgusted with the punk scene of the world, and we were tired of seeing a lot of bands that were great in the day, come out and put on half-assed shows. That’s not right. I mean, we’re happy you’re playing again, but if you’re not as great as you were back then, make some money somewhere else because you have a legend to keep up your name. So, we really wanted to come in and just change things, because we got bored. We want some hard rock, we want some serious music. Because we play this type of music we get labeled ‘punk’, but we like everything. We’re Zeppelin and AC/DC fanatics, and love Sabbath and Beatles. May be it doesn’t come out in the music, but music is music. When it’s good, it’s good and it grows on its own.
That brings me to the last question. I think there’s a crossover between what you do and heavy metal, and that’s the whole reasom why your band interests me. Do you feel that, and have you played with metal bands in Europe or elsewhere?
IQ: Yeah, Barb Wire Dolls has headlined a bunch of metal festivals, surprisingly. But they love it. Metal is about bringing it to the stage and showing what you’ve got, and punk rock has the same kind of idea. Let’s take Guns ‘N Roses for example. They were a punk band and then they got labeled ‘hard rock’ or ‘hair metal’. But they were into the whole punk scene. Labels come in and just mess everything up (laughs). So, we don’t reallly care for labels too much. If you’ve got it, you’ve got it and you have to show it off.
PD: Someone like Mille Petrozza of Kreator has come to our shows in Europe. He wears our t-shirt all over the world. He headlined Wacken festival and wore our t-shirt, and he just wrote to us the other day. He loves our band and he thinks our album is one of the top three releases of the year. His list has a lot of metal bands because he’s around that scene, but obviously if someone like that who’s from a legendary thrash metal band gets into our band, it’s got to be about the music. It’s not about Isis’ looks or something, because a lot of people out there are blonde, or girls. So, I think that people that have an open mind and have appreciated original music that’s authentic, they’ll discover it. You need new music. No one said it better than Mick Jones from The Clash when he said, “There just has to be new bands”. And I second that.
Related – Gig Review: Barb Wire Dolls Begin Month-Long Monday Residency At The Whisky
Barb Wire Dolls links: website | facebook | twitter | instagram
Remaining residency shows at the Whisky: 03/16 & 03/23