Interview with Pussy Stench
Rezine: what's new with Pussy Stench?
Pussy Stench: We have been taking this post-EP period to work on writing as much as we can, practicing and making merch as well. The recording process made us more serious as a band, and we are looking forward to sharing it and bringing it to life in the near future. The process also made us a lot closer as friends and has sparked a new creative flow that we are all excited about.
Rezine:You have a new EP out how do you describe it?
Pussy Stench: We would describe it as an ode to dicks, vaginas, satan and drugs. We, as a band, decided to mix the sincerity of our music with the absurdity of life. We think the EP demonstrates our drive for freedom of expression and simply not giving a fuck what people think of it. The album isn’t about girl power or female empowerment it’s about empowerment in general; being confident in doing what you’re doing and saying what you have to say. (Do what I want, say what I want!) Musically, we would describe it as a brew consisting of a base of punk, a topping of grunge, a sprinkle of blues and some doom/black/stoner metal melted on top.
Rezine: What were your musical influences for this EP?
Pussy Stench: We all come from different musical backgrounds which was interesting when starting the band and discovering our sound, seeing as we all had an intense appreciation for different styles. Our drummer grew up with a passion for the blues and has definitely brought that to the table. On the other hand, his band Cuntagious, local mischievous punks, really inspired us to just go ahead and start a band, and have that not giving a fuck, old school vibe. Vocally, we were inspired by a mix of the Riot Grrrl movement (Hole, Babes in Toyland, Bikini Kill etc.) as well as crust punk vocals such as Leftöver Crack and Nausea. And of course, we were inspired by the doomy grunge scene of the 90s with the likes of Nirvana, Alice in Chains and Green River. On the metal side, our bassist is a true lover of bands such as Opeth, MGLA, Agalloch and other black/death/atmospheric bands. Finally, the influence that brought all of our tastes together was the holy Black-fucking-Sabbath with their blues-inspired, satanic themes as well as dissonant melodies, and of course Tony Iommi’s mastering of riffs and Ozzy’s incredible stage presence.
Rezine: What inspired the lyrics of the songs?
Pussy Stench: We don’t write with the expectation of any good or bad reaction from the crowd, we say what we want to say for ourselves and the rest is up to the fans. We can’t really summarize the meanings of our songs, but we can go through their individual backgrounds, feelings and meanings. Starting off, Scratch is about being sick of going to local punk/metal shows every weekend and never seeing a girl band. It’s about realizing that you can change that and show people (girls and guys) what you can do if you put your mind to it. It’s also just about being unbearably angry at how little we were being taken seriously when we joined the scene. We definitely had support from some, but that was not the case with everyone. Specifically, the lyrics Little bitch don’t join the pit, ‘cause you know you’re sick of it! describe the difficulty of even being a fan as a girl at a punk or metal show, seeing as many people don’t want you to join the pit, thinking you can’t take it etc. And trust us, we have seen many girls own the fucking pit. Crack is self-explanatory, Dick is about the major competition between guys about how tough and manly they are as well as how big their dick is, because that apparently defines how much of a “man” you are. It’s about all of that social pressure and how it affects men and women equally. DIY Abortions is about taking control of your own body and giving a shoutout to all the women throughout time who fought for their rights and went through the many hardships in order to finally get there. Satan Is My Sugar Daddy is about the desperation of getting into drugs and seeing people get into drugs and lose themselves and their values completely. It’s about venturing to the dark side of your mind (triggered by drugs or not) and losing touch with goodness and reality. Really the song is about tipping over the edge of insanity. This path is demonstrated throughout the song as the music builds up and the vocals become more intense, screaming and tortured. However, the song is not only about the darkness but about the hope that comes after hitting rock bottom, that things can only get better from there and that we can learn from the dark parts of our mind and embrace them as well as the light.
Rezine: Do you have songs that didn't make it that we might hear later?
Pussy Stench: Oh yes. We have all the other songs from our original setlist that didn’t make it seeing as it was a low-budget EP but we plan on releasing some of them in the future. We have also been working on a few new tracks that explore some different styles. We are very excited to play them at our upcoming gigs.
Rezine: What's coming up for Pussy Stench?
Pussy Stench: We have two shows coming up this summer. Our first will be at the Death House, underground venue in... (Ask-a-punk). We are very excited to be sharing the stage with our good friends the Barrelheads, blues, punk, rock’n’roll band as well as two touring bands Piss Locusts from Peterborough and Muelkik from Ottawa. As usual for a Death House show we expect it to be quite the party, a perfect night to introduce our new music and jam out to our old tunes (may stick in a few covers for fun). This show will take place July 15th and back to back on the 16th we will be opening with our homies Depwine for our friends in Offset’s EP release. This is a show we have been awaiting for almost a year, and we cannot contain our excitement for the chaos that will be seen on stage that night. Apart from that, we are focusing on writing a new album as well as a music video, particularly for the last track of our EP Satan Is My Sugar Daddy. We have been brainstorming ideas for a while, but we think it is time now to take some action! We are also working on merch such as T-Shirts, stickers and home-made patches that will be available soon! Some of us will be exploring Europe this summer as well, and hopefully meeting new people there! Overall, we have been working hard creatively and hope to continue doing so throughout the summer as we develop as a band and as people.