The Negative Nancys are a punk rock band with a great raw sound that echoes with a powerful energetic vibe that will charge your soul. You will feel the intense energy of this band from the onset as they are a full fledged power house punk rock band out of Las Vegas.
The band includes Kate, Kelley, Penelope and Eva who deliver a rebellious sound and attitude with infectious punk rock that will hook you.
The band released Sorry, Not Sorry on Squidhat Records in 2016 featuring 10 excellent originals of high energy music with their own style and inf your face attitude.
What inspired the band the Negative Nancys?
Kate’s swept wing guitar. In actuality a desire to make awesome, melodic
music that people (men and women) could sing along to while only getting
mildly embarrassed through spelling out the word C-U-N-T. The name comes
from constantly being told by people to smile because it makes you
prettier, like that is our main goal in life.
What do you hope to achieve with this band?
World domination. Or free diet coke. Whichever comes first.
What has been your biggest accomplishment?
A serious answer? Pressing a vinyl record. Forget diamonds, LPs are
forever. Also, playing Punk Rock Bowling last year and playing at Penn’s
mansion.
What might people overlook about your band? About all female bands?
That we can play our instruments well. It’s like going into guitar center
and being ignored – they cater to dudes, because they assume that’s who
the repeat customer is going to be. A lot of people assume men are better
at playing their instruments…because of their gender.. and that’s
ridiculous. Skill is developed through practice. Anyone, regardless of
gender, can put in the effort.
What inspires your writing and your music? Emotional tension derived
from movies primarily. Also, observations from the world we are forced to
live in. We like to people watch.
What do you have in the works at this time? “New
songs and hopefully lots of shows, with a focus on playing outside of
Vegas. Also, we have a new bass player, Shannon. She is super rad and we
are beyond excited to have her in the band with us. It is going to be an
awesome year!”
What can you describe about being from Las Vegas and your style of
music from there? (Kelley)”As someone who grew up in Las Vegas, I would
say that we tap into the local sound primarily through sarcastic lyrics.
We’re not polished, we’re raw like almonds that have the potential to make
you sick but also taste freakin awesome. We fit into the punk/grunge
scene primarily, although I think we could easily play other venues.”
(Kate) “I have lived in Vegas for almost 9 years now. I had been in a lot
of bands before in other cities. I mostly played harder punk, more street
punk and crust type punk before moving to Vegas. Something happened when I moved here, maybe age and maturity, but I stopped being so angry and so concerned with having a gigantic mohawk. I just wanted to write fun music that people could enjoy. Being in XGFE really was the catalyst that
changed how I wrote songs and also gave me the confidence to sing and not
care about how others viewed what I was doing anymore. Vegas helped me be comfortable with myself and who I am.”
What is different about the scene?
(Kelley) “There are literally too many things going on at the same time that
divide the local crowd – even within genre’s.”
(Eva) “Even with this being said, it’s one of the few places that really
caters to and nourishes the punk community… Which a lot of people who
don’t live in Vegas wouldn’t know. There’s way more to the scene than
cover bands on the Strip. We’ve honestly never seen a punk community like
LV in any other city we’ve played.”
(Kate) “The Vegas scene is also very supportive of female musicians, which
you do not see everywhere, and you do not see in a lot of punk scenes.
Growing up making zines in the early 90’s and being a huge fan of riot
girl music, I had always had a dream of being in an all girl band. It was
always a struggle to find women to be in bands with who would take it
seriously or who knew how to play an instrument. It was so frustrating for
me in other cities. Other places I lived, a lot of the girls would rather
date the guy in the band than be in the band themselves, which I never
understood. Vegas is awesome because there are so many talented female
musicians that live here. It is very inspiring.”
What can people expect from a live performance?
“Sweet guitars and Kate’s striped stockings.”
What kind of attitude do you bring to your music? to your performance?
“Honest sass. Some of the things might sound mean, but the message is
relate-able.”
What do you credit for being around this long in the music scene and
business? “What does it take? We’re not that long lived, but in reality –
willingness and commitment. You just have to get out there and do what you want to do, even if people don’t like you, support you get what you are
doing, or laugh. Life is too short to be a spectator.”
Advice to other bands to overcome and stay together? what is your
secret? “Maturity. No drugs. Fun. We are not trying to “make it.” This
is for fun.”
How would you describe your band, your music and why people need to see you? ” Ra-ra-riot punk. We don’t take ourselves cereal and can be a good time.”
Do you consider yourselves feminists or female empowered? How?
(Kelley ) “I’m not a feminist, I am a person. I try not to see differences
between people and think that everyone should advocate for themselves.”
(Eva) “I’m definitely a feminist, but I think the biggest struggle is to be
seen as a band – rather than a girl band. When we get reviewed on our
outfits rather than our performance, we have to acknowledge there’s still
work to do… And I hope our visibility may help to break that mold.”
(Kate) “I am an advocate of women’s rights for sure, but am more of a
human rights advocate…or rights of all living sentient beings. To be
honest, I’m more of an animal rights advocate than anything else. I have
learned to pick my battles and that I can’t bear the weight of all that
is wrong in the world alone. However, nothing pisses me off more than
women who hate other women, or women who can’t stand to share the
spotlight with other women. It is not productive. I have met plenty of
women who will not be in bands with other women because of this. I just do not get it. Fuck that noise.”
“Lick you left index finger. Place it in the wind. If the wind blows
right you should head to the double down on every Friday night and wait
for us to play there. Usually with in a month you’ll be served. Or go to
squidhatrecords.om and buy our stuff!”
https://squidhat.bandcamp.com/album/sorry-not-sorry
