Barb Wire Dolls ***New Interview***

Hailing from Greece, the Barb Wire Dolls are an awesome band to see live. They put on a great live show. They have released an EP and having taking Southern California by storm. If you wanna see a band that gets the crowds going this is it. I got the band to tell their story...

Introduce yourself…
We are the band Barb Wire Dolls originally from Greece and we are now based in Los Angeles! I front the band and my name is Isis Queen, Pyn Doll plays guitar, Voodoo Doll plays bass and Krash Doll pounds the drums.

How did the band start?
I and Pyn were living in an artist commune on the Greek island of Crete called The Ikarus where lots of other musicians were also doing residencies there.  We had parties in the courtyard every Friday night and the musicians that were there would pass the guitar around after playing a new original song that they had written that week.  We had all five members of the band Grouplove there who are now touring the world, we had musicians from London, Nashville, and so on.  Even members of Flogging Molly came to the village of Avdou where the artist commune is and jammed with us.  During this time I hadn't started singing yet and I was singing along with Pyn's songs that he was doing with his own band, and one day he asked me if I wanted to start a band together.  I said "yes" immediately and he wrote some songs and I learned them.  My very first public performance was singing to some Flogging Molly members.  It was scary at first but thrilling because I finally found a voice for my aggression that had been building up for so many years inside me.  I could finally yell and let it out.

How did you come up with the name?
Pyn came up with the name because he said I looked and acted like a punk rock bad Barbie doll type and he thought he would cross Pamela Anderson's movie "Barb Wire" for my love of glamour and fashion and the "Dolls" part for his love of the New York Dolls. Of course it doesn't hurt that there is also a porn movie with almost the same name out there from the '70's. Sex is good... remember that!

Who would you say are your influences?
The bands that really move us are the bands that came out of the early Punk and New Wave scenes back in the day, from New York City's CBGB's, London's 100 Club and King's Street, to the L.A. scene from the Whiskey A Go-Go to The Masque.  Bands like The Ramones, Blondie, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Generation X, The Slits, The Germs, X, Go-Gos, and lots of pioneers like The Stooges, New York Dolls, and lots and lots of AC/DC.  There is also a lot of bands that inspire us in other ways, like the D.I.Y. ethic of Black Flag, the coolness of The Gun Club, and even early U2 with their live show epicness.  So many bands influence us on a daily basis too, sometimes we draw from a local band we just played with and our new songs reflect that.

What is the punk scene like in the Greece?
There are some great bands like Mighty Shakers, Middle Fingers High, Xipoliti Stratia, Vodka Juniors, Mahakala, and Despite Everything, but the punk scene in Greece is not like it is here at all.  Being a punk there really means that you are an anarchist first and foremost and you are against all authority.  Its not about the music really, its only about anarchy it seems.  Greece loves to riot but somewhere along the line, they forgot what the power of music and message can also do.  I am all for going against the "man", and reclaiming what's ours, but here in L.A. the bands have a unity about them.  They actually seem to want to create a future that is better, not just tear down society and live in struggle forever.  They want to live their dreams and use music as a messenger to the people.  That is why we really dig the scene here, everyone supports each other and the people also support the bands big time. L.A. really has a historic punk scene with legendary bands, and with the new punk revolution coming out of L.A. and the O.C., it's probably the biggest scene in the world right now I imagine. We saw the movie "Decline Of Western Civilization" and we just kept dreaming about being in L.A. and being around such punk history.  And it still amazes me that we are actually here and meeting a lot of these historic punks from back in the day.  We are playing some shows with the bassist of Black Flag and also supporting D.I., played with Joe Wood of TSOL, Rikk Agnew, the Punk Rock Picnic, and maybe will be touring soon with another famous and legendary band that is still playing today. Keeping our fingers crossed! We LOVE L.A.!

Describe the song writing process...
Pyn just picks up his guitar when he's inspired and a few minutes later he tells us we have a new song.  He just wrote a song last night while I was smoking a cigarette and Krash was cleaning dishes.  He has written over sixty songs for the band now and it just never stops!

You first released the 'Punk the Fussies' EP, tell us about the EP...
One night I was at Pyn's band rehearsal with his band before Barb Wire Dolls and after his practice the studio guy there (Haris) told him that there was some free recording studio time if he wanted it later that night for a cheap price.  Without any practice at all, he showed the band the songs and after a few run throughs, the engineer would push record. I was inside the control room singing the songs but the band inside couldn't hear me and had no idea how the songs sounded like with me instead of him singing.  In that one night we recorded the whole EP and Pyn even wrote the song "Punk The Fussies!" right then and there to finish off the night.  When the band members came in and heard the songs in the control room with me singing on them, they were blown away.  They had no idea I could sing or what the songs would sound like with a girl.  That night we all became a band and started playing shows together, one set with Pyn fronting the band and one with me singing our new songs.  It was way cool.  And the great thing was the EP was done in one take and in one night, so it cost only around $500.  It's so funny to think that we hadn't even played together yet we recorded our first album and then started playing shows.

What else have you released?
We have finished mixing six of thirteen songs we recorded with Bryan Carlstrom who is known for his work with Social Distortion, Alice In Chains, and The Offspring right now.  This album is the one we really are into because it was born out of playing non-stop shows here in L.A. and we also recorded it in one night and in one take including the vocals keeping with the punk ethic Pyn loves.  We are talking with a few record labels now about putting it out, so when the time is right, that will be released on CD and on vinyl. Then we can tour and go record another album!

Who are some of the bands you have done shows with?
Too many to list. We have played over sixty shows in six months, but some of the ones that really stick out and who really are about the unity, are Piss N Blood, Clepto, Trash Monsters, No Victor, Unit F, and so many bands like Evil Beaver, Woolly Bandits, etc...I cant even start to mention how many great bands we have played with and how awesome they all are.  I love the bands here, they are really amazing and unique.

Do you prefer to do shows at large venues or small clubs?
No difference to me, as long as its loud and there are people, its a show and that's what we do.

Have you toured?
In Greece we toured and here in the U.S, we've played over thirty different cities already.  We might be doing some tours soon across America and maybe in Europe.  And Japan has been contacting us about going there.  We're stoked and just waiting for the new album to come out so we can hit the road full force!

Is there a favorite band you like to do shows with?
Any band that is part of the Rock4Unity organization.  Then we know that they rock and that they support the scene.  No egos or drama needed when we are all in it for the same thing: to fucking rock live and do it again and again!

Is there a favorite place you like to do shows at?
We love the stage.  I get off on playing shows on The Sunset Strip because that's where it all started, but then playing in the O.C. with real punk bands takes the cake because its more real and in your face.  I like also playing on a small stage so i can jump into the crowd and shake things up.  I want people to move and get into it, not just be a boring lump on a seat.  That's why playing punk shows is the most fun, there is so much energy being shared and its so rad to see people get off on it.  No one is allowed to be bored at our shows!

What do you see is the future of Barb Wire Dolls?
Releasing a new album every year and touring the world for a long, long time.  I wanna hit radio hard, hit lil' kids up in Japan and other corners of the earth, and just make new friends at every show.  I wanna see bands that inspire me to keep doing what I love.  When people look back in a few years, they will remember when they saw us live for the first time and they will know we mean it when we say "it's time to re-claim rock and roll for the people!"

How can people contact the band?
Everything is on our facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/BarbWireDolls including our personal pages, videos, free song downloads, upcoming shows, etc. Come check us out, we don't bite too hard!