Girl in a Coma is part of a rare breed of music these days: the female punk band. With heavy bass lines and the deep vocal stylings of bassist/back-up vocalist Jenn Alva, the trio achieves a unique sound at once identifiable as punk, but distinctly original.
The group is on tour following the release of its latest full length album, Exits & All the Rest, which came out at the start of November. The new album promises to deliver the same hard-hitting melodies that give GIAC an easily recognizable sound in a world where it seems like everything is already being done somewhere.
“There aren’t enough girl bands,” said Jenn Alva, the bassist of the hard-hitting estrogen powerhouse.
The band is currently touring the east coast. Alva spoke with The Badger Herald on making the band’s latest video, “Smart” and what it was like creating Girl in a Coma’s most recent record.
“This latest album is different because we recorded it analogue instead of digital. It’s got more of a raw feel to it. We recorded it all on tape so it’s got a different sound to it. It’s going to sound really good on a vinyl record,” Alva said. “We laid down the basic tracks: bass, drum, a little bit of guitar all together. We usually take turns when we’re in the studio so it’s got more of a raw sound.”
The new record’s solid sound is surprising, considering the time crunch the band was in to produce it.
“We recorded it in Austin during [the music festival] South by Southwest. It was all about when Mike McCarthy, the producer, had time and when we had time. So it just happened to be then,” Alva said.
GIAC has released many videos throughout its career. They range from light-hearted to heavy subject matter.
“My favorite video to make was probably the newest one [- “Smart”],” Alva said. “That one was just a lot of fun. Plus we did it in Super 8, [which is a vintage film format]. The only thing about it was it took us like seven hours to film. We were just going to different locations and stuff, but it was still a lot of fun to make.”
One particularly striking video for the track “Road to Home” features a heavily plasticized model lip-syncing vocals. The video shows a man watching the model sing on stage, eventually gaining the courage to don a cocktail dress and some fake eyelashes and sing onstage.
“That’s Amanda Lepore. We needed someone who was transgender for that video; we got one of the most famous. …,” Alva said. “That was our very first video in New York so that was awesome.”
The band, whose name originates from the Smiths’ song, “Girlfriend in a Coma,” recently had the chance to tour with Morrissey, lyricist and vocalist for the Smiths. Alva spoke on whether he was GIAC’s favorite touring companion.
“Morrissey is definitely up there,” she said. “My most favorite [band to tour with] is this band called Miss Derringer. I think we did about two months with them. They’re a great band so it was great to listen to them every night. But not only that, we hit it off right away. We were all like family within a week. Everybody was really close.”
Girl in a Coma will be playing Sunday at the High Noon Saloon. Also playing: The Coathangers; Black Box Revelation. Tickets are $10. The show is 18+. Doors open at 8 p.m.
