HorrorPops
Frontwoman and bassist Patricia extolls the virtues of tour life
By Jessie Nelson
Published: September 6th, 2005 | 2:36pm
Through line-up changes, financial constraints, and the hazards of touring, the intense punk and slightly surf-tinged rock of HorrorPops has survived. Influenced by a mishmash of artists so diverse that if you ever ask to identify musical inspirations, charismatic frontwoman and bass player Patricia will tell you, “Ha ha. It’s HorrorPops — so basically everything. Between the six of us in the band all styles of music is covered, from Dolly Parton to Wasp.”
One glance at Patricia tells you she’s as rock as they come. With a cigarette jutting out of her mouth and jet black sloppy-chic styled hair, she looks like the evil twin of Bettie Page. Having grown up in a family of musicians, she says, “I've been playing music since I was 6. My family are musicians. I don't know what got me started in punk rock though, I guess that was just what came out when I started writing songs.” The fact that she’s a woman in a heavily male dominated scene never crossed her mind. “When I pick up my instrument I'm a person playing, not a girl. I never thought of my self as a gender just as a person and I never realized that music was dominated by men.”
Besides Patricia, the other five bandmates are Nekroman (guitar and vocals), Niedermeier (drums and vocals), Geoff Kresge (guitar and vocals), Kamilla (backup vocals and dancing), and Naomi (backup vocals and dancing). This current assemblage came together after a couple of changes. “Caz was the original guitarist and the one who recorded Hell Yeah,” explains Patricia, “but when he [had] a kid, Karsten stepped in for a year. Geoff Krege is now a full-on HorrorPops guitarist but also a songwriter! It's been really great being a whole band writing material this time instead of on HellYeah where it was only Nekroman and I.”
The music is intense and on the sloppy side, but only around the edges. The core of this band is skintight. Their live shows have been consistently well-received and they’ve toured with everyone from Lars Fredrickson from Rancid to the Offspring. The biggest names in punk and the fans that support it have given the HorrorPops a warm reception while on tour. “We really like playing Warped Tour. It was so great to get to meet all these bands that we listen to and to meet up with a lot of our friends. We're going out this fall with Roger Miret and the Disasters and Left Alone. Both bands that we have played with before and it's kind of a dream tour for us.” Unfortunately, they aren’t at the point where they can quit their day jobs yet, but that isn’t an issue for the HorrorPops. “We haven't been able to keep day jobs for the last two years! Not that we are making any money, but with all the touring we are doing, it's not been possible to keep a job. We are however now at the point where we can buy food on a regular basis.”
Next up on the HorrorPops plate include heavy touring and a new record due out later in 2005. “Our second album Bring It On is out Sept 13, 2005 then the seven week U.S. tour with Disasters and Left Alone, then off to Europe for five weeks of touring. Then we're planning to do a California tour in Feburary, a Canadian tour in March, Australia in April and May, and hopefully Warped Tour again next year — if they let us.”
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