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Some Frequently Asked Questions:
1) How did you get the name 7 Year Bitch?
2) How did Barbie's Dream Car evolve into 7 Year
Bitch?
3) What were your first few shows like?
4) What are your musical influences?
5) What is your songwriting process like?
6) What does Elizabeth's bass set-up consist of?
7) Where can I get 7 Year Bitch recordings?
8) How do you pronounce Roisin?
9) What happened to Roisin?
10) How can I get in touch with 7 Year Bitch?
How did you get the name 7 Year Bitch?
| "It's a spin-off of the Marilyn Monroe movie Seven Year Itch. Our friend Ben London from Alcohol Funnycar thought of it one night drinking beers at The Comet, and we had to make up a name for the first show for the flyer and it stuck." |
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How did Barbie's Dream Car evolve into 7 Year
Bitch?
| "Barbie's Dream Car included: Valerie, Lisa Orth (now of 66 Saints),
and a woman named Cheryl. Stef jammed with them a few times. Selene
did too and she sang 2 songs with them once. I didn't really know
them personally then, but I did see both of their shows. When Cheryl
went on vacation in Europe, Val asked me to bass with them 'til she
returned. Well, Cheryl stayed in Germany, Stefanie and Val and I
started writing music. Lisa kind of dropped out and Selene dropped
in. We changed the name to 7 Year Bitch cause we couldn't think of
anything else and Ben London (Alcohol Funnycar) suggested it. I hated
the name for a good year or so. Our first song was Gun, which I sang.
Then Lorna, Sink, You Smell Lonely." |
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What were your first few shows like?
| "We had our first gig 5 weeks
after jamming. We had a total of 3 songs. We played with a huge list
of bands at the O.K. Hotel for a Books For Prisoners benefit. We were
terrified. We liked it. Our next show was in San Francisco, where
Stef had just moved back to Seattle from. We played in a big
Warehouse at a Holloween party. The only other band I remember was
Ovarian Trolley, who we've recently had with us on tour." |
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What are your musical influences?
| "We all, obviously have different ones. A major influence
on us as a whole were The Gits and especially Mia. They helped us get
going. Our first 5 or 6 shows were with them. They taught us a lot
by just being an honest, emotional band that did their own thing. If
you never had the chance to see the Gits perform, you really missed
something special. Our tastes are diverse. There are bands that we
all like a lot: Girls vs Boys, Nick Cave, AC/DC, P.J. Harvey, The
Jesus Lizard, Stone Fox, New Wet Kojak, Nirvana, Mudhoney, The Beastie
Boys. I could go on...
Valerie is a heavy metal lover. Pantera,
Metallica, Motorhead. But she gets into Portishead too.
I can get
into older metal, the stuff I grew up with: Van Halen (before Hagar,
of course), Sabbath, Kiss. Kiss was a big influence on me. Gene
Simmons was really a great bass player, monsterous riffs.
Selene likes
the depressing, bluesy stuff. Nick Drake, Billie Holiday, Mark
Lanegan, Tindersticks. She likes a lot of other types of music too,
but that seems to be what she is mostly influenced by. She is a big
Patti Smith fan, which I think shows in the way she phrases.
Roisin
is into jangly guitar-y music. Fastbacks, The Jam, The Damned, Johnny
Thunders, Nick Lowe, The Buzzcocks.
My favorite records right now
are: The new Brainiac, the new GVSB, Nick Cave Murder Ballads, and
Diamanda Galas — The Singer and The Sporting Life. Live I like all the
people I just mentioned and I like the Boredoms live, but their
records drive me crazy. I like 66 Saints, AC Autolux, Steel Wool.
I could answer this question for years...." |
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What is your songwriting process like?
| "Selene writes all of the lyrics and I pretty much write the music,
although it's not set in stone. I will generally come up with a drum
beat or bass line first. Sometimes, I will write a guitar part first,
but rarely. Selene then does her own thing. We all work together
fine-tuning everyone's parts and arranging the songs." |
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What does Elizabeth's bass set-up consist of?
| "My bass set-up:
Amp: A Gallien Krueger 400 RB with a BBE Sonic
Maximizer pre-amp for a tube-y sound without the extra pounds.
Cab: Your standard Ampeg 8X10 cabinet. It's massive but worth its
weight. Referred to as "The Beast" or "The Fridge". Keeps our biceps
toned hauling it around!
Guitar: A rare and wonderful '75 Fender Musicman Stingray. I put
active pick-ups in it (EMG's). I'm always on the lookout for another
bass just like it but they're not easy to come by.
Settings: It varies a little but generally I prefer to cut the mids
and crank the treble and go about half-mast with the way low end. I
get a lot of natural distortion with this set-up but lately I also use
an Ibanez T-9 Tube Screamer pedal." |
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Where can I get 7 Year Bitch recordings?
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How do you pronounce Roisin?
| It's pronounced ROW sheen |
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What happened to Roisin?
| Roisin made a decision to leave the band in 1996 so that she could settle down a bit, spend more time with her boyfriend, and raise horses. |
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How can I get in touch with 7 Year Bitch?
| At the request of the band, their personal contact information is not something I give out. If you have something of interest, email it to me at sevenyb@yahoo.com. I will forward it on to them and they will decide whether or not to respond to you directly. FYI, the addresses listed in Sick 'Em, Viva Zapata, and Gato Negro are no longer valid. |
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