be your own pet (Photo by Stefano Masseri)
Singer Jemina Pearl glows with enthusiasm as she talks about her first band practice since the newly reformed Be Your Own Pet split up in 2008. The archive includes the debut of her title Self, a Nashville garage her punks wreak havoc on her two wheels.
“It was wild,” she says. “We played those songs so many times that we knew all the weird breaks and other things. Was it there?”
“We were clearly 16 years old and had no idea what the standard songwriting form was. It was all over the place, but it was fun to get back into our teenage mindset.”
For 2nd graders Awkward, BYOP veered to riffs on sophisticated ’60s girl groups and leather-jacketed art rock. Even with a little more sophistication, the desire for the unruly remained. Guitarist Jonas Stein, bassist Nathan Vazquez, and drummer John Eatherly garnered critical acclaim from nearly every major music publication before they turned 21.
The attention has often come at the expense of Pearl, often receiving misogynistic criticism that objectifies her. increase.
“Also, giving my teenage self a little hug was really comforting, like, ‘You can get through it, you’ll be fine,'” she adds. “When I’m on stage, it’s my favorite thing in the world. It’s fun and liberating. It’s a space where you can do whatever you want.”
As far as the SXSW setlist goes, Pearl says there’s room for surprises in addition to the now-iconic cuts of 2006. be your own pet: “Maybe I’ll revisit some of my favorite songs and put in a few covers of songs that inspired me when I was younger. And you know, maybe there’s something fresh. I can’t.
be your own pet
Mohawk Wednesday 15th at 11pm
