By Morgan James
When it comes to grungy girl rock with moody lyrics, reminiscent of 90’s era Hole, East Valley band, Fight Like a Girl, kick into high gear and give music their all. With several songs to sample on Soundcloud, you can hear why this band is so popular in their niche. Playing shows from Coachella to Hemet to San Diego, Fight Like a Girl is looking at growing their fan base and serving up a fist full of down and dirty songbird attitude. Soon heading into the studio to record an album, I spoke with band members Nallely Valdez (bass and vocals), Crystal Hernandez (guitar and vocals) and Carlos Perez (drums) about their sound, where they hope to go from here and little known Fight Like a Girl facts that keep band practices interesting.
MJ: Tell me your goals when it comes to writing your music- Who writes it? What life experiences inspire it? Do you find your themes are consistent? Why?
FLAG: “Crystal has been in the forefront of writing and composing most of the music. The inspiration for our songs comes from tribulations of everyday life, from eating disorders to heartbreak and everything in between. Honesty and life, with a bit of fiction, is liberating. Those who relate to our music really feel what’s being said. Sonically our music is a collage of the rock genre with tritones and power chords, with rhythmic skeens of old school punk music.”
MJ: Tell me how it feels to put on a Fight Like a Girl show- What sets you apart from other bands? What type of energy do you evoke from your crowd/fans?
FLAG: “Depending on the venue and the crowd we play for can vary. We get a wide range of reactions to our live music, from moshing to dancing to just standing there applauding, yelling something out. Our live sound conveys raw emotion. Our live performances are intimate. Our performances could be like going on a first date where the guy is really creepy but the rush is contagious, thus you continue the journey. I like to think of our music as anti-establishment, you’re not going to find cheap tricks or thrills here- purely raw. We don’t perform as anybody else but ourselves. We don’t try to impress anybody. We just wanna play.”
MJ: You play a lot of shows with the same circle of bands. Tell me what bands you enjoy playing with and why?
FLAG: “The energy with these bands matches ours and we have a lot of fun. Here’s the other bands we have enjoyed playing with:
The Kathys (Crystal was once a Kathy. She played bass for them for a while.)
Venus and The Traps
Pathos
Liquid
MJ: Tell me where readers can find your music- Do you have CDs recorded? Who produced your music? Do you have plans for touring?
FLAG: “As of right now we plan to go into the studio in September to record some tracks for a future release. As far as touring goes that’s definitely a goal but due to work commitments it’s a ways down the road. You can find our demo on soundcloud (soundcloud.com/fight-like-a-girl). There are 5 tracks on the demo, plus an early lo-fi recording of “One Feeling” in which Crystal played and recorded guitar, bass, drums, and vocals. The demo, however, was recorded and produced by Crystal’s cousin, Jesus Palominos AKA Nino who is a local classical guitarist. We’re still trying to “perfect” our songs, giving our sound final touches, and Crystal is consistently coming up with new ideas for new songs. We believe the creating process never ends.”
MJ: What are your goals as a band and what is next for you?
FLAG: “Our goal is simple. Play energetic shows and give 100 percent of ourselves. And of course we wanna have fun. We would like to record a full length album and to bring it to the masses. Next on our list is to play shows outside of the Coachella valley and to expand our reach to new listeners. We just wanna play.”
MJ: Any other fun facts about your band that you would like to share?
FLAG: “We all work the graveyard shift yet we find the time to practice and play shows. Once an evil spirit kept stalking Nallely (be careful when messing with the ouija board, folks). Crystal has a deaf Dalmatian name Sparky and he’s often at our practice sessions and doesn’t seem to mind the noise.”
facebook.com/Fight-Like-A-Girl-1021250877925326
instagram.com/fight_like_a_girl760
