Q&A with Halifax-based punk band Angel Girl

Tucked behind the bushes that line a busy intersection in Halifax, two members of the band Angel Girl, Saylor and Angel, redefine what it means to work from home. The outside of the domestic dwelling shows no signs of what lies beyond the front door. Upon entering, I took off my shoes, said hi to the barking chihuahua-pug mix and stepped into a fully functional recording studio.

Roommates and bandmates, Saylor and Angel have blurred the lines between work and play. Their commute to band practice is as short as it can get, which is important when you are in the midst of making a new project — the situation they currently find themselves in. 

Ahead of their performance at Nova Scotia Music Week next month, the Dalhousie Gazette caught up with two-thirds of the band to talk tour, how to be angelic and everything wrong with the world. 

How did the band form? 

Angel: The band formed initially with me and one of my best friends, Katie Wayne. It was just us messing around in her bedroom, making music. We didn’t initially have the intention of releasing it or forming a band or anything. After we made those recordings, we kept doing it. We were like, “damn, this is really fun.” Then we were at a Skunk Motel video shoot having a smoke break, and both of us were just like, “That looks like a lot of fun. We could do that. We have music.” We got pretty excited about that and then reached out to Saylor and Sara Martin. Then it was me, Katie, Saylor and Sara. Then Katie left the band because she got married and had kids. It’s beautiful, but I miss her. All of this started when we played our first show two-and-a-half years ago. It feels like a lifetime since then. 

 What did your recording setup look like in Katie’s room?

Angel: Essentially, it was just a laptop and a microphone … We used a drum machine because we couldn’t have drums in [Katie’s] room. I think a lot of people feel like when you start to make music you have to have this setup with insane technology, and you have to invest all this money or go to a studio. Those things are great, but you do not need them. 

Is there anything that this space allows you to do that you can’t on a computer?

Angel: My favourite thing about living here is that we can do live recordings of the jams. There are microphones downstairs, so when we jam we turn them on, and they connect up here to the studio. We can record our entire jam. That’s really useful for listening back if you’re working on new music. We’ve had a few other local bands come in as well that we’ve been helping.

What are you working on now?

Angel: We’re completely in writing mode right now and doing a couple shows, but [we’re working on] an entire new album. The biggest change I’ve noticed is that the older music is a lot more pop-punk influenced. A lot of that was Katie’s influence because that’s the genre she loves. Now that it’s just me, Saylor and Sara, we lean a lot more towards noisy and loud.

Angel: The pop-punk element is essentially completely gone from our new music. It wasn’t even intentional; it turns out when there’s the three of us we just don’t sound like that. We’ve had the opportunity to play with a lot of amazing bands.In the last year we have learned so much. I would say most of my musical influences with the band are local bands or bands that we’ve gotten to spend time with. 

Any bands in particular? 

Angel: Piss and Pavel Stroke. 

Saylor: I would say probably fishmonger.

Where was your first show? 

Angel: Gig Night at Gus’ Pub. I feel like that’s a rite of passage. Every band’s first gig has to be Gig Night at Gus’ Pub. 

Saylor: They do it every month and it’s a really cool way to see new bands and support them, because it’s typically their first show and I’ve found it’s good to meet people who are kind of at the same stage.

Angel: Yeah, a lot of bands that we did gig night with we’ve done a lot of shows with. We’ve all kind of moved in our own directions now, but gig night is a nice way to go meet people and listen to good music. It’s home base. 

Saylor: Sweetest people ever. 

I did notice you play a lot of all-ages shows. 

Angel: Playing all-ages shows is really, really important for connecting with the youth, and we have a lot of really meaningful conversations and connections at those shows. The people who have access to our shows at the all-ages events don’t typically get to see bands like us in terms of the sound, but also with the queerness and the feminine side of it. We get a lot of young girls coming up to shows and they’re like, “I’m going to start a band with my friends,” and that’s really cool. 

Angel: I guess they can see themselves in us. We always have pits at our shows, but we’ll always say something about encouraging queers and girls. If you don’t usually feel safe in a pit, but you really want to, now’s your chance. So it’s just about opening up their world a little, and they’re really fun. The kids are fucking crazy. 

Angel: If you go to a pit with adults and somebody gets really injured, they’re out for the night, right? You knock a tooth out in the pit, you’re going home. These kids will wall of death, run into each other, teeth knocked out, bloody nose, clothing ripped apart, just dishevelled, and then they go to the bathroom, clean up, and then they get back in. They just don’t stop. They’ll be crowd-surfing and get dropped on the floor, and they just get back up. 

Saylor: I watched some girl pop her shoulder back in and then get right back into the pit.

Angel: The kids are hardcore. It scares me sometimes, but it’s really fun. 

When on tour, what’s your go-to gas station order? 

Angel: My go-to is a bag of movie theatre popcorn, a meat stick or a big slab of beef jerky and coffee, probably cigarettes and an energy drink that matches my outfit. 

Saylor: I’m usually getting a Wonder Bar, either a bottle of water or orange juice and a pack of cigarettes. If there’s a coffee shop like Tim Hortons, I will get a hot chocolate. Also, the smart water bottles with the little nipple cap, I love those. I love taking them with me when we go on stage. I can leave it open, and it won’t spill unless I stomp on it. 

What is it like to navigate a male-dominated industry like the music industry? 

Angel: It’s just how it feels to navigate most of my life. A lot of workplaces you’re at, or just places in the world, are male-dominated. We have to go into these spaces and be very confident or assertive. I mean, we definitely goof off and mess around, but there are a lot of liberties that we’re not allowed.

Saylor: Often we’re the only queer people or women. We’re often representing the entire community. That could either make or break people’s opinions on stuff. 

Angel: Doing a sound check and being like, “Can we have our monitors up?” and it’s some guy who’s like, “Trust me, they’re up,” and Sara’s like, “I’m a sound tech.” 

Angel: We constantly have to explain ourselves. We constantly have to prove ourselves to them. But it also can be a really supportive community, because I do feel like there’s a certain demographic of us that bands together. The three of us in the band support each other so heavily all the time, especially when we’re at shows. It doesn’t feel so hard when you’re doing it with a good team of people that are your best friends.

Are there any experiences that you tap into on stage to bring out your rage?

Angel: Before I go on stage, we go out back somewhere secret where no one can see. There’s always something that I’m really pissed about … so I freak out for 10 minutes, jumping, screaming and rolling on the floor. The girls in the band will come, and we’ll do it together sometimes.

What’s pissing you off right now.

Angel: There’s so much shit in the world I don’t even know where to start. Trans rights being taken away. There’s been a lot of stuff in the U.S., but also in Canada. I know up in Alberta it’s really rough. When we’re looking at touring, there are certain places we can’t go to because of safety. A lot of bands from Nova Scotia will tour the U.S. We can’t go. We don’t want to go, but also for safety reasons. That pisses me off. It’s just incredibly unfair. Unfair is not even scratching the surface. 

Angel: On a provincial level, the cuts to the arts. Those have directly impacted us and everyone we know. It’s incredibly frustrating because there’s nothing we can do about it. Halifax is an artist city. It’s always been very art-forward historically, and now everyone’s getting pushed out. All my friends are moving out of the city, and that pisses me off. I don’t want to have to leave Halifax, but I can’t afford it, and a lot of the grants have been getting cut. So it’s a lot harder to access funding for things now. 

What do those impacts look like for you?

Angel: Last year we recorded our album Life of an Angel through a grant with Music Nova Scotia. We were very fortunate to get that money. But now, moving forward, there’s a lot fewer grants, and the grants are a lot smaller. A lot of venues have been closing, so it’s a lot harder now to book shows.

Saylor: The funding cuts also include scholarships, especially for music programs and those that affect marginalized groups of people. They are being gutted. 

Angel: I don’t think they realize the arts community is supporting the city. Artists, bands, musicians contribute a lot to the culture and the financial economy of a city to just be brushed under the carpet and told you don’t matter. It’s really hurtful. They’re kind of in denial about the impact of it. In the next couple of years, once the impact of their decision starts to settle a little bit, they’re going to realize that they made a horrible mistake. Hopefully they fix it before then; don’t cut my funding, I’ve done so much for you!

Do you have any advice for becoming more angelic? 

Angel: Do what you want. Wear shorter skirts, get piercings and tattoos if you want them. I was going to say smoke more cigarettes, but that also causes cancer, so that’s a hard one. But also the air in the world right now is giving people cancer too; get more fresh air — parenthesis, cigarettes. Punch evil men in the face. Wear platform boots because they’re easier for stomping on people and things. Dye your hair pink. Put stickers on things. Have fun and love your friends. Don’t be afraid of being angry and pissed off, but also live, laugh, love. Also, if you’re going to drink beer, drink Olands.