Man, I’ve got many interviews in the bag that I’ve yet to float on Morphizm. This was a cool one, with a Texas trio of growing power, who happen to be women and can seriously rock it out. I know, gender shouldn’t matter in the 21st century, but it still does. So I still bring it up. Which I did in this fun interview for Metromix.
Some bands just have the goods, and you can add the Texas-based, all-female power trio Girl in a Coma to the list. Best friends Phanie Diaz and Jenn Alva grew up together in San Antonio, Texas, jumping from band to band before realizing that Phanie’s kid sister Nina had pipes to spare. Before they knew it, Nina was on guitar and vocals (at the tender age of 12), Stephanie was on the drums and Jenn was on the bass.
After honing their craft for a few years, Girl in a Coma wowed both Morrissey and Joan Jett: The former invited the trio to London to record their demo, and the latter asked to sign them to her own label, Blackheart Records—on television, no less. Can you say charmed life?
Since then, Girl in a Coma have wowed everyone else with their spirited mix of punk, power-pop and meat ‘n’ potatoes rock. Their 2007 debut “Both Before I’m Gone” landed the band opening stints for Frank Black, Tegan and Sara, Social Distortion and more, and their latest effort “Trio B.C.” (out June 2 on Blackheart Records) is bound for glory.
We caught up with bassist Jenn Alva by phone before the band’s mammoth summer tour (and we do mean mammoth—the trio is playing 45 dates in 30 states in just two months) to discuss the band’s Tejano family history, the challenges of having an underage singer and the benefits of having a female rock legend looking out for you.