Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

I love when “out of the blue” blog magic happens. Yvonne Doll from The Locals messaged me via Facebook about their weekend show at “Frankies” in Squirrel Hill. Their FIRST show in Pittsburgh. Yvonne graciously chatted with me about the group – she and bassist Christy are partners off-stage as well, but don’t identify as a queer group. 

Fronted by singer and songwriter Yvonne Doll, the Locals have been a part of the Chicago music scene for the last decade. They have played extensively in the Midwest, and recently completed their first UK tour (2011) .

Think meet The Pixies meet the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Breeders. Doll’s distinct and powerful vocals cut confidently through the band, becoming the perfect compliment to the always solid, sometimes frenzied rhythm section of Nunes and Oedering.

 Where have you performed in Pittsburgh?  This is our very FIRST show in Pittsburgh. We’re from Chicago and have been touring mainly in the Midwest but are working our way out east, slowly but surely.
 What is your favorite thing about Pittsburgh? Well, because we all believe everything we see on TV, we’re just going to assume that Pittsburgh is EXACTLY like it was portrayed in “Queer as Folk” so… our fav thing about Pittsburgh is that Sharon Gless lives there. And also Klondike Bars (those are free in Pittsburgh right? No? Hmmmm)

 What does “alt-rock, power pop” REALLY mean? Alternative music with a melodic (pop) feel. When you say Alternative people tend to think of harder guitar driven music, Alt-pop is guitar driven but with catchy hooks and a bit of pop in there. We added the “power” part because Christy and I are both about 5′ 2″ so it makes us feel big. Tommy is a little taller- he’s our giant.

Will there by a post-alt-rock sound? Absolutely, as soon as the blog-o-sphere (and Twitter) decrees it.

Tell us about your LGBTQ fans. Our LGBTQ fans are awesome. We’re really happy to have guys, girls, trans and everything in between. Our fans are really united by a single thread and that’s music. They tend to be those friends who everyone asks “who are you listening to right now?”.

Do you identify as a queer band? Well that is an interesting question. Christy and I have always felt that our music is the sum of the whole, and we’ve have an amazing musical partnership with our new drummer Tommy (who is straight) and our most recent drummer, Kirk (also straight), so to say we’re a queer band kinda of discounts their enormous contribution to the music. It’s the balance of the three parts that is the magic. The band is bigger than our identities individually.

 I just went to see Green Day. What Green Day song is going to help me connect to your music? Boulevard of Broken Dreams and When I Come Around.

You partner with Alternative Apparel for your merchandise – they are known as a socially responsible company. Why is that important to you?  Well, what you buy, the stuff you connect yourself with people take notice of, we have influence even in our every day life. It’s awesome to find companies that have a great product AND are socially responsible. Alternative Apparel is one of those. Love their stuff

Is “punk” inherently political? Yes. The good stuff is. 🙂

Sound It Out is from their 2010 release “Salt” which will be on sale at the show.

Find them on the internet machine:
http://localsrock.com
facebook.com/thelocals
http://twitter/thelocals