Grab your s’mores, your bug spray, a shot of Malort and pack your bags as Riot Squad Media is returning to Northeast Pennsylvania to take over the West End Fairgrounds in Gilbert, PA with Camp Punksylvania! The 3-day festival with multiple stages and amazing national and local acts like 7 Seconds, The Bronx, Less Than Jake, will take place from 5 July until 7 July tickets are available here. FEA has joined TGEFM to discuss this year’s festival for the latest installment of our Camp-centric interview series: Happy Campers. Check it out below and I’ll see you at the campfire!
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview! What should our readers know about FEA; your history, your mission, your sound?
Letty: Well we’ve been together for about 10 years. Phanie (drums) and Jenn (bass) started the
band after their other band, Girl in a Coma, took a break. While that was happening, I was
looking to start a riot grrrl band myself. I came across their post on Craigslist and reached out.
They sent me the music for what is now known as “Mujer Moderna”, but I didn’t get to audition
on time because I’d just gotten my wisdom teeth removed and my mouth was swollen and full of
bloody cotton balls lol. Someone else got the part, however it didn’t work out. They emailed me
about six months later asking if I was still interested in auditioning. I already had the lyrics and
melody written from the first time around so I recorded myself and sent it over. They called 5
minutes later and I was in! We went through a few guitarists, but about 2 years ago we found
Adrian Conner (guitar). She’s super talented and meshes really well with us! She’s also very
active with her other band, (All female AC/DC tribute band), but we make it work. Our
sound has been described as Chicana punk/riot grrrl, but I think there’s a lot of other stuff going
on since we all pull from music we grew up listening to. Our mission is to speak our minds about
current events, women and lgbtq issues, other injustices, and personal growth in hopes we
inspire others to do the same. We think it’s important that punk and riot grrrl has more diverse
voices. We can’t cover all the angles so the more, the better!
You are gearing up for Camp Punksylvania in the coming months, what does the festival
circuit mean to artists like yourselves?
Letty: Festivals are a lot of fun for us, but they’re also great because we get to reach more
people. People that haven’t heard of us that just happened to be at whatever festival we are
playing at really helps us grow and get our message out.
What does FEA have planned for us beyond Camp Punksylvania?
Letty: We’ll be playing Muddy Roots Festival in Cookeville, TN on September 1st touring our
way back home for about a week. We are also recording our new album late fall!
What have been some of the most memorable moments or experiences with the band so
far? What’s been the most unexpected? The weirdest?
Letty: The first memory that popped up was when we played at a church in Indianapolis. It was
supposed to be a short set plus a Q & A. On the set was the song “Sister K”. It was interesting
to shout the lyrics, especially the chorus(“oh no it’s Jesus, oh no”), inside of a church and it
totally felt like Jesus was staring and judging haha.
Regarding live sets, what are you most excited to bring to the Camp Punk audience?
What do you want the campers to say about your set when they write home from camp
this year?
Letty: We are sooo excited to play most of our new album! We hope people enjoy the energy we
bring to the stage and the chemistry we share as a band. We always have a lot of fun on stage
and we hope it’s contagious 🙃
We’ve all got a few, what is your biggest regret? A gig you turned down, advice you didn’t take, what one thing do you wish you handled differently as a musician?
Letty: Not getting started on my music journey sooner. I was too shy and insecure. I’d wanted to
be a singer/performer as long as I could remember but I didn’t do anything about it because I
was too concerned with not being good enough and that’s stupid. Especially since I always
encourage others to get started and not care what people think. I wish I would have followed my
own advice.
The punk and ska scenes have almost always been at the forefront of inclusion and diversity within the music scenes. The flipside of course is that the gatekeeping in the scene is also very prevalent? Why do you think the genre brings in such a welcoming community and is so happy to let everyone in and also seems to shut the doors so quickly behind themselves?
Letty: I’m not sure, maybe some people like to protect something they feel is theirs? It blows my
mind when there is gatekeeping in this genre honestly. For me, discovering this genre and then
going to local shows in my hometown was a pretty big time of my life. It was welcoming and it
was a huge motivator to start a punk band.
One of the things I was most impressed with at the previous Camps was the care put into
making everyone feel safe. What are some of the steps FEA are taking to help ensure
people at your shows remain healthy campers, mentally and physically?
Letty: We are always pretty observant of the crowd. We have no problem calling out anyone
who’s being inappropriate or violent. We will stop the set and address it.
What album or band or significant singles made you go “Yeah, this is what I want to do” Not just an influence but who or what was the catalyst? On the flipside to that one… Who are some non-Camp bands on your radar that TGEFM readers may not know about, but you think they should?
Letty: I’ve wanted to sing and perform as long as I can remember . As a kid I was weird and
bossy so I’d make my family watch me as I “impersonated” artists. I was mainly exposed to
Spanish music as a kid. Gloria Trevi was a big influence for me. We cover her song “Pelo
Suelto” on our second album. When I started going to local punk shows in my early teens I
knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life. It happened when I saw a girl on bass singing. It
felt like if she could do it, maybe I could too.
I hope people are already listening to Amyl and the Sniffers! Surfbort is also a lot of fun. I really
like Girl Friday. If you need a big hug, check out Tele Novela. They are amazing.
If Punksylvania were a real camp, what activities are each of you leading?
Letty(vocals)-lets try weird foods
Jenn (bass) – setting up your cot & going to sleep
Adrian(guitar)-Vampires?
Phanie(drums)-knot tying class (it’s not confirmed she even knows how to do this)
What song are you performing around the campfire this year?
Letty: “Los Saicos”- Demolicion. I imagine it would be acoustic and would like to hear everyone
going “tatatatatatatataTaTaTaTa” in unison haha
Camp Punksylvania is a smorgasbord of fantastic acts. Which bands are you most
excited to see?
Letty: Saturday’s line up looks so fun! I’m excited about Catbite. We are bummed we can’t stick
around for our friend’s Bad Cop, Bad Cop 😭 I would have liked to see Venomous Pinks too.
Was there anything I missed that you’d like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?
Letty: Nah just follow us on our socials and we will keep you posted on tour dates and the album
release! You can find us as Fea210. See y’all Saturday 🙃
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
