Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A Pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.
Mesa, Arizona’s ass-kicking punks The Venomous Pinks released the highly anticipated album Vita Mors earlier this year on Sbam Records and have been winning over crowds on tour with legendary pop-punks The Queers. Vocalist/guitarist Drea Doll take a quick break from bad-assery to answer a few questions from TGEFM in the latest of our Roll of the Dice series.
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. Congrats on the release of Vita Mors, not trying to kiss your collective ass at all but I’m really digging this album. What’s been the response you’ve gotten from live crowds thus far?
Thank you for the support! The overall response has been very positive. Everyone seems to like it and relate to it in their own ways.
What stood out most to you with this recording compared to 2020’s I Want You EP?
We worked with Cameron Webb and Linh Le on Vita Mors so we had some outside help on sound and vocals. I want you is a straight up DIY punk EP where we hit record and were happy with the first take.
Vita Mors translates to Life and Death. What was the impetus for the title, what does that phrase mean to the band?
2020 was fucked for so many reasons. It was the universe resetting itself. We saw death. We saw rebirth. For our band, Facebook became a digital graveyard. So Vita Mors is life and death… what you choose to do in the middle is up to you.
What affect, if any, have the cultural and political landscapes of the last few years had on your music?
The world is a mess. It’s even messier for women right now in the United States. It was never a choice to be silent on women’s rights and human rights. It is our duty to speak up and be loud about subjects that really piss us off.
The music world has also changed a lot over the last few years. What are some of the biggest changes you’ve come across in your time within the scene?
The punk scene has always been unified but it seems that the woman really support each other now where as 20 years ago you would see women bullying each online and calling each other cunts. We have groups like Mable Syndrome now which is an amazing collective of women in punk. I’ve also noticed how the business side has changed drastically. Physical press kits are a tool of the past. Social media plays a huge role in keeping your band relevant. But one thing has always stayed the same, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.
I’ve personally found myself attending significantly more shows over the last 18 months than I did in the previous 10 years. I’ve found the experience of a live performance to be exponentially more romantic than it had been prior to the lockdowns and quarantines. You are currently wrapping up a tour with The Queers, have you also found that crowds are experiencing the shows more deeply than they used to, and if so, do you chalk that up to absence making hearts grow fonder or something more profound?
Yeah definitely there is an energy of excitement and crowds being grateful for the show/experience. Not being able to go to shows was depressing so it’s nice to see everyone coming out to support! We are all connected by music and that’s beautiful.
One of our obligatory questions in these interviews also tends to be the one I have found most important on a personal level. Who are some bands on your radar that TGEFM readers may not know about, but you think they should?
Okay check out Warfever, Mercy Music, Knocked Down, Creepsville666, Jet Jaguar, 3LH, Upper Downer, Ursula, Auxillio and too many to name
Beyond the current tour with The Queers, whats next for The Venomous Pinks?
Writing the next album and touring with Bad Cop / Bad Cop in the summer in Europe!
Was there anything I missed that you’d like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?
Check out Bassist Against Racist and support Kaos Merch
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/
