For her young age (she's only 20), Britt Black carries herself like a seasoned musician. That's because she is.
At age 10, she co-wrote a song with Bif Naked. At 14, she founded the all-girl punk group LiveOnRelease, whose single "I'm afraid of Britney Spears" (Listen) appeared on the soundtrack for the movie Dude, Where's My Car?.
At 18, she began playing guitar and touring with Bif Naked. Now she's gone solo, fronting her own band. While this massive amount of success at such a young age might make some other musicians into divas before their times (Be Your Own Pet, anyone?), Britt Black is very friendly and open, and was very easy to approach.
I interviewed Britt Black backstage at the Warped Tour, after she finished her set on the Shiragirl/Gritty in Pink stage. She had a lot to say about her past, her future, and what it means to be a woman in the music industry.
RC: How's the tour going?
BB: It's hard but it's fun. It's been going good. We're almost done, but it's been really good playing to so many different people every day.
RC: You have a long history with music. Britt Black is a newer band, but you have a longer history.
BB: Yes I do. I finally went solo just so I can't get screwed over any more. You know, if a band member wants to quit, they can, and I can just get a new one and it's not like a big member change or anything like that.
I started out touring with Bif Naked when I was six, just doing small odd jobs when I could, and then I joined a band called LiveOnRelease and we did that for five years, and then I joined Bif's band playing guitar.
RC: When you were how old?
BB: When I was 18 I joined her band, then toured nationally with her for two years. It was only supposed to be for the summer, and then I was supposed to go solo, but I just wasn't ready yet, plus it was too much fun.
RC: You like fronting a band now?
BB: I do. It's definitely different. I miss being able to solo and just do my own thing in the corner but it's definitely got it's perks.
RC: How are the crowds receiving you guys here?
BB: It's different every city. It depends on where our stage is placed. Today was alright, but we've had better crowds. At our Vancouver show we had over 150 people there. It was so much fun.
It also depends on the weather. Kids are sometimes going under shade and trying to relax, but they've been really good. When they hear us, they actually really like us and they buy our CDs. It's pretty cool.
RC: Well, you're not really a typical Warped band.
BB: No, we are old school '70s rock with a little bit of pop punk in there. I don't think Lillix or Simple Plan are typical Warped bands either, but when NOFX walks by they actually respect us, and as far as Simple Plan goes, I don't think so.
RC: How'd you end up on the Shiragirl/Gritty In Pink stage?
BB: They came and saw us in Jersey, same with the Vincent Black Shadow, they were on our tour, and they liked it, and they got to pick all of their bands, so they asked us on.
RC: Does it concern you that you could get lumped in with the girl bands because of it?
BB: Yeah, it does. Playing a big pink stage wasn't exactly - I wasn't excited at the beginning of this tour, to say the least. I've never been above girl power or that bull***t, because a girl's gotta be twice as good to be considered half as good as guy, so if you play that girl card, then other people will treat you like you're a girl in a band and that's all you are. I've never done that my whole life, and I've never really liked female musicians or singers. I've always looked up to the guys. But you've got Bif Naked, she's really great. And it's turned out OK.
RC: Have you ever felt like rock is a boy's club?
BB: It is, but you can join that boy's club if you know the password.
I have guys in my band, and I'll never play with any girls again. Being in a girl band f***ing sucks. I'm happy where I'm at, and the guys have been so cool on this tour. There are so many bands we've partied with, and Helmet is the nicest band in the world, and we travel with them at night, so it's like a big summer camp, mixed with a little bit of boot camp, because we work so hard.
