Hailing from the North, well North of LALA in the San Fran area that is, the lady quartet known as The SHE’s draws from the 50’s and 60’s surf music vibe as inspiration for their sweet, airy sounding rock songs. At just 17 years a piece these ladies are attracting a wide array of fans and it’s no surprise to us at Tom Tom. Who doesn’t want some mellow tunes to kick back to? We talked to them just before New Year’s as they geared up for their next show.
Tom Tom: Hi there.
SHE’S: Hi.
Tom Tom: Who am I speaking with?
SHE’S: This is Sinclair, Eva and Hannah.
Tom Tom: Oh great.
Ok so can you tell us the members of your band and what they play?
SHE’S: Sami- bass and vocals
Hannah- vocals and guitar
Eva- guitar and vocals
Sinclair- drums
SHE’S: All born and raised in SF.
Tom Tom: What area are you from?
SHE’S: Sami and Hannah live in the sunset district. Eva lives in the Richmond District. Sinclair lives on the edge of China Town. We all hang out in the Sunset a lot since that’s where we practice.
Tom Tom: Great. What’s the Sunset music scene like?
SHE’S: There isn’t really one, besides in Hannah’s garage.
Tom Tom: Ah. Where are most of your gigs then?
SHE’S: We play all around town, a lot of the time in the Mission and bars downtown.
Tom Tom: Nice. How did you girls get together?
SHE’S: We actually met in kindergarten and we have been friends since we were kids. One day we got sorta bored with soccer practice and all the other things our friends were doing so we got together and tried to play music.
Tom Tom: Were you always known as The SHE’s?
SHE’S: In our current form yes, but we were all in a band before that, but it was just us and a bunch of our friends fooling around on the guitar. We didn’t really get serious about playing until the four of us started playing as The SHE’s.
Tom Tom: Did you four just sort of gel better than the other bands you were in?
SHE’S: We were just a little more serious about continuing on and writing and performing. The four of us also have good band chemistry; we get along really well.
Tom Tom: That must be nice. Can you describe your sound for us?
SHE’S: We’re influenced a lot by pop music from the 50’s and 60’s and also both contemporary and old beach and surf music. So our sound sort of reflects that.
Tom Tom: I love the song called ‘Fabian’. Who is he?
SHE’S: Fabian is a pop star from the 50’s. He starred in like a million surf movies.
Tom Tom: I’ll have to look him up.
SHE’S: He was basically a teen idol. But it’s actually funny, we stumbled upon him when we were watching this movie “Ride the Wild Surf”.
Tom Tom: Very cool. Do any of you ladies surf up there? It’s cold water right?
SHE’S: We don’t really surf much, the water is freezing! None of us are very good surfers.. just through our songs. 😉
Tom Tom: I like the harmonies in your songs. Have you ladies had to work hard on those or have they just sort of come naturally?
SHE’S: One of our favorite things to do is write harmonies for our songs, it’s just really satisfying when we get it just right. Sometimes it takes a little work but often times things click into place without much trouble.
Tom Tom: I bet. So congrats on the 7×7 shout out. How did it feel to be recognized as a band to watch?
SHE’S: Thanks! We were really stoked, we all read ‘7×7’ so it was exciting to be featured, especially along with some of our favorite local bands and friends of ours.
Tom Tom: What has been your experience with fans? Any funny ones?
SHE’S: Yes we actually have an interesting fan base, one that seems to span from ages 3 to like 85. We play at the farmers market in Noe Valley and there are always a lot of little kids there. One little girl drew us a picture of us as mermaids and mailed it to us, so cute!
Tom Tom: Cute! What has been your most fun show so far?
SHE’S: We get really excited when we are able to play with bands we are fans of. We got to open for Girls at the Fillmore which was amazing. A big highlight for sure.
Tom Tom: Very cool. Were you nervous?
SHE’S: Yes we were, but it was loads of fun, the crowd was great and it was a super fun show.
Tom Tom: That’s awesome! Is there any question that you haven’t been asked that you would like to be?
SHE’S: We love watching TV together as a band so we’ve always thought that what our fav shows are would be a good question.
Tom Tom: What are your favorite shows?
SHE’S: Our all time favorite show is ‘Freaks and Geeks’. It was only on for one season in like 1998, but it is one of the best shows of all time.
Tom Tom: What channel? I’ll have to check it out. I love those hidden gems.
SHE’S: We have the DVD set, I think it’s on Netflix too. Not quite sure if anyone is playing re-runs now, but they should be.
Tom Tom: Ok awesome. Thank you ladies. It’s been a pleasure.
SHE’S: Thanks! You too!
The SHE’s next scheduled show is at Noise Pop at The Independent on February 25th. Check ‘em if you’re in the area. They’re worth it.
Interview by Mindy Magana