By Olivia Turner | Arts & Life Editor
Punk rock sisters Kenzie and Laila Crowe, otherwise known as the band “Girl Tones,” sat with us for an exclusive interview after their exhilarating set at ACL. Here with this Kentucky-native duo, we discussed their unforgettable Friday afternoon set, rock music inspirations and what they’re up to post-tour. Let’s dig in.
Q: What has been y’all’s favorite part of Texas so far?
Kenzie: “Our favorite part of Texas is definitely Meow Wolf. We got to go to Meow Wolf in Houston. It was especially fun because it’s like a radio station that you walk into. And of course, we go to radio stations pretty often. Yeah. So it was kind of insane, how real it looked, very accurate. It was fun.”
Laila: “In Austin, we got to spend the day yesterday going to a lot of vintage shops around town. … We started out at Room Service and then Blue Velvet was another one.”
Q: There’s such a raw, like expressive quality to your sound and tone. Where do these emotional threads come from?
Kenzie: “I would just say life in general … I mean, I was an angsty teenager, so these are kind of older songs. And then we have a song that’s not out yet, that is just about grief. It’s kind of heavy, but I mean, that’s kind of what we write about. I think it’s in a fun way, where you’re able to still enjoy the music without being like, ‘Wow, this is kind of sad.’ So yeah, in life in general, of course, there’s up there’s highs and lows.”
Q: Which bands or records would you say have shaped who you have become today?
Kenzie: “The White Stripes for sure.”
Laila: “I would say also, we love Beck, like specific albums. ‘Guero’ was a good rock one, and ‘Odelay,’ that’s the other one.
Q: How would you say your creative process has evolved since you both first started?
Kenzie: “I think it’s a lot more streamlined. I write down every single idea I have, even if it’s just one word. I’ve just learned that you’ll have these little bits and pieces that eventually will maybe mean something later down the line, but in the moment, it’s kind of like I don’t really know what this means. We’ll see what happens.”
Laila: “Our relationship’s only just gotten stronger over time. You know, especially with being adults at this point. You know, we don’t really fight anymore. We’re pretty much on the same page with everything. And if we’re not, then we hash it out.”
Q: Have you had a playlist going as you tour?
Kenzie: “Well, I don’t say it’s a playlist. I say it more like, we just have certain artists that we get hyper-fixated on and just stick with that, like the whole tour.”
Laila: “Until we’re like nauseated. Like I’m hearing it in my dreams now.”
Kenzie: “At the beginning of the year, it was Lady Gaga — the new ‘Mayhem’ album. And then now, it’s Rebecca Black and Addison Rae’s new one. Of course, ‘brat,’ we had a great brat summer.”
Q: What has been y’all’s biggest “rockstar” moment so far?
Laila: “The most surreal was definitely playing Red Rocks. We were like, ‘What have we gotten ourselves into?’ before we went on that stage.”
Kenzie: “That’s a pretty big moment, I would say that. And then after Lollapalooza, when we were walking around town and people came up to us.”
Q: How would you say you guys describe success for yourselves right now, not so much in a career sense, but like as artists?
Laila: “I would say that seeing people in the crowd, seeing it always feels like that’s a success, because this person has listened to the song and likes it enough to listen to it enough to know the words, and it most likely means something to them. And that’s just always so crazy, because I know how much music that I love means to me, and the thought of someone else having that feeling for our music is just like, that’s pretty cool, larger than life.”
Q: If your music were the soundtrack to a movie, what movie would it be, and why?
Kenzie: “My mind immediately goes to ‘Pulp Fiction’ or something. … Everyone always says we sound like ‘Sex Bob-omb’ from ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.’ But here’s the thing about that — for the people saying that, that is literally Beck. That’s awesome because you’re just saying that we remind you of Beck.
Q: What is next for you guys after you’re done touring?
Kenzie: ”We are going back to the UK in November, so we still got a little bit of touring to go and then after that, we are hopefully going to be going back to the studio and recording a little bit more and releasing an album next year.”
Q: How do you guys decompress after a festival like this?
Kenzie: “I love a shower — a cold shower — and then bedtime.”
Laila: “Well, first you got to have your late-night snack. Our dinner is at 11 p.m.”
Kenzie: “And then crash.”
Laila: “And some ‘Stardew Valley’ time.”
Kenzie: “And we’ll watch TV, like Friends, or something.”
Laila: “And YouTube. Like Caseoh.”
Q: What’s one thing that you hope people take away from your set this weekend and from you guys as a band?
Laila: “I hope they took away a good time and got some dances in. I hope they were warmed up for the rest of the day and have even more energy for the rest of the other bands playing.”
Kenzie: “I hope they know that rock is alive and well, and we will keep it going as long as possible. Someone’s got to do it, and we’re up for the challenge.”
