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InAlternative had the opportunity to interview Pinksqueeze– A vibrant, genre-blending rock band based in Chicago. Featuring the talents of Anna, Ava, April, and Logan, the band is set to release their album Be Gay Have Fun on May 12th, 2023. In this interview, we spoke with members Ava and Anna about the creative process of their album, love for the Chicago music scene, and their favorite pre-show ritual.
Tell us about your latest release Holy Critter. What inspired this song? As a single, how does it reflect your upcoming album Be Gay Have Fun?
Ava: ‘“Holy Critter’ was written by our other bandmates April and Logan. It’s based on their shared experience of some religious trauma they both had growing up in small towns. Being queer and in the closet, feeling so much pressure from religious communities, and how wrong that made them feel. That was kind of their intention going into it– Talking about all this hurt, pain, and trauma. Then when they actually sat down to write the song, it became clear to them that, really, the message here is not ‘let’s focus on the pain,’ but let’s focus on the beauty that came out of it, of finding queer community. They also kind of wrote it with the intention of not only talking to their younger selves, but also to our fans who are young and queer in these small towns.”
Anna: “There was a lot of searching for the words they would’ve wanted to hear as young queers in religious environments.”
How would you describe your current sound? Which of your songs would you
recommend to first time listeners?
Ava: “I feel like the sound on the album is very multi-genre. It ranges a lot, so it’s hard to describe it. I feel like the term that we’ve been using a lot is ‘Mom Rock’ because it’s less focused on genre and more about the feeling and community emphasis. It’s also a little tongue in cheek. We found a way to blend styles all together in a really unique way. I’m really influenced by a lot of emo music, Logan grew up around classic rock like Joan Jett. I feel like Anna’s so post-punk inspired with a lot of her bass lines.”
Anna: “And I know April’s [inspiration] is kind of indie rock.”
Ava: “Yeah, it’s kind of indie, [April’s] so lyrical and complex in her music. We really kind of balance each other out through a lot of different genres. There’s something for everybody on this album. That’s our shows, too, you get all sorts of music lovers from different backgrounds and genres. As far as a recommended song, maybe the first single that we released from the album ‘Straight Girl Crush.’ It’s a good intro to who we are and what we’re about. It’s definitely just pure, sweet, queer joy. It’s a really fun song. The video for it, too, we had so much fun making that.”
What does your process look like when writing/creating music?
Ava: “So this album is a collection of songs that we’ve written over the past several years. And really, April and I are the ones who started the project a couple years ago.Most of our songwriting until this point has been, like, me, April, or Anna kind of writing a song on our own, getting the bones to it, and then bringing it to the band and everyone kind of fills it out in their own way. But on this album was the first time that we played around with writing together. So it was definitely a bit of a learning curve at first, but we’re really proud of what came out of that new process, and are really excited to continue exploring it on our future projects.”
Anna: “I think it’s also just getting over being self-conscious. My instinct is always definitely to sit on the words for a while until I like them, as a perfectionist. Doing it in the same room as someone else is so scary and humbling, but it also produces good stuff because you have that immediate feedback.”
Tell us about your experience with the Chicago music scene. How would you describe it? What are the best parts about it?
Ava: “We love the Chicago music scene!! There’s not another scene in a major city like this. I think anywhere. You’re not gonna find a more supportive community than in Chicago.”
Anna: “It’s really awesome because it’s very close-knit. It’s not totally tied around genre, it’s not a boys’ club, there’s no unattainable cool kids. It’s very welcoming, very much just show up and be friends with anyone. Everyone just wants to hear other music. I personally have lived in a lot of different cities over the past seven years. Chicago is the only place where people in bands will show up to each other’s shows consistently. Every show we play, there will be people from other bands that we admire, enjoy, or played with before at the shows just because they want to hear music. It’s a place where people really show up for each other.”
Ava: “Yeah, it’s a really beautiful community, really welcoming. I think it can be intimidating for new artists and bands to get out there and start playing music, but Chicago’s the place to just jump in. You will be met with support, love, and community. Everybody wants everybody to come to each other’s shows. A flaw that’s in most of Chicago– Just that it’s a very segregated city still, and I think that’s something that we would love to continue seeing change in. More Black artists having some more forefront in the Chicago music community. We definitely are getting some more in the queer community, but would love to see more and more and more in the Chicago scene in general. That’s our one critique. I think it just requires all of us making more of an effort.”
What was the most memorable show you’ve played, and what was great about it?
Anna: “One of the most memorable shows for me was the tiniest, tiniest show we’ve played in April’s childhood backyard. For our other bandmates who aren’t from here, we also played a Pride in small-town Nebraska where Logan is from, and that was a really special show. Interacting with people that would not come across our music in their town normally.”
Ava: “Those were really special. Being able to play in the upper peninsula where April’s from, it was just beautiful. We played on the lake in April’s backyard where she grew up. We played at the beach here in Chicago last summer, too, that was a really fun one. It’s always the small, DIY stuff that’s always the most fun.”
Anna: “It’s things where people really feel like they’re engaged.”
Do you have any pre-show rituals? How do you relax or celebrate after a live show?
Anna: “I’d say one pre-show ritual that we do before every show is that April has a little deck of oracle cards, and we always draw one for like ‘What kind of energy are we looking for? What energy are we channeling? What’s tonight gonna bring?’ It’s a really beautiful deck. They’re all pink with hearts, eyes, stars, doodle-y imagery, really beautiful.”
Ava: “It’s a really nice way for us to stay grounded and connected before a show, and really just put some intention behind the art that we’re presenting for people.
If you could get any artists to tour with you, dead or alive, who would be on the bill?
Ava: “I think we would love to play with artists like Beach Bunny, Illuminati Hotties, The Beths. Playing with any of those three, we’d just fit on so well.”
Anna: “I think my other one, I feel like I would die a little bit, and would also just be so freakin’ funny, would be if we were on a bill with Tegan and Sara. Because April could be the third Tegan and Sara twins. People on our TikTok are always like ‘Oh, my god, they look just like Tegan and Sara!’”
Ava: “That would be fucking insane, and an absolute dream! Also, just such queer icons.”
Anna: “I just need April to be in the same room as Tegan and Sara, I want a photo of it.”
What can we expect from you in the future?
Ava: “So we have our final single from the album, also with a music video, coming out on Friday, April 28th. I’m really proud of this music video, it’s gorgeous. It’s a really cool music video, it’s a really personal song that I think a lot of people will relate to the message in. And then our full-length album will be out May 12th everywhere. We’ll have our big album release show at Cobra Lounge on May 20th so, y’know, you’ve got a week to listen to all the songs and come sing along to them with us. Cloud Houses and Abject Horror are opening for us. They’re some fantastic other bands here in Chicago. I can’t share all the details yet, but we will be doing some touring this spring and summer. We’re gonna be playing a couple Pride festivals in June and some more festivals in Chicago.”
Anna: “In two weeks we’re going up to Lansing for Stoopfest, which is our first big music festival. That’s Saturday, April 22nd.”
Ava: “Yeah, keep an eye out on our Instagram and TikTok. That’s really the best way [to stay updated.] We also have an email list you can sign up for on our Linktree.”
Keep up with Pinksqueeze:
Stream Holy Critter:
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