Linking the Valley Music Scene: A Talk with Aroarah - by N.L. Belardes
Crammed full of musicians and twin hot roadies, Aroarah’s Blazer sped down Interstate 5 making its way towards Bakersfield through the farmland of the San Joaquin Valley. The ice chest was full; the berry-flavored generic fruit roll-ups were out; but these non-generic girls weren’t about to eat healthy or stay cramped for long. They had a big gig at Springfreakdomefest to attend and they weren’t about to show up as vegetarian-loving angels. Pass the bag of chips, please. These are hard-rocking girls, as fun as can be, as sweet as they need to be, and with just enough promotion as of late to land them on decent-sized tours and even a TV commercial. Unsigned? So what? All smiles? Sure, why not? These girls say they just want to tour, tour, tour… It’s about the music and they want to play it. On the road to Bakersfield? Can’t be so bad when you’re all about getting the word out that you’re a great hard-rocking band, all-female at that, and out to break the stereotype that it’s not an all-male hard-rocking world…
Another gas-stop down the interstate… It takes three twelve-gallon tanks to get down the road to Bakersfield so I was told by these vixens of hard rock. Don’t worry, they don’t mind paying. Bands like Aroarah deal with the hard knocks of economics. Their fun-loving silly slap-attack moods are what gets these girls everywhere… I asked them to describe that day on the road to Bakersfield for me. “We woke up at 5am. No, wait, our day really started a week before when our van broke down and needed a tow,” one of the girls giggled. It was all confusion for me as I spoke with Morgan, Lydia, Kenzie and Chelsea all at once in a spirited phone interview that left us all cracking up. I don’t know who was talking. One of them said: “We had to even find a vehicle to get down there. We got this Blazer, but it was a tight fit. Our roadies: Matt and his twin brother Carl. They’re cute. The girls really like them. They were packed in with the ice chest.”
And the road trip?
“The I-5 is a bunch of smelly cow crap. It sucks. But we have fun doing sing-a-longs, ABC games, sleeping… Kenzie drove and she had road rage because the cd kept skipping the whole way.” So much for Led Zep playing consistent like these angels do in concert. “I think Kenzie ate a whole box of Wheat Thins,” said one of the girls.
She did.
I was on my way home when Aroarah first called. I wasn’t ready yet. These girls are rock stars in the making. I needed a better front. I was nervous. I called them from home a few minutes later:
“’ello I’m calling to talk to uhrowwwrah,” I said in a rather flimsy British accent.
“Hello?”
“The rock stahs… I’m calling for the big intahhview…”
“Yeah that’s us…” someone giggled. I imagined one of the girls, probably Morgan rolling her eyes, about to hang up on old N.L.…
“What’s eet like in Livapool?”
“What?”
“Eets where you’re from, right?”
Doesn’t matter. I got half a laugh and they stayed on the line to tell me that the crowd was responsive at Bakersfield’s Springfest after all. Their song, ‘Unfold’ seemed to get them their biggest response. “I think people are generally shocked that we’re all girls and we don’t suck. The crowd really liked that song. We always get the mad love from the chicks—you know, ‘girlpower’ and all…but the guys dug it too. And I do have to say that the people putting on the show were really cool as well. They even unloaded our truck!”
I think they were mentioning Chris ‘Flemdog’ Fleming and that papa Teddy Bear of the old Tule Fog days, Mark Pope…
I asked how long the girls of Aroarah have known each other. Apparently these girls in their early 20s go way back to Junior High and before as they grew up listening to classic rock. Lydia and Morgan go even further back, having known each other since the 4th grade. Those were the days Morgan liked little Kevin while also ruling the tetherball courts with her lanky body and long reach. “She would tear me up,” laughed Lydia. “I wasn’t so tall then.” But Lydia was never to be outdone. She knew Morgan was into that heartthrob Kevin, so she did old Kevin a favor by penning supposed love letters that Morgan pined upon, thinking her Rico Suave had discovered more than her tetherball skills. From what I understand, the letters went something like this:
I think you’re cute. Let’s hold hands. Meet me behind the ball wall and tethers…
love, Kevin
But I can’t leave that alone can I? I’m the guy who wrote about the Lords of Bakersfield. I dig for the juicy stuff and so asked Lydia about her first crush. “He was some metrosexual at a Renaissance Fair. Nerds all the way, baby, especially with the high-tech cell phones.” But those days have gone by. Now she’s serious about her Mohawk-sporting guy with the big feet who she claims may have a touch of ADD. “Brian Platinum, he’s so cool he keeps pictures of us girls on a wall in his room. He puts up with our bitchiness and will even go to the store for us (including the tour manager) and buy tampons.” I agree with Aroarah. That’s love.
In final I asked Aroarah who their favorite tour band would be. That question caused quite a stir. I felt like I was watching their commercial all over again. Apparently the commercial is really how they are: feisty, punks, comfortable enough with each other to be honest and mean; they just have a “leave it in the garage mentality” that makes them click as musicians and friends. That’s a good perception of each other to have. As for their perception of Bakersfield. I think it was a bit off… but I educated them a bit… as for the world’s perception of Aroarah? They feel there is a misperception about girl bands in general… so all they ask is to check them out.
As for the perfect tour band? There were a lot of names thrown around that were both big and not-so-big bands, and I doubt I could even spell them all. But one stuck, Paradigm Shift out of Vacaville. I don’t know who they are, but when I do, I’ll let you know…
Another gas-stop down the interstate… It takes three twelve-gallon tanks to get down the road to Bakersfield so I was told by these vixens of hard rock. Don’t worry, they don’t mind paying. Bands like Aroarah deal with the hard knocks of economics. Their fun-loving silly slap-attack moods are what gets these girls everywhere… I asked them to describe that day on the road to Bakersfield for me. “We woke up at 5am. No, wait, our day really started a week before when our van broke down and needed a tow,” one of the girls giggled. It was all confusion for me as I spoke with Morgan, Lydia, Kenzie and Chelsea all at once in a spirited phone interview that left us all cracking up. I don’t know who was talking. One of them said: “We had to even find a vehicle to get down there. We got this Blazer, but it was a tight fit. Our roadies: Matt and his twin brother Carl. They’re cute. The girls really like them. They were packed in with the ice chest.”
And the road trip?
“The I-5 is a bunch of smelly cow crap. It sucks. But we have fun doing sing-a-longs, ABC games, sleeping… Kenzie drove and she had road rage because the cd kept skipping the whole way.” So much for Led Zep playing consistent like these angels do in concert. “I think Kenzie ate a whole box of Wheat Thins,” said one of the girls.
She did.
I was on my way home when Aroarah first called. I wasn’t ready yet. These girls are rock stars in the making. I needed a better front. I was nervous. I called them from home a few minutes later:
“’ello I’m calling to talk to uhrowwwrah,” I said in a rather flimsy British accent.
“Hello?”
“The rock stahs… I’m calling for the big intahhview…”
“Yeah that’s us…” someone giggled. I imagined one of the girls, probably Morgan rolling her eyes, about to hang up on old N.L.…
“What’s eet like in Livapool?”
“What?”
“Eets where you’re from, right?”
Doesn’t matter. I got half a laugh and they stayed on the line to tell me that the crowd was responsive at Bakersfield’s Springfest after all. Their song, ‘Unfold’ seemed to get them their biggest response. “I think people are generally shocked that we’re all girls and we don’t suck. The crowd really liked that song. We always get the mad love from the chicks—you know, ‘girlpower’ and all…but the guys dug it too. And I do have to say that the people putting on the show were really cool as well. They even unloaded our truck!”
I think they were mentioning Chris ‘Flemdog’ Fleming and that papa Teddy Bear of the old Tule Fog days, Mark Pope…
I asked how long the girls of Aroarah have known each other. Apparently these girls in their early 20s go way back to Junior High and before as they grew up listening to classic rock. Lydia and Morgan go even further back, having known each other since the 4th grade. Those were the days Morgan liked little Kevin while also ruling the tetherball courts with her lanky body and long reach. “She would tear me up,” laughed Lydia. “I wasn’t so tall then.” But Lydia was never to be outdone. She knew Morgan was into that heartthrob Kevin, so she did old Kevin a favor by penning supposed love letters that Morgan pined upon, thinking her Rico Suave had discovered more than her tetherball skills. From what I understand, the letters went something like this:
I think you’re cute. Let’s hold hands. Meet me behind the ball wall and tethers…
love, Kevin
But I can’t leave that alone can I? I’m the guy who wrote about the Lords of Bakersfield. I dig for the juicy stuff and so asked Lydia about her first crush. “He was some metrosexual at a Renaissance Fair. Nerds all the way, baby, especially with the high-tech cell phones.” But those days have gone by. Now she’s serious about her Mohawk-sporting guy with the big feet who she claims may have a touch of ADD. “Brian Platinum, he’s so cool he keeps pictures of us girls on a wall in his room. He puts up with our bitchiness and will even go to the store for us (including the tour manager) and buy tampons.” I agree with Aroarah. That’s love.
In final I asked Aroarah who their favorite tour band would be. That question caused quite a stir. I felt like I was watching their commercial all over again. Apparently the commercial is really how they are: feisty, punks, comfortable enough with each other to be honest and mean; they just have a “leave it in the garage mentality” that makes them click as musicians and friends. That’s a good perception of each other to have. As for their perception of Bakersfield. I think it was a bit off… but I educated them a bit… as for the world’s perception of Aroarah? They feel there is a misperception about girl bands in general… so all they ask is to check them out.
As for the perfect tour band? There were a lot of names thrown around that were both big and not-so-big bands, and I doubt I could even spell them all. But one stuck, Paradigm Shift out of Vacaville. I don’t know who they are, but when I do, I’ll let you know…
This entry was posted by N.L. Belardes, on
Monday, May 02, 2005.
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