THE SOAP GIRLS INTERVIEW XCLUSIVE

1.What is the name of your band and how did you come up with it?

What is your name and what do you do for the band?

We are The SoapGirls,we started out as street performers from the ages 8 and 9 selling soap for charity we were nicknamed the SoapGirls by the public since 2004.

2.Tell us where you are based and describe the scene. How do you think where you are located influences your sound.

When we aren’t on tour we are based in Cape Town South Africa.It’s a beautiful country but has a lot of issues and violence so we are never short of material to write about, also starting out as street perfromers and being exposed to people from all walks of life really gave us a good foundation and shaped the way we express ourselves through our music. Every one of our songs is written from a personal experience and growing up in South Africa has been at times very harsh and we have lived through some pretty hectic circumstances.

3.Who influences your sound that would surprise people?

We have such a diverse range of influences Killing Joke , Black Sabbath,The Butthole surfers ,The Steve Miller Band, Joy division , Nirvana , Alice in Chains , Fleetwood Mac , Napalm Death,Helmet ,The offspring,Marilyn Manson, L7 , Billy Idol,Crowded House and Blondie, Joan Jett, Alanis Morissette to name a few they all have one thing in common and that’s really strong melodies and distinct guitar tones .

4.Are you endorsed by musical companies , if so who , and if not who would you like to be endorsed by?

We are endorsed by Ibanez, Blackstar, Ashdown, Vocalzone, Rotosound. We would love to be endorsed by earthquake devices, fender cables, sennheiser microphones, video/camera company, a car company (tour van), hotel chain,monster energy drinks, jack daniels, usn protein shakes

5.When you started what was your ultimate goal? And how close to the goal are you now? 

We have since even the early age of 4 loved entertaining people and always imagined ourselves as rockstars when we started out as street performers our goal was to make a difference to the lives of others however after being signed to Universal when we were 15 we thought we had found a new home in music. Although we had songs charting we never connected to either the music nor the vision they had for us so we parted ways with a firm goal in our minds to write and perform our music without constraint and be able to be as raw and real and close to our fans as possible maintain our integrity and to start touring and releasing our vision. In some ways yes we have reached many goals and we tour non stop since 2015 mostly europe and the uk and our biggest goal to tour usa is we hope about to become a reality. Goals are ongoing and there is so much more for us to achieve like playing big festivals :ie Lollapalooza there are so many goals that we probably need many more pages to write them all out but a really big one would also be to meet Sharon Osborne and work with Rick Ruben.

6.In today's digital environment it takes creative strategy to keep things moving. What creative ideas do you have to keep your band relevant over time? 

 

We’ve never been ones for strategic formulas everything we do is spontaneous but we offer fans a porthole into a crazy universe where anything is possible and do this through our own DIY videos and photos , every Monday when we’re not on tour we do a live broadcast from wherever we happen to be playing our music and interact with fans.

7.We've all seen a terrible live band that is awesome on CD. Is that cool with you or do you lose respect for bands that cannot pull it off live?

 Its stupid of any band to record in such a way that they know wont be able to be pulled off live , layering guitar parts is one thing but having an album that is so overproduced that you actually lose the essence of the band is the same as having a person photoshopped to the extent that they are unrecogniseable and is both a disservice to you and your fans, its just a recipe for disappointment which is why we believe more in keeping our music as raw as is possible.

8.Tell us your “core” are you Metal , Rock , Punk , Pop etc because people just have to categorize these days you know? 

Well because there’s two of us its quite a complex answer so in a nutshell we’re a mix of all of those genres but Mie’s core is definitely more pop/punk and Milles is rock/grunge we use the term Revolt Rock to describe our sound .

9.This is a tough question but a very real reality, Is your band actually talented or just popular?

 Our music is who and what we are and like most art its all in the eye of the beholder although in this case in the ears of the listener we believe that our music stands for itself in fact we often prefer that people first connect to the music before the shock of actually seeing us or seeing us live. We have a very loyal fanbase because they love our music,what we stand for and they are part of our lives and our journey in a huge way.

Many bands make it with a cliche or publicity stunts etc. Would you accept fame even if it was just because of being the “ in” thing or is it actually important to you that you gain favor with talent?We would say definetly favour with talent! Being true to ourselves is of the utmost importance to us,we prefer to be original no matter what and won’t do anything to compromise the integrity of the who we are or the music we write the interesting thing is that it might seem to some appealing to be the “in” one but its short lived and we are in this for the long haul and our music is us its our life and all we do.

10.Tell us what to expect from you live.

 Nothing is more boring than watching bands stare at the floor and bob their heads to music nobody but the band knows. What can your band offer in a live setting that people will remember? There is nothing quite like our live show out there,each show is different from the last and sometimes it’s just music straight up or other times there is a lot of audience participation involved , I(Mille) get transported to another world onstage I’m either mid air or playing my bass while bent upside down doing gymnastics there is so much energy at the shows that even when we have had a show lasting 2 hours it flashes by like seconds and we crave the next high of performing as soon as we leave the stage,at the end of the day for us the live show is where it’s all at because this is where we our music and fans connect.

11. What releases have you put out , When will we see something new?

We have 2 independently released albums out,Calls for Rebellion and society’s reject our third album Charlie Brown is about to be released as with all our previous albums it’s very diverse and hard to box into a category

12. If you have videos where can we see them? 

We have an official Youtube channel which is full of work from through the years with lots of acoustic, ridiculous skits and of course our latest music videos.

13.Everybody has Bandcamp , ReverbNation , Soundcloud , etc

Why do you think this is so important? Doesn't it seem like everyone is giving everything out for free?those music platforms are all brilliant for independent bands that don’t have major label budgets for promotion,it’s a gamble putting your music out there and sometimes for free but real fans want to pay and buy your music and merchandise because they want to keep you moving forward and they want to hear the next single or album,generally the relationship between our music and fans is a lifelong one,they are in it for the long haul like we are and therefore will always support

14.Best moment of your career so far?

We are going to cheat and write out 2 although we have so many but standout was featuring in guitar techniques magazine (Mille) being part of a huge feature in Classic Rock magazine alongside many of our icons.

15.Your message to the fans?

We would like to say firstly thank you from the deepest depths of our souls for supporting us,going to shows,downloading our music,buying merchandise and just always having our backs.We also want to say,stay true to yourself,never conform to other peoples ideals and embrace the unknown

Bonus Question who do you bring back

Dime , Cliff , Dio , Lemmy , Randy WOW that is tricky!!All such talented artists,for us it would have to be Lemmy as he was absolutely dedicated to his music,he lived and performed on his terms and was always willing to help another musician out,he was self assured but not arrogant and has left a lasting legacy on all those he met and touched through his music.