Our Latest Band Crush: Wild Flag

by Fiorella Valdesolo (NYC)

The ladies of hard-rocking indie supergroup Wild Flag.

It’s safe to say that every era has its amazing all-girl bands. The ’60s brought The Ronettes with their matching hairdos and harmonies; rebellious rock bands like The Runaways and Siouxsie and the Banshees ran rampant in the ’70s; the ’80s gave us upbeat pop ensembles like The Bangles and The Go-Gos and the rabble-rousers of the ’90s—think Bikini Kill and L7—provided the universal soundtrack to teendom. So when I heard about Wild Flag, an all-girl rock band founded by former members of Sleater Kinney, The Minders and Helium, I went crazy (in a good way).

For those who, like me, have grown a bit weary of the mellow, shoegazey melodies dominating the airwaves nowadays, Wild Flag signals a return to good old-fashioned rock—the kind that makes you want to jubilantly thrash about on the dance floor. Evidence? Check out the video for “Romance” below (it’s hilarious too).

Before they hit the road, three of the Wild Flaggers shared some of their own personal and hometown favorites.

MARY TIMONY

Hometown: Washington, DC

Instrument: Guitar

Best vintage in DC: Meeps

Favorite bookstore: Second Story Books

Great place to see live music: Black Cat

Best place for a picnic: Rock Creek Park

Top coffee shop: Big Bear Café

Record store: Crooked Beat

Favorite bike ride: Bike path along the Potomac

Favorite restaurant: Joe’s Noodle House in Rockville

Lesser-known tourist attraction: The world’s largest chair in Anacostia

Five current inspirations: My bandmates, Jimi Hendrix, Electroharmonix micro-synth guitar pedal, Sitori sonics delay pedal and kiwi berries

How many records do you own? 367?

Biggest misconception people have about DC: We all work for the government.

REBECCA COLE

Hometown: Portland, OR

Instrument: Keyboard

Best vintage in Portland: House of Vintage on Hawthorne

Great place to see live music: The Doug Fir

Best place for a picnic: The International Rose Test Garden

Top coffee shop: It’s a tie between Stumptown on Belmont and Cellar Door on 11^th.

Record store: Exiled Records rules!

Favorite bike ride: Springwater Corridor

Favorite restaurant: Dim sum at Wong’s King on Division Street

Five current inspirations: Poetry of Matthew Dickman, Crystal River in Colombia, Thee Oh Sees, the virtuosity of pianist Alicia de Larrocha and the possibility that neutrinos in the Large Hadron Collider have traveled faster than the speed of light.

What you miss most when you’re on tour: The food. You have to work hard to get a bad meal in this town.

CARRIE BROWNSTEIN

Hometown: Portland, OR

Instrument: Guitar

Best vintage in Portland: Rad Summer and Xtabay

Great place to see live music: The Woods

Gallery of choice: Together

Best place for a picnic: The bluffs

Top coffee shop: Barista on Alberta Street

Record store: Jackpot!

Favorite bike ride: Alameda Ridge

Favorite restaurant: Toro Bravo

Favorite dog run: Sandy River Delta

Five current inspirations: Kate Bush, high heels, nature walks, Vera Pavlova poems, Bill Cunningham New York

Biggest misconception people have about Portland: That it doesn’t have a sense of humor.