When the three members of Seattleâs newest "all killer-no filler" supergroup, Who Is She?, walk through the door of Lindaâs Tavern, I already know who they are.
Robin Edwards, AKA Lisa Prank, Tacocat bassist Bree McKenna, and Julia Shapiro of Chastity Belt, all order matching red wines, mimicking Shapiroâs red wine phone case, and sit down to talk about their new album, Seattle Gossip.
McKenna, Edwards, and Shapiro all met through one another. McKenna and Edwards were brought together by beloved Seattle music house, Spruce Haus. Then Childbirth (Shapiro, McKenna and Stacey Peck of Pony Time) brought Lisa Prank on a tour, and the three have been friends since.
Some late night jam sessions combined with the Strangerâs own "I Saw You" ads (on the now deceased Lovelab/Lustlab) led to the creation of the threeâs newest crossover band, Who is She?
The group was originally called Gutless, in reference to the writers of Craigslist missed connection-esque ads on Lovelab, because they werenât brave enough to talk in person (it's also a reference to the Hole song).
Shortly thereafter they realized the name Gutless was already taken, so they took inspiration from McKennaâs âmysterious womanâ outfit of sunglasses and a headscarf that she wore on the Childbirth and Lisa Prank tour, and dubbed the band Who Is She?, a move that also captured the essence of an "I Saw You" ad.
A friend of McKennaâs said that "I Saw You"s made good songwriting prompts - random people telling stories about tiny crushes on other random people from their daily life, and recounting these chance encounters on Lovelab in the hopes of meeting again and going on a date.Â
And thatâs how their first couple of songs came to be, including âNervous Dufflebag Boy,â âBlushin on the 44,â and âWorst Girl at the 5 Point.â
âMissed connections are kind of creepy,â McKenna said.
âI think theyâre sweet and romantic,â Edwards objected.
âThey're just like someone lurking a little bit,â McKenna clarified. âThat makes kind of a good pop song â like a little bit of creepy.â
âIt's kind of a magical,â Edwards said. âIn romcoms they call it a 'meet cute', like it's kind of a 'meet cute'.â
And the trio does love their romcoms â they recounted a long list of favorites to Consequence of Sound. They even have an entire song on the record dedicated to the genre called âRomcom."
Their love of early 2000âs culture also comes through on song titles like âIâm Getting Courteney Cox and David Arquette Back Together If Itâs the Last Thing I Do,â a 50 second, almost entirely instrumental ballad, where the trio screams about getting the couple from Scream back together.
âMy takeaway from Scream is that it's a love story â a beautiful love story,â Edwards said while laughing. âI [donât] think that's everyone's takeaway from Scream though.â
The three then delved into their current obsession with returning to things they loved as a teenager, including Josie and the Pussycats, the Internet time traveler John Titor, and Jordan Catalano from My So-Called Life (peep âJordan Catalanoâ and âJohn Titorâ on Seattle Gossip for more).
Nearly all of Who Is She?âs songs are under two minutes, making them perfect catchy ditties about Seattle-esque interactions and ideas, such as the infamous âSeattle Freeze.â
The trio doesnât believe in the Seattle Freeze, claiming, âItâs not Seattle, itâs you.â
They cite their ability to make endless bands with their friends as the best example, and the list is enough to make anyone dizzy:
Shapiro and McKennaâs own crossover band, Childbirth, led to a band called Chore Wheel with just McKenna and Stacey Peck.
Edwards and Peck have Party Girls, and then Edwards, McKenna, and Peck are in the Christmas cover band, Ms. Claus.
Thereâs even another Christmas cover band called Seattleâs Little Helpers. They figured that was enough to dispel the notion of the Seattle Freeze.
When asked if there will ever be a limit to their crossover bands, the three responded:
âI don't think there will be a limit,â McKenna said.
âThere's no limit,â Shapiro said, laughing. âThe sky's the limit.â
And Edwards concluded, âOur friendship is the limit.â
Who Is Sheâs debut album, Seattle Gossip, is out on Father/Daughter Records. Their celebratory tape release show will be held tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 13, at 6 p.m. at Everyday Music, with support from Secret Superpower and Weezer cover band, Goat Reward.