• Molly/Sammi/CJ/ Ethan

When I first saw Denver's "no coast surf punx" Sauna, I was in a haze of atmospheric pressure making me feel drunk off two beers and pondering the Colorado laws that were allowing these high schoolers to be running around in a bar all night. Luckily I felt totally energized when the 4-piece started their set of delightful surf-y pop songs that instantly won me over as a huge fan, as they did with the rest of Denver later on that year. I asked them a few questions as they are making their way up the West Coast to play Chop Suey tonight, escorted by their cool cousin acting as their guardian:

Have you guys ever been to Seattle? Will you be going to the Cobain Mansion?
We were here last year, on our way to Eugene. We stopped at the Cobain mansion then, but we’re going back again. Creepy vibes, dudes.

How old are you all? How did your band form?
Sammi and Molly are 18 and Ethan and C.J. are 17. We started because Ethan and C.J. saw the Coathangers and decided to start a cool punk band. Then, our friend Robin from Lust-Cats of the Gutters asked if C.J. had a band that could play with them. He lied and said yes and the band got put together and we had six songs written in a week.

How does being teenagers effect how your tour functions?
Sometimes we have to wait outside the club until we play and then we get kicked out afterwards. Legally, we’re supposed to have a guardian, so Ethan’s cool cousin with a van is with us this time. And of course, we get glamorous x’s on our hands.

I read that your song "Croctopus" was stemmed from wanting to write a song like "Rock Lobster." Do you have other bands you draw inspiration from during your songwriting process?
A lot of our first songs were inspired by bands like The B-52s and Thee Oh Sees, bands that are super fun to listen to and dance to. We love all of those bands but we pull from all genres. We all have individual taste in music but we love a lot of genres like power pop and post punk which are pretty present in our newer songs

You've been getting a lot of high-profile slots back in Denver; what's been your favorite so far?
The B-52s shows were fun and super huge, but for sheer enjoyment, the show with Thee Oh Sees was the most fun. Sammi barfed in an alley after our set, it was so fun!