Hello Rock Stars! Today’s Artist of the Week is The Queer Fronted Punk/Indie/Ska Band Quit Yer Whinin!
Here’s their story in their own words! Enjoy! xoxoxox
They also have a show at Hola Habibi on May 15th being a part of the single release party of Band Worse for Wear so please save the date! It’s going to be an amazing show! 🙂
All Photo’s courtesy of the amazing Tiffany Salerno!
VMS:
When did you start writing and performing your music.
What’s your backstory and current lineup.
Quit Yer Whinin:
Whiners:
Goo • June • Aqua • Nolan • Sid • Ginny
“Quit Yer Whinin’” was originally started in 2022, not long after Goo’s original band “red room” was disbanded the year prior. The project went through a slow patch of writing and finding members. Goo kept a lot of songs/lyrics on the back burner until 2024, which is when the members of Quit were solidified, the songs were fully written/finalized, and the first official show was booked in December of that year.
VMS:
What artist or bands inspire you and your sound.
Quit Yer Whinin:
Quit takes inspiration from a multitude of bands and genres, but our top three inspirations would be “Bikini Kill”, “Red Aunts”, and “Operation Ivy”.
VMS:
What’s your writing process and inspiration for your lyrics.
Quit Yer Whinin:
Our writing process definitely varies, but as of right now, June kicks us off by sending us samples and chord progressions for us to mold into a full song. Goo usually has lyrics already written and completed, so once everyone gets together, we mesh all the material together and clean it up. But, other times, we all just get together as a group and play random stuff until we find something that sounds interesting, and Goo will ad-lib lyrics and rhyme words until she makes an interesting line. Once we find a foundation, we tie together all the final details, lyrics, tempo, song meaning, etc.
VMS:
I love your songs “Let You Go“, “Jaws” and “Sex Powered Hooligan“.
What is the inspiration or story behind these songs.
Quit Yer Whinin:
Thank you! Those are definitely a couple of our favorites.
“Sex powered hooligan” is a fun and light hearted song about sex positivity and relationship anarchy. It’s about kissing and being intimate with your friends and exploring new dynamics that aren’t usually considered “the norm” in society.
“Let you go” was written about a guy that broke Goo’s heart. It tells the story of how she couldn’t let go of the bond they had and how hurt she felt after he abruptly ended things after a year of stringing her along, all while putting no official title on their relationship. The song speaks about love-bombing, ghosting, lies and deceit. It’s supposed to feel like a roller coaster, mixing different forms of singing, belting, screaming and breakdowns to express how the situation made Goo feel, the ending of the song specifically. Going from a soft but heartfelt plea into an angry, gut wrenching scream, representing the moment she finally broke and couldn’t handle the confusion heartbreak anymore.
Goo wrote the lyrics for “Jaws” when she was 17, fresh out of an abusive relationship with the pedophile who repeatedly sexually abused her. The lyrics were originally a journal entry. But after forming the band, and hearing an instrumental June sent her, she cleaned up the words a little to make it fit into a song. She wanted to keep the song messy and vulnerable. “Jaws” is vulgar and in your face, hoping to convey the anguish and despair a victim can feel after getting away from their attacker.
Check out Quit Yer Whinin on Instagram for more information!
VMS: Which local artist would you like to work with and why.
Quit Yer Whinin:
One of the bands we’d love to collab with would be Desert Island Boys. Their music is super fun and their riffs are unique and super catchy! Making a surf ska song with them sounds super cool.
VMS: What’s your overall theme or message of your music.
Quit Yer Whinin:
Our message would be to not put yourself into a box or anyone or any reason. We don’t like to hyper-define our genre or style simply because we make the music WE want to make. We write about what we want and play what makes us happy and fulfilled. We believe in not sticking to a mold and showing the world your diversity and uniqueness, no matter how nerve wracking or scary it might be at first. It’s okay to be a messy, beverage-stained, open book. Tell those awkward stories, cry, scream as loud as you can, be vulnerable, be loud, be misunderstood.
VMS: Do you have a favorite song that you like to perform?
Quit Yer Whinin:
This one is a tie! “DUNCE” and “Let you go” are definitely our favorites to perform live. We love rallying the audience for “DUNCE” and hearing everyone chant and skip around during the song, it’s also a good opportunity to vent out our political frustrations. We sometimes even change the words of the song to match what’s currently going on in the political climate.
As for “Let you go”, it gives Goo a chance to mess around vocally and get a good scream in. It also gives her a chance to be dramatic and practice her theatrics, it’s her way of venting about the situation “Let you go” is about. For example; The end of the song is supposed to depict the feeling of self pity and regret, wondering why so much time and energy was wasted on someone so selfish, hence why Goo just yells and screams a bunch while clutching her chest. When the last riff of the song hits, she falls to the floor, dramatically sobs, and allows the band members to kick her while she’s on the ground. This is supposed to symbolize her self pity and how stupid she felt over the entire situation. But afterwards, she assures you that she is “totally over it”.
VMS: Do you have any crazy or interesting stories from working in the music scene.
Quit Yer Whinin:
Surprisingly, Quit hasn’t seen a lot of crazy things in its time being a band. We’ve mostly just experienced a few crummy promoters who have been misogynistic and passive aggressive towards Goo due to how up front she is about her beliefs, we’ve worked with multiple bands who have treated us less than kindly for seemingly no reason, and have also dealt with bands who don’t like the fact that we have no problem with calling out their predatory behavior.
But besides that, we haven’t got any crazy stories up our sleeve. However, Goo’s previous project is a different story.
VMS: What does the future hold for Quit Yer Whinin.
Quit Yer Whinin:
We hope that we can one day achieve a small tour and travel around the country to play in small DIY venues. One of our goals is to also have our music out and have it accessible to everyone, we also want to get CD’s and cassettes made. Just being able to do those things would make us incredibly happy. Hopefully, that’s what the future holds for us.
VMS: What have been your personal pros and cons of being a band here in Las Vegas. What do you think the scene could improve on and what are your hopes for the future of the Vegas Music Scene.
Quit Yer Whinin:
The pro of being in the scene out here in Vegas is that everyone knows everyone, and the community is very strong. People rally, organize and promote for one another and that’s really inspiring. I’ve seen the local scene throw benefit shows to raise money for someone’s rent, for cancer treatment, funeral costs, etc. I’ve seen the community straight up change people’s lives and I absolutely adore that about Vegas.
The con, however, is the fact that there are quite a few people in the scene who are complicit in others’ horrid actions and/or behavior. I’ve seen multiple bands/individuals take no accountability or face any consequences for the awful things they’ve done or said to people. I notice the scene likes to cherry-pick who gets called out and who doesn’t…I also notice that once a certain amount of time passes, people just forget about what a certain individual has done, like that expunges everything they’ve done.
But, thankfully, I’ve seen this trend die down more and more within the last few years of being active in the music scene. It used to be a lot worse. I hope the scene can continue to stick to their guns and lift each other up when needed, I feel like a lot of people fail to realize that community is important, now more than ever. Times are scary and it’s up to us to take care of one another when things get hard.
VMS:
What do you want your audience to feel and experience at one of your live shows.
Quit Yer Whinin:
We want the audience to know that no matter the circumstances, they’re safe with us. Our shows are meant to be fun, interactive, and in your face. We want everyone in the crowd to feel accepted and seen, while also feeling comfortable enough to get rowdy and play around with us.
For More Information about Quit Yer Whinin please visit their Instagram! 😉
——VMS xoxoxoxox