The All Girl Summer Fun Band is a four-piece band out of Portland committed to making music fun. We got the chance to interview three of the four members, Jen Sbragia (guitar, vocals; right), Kim Baxter (guitar, vocals; second from the right), and Kathy Foster (drums; second from the left) after their 9/26 show at the Catacombs.
How has the tour been so far? What have been some of your favorite places to play?
Kim: Cleveland was a lot of fun.
Kathy: The tour’s been really great. Most of these places we haven’t played at before, so it’s exciting to play those places after we’ve been a band for so long.
How long have you been together?
Kathy: Since 1998.
How was the concept of the All Girl Summer Fun Band created?
Kathy: The name is kind of what the idea was supposed to be. We didn’t all know each other, we all knew Kim individually. So she got us together to play some music, and it was just supposed to be for the summer, since Kim was going to study in Russia for a semester. When she got back, we decided to keep playing.
Are you all from Portland originally?
Kim: I moved there from Albuquerque, New Mexico, for school and for the music scene.
Jen: I moved from California, just because I’d lived there my whole life and I wanted to live somewhere else.
Kathy: I grew up in California too, and I moved there pretty much for the music scene.
The Pacific Northwest seems to be a hotbed for indie music these days. How is the Portland scene? What are some of your favorite Portland bands to play with?
Kathy: Well, the Shins just moved there. When we first moved to Portland, Dear Nora was there, and we like to play with them a lot.
Jen: The Thermals, the Kulats, the Dimes.
Kathy: Skeleton Coast. There’s lots of great bands in Portland.
Jen: Some of the venues are kind of suffering though. There are just too many bands playing at the same time.
Kim: Yeah, I never go to shows anymore, unless it’s us or my best friends.
How often do you play in Portland?
Kim: Not that often really. It depends on when Kathy is in town- once or twice a month, maybe. It’s funny, we played in Portland with the Shins a few weeks ago, and we’ve been a band in Portland for five years now. And everyone was like, “hey, where are you guys from?”
Kathy: Yeah, we seem to stay kind of hidden there.
How did you end up on K Records?
Jen: Through me. My old band, the Softies, was on the label.
Kathy: So Jen just made the connection.
Kathy, I know you are also in the Thermals. Are the rest of you in other bands at the moment as well?
Kim: No, just this band right now.
Jen: Yup, just this.
Kathy, how is it juggling both the Thermals and the All Girl Summer Fun Band? Is it tough?
Kathy: It’s been fine so far. I like to be doing as much in music as I can, so it’s great. I just need to stay aware of the schedules, know when the Thermals or the Summer Fun Band are touring.
So it’s quite a bit of touring?
Kathy: Well, the All Girl Summer Fun Band, we haven’t toured very much. We’d like to tour more in the future, but we’re trying to coordinate our schedules. Usually our tours are only one or two weeks, like this one, so it works out.
I watched your video for Car Trouble online. Did you guys have a good time making that?
Kim: Yeah, Ari’s boyfriend Greg made it, so it was just like us hanging out with our friends.
Jen: It only took like, half a day.
Kim: Maybe three hours.
That’s kind of a depressing song.
Kim: Well, it could be. That song is written about an ex-boyfriend I don’t care about anymore, so it’s not depressing to me. It’s just something that happened.
Are all your songs based on real life things that happened to you?
Kathy: Pretty much.
Which of your songs are your favorites?
Kathy: I like our newer stuff, because it’s a lot more fun to play.
Kim: I really like Jason Lee and Tour Heart Throb.
Jen: Yeah, that’s my favorite song to play, Tour Heart Throb. It’s just so much fun.
I was pleasantly surprised by all the males who were at your show tonight. The band seems more targeted towards girls. Do you have a lot of male fans?
Kathy: Oh yeah.
What do you think attracts them to your music?
Kathy: Well, we’re hot babes. Actually, growing up in high school and stuff, a lot of my guy friends, they were all really into girl bands, and they actually got me into a lot of girl bands, like Tigercat, Bikini Kill. It’s just about- good music that you like, you know? A good energy.
Your music can definitely be classified as “fun.” It’s even in the name of the band. Do you think music that’s meant to be purely for fun gets enough credit? How do you respond to people that say indie music should be more serious and substantial?
Kathy: We get that question a lot, actually. The response that we’re getting makes us feel that it is important. People are really getting into it. I don’t know, we’re just doing what we want to do, having fun, and we don’t think about it too much.
Kim: Yeah, the name of our band is what we wanted it to be- summertime fun!
I’ve read recently about the Rock and Roll Camp for Girls in Portland, and I think this is a fabulous idea. How does the camp work, and what is your involvement in it?
Kim: Oh yeah, it’s great. I teach beginning guitar, and I’ve been doing it all three years. It’s amazing; it’s just the coolest thing.
Kathy: It’s for girls 8-18, so it’s a great range of girls. It’s cool, because a beginning class will have an 8-year-old and a 15-year-old working together. It’s really cool to see them collaborating and helping each other out. They can learn any instrument- drums, guitar, bass, vocals. This year they have mixing, DJing, and sound. It’s just getting bigger and bigger.
Kim: During the week they have self-defense workshops and ‘zine writing.
How long does the camp run?
Kim: It’s one week. They’re also starting an after-school program.
Kathy: They also have a showcase at the end of the week. The girls can form a band during the week and learn one song, then perform it at the showcase. They’ll also have a few established bands play; we’ve played a few times.
Kim: Yeah, Sleater-Kinney is also involved.
Have any of the girls formed bands that continued after the camp?
Kathy: Yeah, even the younger ones have!
Kim: There’s a band called the Black Peppercorns, and they’re two 9-year-old sisters. One does drums and one does guitar and singing, and they’re awesome. They’ve put out a CD already and played shows around Portland.
Who started the camp?
Kim: Misty McElroy. She went to Portland State and had to do a project for her women’s studies class, so she came up with this idea on her own.
Kathy: And it’s just been growing and growing.
Kim: But originally I think Australia had the first rock and roll camp- or no, it might have been a rock and roll high school. That’s Misty’s goal, to have a rock and roll high school. The way things are moving, I really think it’s gonna happen.
How many girls participate?
Kim: It’s usually about 100.
Kathy: Usually about 500 girls apply.
Kim: They send it something that says what their interested in, what kind of music they want to play. They want to make sure that it’s really mixed.
What else do you guys do for fun and work?
Kim: I have my own bag company, called “Kissycake.” Basically I sleep in, watch the Price is Right, and sew.
Kathy: I have a day job too. I do graphic design. They are pretty flexible about touring, because it’s a small company. I worked there full-time for three years, and now I work part-time and set my own hours. I just have to figure out ways to do music and work at the same time.
