None of The Linda Lindas are old enough to vote or even get a driver’s license, But that didn’t stop them from recording a get-out-the-vote song or making a video for it!
If you don’t know them, it’s okay. Bela (fifteen), Lucia (thirteen), Eloise (twelve), and Mila (ten) have yet to play outside Southern California and are still working on their first EP. Yet Razorcake readers will be more than familiar with their friends who got behind the cause. The “VOTE!” video includes original L.A. punk lifers (Alice Bag, Phranc, Mike Watt, Tony Reflex from Adolescents, Hector from The Zeros, Mike from Channel 3), friends from Jabberjaw days (Adam from Jawbreaker, Allison from Bratmobile, all three of Emily’s Sassy Lime), representatives from Olympia’s pop underground (Tae from Kicking Giant, Lois, Nikki McClure), faves from The Smell (Bethany from Best Coast, Jennifer from Bleached, Randy from No Age), and more.
All that support would mean squat if “VOTE!” were a lousy song. In fact, it rules. When Jenny from Neighborhood Brats told me she’d been singing it around the house, I said that the bassline reminded me of Never Mind the Bollocks and that the riff channels “Suspect Device.” She followed, “But with Cherie Currie!”
The evening after the video posted, I asked The Linda Lindas some questions on behalf of Razorcake. (Disclaimer: Eloise is my daughter, Lucia and Mila are my nieces, and Bela and her parents may as well be family. In addition, I helped shoot the video and was lead groveler for special guests.)
Martin: Eloise, tell me about writing the song.
Eloise: I wanted it to be exciting enough to compel people to act and catchy enough so they couldn’t forget it.
Martin: Lucia, can you tell me about producing the song?
Lucia: It was fun and cool because I learned how to do it while I was doing it.
Martin: Are you happy with how the song turned out?
Lucia: Yeah, and the whole band contributed!
Martin: Bela, what was it like performing at ten in the morning to a room with no audience but a bunch of cameras?
Bela: I was very tired when we started filming the video, but then I got into it and woke up!
Martin: Yet your hair was awesome. What’s your secret?
Bela: That’s my morning goofy bedhead.
Martin: Mila, you have epic hair flips in the video. Do you practice them in the mirror?
Mila: No.
Martin: They’re just natural?
Mila: Yup.
Martin: During breaks, we were writing get-out-the-vote postcards to swing states. How many do you think we made?
Mila: Maybe forty or eighty!
Martin: Eloise, what were the best and the most difficult parts about editing the video?
Eloise: The best part was having Lucia and Mila sitting next to me, and Lucia helping me drag in the files. The hardest part was choosing what to cut!
Martin: Can each of you tell me your favorite part of the video?
Bela: Watching our friends sing, “Vote!”
Mila: Watching the bloopers, especially the cat butt.
Lucia: I like the contributions from friends, too. Most people only get to see a few seconds of each, but we got to see them all!
Eloise: When everyone who sees the video goes out and votes!
Lucia: And I am really surprised how many views the song is getting! It’s crazy!