At the second night of a three-part Don Giovanni showcase last Friday, we caught up with three of the New Brunswick-based punk label’s brightest and best. \u00a0We also decided to pioneer a new interviewing technique based on a popular children’s fortune telling game, using a folded paper “cootie-catcher” (or “saltcellar” or “chatterbox” or “whirlybird” or whatever you may have called it).<\/p>\n

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Lauren Denitzio, lead singer of Worriers, isn’t at all squeamish about dealing with weighty concepts when it comes to songwriting. \u00a0Her band’s debut full-length, Cruel Optimist<\/em>, draws from rich literal references, personal experiences, and the politics of being a feminist. \u00a0Denitzio’s words sometimes come across as a challenge to examine privilege, and she’s spent plenty of time here delving into her own and opening up about the conclusions she’s come to, without any heavy-handedness. \u00a0When taken together, the album’s overall feeling is one of exhilaration, energy, and inspiring call to action. \u00a0And her band, comprised of former bandmates from The Measure [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][sa] Tim Burke and Mikey Erg, as well as best friend Rachel Rubino on bass,\u00a0is more than willing to back that up.<\/p>\n

LAUREN PICKS CAT, 8, 4, 5 and gets the question:<\/strong> What\u2019s more important, the personal or the political?<\/em><\/p>\n

LD:<\/strong> Woah. That is a good question. Maybe I\u2019ll say the personal because of the saying \u201cthe personal is political\u201d. \u00a0Over the years, the way I’ve written songs comes from a very personal place, trying to find a way to use personal things that I write about to talk about other, political things. That\u2019s what I try to have fun with, is writing about personal things that are cathartic for me to write about and sing about but they\u2019re also talking about larger issues. And being able to bring that into the band without it being like \u201cWe are a POLITICAL BAND, and we\u2019re going to sing about these things that are important to us but don\u2019t necessarily relate directly to our personal lives.\u201d So yeah, I\u2019d say the personal. Because I think it can be more dynamic.<\/p>\n

LAUREN PICKS GHOST, 6, 2, 7 and gets the question:<\/strong> What\u2019s your favorite song from \u201cCruel Optimist\u201d?<\/em><\/p>\n

LD:<\/strong>\u00a0I\u2019ll say \u201cBest Case Scenario\u201d is my favorite one. \u00a0I think a lot of the songs maybe have more to them than face value, but I think \u201cBest Case\u201d is really fun to play, really fun to sing, and it\u2019s also just a straight-up love song about my sweetheart, so I always really enjoy that one.<\/p>\n

LAUREN PICKS GUITAR, 3, 9, 2 and gets the question:<\/strong> \u201cPassion\u201d is a reference to Jeanette Winterson, and there are lots of literary references on the record. \u00a0What\u2019s a book you think everyone should read and if it happens to relate to your songs, how so?<\/em><\/p>\n

LD:<\/strong> Well I feel like the obvious answer to this would be Cruel Optimism<\/em> by Lauren Berlant<\/a>. It\u2019s kind of where the title for the record came from and I think that it\u2019s a more theoretical, maybe a bit more academic book than say, Passion<\/em> by Jeanette Winterson. But I think it\u2019s an accessible read. \u00a0She talks about a lot of things that make a lot of sense to me in terms of how we define success and how people can be very attached to this\u00a0mainstream, neo-liberal, everyone for themselves, very capitalist mentality of\u00a0the quote-unquote good life – whatever that means to you. \u00a0And how detaching from that can bring about new possibilities. Regardless of the examples that she uses in the book, it has been really useful for me in both my artwork and music in thinking about how we construct our own worlds and our own lives based on goals that don\u2019t have to do with what we\u2019ve been told growing up or what the news wants to tell you is successful or the right life path. She also talks about how those things can be where living takes place, like in the pursuit of the good life. But I think it\u2019s a really interesting book. I really love it, and love her writing and it\u2019s a book I would hand to anyone.
\nAF:<\/strong> Do you think she knows that you named a record after her book?<\/em>
\nLD:<\/strong> In fact I do know that, because her publisher, Duke University Press, found a link to the record online and links to it underneath her book on their website. It says, listen to the Worriers’ punk song “Cruel Optimist”. \u00a0And I\u2019ve written to her and told her it was an inspiration and she approves. She likes the music, she thinks it\u2019s rad. It gave me a reason to talk to someone I admire. \u00a0The record is Lauren Berlant approved.<\/p>\n

LAUREN PICKS BEER, 2, 6, 3, and gets the question:<\/strong> How did you get involved with the folks at Don Giovanni?<\/em><\/p>\n

LD:<\/strong> Well, the first band I was ever in, The Measure [sa], was based in New Brunswick, where Joe and the label are also based. \u00a0Most of the original Don Giovanni bands were from New Brunswick, so just through knowing people from New Brunswick, through my friendship with Joe. He\u2019s just always been very supportive, and I think the focus of the label is really on the creative output of his friends, even though that\u2019s kind of widening location-wise.
\nAF:<\/strong> So it’s sort of like a family?<\/em>
\nLD:<\/strong> Definitely.<\/p>\n

LAUREN PICKS GHOST, 3, 8, 4 and gets the question:<\/strong> Are you worried right now? \u00a0If so, what about?<\/em><\/p>\n

LD:<\/strong> I\u2019m worried about when we have to go on! \u00a0[laughs] But I\u2019m not worried all the time. \u00a0I mean I think it definitely reflects a certain sensibility that I have sometimes. And that we as a band had when it started. \u00a0It\u2019s a mix of just trying to humorous and actually being apprehensive.<\/p>\n

LAUREN PICKS CAT, 7, 5, 6 and gets the question:<\/strong> How have the bands you\u2019ve been in in the past shaped the current band you\u2019re in?<\/em><\/p>\n

LD:<\/strong> Well, I think it has definitely influenced the way I interact with other people I\u2019m playing music with, especially because I\u2019m really the only songwriter in this band. \u00a0It\u2019s influenced how I respond to not having someone else consistently writing songs. \u00a0If I want there to be a range and don\u2019t want everything to sound the same it\u2019s kind of up to me to do that. \u00a0But I also have all these freedoms, and I feel like I paid my dues in other bands and really worked hard and put out a lot of records and really went for it. \u00a0Knowing that you can really play as many shows as you want and do it all the time, even as I am getting older or whatever, it’s a reminder that there\u2019s really nothing stopping me from just making it happen.<\/p>\n

LAUREN PICKS GUITAR, 3, 4, 9 and gets the question:<\/strong> If you were asked to take part in the Winter Olympics, which sport would you choose?<\/em><\/p>\n

LD:<\/strong> Oh my god [laughing]. Well first off I wouldn\u2019t participate in the Winter Olympics. The olympics are a very nationalist, problematic thing that I wouldn\u2019t want to actually participate in. But, in terms of athletic prowess, you know, if you were asking me to participate in an athletic competition of such caliber –
\nAF:<\/strong> The Don Giovanni Winter Games.<\/em>
\nLD:<\/strong> Yes! If I had all the athletic ability in the world, maybe snowboarding. Only because as a kid there was this Tony Hawk video game I would play, I think. \u00a0I feel like that would be like the \u201cpunk\u201d sport. Or ski jumping maybe. I could never do either of these things. I would just be too scared. But in this universe where I am playing winter games, I am also not scared, so there we go.<\/p>\n

And lastly:<\/strong> What\u2019s the scariest thing about declaring yourself a feminist?<\/em>
\nLD:<\/strong> Well I think in general, it is a scary concept to put your foot down about your own politics, especially if you\u2019re using the word \u201cfeminist\u201d around people who don\u2019t identify that way or aren\u2019t as familiar with it. \u00a0They may be a little scared of it or have preconceived notions about it. So I think it\u2019s scary to try to hold your own when people want to attack you for that or don\u2019t agree with you. It\u2019s that way about any political belief, kind of. For me personally, I am not scared any more. I\u2019ve had confrontations between friends, and on the internet, and wherever, where I\u2019ve had to defend feminism or the things that I think because I consider myself a feminist. The scariest thing is just having to put out the emotional effort to have difficult discussions with people who you otherwise get along with, or to think that people are gonna judge you for that or any other thing that you do or say politically. Any time you make a big statement \u00a0that you can fully put your weight behind, you wonder if someone is gonna give you a hard time, or push back on it. \u00a0I just don\u2019t care any more, and on the flip side it’s great to be able to be be like \u201cWhatever man, this is how I feel\u201d and I\u2019m not gonna change because somebody doesn\u2019t think it\u2019s a popular thing.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

That fearlessness comes across in the content of her music as well as her performance of it. \u00a0On stage, Denitzio’s lighthearted interactions with her bandmates belie the most serious subject matter. \u00a0The band rounded out selections from Cruel Optimism<\/em> by revisiting work from 2011’s\u00a0Past Lives<\/em> EP and playing two songs from a 7″ single recently released on Berlin’s Yo-Yo Records<\/a> titled Sinead O’Rebellion<\/a>. \u00a0Denitzio’s unadorned vocal delivery is matter-of-fact, assured and refreshing, while Erg, Burke, and Rubino play with a classically indefatigable punk spirit, giving the sense that no one on stage is worried in the least.[\/fusion_builder_column][\/fusion_builder_row][\/fusion_builder_container]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the second night of a three-part Don Giovanni showcase last Friday, we caught up with three of the New Brunswick-based punk label’s brightest and best. \u00a0We also decided to pioneer a new interviewing technique based on a popular children’s fortune telling game, using a folded paper “cootie-catcher” (or “saltcellar” or “chatterbox” or “whirlybird” or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[467,305,565,638,204],"tags":[1413,1011,1007,1009,111,908],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/IMG_8003_2.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6934"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6934"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6934\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19596,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6934\/revisions\/19596"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}