VALY & THE VODKAS - Shots To Hell ! (Germany - Punk - Interview with .. the WHOLE band !).
Hello ! Can you introduce yourself and tell us how it all began for you - your encounter with this musical universe, what appealed to you, what fascinated you and what made you want to get into music?
Magda: That are many questions at once! We are Valy and the Vodkas, an eastgerman punk band. I'm the singer, Valy does drums, Kristin guitar and Anna does vocals and bass.
Our band started with a cold beer during summer, when life was good. And we thought to ourselves, why not start a fucking band?
Valy: And also we knew once you're a band, you're getting free beer everywhere! (Now that's a good plan ! Ed.)
Magda: We thought what boys can do, we can do easily as well. We didn't want to be the groupies, we want to be the rockstars! (Girls to the front ! - Ed.)
Tell me about the band... How you met - the current line-up - past experiences - and above all - WHY the need to form THIS band?
Kristin: I was new in Dresden and went to a punk show with two friends. When we got there, a super rad girl came to us, grabbed one of my friends and started to make out with him in this super dark and rancid venue. I was very impressed and thought to myself: Who the fuck is this cool woman and how can I be her best friend? The guy introduced us then and so I met Magda. Some days after I also met Valy and only some weeks later I met them together and realised, well they are not the same person.
Valy: We're twins and used to look much more alike. (haha, indeed - I understand a bit better the previous answer - Ed.)
Magda: And not soon after we introduced Kristin to our mutal friend Lena. We startet to hangout a lot and then the idea to start a band was born!
Valy: It works so well because we were friends first! Sadly, Lena is not part of Valy and the Vodkas anymore. But luckily we met Anna...
Anna: I answered on a very confusing instagram posting of them, where I thought they are looking for a new bassist. But I wasn't too sure if they really do mean it.
Kristin: Luckily she did! We are all good friends now and work really well together. The band was the best idea ever anyway, because we had so much fun since the beginning.
Valy: For example when we played at Ruhrpott Rudeo with only borrowed instruments and no time to rehearse, because our rehearsal room was burning just days earlier.
Magda: Or when our hotelroom didn't let us check in anymore because we got there so late and very drunk, so the guy of the venue took us to his house and there we realised how much of a rich bigwig he was.
Anna: I can't even think of a favorite moment, because there are so many and it's always funny. I think the sleepless nights and hangover mornings are what I like best.
Describe your sound and explain why I should listen to YOUR band at all cost ?
Kristin: We are a mix of old GDR punk, bikini kill and the 80s songs of the Toten Hosen.
Anna: Like Modern Talking on crack!
Valy: What do I know! Check it out ourselves and find out.
Kristin: One should listen to us because then you can always say: "I already knew them when they were starting!" (Best reason ever - Ed.)
Magda: And because of the german-french-friendship, duh ! (Genau, das ist klar - Ed.)
About your latest release ?
Kristin: Our split LP came out last year, it's called "Endstation Fernsehgarten". Fernsehgarten is a german folk music show, very hard to watch. And Endstation means final station. So basically if your music plays there, you officially fucked up. You can listen to the album at every streaming platform and download it via bandcamp for one Euro.
Valy: We can't say something yet about the new release, the egg is still in the chicken as one would say. But there will be something this year!
Lyrical and musical inspirations/influences ? How important are the lyrics for you ? Are there any specific messages or thoughts you try to develop and share through your lyrics ?
Magda: The stage show of Mili Vanili, the dance style of Boney M and the sound of Plastic Bertrand ! (How the fuck do you know Plastic Bertrand ? haha ! - Ed!)
Anna: For inspiration I like to imagine if Sid Vicious and Vicky Leandros gave themselves a french kiss.
Valy: And for us, the lyrics are as important as the music around them!
Magda: We got a lot to say, that's why were doing music to begin with!
Kristin: Especially about stupid men, mean old people or other intolerable shit!
Future plans: ?
Kristin: Being famous enough to have our own nightliner!
Valy: An international tour, for example through France? Book us! (
Magda: Live fast die young I would say!
Valy: We're not that young anymore anyways.
Your most insane dream with the band would be ?
Anna: Being the opener for the Toten Hosen! (That'd be soooo cool ! - Ed.)
Magda: That's not insane at all.
Your BEST & WORST concert - as a band - and why ?
Magda: Best: the show at Chemiefabrik Dresden in solidarity with our friend E. He got punched badly by nazis in Dresden (Nazi Punks, Fuck Ooooofffff ! Ed) and had to get his teeth renewed. We could collect a lot of money there to help him with the bill and it was a crazy evening! The shows there are always so fucking great. Chemo we love you!
Valy: Worst for me was a gig early in our band history in Leipzig, I only had one cymbal stand instead of three and the technician was very stressed out the whole time, so I got stressed as well. Now please tell one where not the drums were responsible.
Kristin: Do you remember the gig where they paid us 150€ less than everyone else because we thought it was a charity event, but it wasn't? But the best for me was the festival in Sweden. The people were awesome, the sound was amazing. But the drinks were very expensive!
Anna: The gig with the Antilopen Gang was the greatest for me. So many people in front of the stage and everyone was so nice to us. And it was so funny how Valy fell of the drum stool and played like nothing happened.
Valy: And I got a big fat bruise out of it!
Next live-appearance(s) ?
Kristin: Many! During Easter we play in Switzerland and Austria for example. The tour is called "sinners are winners" and "Sittendezernat" and "Dosenstolz" are coming with us.
Magda: The other shows so far are in Germany only. Check us out on instagram, there you'll find all the dates.
Some words on your local scene - bands you're friends with and you'd like to name ?
Valy: The Dresden scene is mostly like family, so we're good friends with a lot of bands there. We give eachother cute nicknames, like the band Dosenstolz. They call us their "little bottles" and we say our "lovely (p)rowdys".
Last words....
Kristin: Women stay angry, men shut the fuck up.
Anna: Can I go smoke a cigarette now?
Valy: I can't think of anything witty.
Magda: Wampe, Glatze, Saufen, Oi!
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