Just two years as a group and the Bodega Girls have already made a name for themselves in Boston and beyond. Their music is seriously danceable, and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Perhaps this easygoing nature is the key to their success as they rise through the ranks as a hot band to watch. Lead singer of the band, Evan Kenney, took some time out of his busy schedule to talk to the Quad.
Quad: Thanks for talking to me today, Evan. Or should I call you EvRock? Where did that nickname come from?
Evan Kenney: My older brother actually gave me that name. We were really into the Beastie Boys. He was AdRock and I was EvRock. Family members call me it now. It’s kind of become my alter ego.
How did you guys get together?
The band formed at a party in Brooklyn in 2008. It was actually a party for a friend getting out of jail. Jake, Mac, and I met there. The cops broke it up because we had a smoke machine that set the apartment on fire, but before they kicked everyone out we decided to play music together.
Where did the name for the band come from?
We met two girls late at night at a bodega in Queens, NY and ended up going to some hip hop shows with them that night. Our band’s name kind of embodies the spirit of those girls and that night, just to let loose and have fun. I don’t know if those girls have even heard of the band.
I’m sure they’d be incredibly flattered. What are some of the memorable shows you’ve had?
We were playing at this loft in Bushwick, Brooklyn to a crowd of thugs. Incidentally, I was wearing a dashiki and we even played “She’s into black guys” that night. We were scared to death. It was a weird party, there were 16 year-olds drinking and smoking weed with 40 year-olds.There was even a fight and throwing of a couch. We like to play more at parties, rather than clubs. We’d rather come from the show with a story. We play for friends with loft parties in Brooklyn and Boston, in dingy basements. We’re not a rock and roll band. We’re party music.
Where did the inspiration for “She’s Into Black Guys” come from?
From a friend of ours who loved them. People tend to get quite uneasy about interracial relationships which I find hilarious. Everyone in the band has had one. Our songs are based on friends’ experiences.
Are there any plans for a tour?
Well, we’re planning on going to LA later this year and perhaps in early 2011 to the UK and Germany. We want to reach out to the people there who do similar things. But, we kind of never wanted to be a band that toured, but it’s taken off. We’re all involved in so many other things.
Do you plan on signing to a specific record label?
We’ve been talking to labels. But for the most part, releasing things ourselves has gone well. This record label in New York has been releasing our songs for the last six months for free. It was nice because it was free and the label already had a fan base so our songs got out.
How’d you find such generous people?
They searched out for us. HBO needed a song for their show Entourage that sounded like Prince. They chose our song “She’s Into Black Guys.” I don’t think it sounds like Prince, but the song was featured in Entourage. We had like a party celebrating that. It was only like 8 seconds of the song (laughs)…the baseline and beat.
Are you going to release an album soon?
Yes, we plan on putting out vinyl at the end of the year. It will feature all new songs, live jams, and remixes
Your Myspace says you’re a band of tricksters, hedonists and good-for-nothings whose morals defy even the most perverted of human beings. Why do you consider yourselves in such a bad light? Or is that a compliment for you guys?
(laughs) We’re generally good people. The music we play is in a hedonistic style of living it up and not taking ourselves seriously.
What instruments are involved in your songs?
We don’t have a drummer, we generally have live percussion. Mac is the DJ in charge of electric beats. We have a guitar and bass—we all sing. Jake plays ukulele. None of us can really play keyboard. I can play a mean tambourine. We use cowbells sometimes. We all kind of came from different musical backgrounds. I grew up skateboarding and playing in punk bands so I knew guitar. Jake’s family is very musical, and Mac grew up on hip hop.
An infusion of different styles. If you had to, which style would you say you were?
Party music. Sometimes electronic, sometimes hip hop and soul, sometimes indie rock. Every song is written by different people so the styles are varied.
What’s it like to be a band in Boston? Is there a lot of competition?
We do our own things. We have DJ nights, we don’t play very often. We don’t take ourselves seriously. We goof around, cause trouble. We rip off a bunch of music; we cover like ten bands in one song.
Hear them live at BU Central this Friday at 8:30.
