Teenage Girls Go Punk! The Vovos for Periphery Magazine
Composed of Bethany Feik (lead guitar, background vocals), Lu Galante (bass, background vocals), Ruby Ayliffe (keyboard, background vocals), Ada Duffy (lead singer, second guitar) and Mika James (drums), The Vovos hold exactly the kind of “give no fucks” attitude you’d expect from a teenage girl punk band straight out of Naarm. With their postmodern self referential lyrics, vulvic double-entendres, and particular enthusiasm for carnivorous plants, these young women are the children of the mid-90’s boom of female punk empowerment, known predominantly for its rebellion by the likes of Bikini Kill and Sleater-Kinney; though, despite their young age, they have already carved out a name for themselves amongst the Australian punk scene. Fortunately, they were kind enough to accept an interview with Editor Caitlin Andrews to discuss their delightful name and upcoming political ambitions, amongst other topics relevant to the course of their surging music careers.
Caitlin Andrews: Hi guys, welcome to Periphery Magazine! Can you tell us a little bit about yourselves? For our non-Australian readers, where did you get the idea for the name, “The Vovos”?
Bethany Feik: “In Australia we have a lot of amazing delicious biscuits, and there are biscuits called Iced Vovos which, in all honesty, are not that amazing or delicious, but “Vovo” can also double as slang for vagina, so we were willing to forgive the mediocrity of the biscuit to take it as our name.”
Ada Duffy: “There is a rumour that Mr. Arnott modeled the Iced Vovo on his blonde mistress!”
Lu Galante: “Iced Vovos are also very pretty which was important to our naming process! I would call our music “teenage girl music.” Teenage girls are ridiculed constantly about everything - the things we like, the things we do, the things we make. So our music is about being shamelessly teenage girls, about unapologetically taking up space. It is made for young girls like us, although if other people enjoy it then that’s great!”
CA: Back in 2021, you released your debut album, “Jana.” What was the creative process like in constructing that album, and how did it differ from other work you released, like your 2019 EP, “Constructive Criticism”?
Beth: “Honestly, the songs on “Jana” were years in the making, and while “Constructive Criticism” contained our very first songs (we wrote the beginnings of “Melodramatic” literally during our first rehearsal, as 14 year-olds), “Jana” has all of our other first songs. So the creative process of “Jana” was very much this evolution of us settling into a groove of song-writing together, more focused on individual songs than the album as a whole while we were making it. As I listen to the songs on the album I can really trace that learning process.”
Lu: “We are very collaborative in the way we write songs, which is one of my favorite parts of our band. Someone willbring an idea, or some lyrics, and then we all sit in a circle and write the rest of the song together. That core process haspretty much stayed the same however, we’ve just gotten better at it. Even just in terms of how the recordings sound, ourvoices sound more mature and the sound is more full. We got more confident in our vision so there was a lot more thoughtput into how the songs were mixed.”
CA: What motivated you to start a band? Why did you choose to form a punk band specifically?
Beth: “I think we all grew up around music, and many of us with strong rock and punk influences. For me, my parents are both very musical and I was raised listening to punk and indie rock primarily, so being in a band was something that I’ve wanted to do for about as long as I can remember. I love playing guitar alone but nothing quite compares to collaborating with others in my opinion. I also loved starting the band because it gave me a chance to break out of the competitive, often (I found) toxic environment of school music while still playing with others.”
Ada: “I had always wanted to be in a band... I grew up around wonderful musicians and creative people and when I found a community through Girls Rock! (now Amplified Vic) and the Melbourne punk scene, and met the others, it all kind of fell into place. I think we all realised that we didn’t have to wait for everything to be perfect (or to be old enough to get into gigs) and that we should just go for it.”
Lu: “When I first met Ada, I just knew that we would be great friends and I wanted to do something with her. Our personalities together are very inspiring; it is very easy to make stuff and be creative, so I always knew that we would create something cool together. I had just started bass and she had just started drums so it just made sense to make a band. Honestly I don’t really remember thinking it through. I’ve always done a lot of school music so this just kind of felt like an extension of it. Once we started, I realized that I had stumbled on a great group of people and together we made a really loving and creative space that was much better than school music.”
Ruby: “One day at school Ada asked me if I wanted to be in a band with her and other people she’d met at Girls Rock! So, I said yes, not knowing where it would lead, and it became one of the most fun things I’ve done and where I became best friends with such cool people.”
CA: How, if at all, do you think your Australian heritage has affected your music? Do you feel any strong affinity for the Australian punk scene?
Beth: “Melbourne has an amazing music scene, one of the most vibrant in the world - we have among the top music venues per capita of any city - and so I would say that really brought me up to appreciate music, particularly live music. Because of that, I have a really deep appreciation for Australian music, and I’m really grateful for the opportunity to be surrounded by so much creativity in that field, as well as to have so many of my musical idols coming from my own city.”
CA: What about in relation to Australian political or cultural elements? Throughout the course of your career you have cemented yourselves as activists, including in relation to your climate change boycott song, “Eat Your Greens.” Do you feel that the Australian government is doing enough to prevent widespread social and environmental problems, like climate change?
Beth: “I care a lot about politics and so to see our government’s consistent inaction on major issues like climate change, indigenous rights and refugee rights is really frustrating. We’ve had a conservative government throughout my entire teenage years as I was becoming politically engaged, and the things they do make me embarrassed to be Australian, quite frankly. Because of these injustices perpetuated by the government I feel very inspired by activism, particularly to draw global attention to these issues, and writing songs around them is a good outlet for me.”
CA: My personal favourite lyric of yours is the consistent reference towards carnivorous plants. If you had to pick a song lyric that best encapsulates the energy that The Vovos wants to bring to the world, what would it be?
Lu: “Thank you for noticing those references - everytime we manage to fit another carnivorous plant lyric, we always make ourselves laugh, but it’s even better knowing that other people have noticed. As for a lyric that sums up our band ethos, I have a little spoiler for you all; in an unreleased song, there is the line, “I’m still just trying to do what I want /
You say I don’t make art, but you never have to think too hard.” I think this really represents why the band is so important to me. I have felt very creatively stifled outside of the band, and I’ve found a lot of people telling me that I wasn’t good enough or that I’ve been making the wrong kind of art, but within the band I am free to create unapologetically.”
Ada: “I agree with Lu! Except I am not going to spoil the song any further.”
Ruby: “Since Lu is dropping lyrics from unreleased songs, it's OK if I do it too. These are from a song performed live many times, and I like that they capture our cheeky friendship and also how much fun we have when writing lyrics: “We can dance, not in a romantic way / Hold hands, not in a romantic way / Water your plants, not in a romantic way!”
CA: You’ve additionally had previous success playing at a number of venues, including the Sidney Myer Music Bowl and Victoria’s Boogie Festival. If you magically received an insight into your professional careers ten years down the line, what would you have hoped to achieve?
Lu: “I really hope that we continue developing our craft, making music that we’re proud of, and continuing to become better musicians and song-writers. Hopefully playing big shows and that kind of success will follow - I think people like authenticity, so if we continue pursuing that, then the future will be very good.”
Ada: “I would like to be rich and famous and make MS Paint art.”
Ruby: “I hope that we keep creating kick-ass songs that I love to play with my beautiful band and that we can share with the world, songs that others also enjoy listening to also.”
CA: What’s it like being an all-female band within the punk scene? Do you feel represented by female punk-aligned legends of the past, like Patti Smith or Kathleen Hanna?
Lu: “I feel very proud to be part of the legacy of many women in music whose activism of the past has made being a woman in music easier now. I was very inspired by Patti Smith and Kathleen Hanna when starting the band and first writing music, so it is very exciting to think that I’m making music now like they did.”
Ada: “There’s just something so lovely and exciting about the shows we play with other all-female or gender diverse bands… It's like it’s own little community inside the bigger music scene. I also think with being a girl in the music scene, there are little bugs in your head (and outside in the real world too) telling you to try to disappear and fit in instead of contributing new ideas and thoughts and perspectives, so sharing and creating is something I am very proud of.”
CA: Who are your current favourite musical artists, and do you have any underground artist recommendations that you think deserve more credit?
Beth: “Pinch Points and Zig Zag are two Melbourne bands that are both absolutely fantastic!”
Lu: “I agree completely with Beth’s picks, but I would add Hearts and Rockets, Disco Junk, Porpoise Spit and Rhysics. These are some of the best acts I’ve recently seen in Melbourne.”
Ada: “I love Liz Phair, Hole, Kimya Dawson, Caitlin Rose and Jeffrey Lewis at the moment. As for local/underground acts, I would recommend Billiam (<3), The Teethers and Sunfruits!”
CA: What can your fans look forward to as your next musical endeavour? What are the big plans for 2022 and beyond?
Beth: “We’ve got a lot of new music in the works which I am very excited to release!”
Ada: “Fingers crossed, a big lovely album…”
Lu: “Just a bunch of regular rockstar stuff.”
Ruby: “More recording, more gigging and more new music!”
Periphery Magazine thanks The Vovos for their contribution, and wishes them luck with future releases! You can find them on social media and streaming platforms here: