Who Misses Early 2000s Pop Rock? We Do! An Interview with Diva Bleach
Pink hair! Winged liner! Post-adolescent angst! These are just a few of the things in store for those who choose to listen to up-and-coming “sparkly pop rock” girl band Diva Bleach. After leaving high school and setting off into the world of pursuing their respective careers, the female and queer-fronted pop rock band, consisting of Brie Ritter, Sydney Roten, and Sara Windom, soon rediscovered their adolescent love of writing music. It wasn’t long before the trio developed a dedicated cult following after the success with their first official single “White Noise” in 2021, and realised how intently the music community needed a group with exactly the affirmative sensibilities of a band like Diva Bleach. Now, with animal print trousers in hand and memories of early 2000s Avril Lavigne in heart, the band is right on track to achieving supersonic stardom with their debut EP, “No Fun,” released in March of 2022.
Editor Caitlin Andrews had the delightful opportunity to interview Diva Bleach about their upcoming EP, some of their juiciest height-related band secrets, and who typically plays the role of group “momager.”
Caitlin Andrews: Welcome to Periphery, Syd, Brie, and Sara! So nice to meet you—how are you feeling?
Diva Bleach: “Thank you Caitlin! Nice to meet you too. We’re excited, it’s our first interview ever!”
CA: For a bit of backstory, could you walk us through how Diva Bleach came to fruition? When did you all start writing music? What motivated you to form a pop rock band?
DB: “Sure thing! We’ve all been writing music individually since we were teenagers, but we formed Diva Bleach shortly after the start of the pandemic. We all took music lessons at the School of Rock when we were in high school, but we didn’t form a band until a few years after we graduated. During the initial quarantine, Brie watched a show on Netflix about Charli XCX starting a girl group called Nasty Cherry, and it inspired her to want to start a girl group too, so she hit me (Sydney) up and we started writing. Once we were starting to get show offers, we realized we needed another guitar player, so we brought in Sara. As far as wanting to start a pop rock band, we all grew up in the early 2000s and were raised on icons such as Avril Lavigne, Taylor Swift, and Miley Cyrus. Those pop artists inspired us a lot when we were kids, and as we got into our “angsty teen” phases we discovered more punk/rock/emo music. Our vision is to fuse those styles into something fun that people will enjoy.”
CA: By the time this is printed, your first EP “No Fun” will have just been made public! How are you guys feeling about the release? How does the EP differ from your previously released singles?
DB: “We’re so stoked! We’ve put literally all of our downtime and effort into making “No Fun.” To answer how the EP differs from other releases―we’ve gotten more confident in our musical abilities and performance, which is reflected in the songwriting on the tracks. We all have been singers since a very young age, but only recently have we decided to learn to play our instruments. So, on the EP, the listener can hear both our development as musicians and of what a “Diva Bleach” song sounds like.”
CA: What’s it like being part of a female-lead pop rock band? If you were asked to describe one another, what would your descriptions be? (E.g. who in the band plays the role of resident mother, and who gets inevitably too drunk every time you go out)
DB: “It’s. So. Fun. Band practice doesn’t feel like practice, it feels like a sleepover with your best friends. Having a band of all girls is cool because there’s this instant connection and the energy just flows. We help each other pick out our show outfits, we do each other's makeup for photoshoots, we make friendship bracelets together to sell at our shows. All of these experiences connect us on a deeper level than just bandmates and we cherish it so much.
To describe each other: Brie is the Band Dad. She does most of the driving when we travel, provides the pizza, and goes with the flow. She is also the stoner friend. I am the “Momager!" I plan social media posts, book practices, and contact promoters/venues/whoever. Sara is the shy friend when you first meet her, but when she gets comfortable with someone she’s outta pocket. Fashion and thrifting icon. She’s the artsy one, she designs our logos.”
CA: How does it feel to have catapulted to such success in such a short time? After playing a gig with Tessa Violet and recently revealing your plans to go on a tour, what’s next on your creative bucket list?
DB: “It’s crazy seeing a comment asking when we're coming to Finland, when we just barely played in California for the first time. It’s surreal to know there’s people out there listening while we’re working our 9-5 jobs. For our creative bucket list, we really want to make more music videos once we have the budget. Brie is always making up video concepts for every song we have, haha! We also just want to write as much as possible and play as many shows as possible. We want to visit states we’ve never been to, and down the line play other countries.”
CA: Is there one specific track that’s really fun to play on-stage? If you got to play a gig with any fellow artist or band, who would you pick? Do you have any small artist recommendations?
DB: “We love playing “Circles” live because it’s our most energetic song, and it’s cool seeing everyone move and dance. We also get to yell which is fun! For gigs, it would be a dream to play with Cherry Glazerr, Poppy, or Wolf Alice one day. Some smaller artists we love are Blue Sun, Ergo Bria, Snailmate, Troubled Minds, and House Parties.”
CA: As a queer female-fronted band, what has your experience of the music industry been like so far? Did you feel adequately represented growing up?
DB: “Our experience has been polarizing. Because of this project, we’ve connected with so many amazing non-male photographers, musicians, videographers, artists and listeners. It has been amazing to work with them and build each other up! On the flip side, we’ve gotten comments online from people not believing in our abilities because we’re all women, and every now and then we’ll get a creepy email or DM. We’ve had inappropriate things said to us at shows. We’ve definitely faced sexism in the music industry―our goal is to provide more non-male representation in music so other people like us feel seen and safe. As far as feeling represented growing up, there was female pop star representation, but we hadn’t really seen a lot of openly LGBTQ+ people becoming mainstream until later on. We want to help provide that representation too.”
CA: Do you have any specific musical or personal targets for 2022? Are there any fresh song ideas or lyrics on your mind?
DB: “For personal and musical targets―we want to quit our day jobs to perform and write full-time! We have new songs written and are brainstorming more; specifically, Sara wrote a song inspired by "Jaws" that we plan to release this summer. Some lyrics we have for another song are, “She kisses better than I ever could / No, I don’t want to meet her."
CA: Are there any secrets, words of advice, or unique opinions you’d like to impart to the Periphery readership? What’s the last thing that made you happy?
DB: “Our secret: Syd may look tall because of her Demonias, but she’s actually 5’1! Advice: You don’t need to be an expert at your instrument to start a band. Songs don’t have to be complicated for them to be good. The last thing that made us happy: Our cats!”’
CA: Where can friends of Periphery find you?
DB: “You can find us at our Instagram @divableachband and on Tiktok and Twitter @divableach. Our EP “No Fun” is on all streaming platforms!”
Periphery Magazine thanks Diva Bleach for their contribution, and wishes them luck with future releases! You can find them on social media and streaming platforms here: