Julia Pierce of Cherri Bomb on Forming an All-Girl Rock Band
Photo courtesy of Hollywood Records1/5How did you form your band?
"I was around ten when I wanted to start a band of my own. I played some after-school rock music and I did some acoustic recordings of me singing, but it just didn't feel right. I wanted to have a rock band. I thought it would be really empowering to be in a band with all girls, so I put up flyers all around L.A., in music shops, and online calling for girls who were my age that could play instruments. I got a lot of submissions from girls saying they could play Guitar Hero—that wasn't what I was looking for. It took a while, but I found Nia, our drummer, her sister Rena, our bass player, and Miranda, our guitarist."
Photo courtesy of Total Assault2/5What steps did you take to build a fan base and break into the industry?
"When we first started out, we played a lot of local shows in L.A. A year or two of being together, we opened up for a band called the Chelsea Girls, and we met our manager who was in the band. She booked us to open up for The Smashing Pumpkins, and that was our first real tour. Shortly after, we toured festivals in Europe and Australia, and now we're on the Warped Tour."
Photo courtesy of Hollywood Records3/5What do you like to wear when you're on stage?
"I always like to wear comfortable things. I take a lot of t-shirts and cut the sleeves, and then I wear bandeau tops underneath. I wear a lot of accessories; I almost always wear belts, and I never go anywhere without wristbands and necklaces. I love everything in Topshop, and I shop at vintage stores."
Photo courtesy of Hollywood Records4/5Can you describe your style of music?
"We play hard rock. We have influences from bands like the Foo Fighters, My Chemical Romance, Muse, Paramore, The Smashing Pumpkins—a mix of more classic rock and alternative bands."
Cherri Bomb stands out in this genre for being a young, all-female band. Does that create a certain pressure?
"Because we're all girls, we do get some different kinds of attention. Some people are skeptical, and they'll come to our shows just to see what we're all about. Some people will automatically love us because we're an all-girl rock band. I feel that our music makes a strong enough message that people will enjoy our music first and foremost. We have a wide range of fans—male female, older, younger."
Photo courtesy of Hollywood Records5/5How do you like being on the Vans Warped Tour?
"The Warped Tour is insane—it's like the boot camp tour! I'm having so much fun mingling with all of the other bands that are also on the tour. Playing for so many dedicated fans is something that I've never experienced before, and I love it. There are actually a lot of girls on the Warped Tour this year—not as many as there are guys though. We think of the guys as our older brothers."
What do you have planned for the coming months?
"Our main focus right now is touring. We're trying to play as many shows as possible. After we finish the Warped Tour, we're going to go on tour with a band called Lostprophets, and then we're also playing in the UK in November. We're going to start writing more material for our second album, which I cannot wait for."
