By Maddy Yen
Who is GrrlBand?
The Scream Queens of Eugene, aka GrrlBand, is a five-piece all-female rock band. The band is composed of Claudia Santino (lead vocalist), Codi Farmer (bass), Kayla Krueger (guitar), Camy Corcoran (guitar), and Louise Jones (drums). The original formation of GrrlBand started with Farmer and Krueger, who met during their freshman year in an online class. Farmer’s two roommates at the time were also in the band, and they initially planned to have the band consist of just the four of them. “We were planning on not having a singer and all singing together like a children’s choir. We took a voice recording of all of us singing together and realized it sounded fucking terrible,” Farmer said,
She goes on to say, “I had met Claudia a month or two before and saw her two weeks before our first show, and her mutual friend said Claudia was a really good singer.” Initially skeptical of her friend's recommendation, Farmer jokingly responded that they were only looking for blondes. Eventually, Farmer called Santino, who auditioned on Snapchat and subsequently joined the band. In the spring of 2023, the band shifted to the current lineup. Farmer knew of Jones as the only female drummer in Eugene at the time, and Santino was friends with Corcoran. Their first show with the current lineup was on April 15th, marking the one-year anniversary of this iteration of GrrlBand.
“GrrlBand” the EP
On April 12th of this year, GrrlBand released their self-titled debut EP. Before this release, the band had two singles, "Resurrection" and "PM." "PM" was remastered and included on the EP along with four other tracks. These two singles were recorded at Sprout City with Asher Loewenstern and Thaddeus Moore. When asked about the making of their EP, Santino said, “Everyone writes their parts,” and “When someone brings something to the table, we all sit down and say, ‘Alright, let’s do it.’” The band agreed that Santino and Farmer would write the majority of the lyrics, with Jones contributing some suggestions as well. Corcoran told me, “They have the gift of the gab and a way with words.” Santino added, “It’s very collaborative, and if we're not all jazzed about a song, we won’t do it.” The production of the EP was split among a few different parties. About half of the recording was done at a studio in Portland, with the other half done by Elizabeth Bailey. The original mix of "PM" by Loewenstern was used for this track, and Bailey mixed the rest of the EP.
Krueger, Farmer, and Corcoran playing at the Limelight on May 25, 2024. Photos by Mary Grosswendt.
Tracks
“Panties”
The last song on the EP, "Panties," is probably GrrlBand’s most memorable song and my roommate’s personal favorite. When asked about the story behind it, Farmer told me, “I wrote that song when I was really stoned back in Austin over a break. We had talked a couple of weeks before about how a lot of us don’t wear underwear, and I just started writing down a bunch of stuff.” She mentioned that it took a couple of rewrites to make it flow better, but Krueger wrote the guitar part, which the bass part was based on. Jones also drew some inspiration from Riot Grrrl, and from there, “Panties” was born. Santino stated, “It is not intended to sound pretty. So when Codi gave me the lyrics, I was like, ‘I don’t know if I can, in a healthy way, scream this.’” So she asked Farmer if she would scream it. During this song, Santino plays the bass while Farmer and Corcoran take over the vocals. Farmer recounts, “That was the first song [Claudia] learned on bass.” Santino adds, “And I am like a little kid on Christmas when I get to play an instrument on stage.”
“Bones”
This track was a turning point for this iteration of GrrlBand. Santino stated that this song helped them hone in on a sound and style they felt really good about. Before this, they felt a little all over the place, but “‘Resurrection’ was the first one we sat down with and were like, ‘Damn, this is good.’” Building on the momentum from that track, they created “Bones.” Farmer recounted, “There was this one day over the summer when Louise and I were both in town, and we had the guitar part and worked out the bass part.” Jones added that it only took them about an hour, and they worked together to write the lyrics.
Santino singing at the Limelight on May 25, 2024 and Jones playing at WOW Hall on March 8, 2024. Photos by Mary Grosswendt.
Influences and Covers
Krueger:
“My favorite cover is ‘Give Me Back My Man’ because I love The B-52's and that one is just so fun for all of us to play. I feel like it sounds so good, and we have a good time.” When asked about her influences, she said, “Heart, for sure. I love them so much—some beautiful women in music. And I think we're all inspired by The Breeders.”
Santino:
“My favorite cover has been ‘Celebrity Skin’ by Hole. We covered it in the first iteration of GrrlBand, and we did not do it much justice the first time around. When we decided to bring it back, I was super stoked because I love Hole and all those ‘90s grunge female-led bands.” Santino’s influences are powerhouse female vocalists like Stevie Nicks, Miley Cyrus, and Pat Benatar.
Jones:
“I really liked ‘The Killing Moon’ by Echo & the Bunnymen. I didn’t like it at first, but it really grew on me.” Regarding inspiration, Jones stated, “Wolf Alice is a really big one for me.” She went on to say she likes a lot of pop music, so if she can sneak a little mainstream pop-sounding chord progression, she might try to push that a bit. She stated, “Chappell Roan was my palette cleanser.”
Farmer:
“I love playing anything with a heavy-driving bass part. I love playing ‘Arabian Nights’ by Siouxsie and the Banshees. And my biggest influences are the lady bassists who came before me.” She stated that Kim Deal is top tier and also mentioned Tina Weymouth from Talking Heads because she was one of the most influential female rock bassists.
Corcoran:
“Like Codi, I love The Breeders and I love the Pixies. I’d like to say I draw a lot of inspiration from them, but I can’t say that I always do. I also really love The Replacements and Hüsker Dü. I just love those fast, guitar-driven bands that don’t sound that great. I love a punchy guitar like The Clash.” She stated that she was a really big grunge kid when other people were having their boyband phase. She added, “My favorite cover is not a cover we’ve done before, but I’ve decided we’re doing it. We’re going to do ‘Lost in the Supermarket’ by The Clash.”
Future Plans
Looking forward, GrrlBand plans to stay together, continue to write music and perform together. The band hopes to record and put out as much music as possible and tour in some way, either as support or their DIY tour similar to previous Eugene bands. So stay tuned for more GrrlBand!