7 YEAR BITCH'S

"The more I see that is extraneous of the band experience and the music and our friendhip together, the more I try to focus on the girls and what we are doing. If I start thinking too much about that, the image, etc., then it ruins the vibe." says 7 Year Bitch bassist, Elizabeth Davis.

This image, which made 7 Year Bitch a music persona, has been created long before their new major label debut, Gato Negro (Altantic). The Gato Negro (translated as "black cat" in Spanish) symbol and the voodoo of unluckiness is one that perhaps better suits the six-year-old band that has seen more than its share of tragedy: the drug-related deaths of founding guitarist, Stefanie Sargent, longtime friend and Hole bassist, Kristin Pfaff and the unsolved murder of close friend and lead singer of the Gits, Mia Zapata.

The name and the pure intensity and honesty of their music has also given the Bitches an image not to be taken lightly. "Our friend came up with the name. I didn't like it for the first six months, but now I do. There was no music to associate it with. We had the name and we only had three songs and we sucked because we were brand new. But now there is something more to 7 Year Bitch than three words. It is music and these individuals and how we are as a group. The name sticks in your mind, that's for sure." Davis adds jokingly that every interview seems to end with "You aren't as mean as I thought you were."

The girls met on the Seattle music scene in the early 90's and after a slow start eventually ended up doing some opening shows for Pearl Jam and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Non-stop touring and two independent albums later, the band caught the eye of Atlantic Records. The Bitches also have a strong presence on the Internet, thanks to their devoted fan base and were posting a tour diary from the Summerland Tour via a laptop computer. "Our unofficial website by Dangerous Dan (http://geocities.datacellar.net/Hollywood/2200) is one of the best I've ever seen," says Davis.

Davis was born in Malibu, California and moved to Seattle with her large family when she was thirteen. The Davis family consisting of six brothers and sisters often performed Christian music together as they were growing up. While she toyed with fleeting dreams of becoming a rock star, Davis actually wanted to be a teacher and ended up teaching French for three years. In graduate school, Davis' boyfriend at the time bought her a bass, and within a short period of time the Bitches had formed. The rigors of band life caused her to postpone continuing graduate school, but Davis adds "I still maybe would do that sometime, if I could, but right now, I am totally into the band." In between the final show of the Summerland Tour and the Womyn's Conference they were set to play in Michigan soon after, Elizabeth Davis sat down to talk to me — from one Bitch to another.

Elizabeth Davis: This tour has been a killer. I think this is the funniest tour we've done. This tour is our first tour with a bus. So it's been fairly debauched just for that reason alone, none of us has to drive. And Leann (their manager) does all of our thinking for us, so my brain is completely atrophy. I think I am totally dumb. I couldn't get a job right now if I wanted to.

Well, this is a short tour for us. I haven't gotten sick of looking at anyone yet, 'cause we're in a bus so it is more private. And with three other bands, the first three bands (7 Year Bitch, Tracy Bonham and Spacehog), we have all hung out and toured together. Everclear are on a different schedule and they don't hang out, they don't party. They're totally into not partying and we are the opposite of that.

Maybe because I am the most gregarious. But I think Valerie would have to win.

Uh, for the most part. Roisin (Dunne, guitarist) has a song on Viva Zapata. Selene writes all the lyrics, all the words. I don't write any of them. The songs usually start with a bass line or drums. And Selene (Vigil, vocalist) has stuff that has been kicking around for a long time. Or she has a subject that she has a vague idea that she wants to write a song about, but she (is) waiting for music that kind of fits that. It starts from the rhythm up.

No. Never. She always hits it right on the head. It is pretty amazing. There have been times where we have had to make a lot of effort to get the music and the vocals together on it. And we have kind had some initial doubts, but when it all came together and synthesized in the end...how could the song be about anything else? It usually just works out really, really well. It's because it is the first and only band for all of us, I think.

No, not at all. I was really prepared never ever to let that affect it. That's the thing we all feel really strongly about. I am in this for Selene, and Val (Agnew, drummer) and Roisin. If anything it's the opposite! Like "This is kind of typical sounding can't we do something to this to make it different?"

Well we have a song, "24,900 Miles Per Hour" that we did a video for that MTV cut the hell out of it. MTV took seven words out of it. They took out the word heart, the word head, the word baseball bat, the word trash. They did end up playing it on 120 Minutes with the seven words taken out. It disturbs us because it completely takes the story of the song and flushes it down the toilet. My reasoning was that it wasn't going to make us look bad, this was going to make MTV look stupid and it does. They're just kissing corporate sponsors' ass. Because the song is about suicide and I think they're afraid of the litigious spirit that were all living in now in the U.S., which is really ridiculous. (They're worried that) some kid's going to watch that and think about committing suicide.

That's really a question more for Selene. I know for her, she would rather just have people listen to it and figure it out on their own and not to break it down so hard. I think it's just because she is shy and her lyrics are very emotional and from the gut. Sometimes I am shocked by how much she opens herself to an entire crowd of complete strangers, knowing how shy she is. And I really admire that about her, I could never do it. I've tried to write lyrics, I can't do it.

I've been playing music since I was about five, but it wasn't rock 'n roll. I was singing and playing piano and saxophone and other stuff. I didn't start playing rock until I was 24.

I am so excited. I am having a really fertile period of being turned on to new music. I am really into Royal Trucks, Brainac...My number one influence is Girls Against Boys. Spacehog, I've watched every night. I really love Spacehog a lot. The Pretenders were a big influence to me; (Pretenders' frontperson) Chrissie Hynde. When I first heard The Pretenders, it really changed my mind about music. I moved away from California when I was 13, but being back here in L.A. really reminded me of when I would come down here in the summertime and go to the Starwood and see like Surburban Lawns and early punk rock and new wave bands. That had a huge impact on me. It's because of that kind of music that our band even exists.