In addition to misleading press and perhaps a few misconceived pre-conceptions, I walked into this thing having heard the band's crushing debut release for Atlantic Records, Gato Negro. Two songs into the record, I began to quiver at the thought of confronting the women who created it. I never would've guessed the time that followed could be so enjoyable. No rock star attitudes, no egocentric Seattle bullshit. Just a group of fun girls who love what they do, and aren't afraid to let you know it. After awhile, you begin to wonder how these women kick up such a big sound.

Gato Negro is an angry and determined record, not as much in it's lyrical content as in its full-on grinding, powerful, guttural assault. Selene's smooth and hauntingly seductive singing style is cranked up a notch on the album, abandoning much of her trademark smooth-spoken delivery, and ranging from sage to rage at will. Davis' bass is more prominent in the mix, Roisin Dunne's guitar cuts a deeper groove with more grind, and Agnew's drums are presently filing a restraining order against her. Where their previous records featured more of a straight-forward riff-based surface approach, Gato Negro digs in deep and lets you know it's hanging around for dinner. To help give the album a bigger bite, the band turned to producer Billy Anderson, veteran of Melvins and Neurosis projects among others. According to Davis, they got what they bargained for.

"Neurosis turned us on to him [Anderson]. Everybody else was really expensive, and on a different wavelength than we were. We had played some shows with Neurosis, and were familiar with his work. We're very happy with the results. It doesn't sound like a major label record."

"We knew what we didn't like about other records, but we didn't know how to change things," adds Agnew. "We were able to say those kind of things to him and he translated them to the technical side."

Anderson succeeded in helping 7 Year Bitch arrive at a sound that has more depth than previous releases, exposing a greater degree of the band's raw and powerful material. He also helped the girls throw in a few technical subtleties, like adding affects to Vigil's vocals on the scorching lead track "History of My Future," and "Miss Understood." It works very well.

"We ran it through the PA and microphoned a snare on one song, and I used a lot of different mics," explains Vigil. "We used the studio a lot more than we have in the past."

Despite the affects, Vigil's words get through effortlessly - taunting you with the same mix of heightened emotion and sexual tension that they always have. One minute you're deciphering the cause of her pain, the next you're getting slapped across the face by it.

"I don't sit down and write when I'm happy, I write when I'm sad, and I'm trying to understand something," explains Vigil. "I think that's pretty much true for anyone. Sadness comes out as anger, because I don't want to be vulnerable. I just try to get out my anger, and get back to loving the person I'm so angry at.

"We've been pegged as man-haters. I don't hate men, I love them. I love someone, and they're hurting me so bad, and I'm angry. Once you get done hating them for awhile, you can love them again. But you have to get to the core of where it's at in order to come back around. You can't neglect it."

There's no neglecting Vigil's personal venting in songs like "Deep in the Heart," "Rest My Head," and the incredible "Disillusion." Hell hath no fury, and Vigil is scorned. It's understandable actually, considering that she and Agnew have had an E-ticket tour of anguish — they've both been married.

"I'm not married," lashes Agnew.
"I'm divorced," states Vigil.

"Relationships are really hard in a band," explains Agnew. "My marriage was a joke. I got married in a chapel with an Elvis impersonator. They [Vigil and husband] made an honest attempt."

Vigil laughs, and explains, "I was married for a year, technically. It took a few months after that to get divorced. I don't regret it. I did it, and I'm glad it's over with. It was educational. It was too hard, too difficult, and wasn't right. We didn't know each other well before we got married." (For additional information on the splendor of marriage, consult the track "Sore Subject.")

Despite some failed personal relationships, 7 Year Bitch seems stronger than ever as a band. According to the girls, they've drawn a lot of strength from the over-publicized tragedies involving original guitarist Stefanie Sargent and close friend Mia Zapata. For awhile, the band's hardship was all that anyone seemed to be interested in.

"There was a time when everything got really heavy," explains Vigil. "It was about six months after the death, and we were starting to get over it. We'd be out on tour and people would keep talking about it. Not to discredit our feelings for it, but we wanted to talk about other things after awhile. It just got really heavy. It hasn't happened much lately, so we feel okay about talking about it again."

"I started feeling like we were the little martyrs or something," adds Agnew. "You know, like 'Oh poor 7 Year Bitch, so beaten down by tragedy, blah blah.' I wanted to really get away from being portrayed that way. It was like we were just sitting there whining. I do understand people were trying to be sympathetic, and they don't know us.

"Bad things happen to a lot of people. After you've lived a certain length of time, the odds are slim that you're not going to know someone who's killed. I'm not trying to diminish the fact that we've lost some really key friends, but it's a sad fact of life. It's not something we want to make a focal point."

"It's definitely a part of what we've been through, and is reflected a lot in the music, and in our lyrics specifically," explains Agnew. "It can't be denied at all. It's an important part of where we come from. We've taken it to a place where it gives us much more will to go on."

"You can't make it an excuse," asserts Davis. "If you had smooth sailing all the time, what would you have to grip onto? It makes me more determined to keep playing and not take it for granted — to feel like you're really lucky to do what you do. Hardship gives you dirt to put your roots in."

Davis is right — 7 Year Bitch has got quite a root ball going. In addition to actively supporting feminist causes, the band continues to play a major role in Home Alive, the local non-profit artists' collective dedicated to educating and training the community so we can all make it home alive.

Gato Negro hits the eagerly-awaiting ears of the world on March 10, and will be followed by a tour with an act that has as of yet been undetermined.

"We don't have any lighting people, and we just finally got a sound person a couple of weeks ago. The act's really shaping up," jests Vigil.

According to the band, the ideal Bitch tour would include dates with Girls Against Boys, Rage Against the Machine, or the recently defunct alterna-rock supergods Alice Donut, the latter two of which the band has already hit the road with. Whoever ends up touring with 7 Year Bitch had better be up to the task — the band earned a name for itself playing intense, fun, and powerfully seductive gigs. Anyone who has attended a Bitch show can relate to the feeling you get staring at Vigil like a deer in the headlights, caught in the swirl of the band's enthralling, throbbing aural assault. It's quite a unique and exhilarating experience, the mention of which draws a semi-giddy laugh from Vigil.

"It took me a long time to get used to performing," explains Vigil. "The first show we played live — I remember the first time I actually took the mic off the stand and walked around. It took me awhile to get comfortable with the stage." She's certainly comfortable with it now.

Expect to see 7 Year Bitch around for awhile. They've weathered more storms than most, they're all still in the first band they've ever been in, they're still very close to one another, and they're just as excited about the band as they were when they got together and decided to give it a shot.

"If it doesn't remain fun," starts Vigil, "then it's..."
"Not worth it," finishes Davis.
"Right now, we're having fun," offers Vigil. "We smile a lot."

Go catch the girls smiling live this Spring/Summer, and get into the grind of Gato Negro. This is one big kitty you don't want to cross.

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