1- Where is the band from and what's the best thing to do there?
We’re based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. We love going to gigs here, as there are a lot of great bands to go see in our city. There really is something for everybody. We also like going to drag shows. There are only a few queer spaces in Belfast, but there is a thriving drag community. We have dog friendly bars and cabaret nights. There’s a huge DIY feel to everything, which makes it all very inviting. You can also drive an hour up to the North coast and bring your hiking boots or hire yourself a surfboard. Unfortunately we’re all still in the midst of a pandemic right now, so we can’t do most of this at the moment!
2- What does your name stand for and what was the runner up?
Alanah: A lot of people assume that it’s in reference to problem patterns in society, human behaviour, etc. It was actually a joke Bethany made about our questionable dress sense! We all love a pattern. We didn’t have a runner up. We had a lot of jokes where we would say “That would make a great band name” but Problem Patterns was instantly the one for us.
Bev: I think we had been chatting about some other alliterative names and stumbled upon Problem Patterns which fit us so well. So I'm going to suggest a new alliterative name now to the band. How about "big boys"? Or go even further "big bad boisterous boys"?
3- Describe your sound using a movie title.
Ciara: “The Little Shop of Horrors”! “But I’m A Cheerleader”! “Scream”?!
Alanah: “Sugar & Spice”. “I Can’t Think Straight”.
Beth: “SLC Punk”. “Shout”. “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”. “Feminist Campfire Stories”.
Bev: “Beauty and the Beast”!
4- Describe each band member using a meal.
Ciara: I’m a gravy chip with peas and onions. Alanah is a carrot hot dog. Beverley is an apple and Mars bar sandwich. Bethany is a cowboy supper.
Bev: Alanah is inari tacos. Beth is chicken curry. Ciara is pickled ginger. I am pumpkin katsu. We are the best of Yo Sushi.
5- Name 3 bands who would headline your dream fest?
Bev: If I could pick anyone to go see at any point of time I'd go to a Sister Rosetta Tharpe concert. And Charly Bliss. And Strange New Places (I miss local gigs so much).
Ciara: Courtney Barnett, Orville Peck, The Melvins
Alanah: Pretty Girls Make Graves, Pissed Jeans, Plumtree. I guess there’s a good variety there music wise, but all bands at the festival would have to have a name starting with P? At least we could also be on this bill.
Beth: Paramore, Hole, Letters to Cleo
6- For or not being described as "female fronted"?
Beth: No thank you, we don’t have a front person so we aren’t anything fronted.
Ciara: No, I find it deeply offensive, haha. I mean it's especially hilarious to say it about a band of four women, but no, being a female has never had a relevance in that sense. Also being called female makes me feel like I'm in a petri dish.
Alanah: We’re all women, and we always talk about how we don’t have a front person, so it’s annoying when we are called female fronted. It’s also not a genre, and it’s incredibly frustrating when it’s used as such.
Bev: Not for it. It's used too casually for my liking, imagine describing a band as male-fronted so frequently and casually.
7- Are you signed on a label and why?
Beth: DIY until we die!
Bev: We like to do things our way and make the band the way we want it to be!
Alanah: We like having full control of what we do.
Ciara: I think it's much more fun for us to do everything for ourselves. It leaves us more space to be spontaneous with it all.
8- What's the most punk thing you've seen on tour/in a show?
Alanah: We were at a festival last year and there was a band performing called Sugarplum Suicide. The singer, Cerridwen, was singing the line, “Help me to feel pretty”, and ripped off her hair (we didn’t realise it was a wig the whole set) to reveal a buzzed head. We were all genuinely screaming and waving our arms in the air. It was so theatrical! There's also an artist from Limerick called Post Punk Podge who plays the entire set wearing an envelope on his head. He fed communion wafers to people in the audience and gave everyone glow sticks- it became a post punk rave. That gig is one of the most chaotic shows any of us have ever witnessed. It's hard to even describe it properly, but if you ever get the chance, do not pass up seeing him.
Bev: I once looked up when playing a guitar solo in one of our songs and someone was air guitaring along. That was unreal.
9- The best album of all time and why?
Bev: Lizzo - Cuz I love you. Because every song lifts you up and empowers you and it just makes me smile when I'm feeling down!
Beth: If 16 year old Beth is answering, Live Through This by Hole because it encompasses my teen angst and I look back at it fondly. If 24 year old Beth is answering, Born This Way by Lady Gaga, because just listen to it.
Alanah: I always wish I had a cooler answer than this, but it’s Pinkerton by Weezer. It’s incredibly personal, ugly and downright problematic at times. Musically, it’s heavy and weird, especially in contrast to what they’re more famous for. It has been my favourite album since I was a teenager, and no matter what point in my life I’m at, I always seem to go back to it. I’m not sure if that reflects well on me personally, but it has had the longest and strongest influence on me.
Ciara: Definitely 'haha’ by The Garden . I tried to think of an album I couldn’t live without and it's this. It has everything. It really influenced me as a bassist & as a shouty woman. 10/10.
10- What's the best way to support your band?
Bandcamp is especially helpful to DIY bands, please check out our music and merch on there! We also love when people add us to their Spotify playlists. It helps us out a lot, but we also just really like seeing people’s playlists, the themes, and who they’re for. Those have introduced us to a lot of great bands too. Tell your friends! Tell any local promoters about the bands you love, you never know if it will help bring them to your town.
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