In 1996, three girls from New-York got together to form The Devotchkas. A band that would go on to become one of the most talked about all-girl oï punk of the scene at the time. A time that was long before smartphones and social media, when bands only had web pages on Geocities and Angelfire, which is where we first heard about them. Because in 2001, after Jennifer Leigh, (better known has JJ) took vocal duties, the band released an iconic album, that was not only our introduction to them, but to how much ass a women can kick when they play badass music. The next year they went on hiatus, and we never heard about them. The whole industry evolved, but for us they remained legendary in their own way.
Fast foward 20 years later, the same line-up that released that iconic album, decided it was time to get back in action. This weekend, the gang is set to play at the C.Y. Fest in Los Angeles, not once, but twice, and even though we can't attend, we couldn't be more exited at the idea of them getting back together. We reached out to singer JJ, to have a talk about this reunion and her history with the band.
Enjoy!
The Devotchkas being back in action is one of the best news we've heard this year. The album "Live Fast, Die Young" had such an impact on some of us. It came out at a time where female representation and diversity was pretty low in the punk scene, but that album made us wanna get on a stage a fuck shit up too. Many years later, is it something you realize, the impact you had?
I honestly didn’t think we were still relevant, I’ve grown so removed from the scene as I’ve gotten older- all the places we used to play are gone, so many bands have split or people have unfortunately passed-I have always been proud of my time as part of the band and it definitely feels awesome to know people are still listening to us all these years later! Kind of wild! But I’m happy I could be a part of something positive other people can take away from and be a part of. We get messages from people about certain songs - Her Love is Innocence/My Scars/Wicked Heart - thanking us, saying that the songs helped them get through their own personal struggles and made them feel like they weren’t alone, and that makes me tear up big time. I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t have that outlet at that time in my life-to write lyrics that reflected what I was/we were going through-but years later to find out other people out there listening could identify with those feelings/thoughts/situations and it helped them pull through-that's big stuff for sure. I guess I didn’t realize we had an impact like that until reuniting and it’s very humbling. You start a band because you have something to say, a creative outlet to utilize to speak your mind-and to have fun!-so to learn years later a band you were/are a part of still resonates with and is important to other people-it's seriously more than I think any of us could have dreamed. Also I listened to/saw bands like L7, the Lunachicks, Vice Squad, Joan Jett/The Runaways, Bikini Kill, etc. throughout my adolescence and always got those feels: hey! Those girls are kicking ass and singing/playing awesome music! Where do I sign up?! 
I never thought I'd one day be part of a band that gave other females those feelings and want to pick up a guitar/etc. but it's hugely empowering!
How do you feel about that album now and what are your memories from recording it?
I’m still so proud of the album and so thankful to have been a part of it. I initially had just left singing for The Relix (aka The New York Rel-X)and the girls had me sing the female vocals for the “Live Fast, Die Young” cover at CBGBS when they played a show with Vice Squad, so they wanted me to sing for the recording of the cover on the album too. I was working a lot at the time and literally got a phone call one night: “Will you be the new singer for The Devotchkas?” !!!! I was definitely shocked, but I guess things weren’t meshing well with Stephanie, so I said HELL YES?! haha! It was just a good fit though from the start. We all had friendships established with one another, were all on the same page with the type of music we enjoyed playing as a group, and we just always have had a blast together so it seemed like an effortless transition in that aspect. I had notebooks of poetry and lyrics I’d compiled from my sheer enjoyment of writing, so I had to piece together lyrics to music the other girls had already recorded on the fly-but it came together well I think! It was a chaotic few days but I think all of us were proud of the album and you can hear we obviously had a good time being total goofballs if you listen to the hidden tracks on it haha!
I never thought I'd one day be part of a band that gave other females those feelings and want to pick up a guitar/etc. but it's hugely empowering! How do you feel about that album now and what are your memories from recording it?
I’m still so proud of the album and so thankful to have been a part of it. I initially had just left singing for The Relix (aka The New York Rel-X)and the girls had me sing the female vocals for the “Live Fast, Die Young” cover at CBGBS when they played a show with Vice Squad, so they wanted me to sing for the recording of the cover on the album too. I was working a lot at the time and literally got a phone call one night: “Will you be the new singer for The Devotchkas?” !!!! I was definitely shocked, but I guess things weren’t meshing well with Stephanie, so I said HELL YES?! haha! It was just a good fit though from the start. We all had friendships established with one another, were all on the same page with the type of music we enjoyed playing as a group, and we just always have had a blast together so it seemed like an effortless transition in that aspect. I had notebooks of poetry and lyrics I’d compiled from my sheer enjoyment of writing, so I had to piece together lyrics to music the other girls had already recorded on the fly-but it came together well I think! It was a chaotic few days but I think all of us were proud of the album and you can hear we obviously had a good time being total goofballs if you listen to the hidden tracks on it haha!
You joined the band just before the album came out, how did you connect with the group and what made you wanna join them?
I had been good friends with Mande and Alaine for several years; we’d go to shows together and hang out, etc. So when things weren’t working out with the original singer and they asked me to join, I was totally down-play awesome music with some of my best friends? Um, YEAH!
I had been good friends with Mande and Alaine for several years; we’d go to shows together and hang out, etc. So when things weren’t working out with the original singer and they asked me to join, I was totally down-play awesome music with some of my best friends? Um, YEAH!
After it came out, you went on the road to support it. Where did this tour take you and what are some of your best memories of it?
We played locally in New York a bit before going on a European tour and HITS (now Rebellion Festival)to promote the album-my 1st time ever on a plane was flying to Europe for the tour!
-and it is definitely a collection of moments that will likely play before my eyes when I die-beautiful places and supportive and kind people. Just an incredible experience and opportunity I’ll forever be thankful for. We got to travel and play in England, Belgium, France, Germany, and Switzerland. Switzerland is still probably the most beautiful place I’ve ever traveled and I hope to return to some day. While we were there, we spent a day in Gruyeres-literally this place looks like a picture postcard! HR Giger’s museum is there and he actually was on site when we visited so we got to meet and take pics with him! We even gave him our CD! I was so sad to hear he’d passed but I’m thankful we got to meet him-he was really funny and very kind to us 
Before singing with The Devotchkas, how many bands did you play in, and at what moment did you decide you wanted to get on a stage and front a band?
I was a ham ever since I was a kid - on a stage, in front of a camera haha! I always loved music of all kinds but my first love was acting. I started singing in plays in school and when I got to high school I switched gears and wanted to try starting a band. I got a guitar and started writing music and eventually started my first band - The Auxiliary - which Mande actually played bass in. After that I started The Relix(NY REL-X) with Adi and Jon Krays which was the first band I did little tours with and started playing bigger shows, and then The Devotchkas kind of fell in my lap after I had left that band.
What bands introduced you to punk and what did you like the most about the culture?
My first introduction to punk was actually during my young teens when I just had started High School - I was suffering from depression/anxiety and a good friend of mine made me a bunch of mixed tapes(STILL HAVE 'EM! Thank you Angelo!
)-he put The Misfits, The Damned, Black Flag, the Descendents on those tapes. I remember listening and thinking "yeah....yeahhhhh this is for ME!" Where I grew up on Long Island, if you weren't a cheerleader or from a family with money, it just always felt like you were labeled an outcast; just because you wanted to March to the beat of your own drum. I had a group of fellow "outcast" friends, but discovering the punk scene felt like a place to finally "belong". People were in love with music. People didn't care how you dressed. If you were "odd", you were still "FAMILY". If you thought of or said something even remotely outlandish by otherwise conservative standards, it was ok. It just felt like where I was meant to be. You come from a time when punk was even more DIY. There was no social media, no smart phones, no streaming platforms or YouTube. What do you miss the most about those days and what's your opinion on how the digital era changed the music industry?
My daughter is 15 and I've tried explaining "life before the smartphone" to her so many times haha, it's sooooo different! I think both good and bad though. You really had to work your ass off to promote your band, to promote shows, everything was flyers or word-of-mouth. Now everything is right at your fingertips. It's definitely daunting to some degree. Kids today will never understand true DIY. I will say though our newest release-100% DIY! Mande and I sat poring over old pics, worked on the artwork together, collaborated with Alaine and Gabrielle when possible for input, had friends help connect us with printing resources, etc. No label, no distribution - just us and the help of friends. Still not the same DIY as back in the day, haha but probably as close as we'll get nowadays haha! I definitely miss the blood sweat and tears that went into everything compared to today - with things being so accessible it's great in some ways, but has made people lazier I think. To promote a show, you don't have to make a flyer, spend time and money printing it, and then take the time to plaster them everywhere/hand them out. You make a Facebook post haha, it's wild!
You were one of the rare all female punk bands back in the days. What are some of the struggles you faced because of that, and what do you think about the evolution of the punk scene, with diversity, and safer spaces finally becoming more and more normalized?
We got hassled a good bit by males and females alike unfortunately-males just being obnoxious pigs, telling us to "show your tits!" And heckling us, to other females hating us if their dudes liked us or whatever, which sucked, as I've always been an advocate for women standing together. Like I said before, I've grown a good bit removed from the scene for a number of years, but I absolutely love the diversity and changes that have taken place since I was coming up. No way no day currently would you catch guys yelling that kind of stuff at us anymore(at least I'd hope not!
), but I'm the "I want everyone to love everyone" hippie of the band in some ways haha; always had a big ole soft heart. I love that safe spaces are becoming more normalized so that EVERYONE can enjoy music and go to shows without having to worry about people being generally gross or trying to cause drama. I've never felt there was a place in the scene for all that nonsense. Who are the women who inspired you to become who you are today?
Joan Jett, my mama, my band mates, and my daughter!
What motivated the band to get back in action?
I actually - again haha! - received a phone call: "you want to sing for us again and let's do this reunion?" The rest is history-and on Instagram and Facebook hahaha!
Your comeback show is September 24th at the CY Fest in Los Angeles, with a pre-show on the 23rd. What feelings come with going back on a stage 20 years later and what bands can't you wait to see?
Ooh…feelings ha! Can I harness the energy and lung power of 20 years ago to put on a good show?! Haha we’ve been able to practice a bit so hopefully we can pull everything together tight for the festival. It’s exciting and a bit nerve-wracking all at once honestly but I know it’s going to be a blast! I'm excited to see The Unseen and The Virus again! Always had good times playing with those guys and they always played great sets!
What can we expect from the performance and are there more shows being planned at the moment (that would bring you to Montreal!!), or a possible new record?
You can expect more of the same tomfoolery between us silly girls haha, but we’ll be playing old favorites and some new songs too! We’re working on more shows; we’re all in the medical field and have kiddos now so it’s harder to up and play or tour like we did 20+years ago, but we’re definitely going to do what we can! Also, we have a flexi coming out for CY Fest that we’ll also have on our website after the festival-it’s 2 previously unreleased recordings of Wicked Heart and My Scars we entitled “From The Vault”! We’re hoping to be able to record our new songs for another full-length in the near future too!
We like to finish our interviews with some Top 5s, so here we go!
Top 5 punk albums of all time
We like to finish our interviews with some Top 5s, so here we go!
Top 5 punk albums of all time
Misfits - Legacy of Brutality
Violators - No Future Years
PLASMATICS - New Hope for the Wretched
Lunachicks - Jerk of All Trades
Subhumans - Ep/lp
Top 5 non punk albums of all time
pretty much everything ever created by The Pixies
David Bowie - Diamond Dogs
Type O Negative- bloody kisses
Sonic Youth - Dirty
Cyndi Lauper - She's so Unusual
Top 5 venues (sadly all these places are no longer around - RIP
)CBGB
Coney Island high
The Continental
The Roadhouse Pub
The Cove
Top 5 independent horror movies (Note from editor: JJ is a huuuge horror fanatic!)
Deadgirl
The Wretched
May
It Follows
Intruder
Top 5 classic horror movies
The Shining
Friday the 13th(the original is classic but the Friday films are hands-down my favorite franchise!)
Pieces
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Night of the Demons
The Shining
Friday the 13th(the original is classic but the Friday films are hands-down my favorite franchise!)
Pieces
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Night of the Demons
Top 5 killing scenes
Janet Leigh's shower scene in Psycho
Franklin in the original TCM
The sleeping bag kill from FT13 pt.7: The New Blood
Marcy's axe-to-the-face I'm the OG FT13
Tina - original Nightmare on Elm street - her being dragged across the ceiling screaming still gives me chills!
Franklin in the original TCM
The sleeping bag kill from FT13 pt.7: The New Blood
Marcy's axe-to-the-face I'm the OG FT13
Tina - original Nightmare on Elm street - her being dragged across the ceiling screaming still gives me chills!
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/stephaniedevotchka
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/the.devotchkas.official/
WEBSITE: https://thedevotchkas.com/
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