Tacocat, a Seattle-based pop punk quartet, will play at Opolis at 9:30 p.m. Feb. 16. The band is currently touring after the April 2016 release of its newest album, "Lost Time." Bree McKenna, Tacocat’s bassist, answered questions about the band’s unique origins and sound.
Q: Who is in Tacocat and what do they play?
“Lelah (Maupin) plays drums and Emily (Nokes) sings and Eric (Randall) plays guitar.”
Q: How did the band get started?
“It started about nine years ago. We just all became friends and wanted to play house parties around Seattle. There weren't many ladies doing that at the time, so we sort of wanted to make our own scene, and we just kind of kept going. It was really fun.”
Q: How did you guys meet?
“Emily and Lelah were going to the Art Institute of Seattle, and they met in some sort of graphic design class. Me and Eric had been writing some songs, sort of bonding over liking some of the same bands and we knew Lelah had a drum kit, but hadn’t quite started playing a lot yet. And none of us wanted to sing, really, we were just trying to figure out songs. And Lelah was like, ‘Oh, I met this girl Emily in my class and she sings along to Neil Diamond or something in the car and she sounds great,’ and we were like, ‘Yeah, perfect, sign her up.’”
Q: What inspired the name Tacocat? Did you choose it because it’s spelled the same way backwards and forwards?
“The palindrome thing is a plus, but mostly like I said when we started we thought we were just like going to be a party band (and were thinking), ‘What’s a good party band name?’ And then we had this shortlist of band names we were kind of mulling over, and someone that I worked with at the time was like, ‘Oh, Tacocat, that sounds like something a 7-year-old girl would name her band.’ And I was like, ‘Bingo, that’s the one.’”
Q: How would you describe the band’s sound?
“It’s really fun feminist pop punk.”
Q: What are some of the issues your songs talk about?
“A lot of our songs are sort of just about life experiences, but a lot of that — since, you know, the band is 75 percent women, a lot of the issues we talk about are like street harassment or having your period. I think a lot of people are surprised we talk about women’s issues, but that’s a huge thing. Our period is a huge part of our lives. Being yelled at in the street is part of our lives. It ends up coming out a lot.”
Q: Who are some of your musical influences?
“We were originally very inspired by '90s Olympia bands and the riot grrrl scene, so there’s Bikini Kill and Bratmobile. When we were coming up into playing music, those were really inspiring bands because they dealt with a lot of misogyny and sang about it and were really open about it, and coming out of your teen years listening to mainstream music and then hearing that — that felt really radical. So, that was inspiring, but we also built off it with our own personalities and spin on how we felt about the world today, I guess.”
Q: What is the weirdest or most fun place you’ve visited on tour?
“Well, we’ve gone on tour so many weird places. ... Geneva was pretty crazy, because we were there last year and it was this huge venue that had a huge stage, and then a couple other stages in different parts of it.
And then a bar that had the oldest DJ in Geneva, who was like 99 or something, DJing. ... It was so funny because he was DJing hits from his youth. It was really funny and cute. He was kind of rocking out playing stuff and it was just amazing."
Q: What are your favorite songs to play live?
“I think everyone does have favorites, because ... a part that’s really fun for Lelah to play could be really kind of like whatever, boring for me. I personally like playing 'Hey Girl,' which is our song about street harassment. People sing along if they know it, and it’s just really fun and high energy.”
For more information about Tacocat's tour dates visit its website. Tacocat's latest album, "Lost Time," is available on Spotify.
