We got Ana Scandalis to interview POC female-fronted punk rock band, NC17, who just dropped their debut EP, Nasty Habits, on January 21st of this 2022.
Ana: First, thanks so much for letting me interview you, Ryno. (Ryno is the bass player of the four-piece bubblegum punk rock band, NC17. They recently released their debut EP, Nasty Habits, which you can currently stream everywhere.) So, Why call the EP Nasty Habits?
Ryno: Nasty Habits is what our band (sic) was originally called before we decided on NC17. We still thought Nasty Habits was a pretty rad name so we saved it for our debut EP.
Ana: Which track would you say was the hardest to write and why?
Ryno: The hardest track to write was Party’s Over, which is the last track on the EP. I personally wrote about 90% of the music and was never really happy with the flow of the first couple of versions of the song. I kept reworking the bridge over and over to get it where it is now in the recording. Very happy with how it’s turned out even though I’m sure I frustrated everyone in the band!
Ana: Any funny anecdotes from the time you were recording or writing this?
Ryno: During the final day of vocals, I was testing a new mic, and Yani, our singer, had stepped out for a few minutes. Our engineer started rolling on the song Killer Show and I began singing and it’s so out of my vocal range and Yani does these falsettos in the verse that I obviously cannot replicate and it was just laughably terrible. We still have the files and we most likely will release them soon, much to my embarrassment.
Ana: Who is an artist or band you look up to today?
Ryno: I love a lot of 90s skatepunk and Ramones core bands, especially NOFX, The Spits, Useless ID, MTX. I also enjoy 311 and not ironically either.
Ana: What direct influences did you take from the previously mentioned artist or band for Nasty Habits?
Ryno: I was personally listening to a lot of “Useless ID” during the songwriting process. Their arrangements are extremely well thought out and that inspired me to constantly be working on our own transitions and arrangements in order to keep the songs interesting and fresh.
Ana: What do you want fans to take away from Nasty Habits?
Ryno: We just want people to have a good time. That answer is certainly clichéd at this point, but that’s our main goal when we first started writing together. Our lyrics are mostly positive, the music is upbeat, our melodies are simple and catchy, we have fun playing these songs and we hope everyone has fun listening.
Ana: Are there any shows coming up for NC17?
Ryno: We have a few shows coming up in Richmond, VA, and one in Wilmington, NC
1/29: Chugalug house, RVA
2/19: Reggie’s, Wilmington NC
5/4: The Camel, RVA
5/28: Wonderland, RVA
NC17 is a female-fronted four-piece bubblegum punk rock band from Richmond, VA. Each song is a hook-filled singalong, with a high-energy live show to back it up. With nothing to prove and no egos attached, NC17 is all about the next show, small or large, and the next anthem to be written.
