Four Girls You Don't Want to Miss This Sunday at DIY!

In addition to all of the other great bands playing DIY this year, there was one that I was super excited to see on the bill...Smudge Candy! I found out about this band through my job, earlier this year. I was instantly impressed by their talent and their sound. They reminded me of girl bands of the 90's, like Red Aunts, Seven Year Bitch and Sleater-Kinney, bands that Sadie and I loved when we were teenagers and still listen to, to this day. It was quite a shock, since it was obvious these girls were just babies back then.  But hey, tons of bands out there are influenced by The Beatles and they were around before most of us were even alive! 

Photo By: Holli Streetman - Hair & Makeup By: Tahsin Asjad

Smudge Candy is a four piece, all girl, rock band consisting of Willa, Anna, Blaire and Melissa. They have opened for many well known acts in the Detroit area, including The Hard Lessons, Destroy This Place and Deastro. Just in case you haven't heard of these girls before, I caught up with them so you could get to know them a little better before their set at DIY this Sunday. 

Hip In Detroit - How did you guys get your start? How long have you been a band?
Smudge Candy - "We started in March of 2011 for a battle of the bands at the Rochester skating rink. We lost."

Hip In Detroit - You recently got a new drummer. Tell us about that! How are things going?
Smudge Candy - "All drummers for Smudge Candy have a curse just like in Spinal Tap. In the past two years we have gone through 5 drummers both of the male and female variety. We are just waiting for something bad to happen to our newest drummer, Melissa. She is a classically trained pianist, has a very cute wiener dog as a pet, and also plays the key kit in a folk band called “Match byMatch”. So if you are interested in playing drums for Smudge Candy, we will put you on the waiting list, where you will eventually most definitely be selected."

Hip In Detroit - With all of you being in school and living all over the place, how does the band manage to stick it out?
Smudge Candy - "Willa is studying Human Sexuality at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Anna is a teacher and front desk assistant manager at the School of Rock in Rochester, and Blaire is a full time student and classical musician at Cranbrook. So we all have more than enough on our plates. Our secret is cutting out sleep and showering, being vegetarians and petting lots of animals to relieve all of our stress."

Hip In Detroit - Are you guys excited about DIY this weekend? What other bands are you looking forward to seeing?
Smudge Candy - "We are extremely excited about playing DIY Fest in Ferndale. We are all excited about seeing our friends Augie and Korin, fellow lady rocker Amy Gore, The Sights, Lightning Love, and The Hounds Below. "

Hip In Detroit - What does the future have in store for Smudge Candy?
Smudge Candy - "On October 2 we are playing with Kingsfoil at The High Octane Lounge in Romeo. The drummer of this band just happens to be Agent Cody Banks himself, Frankie Muniz. Our bassist Anna has a secret plan to win [his] 5-foot tall heart. The rumor around town is that we will be recording our first full-length record and there will surely be many shenanigans surrounding that. Also, Blaire is playing solo on the 30 of September at Goldfish Tea in Royal Oak."

Hip In Detroit - We like to ask everyone we interview what some of their places in the Detroit area are. So, what's your favorite venue, restaurant, store, bar, etc.?
Smudge Candy - "Our favorite venue is Harpos…JK. We also love the Russell Industrial Center, the Avalon Bakery, and PJ’s Lager House." 

Smudge Candy will be playing DIY on Sunday at 3:15 p.m. on the Pabst Stage. If you'd like to check them out before their set, head over to their bandcamp to hear their self-titled EP. You can download it for just $5. 

Even though we will be hungover as hell from Sadie's birthday festivities the night before, we hope to see you all at the Pabst stage on Sunday to see these wonderful ladies perform...3:15 isn't that early in the day anyways and we promise it will be worth it! 

~C