The Paranoyds
The Paranoyds
Live at Paste Studio (Jan. 2020)
"Carnage Bargain" (2019)
The Paranoyds are an American punk band out of Los Angeles, California. Their debut full length album, Carnage Bargain was released on Friday, September 13, 2019. The band is signed to Suicide Squeeze Records.[1][55]
Members and Influences
The Paranoyds are a quartet with a pop-punk/garage rock sound comparable to bands like Shannon and the Clams, The Germs, and The Go-Go's. The members of the band grew up in the Los Angeles music scene, going to all-age shows to see local bands Mika Miko and No Age.[7] Growing up in L.A., Lexi Funston, guitarist, recalls the long bus rides from Santa Monica to Hollywood and attending great concerts,[23]
"Looking back, I think I took for granted that pretty much every artist comes through LA; that's not something every 13-year-old in the country has access to.
The first two shows I ever went to were with Laila's brother: one of them was an in-store performance by the Violent Femmes at Amoeba that he drove us to, the other was Franz Ferdinand at the Greek Theater in, like, 2005.
It was amazing."
The band consists of these members:
Lindes and Hashemi had first met as freshman in high school, noticing they had a similar style, Lindes stopped Hashemi in the halls of the school one day asking where she got her outfit.[7]
Laila Hashemi and Lexi Funston had met in preschool and started playing instruments at a very young age. After the girls had gone to college, they had gone through a couple of drummers, and eventually landed David Ruiz, who is touring with them as of 2019.
The band lists artists like Violent Femmes, No Doubt, and Television as musical inspirations.[23]
Discography
The Paranoyds have released a few EPs before their debut full album, Carnage Bargain:[24]
Year | Title | EP/LP | Record Label |
|---|---|---|---|
2016 | After You | EP | Hard Feelings Records |
| 2016 | The Paranoyds and Fernando and the Teenage Narcs Split EP | EP | Loose Grip Records |
2018 | Maldito | EP | Wink and Spit Records |
2019 | Hungry Sam | EP | Suicide Squeeze Records |
2019 | Carnage Bargain | LP | Suicide Squeeze Records |
Carnage Bargain
The Paranoyds' debut album, Carnage Bargain was released through Suicide Squeeze Records on September 13, 2019. The album has many environmental and feminist themes that the band belts out through fast-paced distortion and great vocals. On the subject of the theme of the album and feelings associated, bassist Staz Lindes stated,[21][29]
"The news is so rating based.
We don’t know, it changes so often and in that first year that Trump was elected, I was just a mess reading the news.
The Nuclear stuff going on with in North Korea should we text everybody that we love them because it sounds like we’re going to blow up tomorrow.
Once a year later, they were shaking hands, I was like I need to stop reading the news.
It’s all scripted and dramatized.
It’s so nasty, obviously there is true news, but it does not come from mainstream news sources most of the time.
The thing with Carnage Bargain is the whole crisis with what is happening at the border is so disturbing.
It’s just the whole world that we don’t know what is really going on, they’re making deals, making drone deals to wipe out – whatever carnage bargain while we just want to be good people.
It’s weird, it’s weird being a person with empathy.
It’s just not a time of empathy.
They’re going more the direction of just be on your phone and shut up."
“The grass isn’t green
It’s muddy with gasoline
There’s filth in the swimming pool
They’ve thrown away all the tools.”
That shit's not for me
They wanna get a carnage bargain
I wanna pick up garbage"
In Girlfriend Degree, another track off the album, The Paranoyds discuss how women should not settle into the easily expected roles laid out by society,[12]
"It's easy if you let it be
Went to school got a girlfriend degree
My man, he takes care of me
On the wall is my girlfriend degree"
Music Video
The Paranoyd's music video for Girlfriend Degree was directed by Ambar Navarro and shot at The Pink Palace in Northridge. In the video, the band is seen going to sleep after a hard night of grooming. Once asleep, the bandmates dream they are Barbies. Lexi Funston, guitarist, commented,[31]
"We thought it would be kind of fun to have these Barbies re-enact some of our worst nightmares."
The video concludes with the bandmates waking; Funston affirms that the band members hold true to who they are, stating,
"We wake up in ourselves, we’re not having weird nightmare Barbie stuff, we’re just the Paranoyds."
2019 Tour
On September 13, 2019, the band released Carnage Bargain and kicked off their fall tour in New Orleans. The band will return to their hometown at The Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles, California on November 15, 2019.[22]
"There's nothing better than having a purpose every place you're traveling, working with other artists, playing your art, having people respect it.
It's the coolest shit."
-Staz Lindes
Dr. Martens Presents
On December 20, 2019 popular footwear and accessories brand Dr. Martens uploaded a video to their Youtube channel showcasing two Los Angeles rock groups. The mini documentary features the music of both The Paranoyds and California spook-surf rock band SadGirl, alongside a brief interview with the groups. In the short film Staz Lindes referred to the band as a 'Devo-esque Nirvana mashup sung by three different girls'. She further stated,[44]
"I also come from doing the fashion world and the fashion world is insanely predominantly male.
It's interesting to transition into the music world and see the same thing-it's like you wanna see more women in this field.
We need to, like, change the system."
On January 7, 2020 the Dr. Martens promo, titled Dr. Martens Presents: SadGirl and The Paranoyds was written about in an Altpress.com piece.[45]
See Also
Abjects