Writers have described their music as “dark.” GIC’s publicist describes their music as “feral.” Nina Diaz bullies her guitars as she shreds power chords with a vengeance. Her voice can sound as sweet as a song bird one second, then switch gears and sound like she’s gargling broken glass the next. She’s gutsy, wild, and she can rock! Bassist Jenn, drives the power along with Phanie Diaz, who bangs the skins with a fevered pitch.
EPB: When Jenn and Phanie conspired to start a band, what sort of band did you have in mind? Were you planning on being a duo or were you trying to recruit other members before Nina “auditioned?”
JA: We have always been influenced by so many genres. I am not sure if we had a specific plan on what type of music we wanted to play, rock of course. . . there was no plan on how many members either. We had been trying out friends of ours but we were not having much luck. Nina sang us a song and the rest is history.
EPB: How long after Nina joined did you go on tour? Did your parents have to travel with you as chaperone?
JA: Nina started touring two years after we started the band. She was 16. No parents. Phanie is her big sister, so she was responsible for her.
EPB: What is the age difference between Phanie & Nina?
JA: 8 years.
JA: Yes, we have endured all kinds of obstacles and still face them to this day. Whether it be the sound guy at a venue thinking we don’t know what we are doing or a guy in the crowd preparing himself for some whiney, guy-hating music. We deal with situations like that all the time. We act calm and just play our set. Lots of the times we are able to get people to adjust some these common assumptions. We hope to inspire other females, so that little by little we can keep them all guessing.
EPB: Where all have you gone on tour and what’s the craziest thing that’s happened to you while on tour?
JA: We have traveled all over our great country and have played France, UK, Scotland, Poland, and Canada. Craziest thing that has happened to us on tour is an extreme band fight Nov. 4th 2008. Detroit. Obama was elected and that night we opened for The Stills. We all partied and when it was time to load out of the venue, Nina and I got into it. Yup, a good ol’ fashion band fight. I pushed her and she ripped my necklace off “La Bamba Style” and we started throwing punches. Phanie broke us up and the venue called the police on us. We made it out before they came. Unforgettable.
EPB: What’s in GIC’s future? Where do you hope to be in say, five years or even ten?
JA: Classic question. Playing shows still with a couple of new albums that hopefully gain success all over the WORLD!! 🙂
EPB: What bands/artists do you enjoy listening to that are still putting out music? What genres do you like listening to most?
JA: We all adore Superdrag. Great band! Of course, Morrissey. I love rockabilly music, oldies. Definitely 90’s alternative music too. We all have similar taste in music.
EPB: Finally, my son has a high school teacher who says girls can’t rock (my son has countered him on this fact many times to no avail). What would you like to tell this teacher (he has heard Joan Jett and is still unconvinced that girls can rock)?
JA: Well, hell, i’d probably tell him off. Seems like he has his mind set BUT, if I had to say something, I’d say come check out our live show. If he still doesn’t agree, well then something might be wrong with him. Maybe he loves men and men only. Man pride. 😉
