By Calen Vanstone
“Cherri Bomb opened for my band Chelsea Girls in February of 2009, and they blew me away. They played exceptionally well, sang 3 and 4 part harmonies, and left myself and the crowd speechless. I knew these girls were destined for greatness.” – Samantha Maloney (Hole, Peaches, Mötley Crüe, Eagles Of Death Metal)
Heading to our shores for the 2012 Soundwave Festival are the talented young girls, Julia Pierce, Miranda Miller, Rena and Nia Lovelis who make up LA-based band, Cherri Bomb. The band will be making their first appearance in Australia, alongside many well-known acts including System Of A Down, Slipknot, Hole and Machine Head.
“Young” is a very apt term for the band, whose members’ ages range from twelve to fourteen, but words like “inexperienced”, “amateur” or “immature” are definitely not needed here. This quartet will have achieved more as a band by the time they finish puberty, than most bands accomplish in their whole careers.
From opening for Filter to touring with The Smashing Pumpkins (after being specifically requested by Billy Corgan himself), to playing almost every festival they physically can, most of which are in Europe, far from the comfort of their homes in America. Before you start thinking I am exaggerating, those festivals included Sonisphere, Oxegen, Readings and Leeds. They’ve also opened for one of their idols, Foo Fighters, performing to more than 15,000 people.
Despite the huge tours in Europe and festival appearances, the band has never travelled this far for a show before. Instead of that intimidating them, it does quite the opposite.
“We’re really looking forward to coming to Australia and meeting new people and new fans,” says the refreshingly humble Pierce. “We’re definitely going to check out all the beaches and zoos, but most importantly we’ll be there to rock out!”
Speaking of their idols, the band recently showed their musical chops covering The Foo Fighter’s “The Pretender”, which can found on Youtube over a clip filmed by famed director Giles Dunning (The White Stripes, Iggy Pop, Weezer & Vampire Weekend).
“(Dave) is one of those guys you meet and instantly become best friends with. He’s just the sweetest guy,” adds Pierce. This is no big news to us, after The Foo Fighters graced us with a series of shows across Australia, with Grohl once again expressed his love for our country.
Pierce hopes to make her own impression on our audiences, but knows the band needs to work hard. They are also keen to show us what a girl band is fully capable of.
“This is what I’ve always wanted to do, and we want to be able to come and show that girls can rock, and inspire others to follow their passions too.”
Cherri Bomb is undoubtedly a huge success story and an inspiration to many. However, to the easily disheartened, it’s not necessarily because they got lucky. Pierce, Miller and the Lovelis sisters have worked hard ever since their first show back in 2008, and haven’t stopped since.
On a final note, when Pierce was asked to describe the sound of the band in a single word for those unfamiliar with them, she quickly responded with “explosive”. As for what to expect when seeing them live – “energetic”. Judging by the band’s reception and acclaim so far in their brief history as a band, these terms seem to be less about ego, but instead simply, fact.
SOUNDWAVE FESTIVAL VENUES AND DATES
SATURDAY 3 ADELAIDE, BONYTHON PARK
General Public tickets on sale now through www.soundwavefestival.com www.oztix.com.au & Oztix outlets & www.ticketek.com.au 132 849
*All shows are licensed and all ages
*Venue and lineup subject to change
For more information head to www.soundwavefestival.com
2 comments
You’re a little bit off on the ages. Maybe if this were 2010 you’d be about right.
But this is a nice article about a band that’s right on the cusp of being pure greatness.
Ah yes i just confirmed this, my apologies. thanks though btw