The Applicators
Cambridge Boat Race, 18.8.03

Dare to underestimate these four vixens and you'll be cursed with their songs stuck in your head for days. The Applicators are based in Austin. That's Texas, kids, so if you can't take it you might as well fake it. Rockin' serious since January '99, these girls have the shock factor down. So zip up your pants, shut up and dance and you won't regret your hangover in the morning.

(intro from www.cornerstoneras)


*(Simon, promoter)Did you go to the Indian to eat, it’s fucking awesome isn’t it?!
* (RR) I’m glad you’re here Simon, you can ask some sensible questions!
* (S) I’m drunk, I can’t ask any sensible questions...
* (Sinead, landlady) Simon, you never ask any sensible questions!!

* So here’s the first question - The Applicators, who, what and why?
- Who? Us. What? The Applicators. Why? Because we rock.

* So you come from Austin Texas, near where the Dixie Chicks come from...
- Yeah, but we don’t know them!
* No I was just thinking about all that trouble they got in for dissing George Bush.
- They should be able to say whatever they want.
* But weren’t they pressurised into retracting as they lost so many fans?
- They also gained some. And they earnt back some respect.

* What was it like working with producer Greg Hetson (Bad Religion, The Circle Jerks)?
- We love him, he’s one of our best friends. He produced our first album, which has been out in America for a few years but won’t be coming out in Britain. We’ve just done a 4 track ep ‘U Got It All’which is available in Britain on B- Unique, and then we’re gonna have an album available here with a label or without. This is our second visit here so we’re still bigger in the States, we’ve done 11 U.S. tours and we play big shows in our own area. Then we’ve toured with bands such as The Buzzcocks, The Distillers, Evergreen and when we get home we’re touring with The Proxies.

* Do you find that the reaction’s different in Britain than at home?
- No we don’t.
* What about being 5 women in a band, do you find that you suffer from sexism?
- Yes, sometimes ...
* As when people ask you stupid questions about The Dixie Chicks?!
- Yes! or when they compare us to The Donnas constantly, we love them as people but we’re a different sound!
* (S) Can I ask one question actually? What do you make of the fact that at your last Cambridge gig for instance, the majority of the audience was male?
- We want more girls to come!
* There were a lot of girls at the front during Cosy Cosy's set, I think tonight is less male.
- I think on average we have a 50/50 girl/guy crowd. The more we tour here, the more people will realise that’s what we’re about.
* I teach 7-11 year olds guitar...
- Cool! She has a 7 year old girl, I have a 3 year old girl, and they both want to play!
* But learning guitar does seem to be mostly a boy thing, how can I counteract this?
- You have to market yourself to girls. Also I know that doing what we’re doing helps; I know for a fact that our drummer was inspired by a female drummer and that some girls have taken up drumming cos of us!!
* Yeah, there’s a woman teacher at our school who also drums,when she plays to the kids you can see girls especially thinking “Hey, I could do that!”. It'd be cool if she could take some lessons, maybe aimed specifically at girls.
- Yes, she should do that!
* Who’s your favourite female drummer?
- Umm...
* (S) Sleater-Kinney’s drummer?
* Juliet from The Saffs?
* Who have been your inspirations in general?

- We all have different inspirations, so many different ones, that’s why the band works, we knew that we were all very different and that therefore collectively we’d make a different sound. And it’s pretty cool to play and travel with the girls, we can say everything to each other, it wasn’t supposed to be like that but it’s the way it’s turned out. If we all listened to the same bands then we’d just sound like our influences, but the way it is makes the dynamic of the band more interesting.
* (S) Have you ever played with the Donnas?
- No, but we’d love to!
* (S) If they ever play the UK, I’ll try to make sure you get the support.

* So, what’s next for The Applicators?
- We’re playing the Reading and Leeds Festivals, and then we’re going to record our next album and hopefully come back here.

* What songs do you listen to when you’re vacuuming - and yes I do ask blokes that question too!
- Something loud. Nirvana, sixties soul, something fast and funky!

* Finally, what’s best, chips or cream buns?
(Simon then translates the question into American)
- Fries, chips!
* (S) You’ll be happy with that answer.
* That’s it then, thank you very much!

Thanks too to Simon for organising the interview and guest list, and to all at The Boat Race for letting us talk on their stairs!