Interview: The Girls

A Conversation With J.P. Verardi About The Band's New EP

The Girls (L-to-R): Noah (drums), Cap (rhythm guitar), Can (bass) and J.P. (lead guitar/vocals). Chris (keyboards) not pictured.

Punks are making some of the best power pop these days.

North Carolina’s The Girls is a great recent example. Their new six-song EP kicks off with perfectly-polished lead track, “Late Night,” a must-listen for fans of White Reaper and The Whiffs. But elsewhere on this high-energy collection, the uniform-clad quartet ventures into stylish ‘70s New York punk with “Hey Babe” and “Boogie Man,” both of which are more representative of their impressive back catalog.

A common denominator are The Nerves, an influential ’70s trio that emerged when punk and power pop were twins, but The Girls’ cover of “Hanging on the Telephone” owes as much to Blondie’s UK hit version as the original.

A definite highlight is hooky lead single, “Drama Queen.”

“‘Drama Queen’ started out with the guitar riff that happens during the break down. We were just messing around with it one day and wanted to have that really big moment during the song where it gets really loud and then back to really quiet again,” J.P. Verardi told me for the interview below.

Mission accomplished. I caught up with Verardi by email as he and the band wrap up a short run of regional shows, with plans to do more touring in the near future.

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J.P. Verardi Interview

Congrats on the great new EP. Can you tell me a little about how this collection was written and recorded?

J.P. Verardi: I was going through a lot when I wrote a lot of these songs. My Dad recently died from brain cancer and I was using a lot of that turmoil to push myself to make these songs and put myself in a better place by writing some happy songs and getting my head out of the gutter.

You just wrapped up a short East Coast tour. What has been the reaction to the new material live so far?

J.P. Verardi: It’s been really great! A lot of people have really been loving the new songs, new look and overall sound. I think out of the new songs that we just put out the crowd favorites have been ‘Late Night’ and ‘Boogie Man’ for sure.

I would consider you guys in the same class as current favorites like The Whiffs, Bad Nerves and Paint Fumes. Do you consider those bands peers? Who else are you listening to these days?

J.P. Verardi: Yeah! Paint Fumes are the homies. They’re all super nice and great musicians. We don’t draw our inspiration from any one band, but we do love The Hives, White Reaper and Spiritual Cramp, and then we sit in the car and bump Chappell Roan.

Cuntry Music might be the best EP title I've heard lately. Any story there?

J.P. Verardi: I remember we were all sitting in the practice room joking around about the new outfits and Noah put his on and we all said, ‘Gurl, he’s servvvving cunttt,’ and saying stuff like, ‘This is cuntry music, gurl.’ And then I was like, ‘Oh, wait…I love that.’

"Late Night" is one of the best pop singles this year. How did that song come about?

J.P. Verardi: I wrote that song about a girl. It’s basically a love song about having a big crush on somebody who you can’t get off your mind. Hopefully people can relate to it and just listen as a feel good song.

Tell me a little about your cover of"Hanging on the Telephone.” Are you fans of The Nerves? What do you think of the Blondie version?

J.P. Verardi: The Blondie version is kind of what we used as a template for our cover of The Nerves original, but we kinda wanted to make it a little bit more upbeat and faster with a more modern synthesizer sound.

It was a challenge getting all of the stops and different sections of that song because every instrument is doing something different… It was definitely a tricky one for us to sit down and learn.

"Hey Babe" really leans into the '70s NYC punk direction that is more pronounced on your earlier releases. How do you think your sound/songwriting has evolved since your first release in 2020?

J.P. Verardi: ‘Hey Babe,’ personally, is my least favorite song (on Cuntry Music). I love ‘70s New York punk, but I feel like we could’ve done better with that song. It was written during a turning point between the old style and our more evolved sound where I try to have one guitar playing the riff and then the bass doing a version of that riff—but more walking around the fretboard—while the rhythm guitar does some open strumming or a fun lead. The keyboard is always my punctuation point.

What's next for The Girls?

J.P. Verardi: We are booking another tour right now. We’re going up north this time starting on October 16th, so that will be super fun.

We can’t wait to get back on the road especially since we did just add two band members—Can on bass and Chris on keys. All together it is a super fun aesthetic. A lot of people are really taking to our new additions and new look, so we’re eager to get back on the road as much as possible!

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