Jackknife Stiletto is an all-female rock n' roll band from New York City. The trio is known for its aggressive drive, powerful melodic vocals, and musical versatility. They play loud rock n' roll laced with punk overtones, while maintaining artistic integrity and a fresh sound. Dubbing their own genre, VAGXCORE, these ladies have brought their passionate live act to stages across the country including SXSW and Warped Tour. In addition, they’ve opened for bands such as: Murphy's Law, Cherie Currie, and Bret Michaels. Jackknife Stiletto believes in loud, melt-your-face-off music, guaranteeing one hell of a sexy, unforgettable rock show.
Punk Globe: When did you start playing?
Annie: I started playing in high school. I was a late bloomer. But my schools never had music classes. I started listening to punk music and going to local shows and really wanted to play guitar. So I started taking lessons and formed my first few bands shortly after!
Mel: I started playing drums when I was 9 years old in the school band. I continued throughout school joining every ensemble I could including pit orchestra, marching band, concert band and jazz band. Then I went on to college for percussion, where I met Annie.
Roxane: I started playing guitar when I was 11 years old, and bass a few years after. I never took any lessons, just learned from listening to my favorite bands at the time.
Punk Globe: What kind of following do you want to have?
Jackknife Stiletto (JKS): Is it bad to say…… like everyone…. and their moms?
Punk Globe: What message are you trying to send with your music?
JNS: It’s not only the message of ‘girls can play music too,’ but we just hope we can connect people to our music and that they latch onto a feeling with our songs, whether it’s the music or the lyrics. We’re a hard-working band and we want people to know that. We’re all trying to let out frustrations or tell stories. We hope that someone can have a better day listening to our music.
Punk Globe: Who inspired your band, what's your biggest influence?
JKS: We’ve all been in different bands over the years and have a varied taste in music. We can’t really say there’s a certain band or influence that started this band. It was more the situation of a few girls that wanted to form an all-girl rock/punk band, work as hard as we could to get our music out there, and tour a lot!
Punk Globe: How did it feel to play mother pugs?
JKS: Man, did we miss playing Staten Island!! It was a while since we crossed over the Verrazano to play there again, but it was an amazing show. We had a blast playing with all of the bands, and the crowd was awesome. Just when we thought the ‘scene’ had died away, the crowd proved that the scene was alive and thriving. We can’t wait to go back!!
Punk Globe: If there was one thing to take away from your music what would it be?
JKS: That you can come out to shows and have a kick-ass time. We want to have fun and be your new friends! So to us, it’s really about coming together, not judging anyone, and having an awesome time listening. It’s also a way for everyone to forget any bad things going on in their lives. Let’s just have a good time, meet new people, and support the scene and each other.
Punk Globe: How do you feel about the impact you've made with the local scene?
JKS: We love going out and seeing other shows in Long Island, Staten Island, NYC, etc… It’s all about supporting each other. It’s been a lot of fun being able to help out other bands that are also working hard.
Is there anyone you'd like to acknowledge for their support of your music?
Of course our friends, family, fans, and stalkers who continue to support us and share our music with others. They don’t know how much it means to us, but every person they share our music with helps us drastically. We’re about to head into the studio soon and their support helps us continue touring and making music.
Punk Globe: What genre of music do consider yourselves?
JKS: We like to say ‘VAGXCORE!’ But also punk rock / rock n’ roll. If you check out vagxcore.com we put up monthly spotlights on other all-female and female-fronted bands!
Punk Globe: What's the origin of your name, has it ever changed?
JKS: Yes it has changed, along with a few line-up changes. But if we tell you what it was, we may have to send some stalkers your way. We thought up the name Jackknife Stiletto at a late night diner trip of course!
Punk Globe: Do you have anything in the works?
JKS: Yes, we are about to head into the studio at the end of January and hope to have our new EP out in March. Then we head back on tour!
Punk Globe: Anything you want your fans to know?
JKS: Thank you for your support. We appreciate it so much and couldn’t do what we love without you!
Punk Globe: What's it like to be an all female band?
JKS: Well, the van smells a lot better for starters! We work just as hard as any other band really trying to get their music out there, whether they are male or female. The difference is when you’re out playing shows, people can say weird or dumb things to you like: “Oh, you girls carry your own gear?” “We’ve never seen an all-female band.” “You guys were like really good… like I can’t believe you girls are so good.” We doubt a band with a bunch of dudes would get comments like that!
Punk Globe: What's your musical process?
JKS: It really varies, but it’s all collaborative. We all write together!
Punk Globe: What was it like playing with the other bands?
JKS: We of course love playing with other bands! Other bands inspire us and we’ve made a lot of friends sharing the stage with so many awesome bands. When we tour we swap a lot of shows with other bands out-of-state, and in return we help them in the NY area when they want to come our way. We’re always looking to support other bands and we share their music with our fans & friends too! It’s all about making a scene and a community. We’re all here to support each other!
Punk Globe: Any last words?
JKS: Thanks so much for interviewing us! Be sure to check out our music, share it, and join the mailing list! Let us know where we should come on tour because we have a lot of cool things coming your way in 2017! See ya soon!!
Websites:
www.JackknifeStiletto.com
www.Facebook.com/JackknifeStiletto
www.Twitter.com/JknifeStiletto
www.Instagram.com/JackknifeStiletto