Pretty in Stereo Rockin’ the Music Industry

The gals of Pretty in Stereo are more than just four pretty performers on stage. Unless by pretty you mean full-blooded rocker chicks ready to scratch your eyes out with charged up melodies and magnetic riffs.

“What I tell people is if the Foo Fighters and the Go Go’s had a baby, that’d be us,” said Jodi Joy, Pretty in Stereo’s drummer.

Natalie, Jodi, Cassie and Christine’s unique sound is just that, a designer hybrid of alt-pop-arena-hard rock. A “Foo Go” if you will, that is sure to be rock fan friendly with hair band inspired dance beats on songs like “OCD” and “Forever in a Day.”

And this foursome wants you to remember their music, not the genre du jour they happen to fall under.

“I don’t think we try to be in a category,” Natalie Poole, Pretty in Stereo’s front woman explained. “We play rock and roll. If that’s pop rock, hard rock, alternative rock, agh, there are too many genres. We’re not shooting for anything except getting our songs played. And if people are gonna call us alternative rock, by all means do so if they’re gonna play us.”

Pretty in Stereo definitely has the rock and roll chops to ignite listeners and fans everywhere, shattering a few chronic girl band generalizations along the way.

“I think we are quite proud that we’re an all-female band,” Joy said. “And, all of us are very heterosexual. Many girl bands in L.A are gay, and we’re not.”

“And that’s fine,” Poole continued. “It’s just another one of those stereotypes, like people expect you to suck. And expecting you to be gay is not a bad thing, but it’s a stereotype. We’re just trying to say it doesn’t have to be that way, it doesn’t have to be any way, it just has to be good.”

Together just a year and a half, Pretty in Stereo is finishing up their third release, a four-song EP. This comes on the heels of their first full-length album titled “Far Behind,” which was released last spring and caught the attention of many record labels.

“We’re on a few radar screens,” Joy said. “We’re just taking it as it comes and hoping for the best. But our ultimate goal is to have a Grammy in our hands this year,” she said laughing.

It seems she’s not the only one in the group with high aspirations for the upcoming year.

“We want to get a star on the Walk of Fame. We got the application but…” Poole said laughing along with her bandmates. “No, what we’re gonna work on this year is finding a home on a label. We’d like to start moving forward with that.”

Poole is the original founder of the band, and sought out some of the best female musicians on the scene. Christine Fullwood, daughter of the great Fully Fullwood, layers her guitar work effortlessly with Poole’s dynamic lyrics. Drummer Jodi Joy honed her skills through lessons with Def Leppard’s Rick Allen and looks to Tommy Lee for constant inspiration. Bassist Cassandra Clawson joined later but immediately hit it off, blending soundly with Joy to create a solid foundation. And although an all-girl band may seem like an uphill battle to some, Poole and the gang saw it as a welcome challenge.

“I was playing with a lot of musicians and started to realize there was a lapse of good female bands,” Poole said. “Not that there weren’t any, but there was a serious lapse and serious ideas associated with girl bands, that they couldn’t play and that they just complained about hating men. It opened my eyes to the music industry and it was a good opportunity to change the way girl bands are looked at.”

Besides having buzz worthiness as an all girl rock group, Pretty in Stereo is a foursome complete with true musicianship and chemistry above all else.

“If we start a jam we can go for hours just coming up with cool parts and songs,” Poole said. “I think we work really well together. We don’t have dramatically different influences, but I think they’re different enough to throw in diverse aspects, so we mesh well.”

When they’re not busy jamming out their own material, Pretty in Stereo rocks out to an eclectic array of music, from Saves the Day to Rick James.

“I like melodic rock that just grabs you by the throat and shakes you around,” Clawson said. “It doesn’t have to be angry, but just really catchy.”

“My musical tastes run from early AC/DC to Diana Ross, I’m all about the bass and that funk,” Joy said. “I’m so influenced by old disco music, I was meant to be in that era. But I’m into all kinds of music. I even listen to classical.”

Mozart would be flattered. But the girls’ main musical influences growing up were far from any opera house performance.

“My playin’ style really comes from a lot of the late 80’s hair bands,” Joy said. “Everybody that ran the Sunset Strip from Tommy Lee to Phil Rudd, they’re definitely the people that laid the foundation for me.”

“Growing up I was really into a lot the same bands as Jodi,” Clawson said. “Mötley Crüe, Guns N’ Roses, I also liked Cheap Trick and some of the older stuff too.”

And although Poole grew up in the OC, hometown bands like No Doubt and Rage Against the Machine had little influence on her or the band.

“I don’t think the location of where we are really inspired us,” Poole explained. “We weren’t like, ‘Hey, we wanna be just like No Doubt because they’re from Orange County.’ It’s kind of like when you’re from Seattle people picture Eddie Vedder.”

But whatever the influence, this rock quartet is finding themselves on more than a few radar screens, performing with Warped Tour, South by Southwest and touring up and down the west coast.

“All I can say about Warped Tour is it’s hot,” Joy said laughing.

“And it made us really think,” Poole continued. “A lot of bands are running themselves off Warped Tour, driving around for months. We did it for four days and had a great time, but it was pretty brutal. It’s amazing how much stamina bands have.”

Including themselves — as female rockers, they’ve faced plenty of doubters.

“I can definitely say there’s been so many times we’ve played and we can get the vibe people are like, ‘Oh great, it’s a girl band,’ ” Joy said. “And those same people are cleaning the crap out of their pants at the end of the show!”

When asked what Pretty in Stereo wants audiences to take away from their performances, the answer is quick and simple.

“A change of mind,” Joy said.

“And a CD for ten dollars,” Poole added.