#6 A Pitstop and Beach Bunny Lili.
I hope this email finds you hydrated.
This time last year, I was at a soul-sucking corporate job and an actual responsibility I was assigned was to keep track of every “spooky season” callout in our marketing emails. And well, ‘tis the season! September is almost over!
My favorite holidays are the super fake and novelty ones like Valentine’s Day and Halloween. 1. because of the kitschy decorations and iconography and 2. I don’t have to entertain my extended family.
I’m not sure what Halloween will look like this year, but I’ve had this group costume idea saved in the notes app of my phone for forever now: NASCAR pit crew. Unlimited amount of people can participate. Imagine you and twenty people (pre-Covid) pull up all wearing the same costume…and it still makes sense.
Haha…ok, anyway…
open your purse!
In reference to this cultural phenom.
When I started this newsletter, I decided to pick an organization every month for us to raise donations for. This is the last newsletter I’m sending in September, so next week I’ll let you know how much we donated to Brave Space Alliance and also introduce a new organization.
More about Brave Space Alliance: They’re the first Black-led, Trans-led LGBTQ Center working on the South Side of Chicago. Right now, they’re the only LGBTQIA+ -ran food pantry in the Midwest! If you’re local to Chicago, they’re always taking supply donations as well. Learn more about them here.
Only 3 days left in this month (eek)! Donate if you’re able to ❤️ Venmo me at @elisebang (email me if you prefer a different method) and I will be matching up to $50.
BigRings.mp3
“straight up!”
The Travis Scott Cheeseburger letmegetabite
I cried laughing reading this one, but also it’s written super well. By Jason Stewart, former DJ and 1/2 of the podcast How Long Gone.
What's the story with Britpop and Covid denial? The Guardian
This seems like just a master list of awful quotes from Britpop stars like Noel Gallagher and Ian Brown.
““I do not believe in any germs,” he told me by text. “If they are real, and there’s loads, why don’t they have a smell?””
DTC brands are increasingly leaning on merch ModernRetail
Wake me up when they make Substack merch.
artist of the week: Lili Trifilio
photo by: @h.eg
I met Lili when I was looking for people to perform at the launch party of Shredded Mag (an arts “webzine” some friends and I started in college) our freshman year at DePaul University. We crowded this tiny cafe called the Green Bean and watched her play an acoustic set while someone held the microphone for her (so ~DIY~). Lili’s music career has blown the fuck up since, having gone from sweaty basement shows to Lollapalooza and a spot on Coachella’s lineup.
Hi Lili! I think a lot of my readers will know who you are, but can you introduce yourself?
“Hey there! My name is Lili Trifilio and I'm a Chicago native and the songwriter / frontwoman for Beach Bunny, a power pop music group based here in the city. I attended DePaul University and graduated with a degree in Journalism and I'm turning 24 in four days*.”
*It’s been four days since this interview. Everyone go say happy birthday to Lili!
What got you into making music and when did you start?
“I've been singing for as long as I can remember. I only really started making my own tunes the summer going into college. I was in choir in high school, took guitar lessons in middle school, and was part of child band called the "itty bitty group" when I was a toddler, so music has been a major part of my life since I was a child. When I entered college I transitioned from making covers to composing and I haven't stopped since.”
photo by: @h.eg
Your career has grown an insane amount over the past few years! What have been some highlights, and are there any specific shows or points in your career where you had a like "whoa, this is really happening" type feeling?
“I've made loads of friends touring and being on the road is a crazy experience in itself. The fact that people from all over the country want to come out to a Beach Bunny show still amazes me every time. Playing Lollapalooza was one of the highlights of my career for sure. It's been a festival I’ve been attending every year since I was 16 (minus 2020 lol) so it was a really special event for me. I can't put into words how strange it felt to be on the same stage as so many amazing artists I had seen play there years prior. I will always be grateful to have gotten the opportunity. It was my favorite show to date.”
Could you tell me more about your latest solo work as Tiger Lili?
“Tiger Lili is this new project I started in quarantine which is a place for me to really branch out creatively and not worry about aesthetics on sonic constraints. Tiger Lili is basically my alter ego, and I plan to release music spanning a wide variety of genres through the project. She's a fictional character and I've built a lot of lore into the project that I couldn't have with the Beach Bunny. It's been fun having a side project that doesn't have a set brand, where I can be as creative as I want. Beach Bunny has an established style and vibe, and I like that I can keep those projects separate. Luckily, a lot of people vibe with both.”
What do you hope someone feels when they listen to your music?
“I hope that people can relate to what I'm writing about and through that can feel some type of closure or ease about the experiences they're going through–knowing that they are not alone.”
Dream collab? Dream artist to tour with?
“My dream collab would either be Marina or Charli XCX. I love powerful women in pop and those two are my absolute favs and dramatically have affected me as a person and artist.”
Beach Bunny (like a lot of bands) had to cancel upcoming tour dates due to Covid-19. What's it been like now that the pandemic has put live music on pause? How are you dealing with it? How can we help?
“It sucks not being able to tour, but I think since everyones in the same boat there is a level of acceptance and hope for the future. I've certainly played a lot of livestreams, but mostly we're focused on getting new music out, so I guess the best way to help out would be to share and stream the new EP when it drops.”
You recently played a drive-in show with the band Whitney. Could you tell me about that experience and how it compares to playing a usual show?
“The drive in show was cool! It felt amazing being back on a stage, but also super strange at the same time. It was nice to see people's faces, which you don't get when you're doing an livestream. I got to see some old friends there as well, which made me so happy. I really hope we get to do more, it's far better than the virtual stuff.”
What are your interests/passions outside of music?
“I love rollerblading and walking and learning how to produce. I also have a big interest in astronomy and science so I've been exploring that area of study as well over these past few months.”
Any hopes, wishes, and dreams for Beach Bunny and your music career as a whole? :)
“I hope that Beach Bunny just keeps bringing me joy and other people joy. I think that's the greatest success of all.”
Ok lot’s to plug here, so I’m gonna do a lil bullet point situation:
Twitter: @BeachBunnyMusic, @mstigerlili
Stream Tiger Lili, Beach Bunny, and Lili Trifilio.
#thestew
This recipe went viral about a year ago, but I never got around to trying it until last night. It’s Alison Roman’s Spiced Chickpea Stew with Coconut and Turmeric. If you hit that NYT Cooking paywall, let me know because I have a screenshot (do people really pay for that?). It’s incredibly easy and inexpensive to make and is indeed v good.
sort low-to-high.
I’ve found my forever jeans. They’re the Levi’s Wedgie Fit Straight but only the 100% cotton washes because I’m a masochist and don’t like when my jeans stretch. I like them because I am short and they are cropped (a.k.a. normal pants on me). Personally, I love button-fly jeans (or as my friend calls them–chastity pants). If you don’t, these are not the pant 4 u.
After roughly a year of my friend convincing me, I got a pair of black Dansko clogs (the backless, slip-on kind) super cheap off Poshmark. They’re SO comfy and now I want these cow print ones.
I’m having a moment with checkered rugs. My bedtime story is scrolling through this Etsy page and this Etsy page.
The price is a bit steep, but I caved in April during the height of my quar-sadness. The one…the only…the Vitruvi Stone Diffuser. This is one of those things where you don’t realize having a nice one is like, REALLY nice until you experience it. I like to drop some lavender essential oil or Aēsop’s Béatrice Oil Burner Blend and let her mist. I found a code from this YouTuber for 20% off (code: vitruvixjenny) to help? Maybe?
Does someone want to buy me a $200 Japanese lamp?
I know you’re all busy listening to new Fleet Foxes and Sufjan, but…
I’m a big fan of the first two Cults albums, and this new one is *chef’s kiss* !
same time next week?
Thanks for reading! Next week’s guest will be meta, newsletter-ception. Whatever that means. Is there anything you wanna see in a future newsie? Shoot me an email at eliseabang@gmail.com, Tweet me, or slide into my Instagram DMs ;)
Weeeeee talk to you next week! (ノ◕ヮ◕)ノ*:・゚✧