The city of Baltimore is home to a wide variety of bands that do not disappoint, and one of those bands is War on Women. Their third full length album with Bridge Nine Records, Wonderful Hell, is out now, and is surely not one to sleep on. Sneaking up on you, the first few seconds of the album opener, Aqua Tofana are fast and quiet, but the anxious calm before the storm doesn’t last long. Immediately you’re hit with loud confident guitars that have already set the pace for the rest of the album. Shawna Potter, War on Women’s frontwoman’s energy is absolutely captivating. She takes you on an eleven-song journey that’s honest, impassioned, and imperative. When this album is able to be played live, be sure to grab your ticket, you won’t want to miss it.
What have you been listening to the most lately?
If you asked me a few months ago, it would be this album that we just did, just to make sure everything’s ok. So, what I’ve been listening to the most is actually chill, generic Café Jazz because I just got a dog! I just adopted a dog and the foster parents said that she likes that, and it helps her relax so I’ve been playing that while I work so that she can listen to something soothing, I guess.
Any specific Jazz artists you’re listening to?
The only one I like that I know of with the vibe that I’m going for is CHET BAKER. I do very much enjoy his music but it’s not necessarily a genre that I listen to a lot, or that I care about, so you know I’ve just been putting on like…it’s literally called Café Jazz or whatever on YouTube, it’s two hours long and just playing that.
Can you recommend any up and coming artists and bands?
I don’t know if up and coming is the right word cause there’s that thing where maybe someone’s been around a while but if you haven’t heard about them, they’re brand new to you, and it might seem like all of a sudden you’re hearing a lot about them so I don’t know if she’s up and coming but I’m a big fan of the new EP by MISS EAVES. She’s a rapper, she raps about body positivity, and acceptance, and other feminist issues so I got her latest EP and it’s super fun to listen to and I’ve kind of been needing some fun stuff.
What’s your favorite means of discovering new music? Is it live? Records? Through friends’ recommendations? Luck?
Definitely luck! Yeah, yeah, so it’s a little bit of everything. You know, I’m one of those people that if I hear something for the first time at a show, live music, I’m a little less likely to immediately enjoy it. I kind of need to sit with it, or hear the recorded version. I don’t know what it is about that but I just need to be in a setting that isn’t to look at this band on stage because that’s the only thing going on right now, you know? I feel forced to like them which makes me want to rebel. I’m not easily won over at live shows which means I have to make sure to try to listen to things before I check out bands which obviously isn’t the problem right now, but it can be. So, I think definitely luck, recommendations, and actually my bandmates, we’ll often share things that we’re listening to, but I’m kind of not as active as I used to be in seeking music out, and so it’s kind of just whatever someone else is playing, or what they tell me about but then I make sure to actually check it out, or if I hear something on TV, or in a movie or something, if the song interests me a little bit I will Shazam it and figure out what it is and potentially buy the record off that.
What’s the first thing that strikes you when you hear a new artist or band? Is there anything that makes or breaks it for you?
My first thought to that question is it probably can’t be in a major key. I’m usually not interested if it’s a major key, at least from a Rock band, or something under the Rock umbrella. Pop I think is a different beast. I definitely listen to lyrics and the voice and the timbre of someone’s voice if they’re doing something a little interesting, a little unexpected with the vocal melody. I appreciate that and if it sits well in the song. I don’t want to listen to a song and think, you could do a hundred different melodies and they would all work. I want to listen to it and be like, this is exactly the right choice, every note choice they made is exactly the right choice, this is the only way the song could of been done. I like that feeling.
Are you more likely to listen to the same albums or songs over and over again, or do you need variety?
I listen to a lot of the same stuff now; I think I always did. There’s definitely something to getting older and just not needing as much variety to stay engaged. I don’t seek it out like I did but I’m also not…I don’t shun it either, I’m in my thirties not my eighties.
Do you remember the first-time music had an impact on you?
Let’s see…it’s a blur because I was that young. I’ve been singing, and dancing, and responding to music my entire life, and so I have all these little bits and pieces of memories of working on a dance routine to some JANET JACKSON song at the gas station while my mom is pumping gas or something, you know? Listening to music, singing along in the car with my mom, putting on recitals at recess, so it goes way before deciding to pick up a guitar and be in a band. It’s always been a huge part of my life.
How did your musical tastes evolve throughout the years, from when you were a kid, all the way to now?
Well, you know, I think that when you’re young and it’s not really your choice of what to listen to right? Your parents are listening to things and it’s just around. I was watching MTV at a young age, so it’s just whatever they played. I didn’t have a lot of agency necessarily, but I really gravitated towards the big Pop stars of the time because that’s what was on, but also, I feel very lucky at just how good of a time period the 80’s were for Pop music. So, listening to JANET JACKSON, PRINCE, MICHAEL JACKSON, and GEORGE MICHAEL, they were all fucking huge! And MADONNA obviously. It’s all good music so I definitely gravitated to that and I always knew somewhere deep down that my dad was a rocker growing up and Rock music was definitely being played on the TV and it kind of you know…it was fine, it interested me okay but it wasn’t until I saw a HOLE music video, and I saw women playing guitar that I thought that there’s a place for me in rock music.
What are some of the most memorable shows that you’ve ever seen? What makes them stand out?
Well one, might be the last show I ever went to which was CAVE IN playing in Boston. We had just played a tour with them, and they had one more show at The Sinclair. They were playing two nights in a row; we were playing night one and that was the last night of our tour with them and the second night they had another friends band play. Just cause they’re from Boston, unfortunately Caleb, the bass player had died a little before this tour, and so it was kind of a big deal to be in their hometown and to play this show. So, the band actually, the rest of War On Women went home and I stuck around for an extra day in order to do a book talk, or a training or something, a safer space training. And so, I stuck around and went to the second night, second show. When you tour a lot, it’s always kind of fun to go to a show and not be working, not have to load in, not have to sell merch and all of that and so it was a really nice treat to just be attending, and to see Cave In which is absolutely one of my favorite bands. For me to be able to enjoy it was just so nice, it was a nice way to end the tour, it was really meaningful to see them in Boston and they let me come up on stage and sing towards the end of Big Riff and it was so magical. I love that band so much and now I can call them friends and I love them as people. It was just very very cool.
I remember seeing PEACHES at Autobar, I guess it was after Fatherfucker. It was fucking packed and she had all these costume changes, and dances, and she was just having fun. It was one of those times where everyone was having such a good time, it was so welcoming and obviously huge LGBTQ crowd and everyone just felt comfortable and happy, and was having a good time. I remember at the end, she went into her big hit of Fuck the Pain Away and she was like, “I’m tired of singing this, does anybody know this song?” Everybody is like, yeah woo we all know it! But there’s this guy in the front that started jumping out of his skin and she was like, ok and she handed the mic to him. I don’t remember super clearly, but in my memory, what I think happened was that she expected to hand the mic to him and he sing like a line or something, but he took the mic and then he jumped on stage and he sang the entire fucking song perfectly, start to finish, and everyone was just like YEAH! It was just riotous! And beautiful, it was just super cool, and I was happy to be there. I’ve got to admit I’m not a huge fan of being stuck in a crowd, and so I’m also really glad that I happened to be in the sound booth with a little bit of space between me and everyone else so really a perfect viewing place for my taste.
Is there any band that you’ve always wanted to see live but never had the chance to catch them? Any classic show that you wish you could have experienced? It could be a show you’ve seen videos of, heard stories of?
I wish I would have been able to see G.L.O.S.S.. I feel like that would have been one of those moments where everyone can let their guard down and just have a really good fucking riotous time.
I actually do have an experience of missing out and not seeing a band. GOJIRA came through and was playing Autobar, which is a local famous club here in Baltimore. I’ve worked there a few times, my partner has worked there for years and years and years and band members worked there, it’s just a staple, right? So, we asked the promoter of the show what time GOJIRA was going on cause again, I didn’t want to deal with a giant sweaty hot crowd all night long, I just wanted to see GOJIRA. I absolutely paid for it because he told us what time to get there, I walk in, and literally they said, “thank you Baltimore, goodnight!” That was it! Everything got quiet, people started leaving and I was so fucking upset I started crying, and it sounds really…it makes me laugh thinking about it now but I was so frustrated. I totally got what I deserved by not showing up earlier that by the next time they came through, I made sure I was fucking there, that I was there early, that I was close to the front and I just remember that feeling of like, I totally missed this before, I’m not going to let that happen again. When they came on stage and they played the first note, I don’t even know what came over me, it’s like I flew five feet forward, I just automatically without thinking just jumped as far to the front as possible so I could sing along, and it was…it felt great! The lesson there is show up on time when shows start back up again.
What is the most impressive band you’ve toured with? The one that you just had to watch every night. Did you learn anything from them, or by watching them?
Impressive bands…that’s interesting. I don’t really play guitar a lot anymore, and so I’m certainly impressed by many great guitar players but that’s not really anything I can translate to being a front person necessarily. But obviously PROPAGANDHI is an incredibly talented and proficient band. Every single person in that band is SO good at what they do, and the songs are great. And you get CAVE IN just off the top of my head, they are again technically proficient, and the songs are great and just a pleasure to listen to every night. When we played Warped Tour, one of bands playing that year was VALIENT THORR and the front person in the band, Valient Himself, when you talk to him, he seems like an unlikely front person but on stage he does this thing and its captivating and so he was absolutely someone to take notes from as far as engaging a crowd and getting them on your side and winning them over. Really honestly, just being on Warped Tour for two months was like a boot camp for us to get our live show down that well, to know that every night or every day you’re winning over people that maybe never even heard of you and so we really tightened things up on that tour.
What band or artist do you believe has achieved the most perfect discography?
Oh…interesting! A perfect discography, well shit. My joke answer is us, that’s what I hope. How long can you wait while I search through my iTunes? Well, since I’m only in the B’s, BIKINI KILL might be it because they stopped before they got too polished and Pop, you know? They still gave us Reject all American right, they still gave us a little growth, but they didn’t totally switch course. They made sure to quit before they could disappoint anyone. I can only hope that we have the same foresight.
When shows are being played live again, who do you want to see first?
I don’t care, I really don’t care. Like whatever show! The cool thing about Baltimore is that there are so many great artists here, bands, rappers, there’s a lot of people in the arts in general. And so, I know that there are going to be a ton of amazing shows happening when it’s safe for them to happen, so I know I won’t even have to go far to see a good show. I will literally take anyone at first, and then hopefully us! I want to turn around and see the rest of my band rocking out, that’s what I want.
Is there anything you would like to promote? New album, side projects?
War On Women has a new album coming out, it’s called Wonderful Hell. It’s out October 30 th on Bridge Nine Records, and we’re super proud of it, and we hope people like it. I’m also launching a podcast called, But Her Lyrics, where I’m going to take a deep dive into the lyrics and the politics of the stories behind each song on our latest record Wonderful Hell, and I’m also going to be inviting experts onto the show and interviewing them to talk more in depth about the issues that we cover in the songs and hopefully help lead me and the audience to find ways to further educate ourselves, or ways that we can contribute and help make things a little better.
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