“We try to schedule shows around school, and if we can’t, we’ll end up skipping… The band is our first priority”: The Linda Lindas are too punk-rock to stay in class – but they’re learning all the time
Having gone viral with Racist, Sexist Boy and toured with punk luminaries Rancid and Green Day, the Linda Lindas are not done growing up yet on sophomore LP No Obligation
(Image credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Coachella)
L.A. rockers the Linda Lindas grabbed everybody’s attention when their debut single, Racist, Sexist Boy, became a viral sensation in 2021. On the back of that success, Epitaph signed the band, releasing their debut album, Growing Up, in 2022.
They’re just about to drop their sophomore album, No Obligation, having spent the summer on tour with Green Day and Rancid. Not bad for a band with three of their four members still in high school and the fourth just starting college.
Guitarists Bela Salazar and Lucia de la Garza were excited to grab some downtime to discuss all things guitar.
What were you listening to that inspired you to start playing?
Salazar: “My grandpa would play a lot of mariachi music for me when I was growing up. He bought me my first guitar, a classical guitar, and it’s the one I’ve written all my Linda Lindas songs on.”
De La Garza: “I think I tended to be in awe of the guitar players when we went to shows. My family took me to a lot of all-ages punk shows, day-time matinees, that kind of stuff. When I first started playing, that was pretty much the music I was learning.”
The Linda Lindas - "Nothing Would Change" - YouTube
Did you immediately know the kind of music you wanted to play when you first got together?
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De La Garza: “We were doing covers of old punk and rock music at first. It was just songs we liked. Then, as we kinda started growing as musicians, we started writing songs that more broadly reflected our own individual musical tastes. We were definitely having fun, and we really liked playing and performing together. We weren’t writing songs before we started the band.”
What guitars and amps did you start out with – and what are you using now?
Salazar: “My first electric guitar was a Fender Tele that I got for free. I’d go into this one antique store every day to play it. One day the owner just gave it to me! Now I play Gibson Les Pauls, the Modern Lite ones. For amps we both use a Bad Cat Lynx with 4x12 cabinets.”
De La Garza: “My first guitar was a Fender Duo-Sonic, and I kept it in my room during the pandemic, so a lot of the first songs I ever wrote were on that guitar as well. I think my first amp was a Supro. Right now I play a Gibson SG and a Fender Strat.”
The Linda Lindas - "Yo Me Estreso (feat. "Weird Al" Yankovic)" - YouTube
How do you work out guitar parts and decide who does what?
De La Garza: “Most of the time, we play the same thing. But every now and then we want to switch it up a little, and then when we’re practicing, one of us will come up with an idea for more of a lead part that likely makes it onto the record. We also tend to change the parts for live performances, just to keep it fresh.”
It must be hard to schedule live shows when you’re all still in school.
De La Garza: “We try to schedule shows around it most of the time, and if we can’t, we’ll end up skipping and making up work on the road and when we get back. The band is our first priority, but it’s hard to know where we’ll be in the future, so college is always a possibility later on.”
Salazar: “I’m in college studying fashion design. Music is always the priority – so I just drop in to school when I can.”
Mark is a freelance writer with particular expertise in the fields of ‘70s glam, punk, rockabilly and classic ‘50s rock and roll. He sings and plays guitar in his own musical project, Star Studded Sham, which has been described as sounding like the hits of T. Rex and Slade as played by Johnny Thunders. He had several indie hits with his band, Private Sector and has worked with a host of UK punk luminaries. Mark also presents themed radio shows for Generating Steam Heat. He has just completed his first novel, The Bulletproof Truth, and is currently working on the sequel.
