Basically Nancy formed in 2018 when they were three high school seniors at Savannah Arts Academy. A lot has changed for the band since then — they don’t need fake IDs to play at bars anymore, for one thing.
Now, Greta Schroeder (guitar, vocals), Alayna Bowen (bass, vocals), and Esther Hines (drums) are simultaneously closing the book on their high school band era, and beginning the next phase of their career with the release of their debut self-titled album on Graveface Records.
“It’s kind of intimidating in the sense that there’s been such build up over the past few years that it’s kind of scary that’s it just going to be out,” said Bowen of the album’s March 5 release.
Credit: Adriana Iris Boatwright / For Do Savannah
Credit: Adriana Iris Boatwright / For Do Savannah
Basically Nancy have been working on their debut for several years, with many of the songs having been written in high school. “That was such our trope,” said Hines. “Oh, these girls are in high school and in a BAND?”
However, they are no longer the same girls that wrote these aggressive, downbeat, angsty teen anthems about the frustrations of being young women.
“It’s exciting to finally move on to new stuff,” said Bowen. “A lot of these songs we’ve been playing since we started.”
“I literally still feel like we’re in high school sometimes,” added Hines. “I feel like we’ve changed a lot, but people still think we’re the same. I still feel the same, but when I look at old pictures of us I think, ‘Wow, a lot has happened to us these last couple of years.'"
Credit: Adriana Iris Boatwright / For Do Savannah
Credit: Adriana Iris Boatwright / For Do Savannah
“Me, when we first started the band, would be very happy that I now kind of know what I’m doing,” continued Schroeder, who now uses a pedal board for richer guitar sounds. “It’s not all completely a guessing game.”
Basically Nancy rapidly gained exposure and popularity in Savannah thanks to a welcoming DIY house show scene and an appearance at the Savannah Stopover Festival.
“When we first started, Savannah had a much different scene,” recalled Schroeder. “There’s no DIY scene here anymore, so we’re lucky to get in on that. I think that’s why we got such a good reaction in this town, because it was easy to get on those bills.”
Credit: Adriana Iris Boatwright / For Do Savannah
Credit: Adriana Iris Boatwright / For Do Savannah
There was a moment after high school when the bandmates thought that Basically Nancy was ending as they all moved away for college. “Going and even thinking about playing with another person, I was like, ‘F--- no!’,” said Schroeder who eventually dropped out of college to continue with the band.
“In high school, I never suspected that I would be doing it full-time,” added Bowen. “I didn’t go to school, for the band. I never thought I would do that.”
Basically Nancy had been approached several times over the years by producers interested in recording them, but the band never fully trusted any of them to get their sound right. Then Ryan Graveface of Graveface Records, and Kevin Rose of Elevated Studios, got on board to produce Basically Nancy’s debut record.
“We really didn’t know anything about recording whatsoever,” said Schroeder. “We were all very anxious about it because we were going to go in there and feel stupid, and they made it super comfortable. We learned so much. We’ve dealt with it for ever — the judgy sound guy vibe of you not knowing what you’re doing. Especially from older male musicians.”
“They just really got it,” said Hines of Graveface and Rose.
Credit: Adriana Iris Boatwright / For Do Savannah
Credit: Adriana Iris Boatwright / For Do Savannah
Basically Nancy share qualities with 90s alternative rock and Riot Grrl punk bands like Bikini Kill, Babes in Toyland, The Breeders, PJ Harvey, and Hole. Rose and Graveface perfectly captured that grungy sound on the record.
It was also particularly exciting for the band to work with Graveface because, as an enigmatic and influential figure in Savannah music, they looked up to when they were younger. “In high school I viewed Graveface, and the owner of Graveface, like a god, this cult entity,” said Bowen.
“My Christmas list in the 8th grade was a Graveface t-shirt and I wanted it so bad, then I got it,” recalled Schroeder. “I told Ryan that and he was like, ‘I have a tear in my eye and I haven’t cried in years,’.”
“The fact that he likes our music feels really good,” added Hines.
Credit: Adriana Iris Boatwright / For Do Savannah
Credit: Adriana Iris Boatwright / For Do Savannah
If the release of their debut signals the growth of Basically Nancy, then the provocative album cover is a strong statement of intent. The cover features an “up skirt” photo of a woman in a sequin dress stepping out of a car with the band’s logo embroidered on her underwear.
“I was imagining a paparazzi shot of somebody glamorous getting out of the car and their crotch,” explained Hines. “We asked our friend to do it because she has pubic hair and tattoos. She’s also pregnant in the photo. I wanted it to be something realistically feminine.”
Because the album represents Basically Nancy finally moving on from their high school band image and songs, their release show on Saturday at Graveface’s Lodge of Sorrows will be prom themed, with all of the dresses, limos, decorations, balloons, corsages, and photo stands that go along with it.
“It’s like we’ve come full circle,” said Hines. “It feels like this album is such an important thing to us, and about our past, growing up as a friend group and going to high school together. It feels like having the album out is like memorializing it. Once it’s out, there’s going to be this eerie feeling of, ‘Okay, we’re done. Time to write about new issues.’”
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Basically Nancy finally graduate with debut album release at Graveface's Lodge of Sorrows
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