QUEERS HAVE MORE FUN

Directed By Olivia Lee

Oakland band Pillowprince shares the music video to their single, “R the Straights OK?”. The band opens up about taking a dig at homophobia, fisting 4 watermelons in front of 15 people, and how Queers have more fun.

Oakland, USA

What is the Pillowprince origin story?

Sea and I met at a guitar shop we worked at 12 years ago and became fast friends. We would get caught up in long conversations while we were supposed to be working, and they’d teach me drum rudiments. Liza came in as a customer around the same time and I invited them to a show because I thought they were hot and cool. The three of us became dear friends and stayed in touch while living in separate cities.

We all traded hundreds of songs and playlists and met up on trips together every year. When Sea told me they’d finally be moving back to the Bay, we immediately found a practice space and, unsurprisingly, things clicked in an epic way as we played through fragments of songs and riffs together.

Our talented friend Asha Wells joined us on bass and harmonies in the beginning. When it came time to find a bass player again it felt like the obvious choice to invite our bestie Liza into the band, regardless of them living in LA while Sea and I are in Oakland. It’s a great excuse for us to all get together often, play music in our dream band, and explore the world together.

What is your music about? How is your perspective unique and different?

We make music in different genres because frankly our ADHD and musical tastes need room to play. We’re obsessed with music. As a producer I’m also inspired and excited by genre exploration and creating very specific moods and vibes. We’re trying to make music that’s visceral and real and reflects our collective experience in the world. I want it to resonate with people and feel like a memory that they also share. I think we’re all more connected than we think.

If we think a song needs to be in a certain genre to convey the feeling, then we’ll do it. So we have angry riotous resistance songs, sad indie Pisces-core, horny dark hot songs, dreamy bliss gaze, 90s alternative buttrock, nods to doom, ambient, slowcore, prog etc. It’s a hot soup of everything we love. We’re trying to make hedonistic smoochcore and bubblegum doom happen.

You are sharing your music video for the single "R the Straights Okay"? What is this song about? How does the music video represent the song?

The song is a playful dig at homophobia and the lyrics are some things people have said to us over the years.

We wanted to make an unapologetically queer music video that shows some of the beautiful beacons of light in the Bay Area queer and kink community. In a time when we’re actively being targeted, dehumanized, and erased, I think it’s more important than ever to show authentic queer and trans embodiment and joy.

I wanted to show something more than what’s deemed respectable enough for corporate rainbow washing. I wanted to show desire dripping with subversion and what it’s like when we’re on our best freak behavior. We live in our own expansive universe where we don’t abide by the rigid rules of acceptability. I want to show that we dissent and that queers have more fun.

How did the video come to life?

We knew we wanted to make a provocative and playful video that juxtaposed the content of the lyrics. I had shot and produced a smaller scale photography version of the concept in the past and it was really fun and rewarding to work on.

I reached out to Sarah Jaffe whose work I love. We met at a coffee shop and started to envision things. The concept was certainly ambitious: attempting to represent such a vast and diverse community is daunting, and I wanted to do it justice. Sarah and my friend Jes Gallegos made it feel possible. They crewed us up and then all of a sudden we had a huge team of people helping to actualize the vision.

What were some positive moments and challenges you came across while filming?

Being a first-time film director and doing it independently on a tight budget was definitely challenging. In moments of overwhelm I almost bailed on the grand vision, but Sea didn’t let me (get yourself a friend that refuses to let you compromise on your dreams). I felt very held by the crew and their talent and contributions.

There were also so many moments of pure joy. Witnessing and documenting the beautiful cast members in their authenticity and in their power was something I’ll never forget. Fisting 4 watermelons in front of 15 people will also live rent free in my mind.

What was the casting experience like?

The casting experience was seamless thanks to Christina Villanueva at Hot Goth GF. I started by drafting hot friends and Christina helped bring in more kinky queers from our Bay Area community. We were deliberate and intentional with trying to have different types of representation in terms of race, gender, sexuality, bodies, age, ability, and kinks. I’m really grateful for everyone who took part and shared themselves unabashedly in these video portraits. It takes a lot of healing and work to be that level of embodied, and is no small miracle.

Why is this video important in representing the Queer community? What sort of response have you been receiving?

With this current political climate I was expecting to be absolutely wrecked online. But the response has been overwhelmingly positive. We’ve received lots of messages from friends and strangers telling us how much they needed it. It was supposed to be a funny video but lots of people were crying… oops!

What is next for the video? What is next for Pilllowprince?

The video screened at a few local Bay Area festivals this Winter and will be screening at Hot Bits in Philadelphia, PA and Providence, RI this Summer.

We’re excited to play this EP and new songs on some West Coast tour dates in Spring. You can find our shows at www.pillowprinceband.com/tour, with more shows to be added soon.

We’re also staying busy writing and recording music for our debut LP, and hopefully touring in the Fall.