In South Africa, there’s a popular urban legend of a half man, half woman creature with bald, pinkish skin who stalks vulnerable young girls. Think Gollum from “Lord of the Rings” but with an appetite for teens and pre-teens -- and a much creepier name.
Scared? Well, that’s sort of the point, because the milieu in which the legend of Pinky Pinky was born is frighteningly universal.
But when Isabelle Fields, Eva Chambers and Anastasia Sanchez named their band after the creature, they didn’t really consider the social and political implications of it.
According to the band, with whom I spoke over the phone earlier this month, “There definitely is a deeper meaning behind the name, but we didn’t realize it until we adopted it.”
Imbuing the band name with even more significance is the fact that Fields (guitar) and Chambers (bass) are only 17 years old and both are just about to graduate high school, while Sanchez (vocals/drums) is just 19 years old.
But the Los Angeles proto-prog trio sounds much older than that -- “the old people love our ‘60s vibe,” they told me -- having grown up listening to Black Sabbath and, whether they liked it or not, “Morrissey and the Smiths and the Cure and all that.”
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As a self-proclaimed old person (I’m sure the girls would agree), I must say, I do love their ‘60s vibe. They’ve cultivated a mature sound that has them already touring with the Strokes’ Nick Valensi’s project, CRX.
With plans to finish up school and focus on music full-time, the group demonstrates the strength and vitality of youth in an era where bald, pinkish middle-aged creatures tend to lord over all.
Pinky Pinky open for CRX at Soda Bar on Saturday, May 27. You can get tickets here.
Rutger Rosenborg was almost a Stanford neuroscientist before he formed Ed Ghost Tucker. He now plays in the Lulls and makes music on his own when he's not writing. Follow his updates on Facebook or contact him directly.
