Chrissy Tashjian wanted the audience to know where she was coming from. The lead singer and guitarist for the Philadelphia-based punk rock band Thin Lips vocalized her concern for the safety of LGBT youth and adults while on tour in Europe with The Superweaks and Modern Baseball, two other Philadelphia-based bands.
“There’s this one song that I wrote about being a queer. It’s called ‘Never Again’ and before that song every night I would just talk about Donald Trump and talk about the fact that like there’s a lot of people — of color, trans women, immigrants — [who] are not very safe right now.”
The importance of safety and inclusion reverberated across the Atlantic when Tashjian spoke of Downtown Boys and Sheer Mag, two bands actively working to fight the ripple effects of the Trump administration.
“But apparently South By Southwest [Music Festival] has some sort of immigration and customs clause in their contract. I think Sheer Mag and Downtown Boys are collaborating to get them to drop the clause, which I think is like fucking awesome, you know what I mean? Like a small way that they can do something, anything. I think that there are also just a lot of bands that speak to people that need to feel something.”
Tashjian and Thin Lips have also put their words into action. Before going on tour, the band played a benefit show Jan. 19 at Boot and Saddle, along with The Superweaks and The Obsessives.
“Yeah, Lame-O Records [the record label that Thin Lips/The Obsessives/The Superweaks are on] did four shows that month and our showcase was for The Attic [Youth Center]. It was really cool. I think we raised $800 for The Attic, which is awesome.”
The Attic Youth Center is based in Philadelphia and describes itself as creating “opportunities for LGBTQ youth to develop into healthy, independent, civic-minded adults within a safe and supportive community, and promotes the acceptance of LGBTQ youth in society.”
In addition to raising money for The Attic, Thin Lips will be playing at another benefit festival, Get Better Fest 4, April 30 at PhilaMOCA. All proceeds from the three-day festival will benefit the Trans Assistance Project, Youth Emergency Services and Women Against Abuse.
After the festival, Thin Lips will be on tour again starting May 4 in Lancaster and ending May 19 in New York City. When asked about what she is most looking forward to about the tour, Tashjian said, “Springtime. I’m really excited to drive through the South in the springtime. It’s so stunning.”
In addition to the upcoming tour, Tashjian and Thin Lips have their sights set on a new project.
“Well, we’re writing a bunch of new music and I’m really excited about that and I think we are learning to communicate better and write better together, in a more cohesive way. But we’re also learning about our process more. I just love those boys [fellow Thin Lips members Michael Tashjian, Kyle Pulley and Chris Diehm] so much. They’re so great. It feels really special to be able to write music with them, especially with my brother [Michael]. And Kyle, who’s like my work husband. It feels really good to be writing new stuff and to be gearing up to write a new record.”
Tashjian continued to stress the importance of education in this time of corrosive political practices.
“I think probably more than anything, [it’s important to] educate musicians [to] create safe space, try and have any influences on creating safe spaces in their concerts. I think that’s probably the most that can be done.”
The beauty of music and the beauty of landscapes continue to inspire Tashjian. Her favorite places to visit on tour were Lucerne, Switzerland; Prague, Czech Republic; and Glasgow, Scotland.
Before going on tour, Thin Lips, The Superweaks and Modern Baseball each contributed one song to create a CD that was released by Big Scary Monsters, an independent record label based out of Oxford, England.
“We recorded our song at The Head Room [in Philadelphia]. Everybody in each one of those bands owns a studio and recorded in their own studio,” Tashjian said. “I’m pretty sure that Eric Osman, who owns Lame-O Records, was the one who organized getting the art done and sending it to Big Scary Monsters and getting it pressed for the tour.”
Ultimately, Tashjian said that music is renewing, rather than polarizing.
“Sometimes it’s hard to feel like it’s [music] important. There are so many horrible things happening in the world. Sometimes I … I feel discouraged. But I think that there are a lot of people doing some really amazing things. I think that it’s important for everybody who kind of needs an outlet and needs space and needs something to connect to.”
For more information on Thin Lips and their upcoming tour, visit https://www.facebook.com/XThinLipsX/.
For more information on Get Better Fest 4, visit http://www.songkick.com/festivals/1750794-get-better-fest-4/id/29111129-get-better-fest-4-2017.