It's almost cliché at this point, but Prism Bitch started the exact same way as every other legendary band that resides in the pantheon of epic rock...
...as an experimental theater project.
On second thought, Prism Bitch might be a tad atypical.
And that's a very good thing.
It all began in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when Chris Walsh and Lauren Poole had the idea of putting together a production for the local Blackout Theatre Company back in 2015. The show was going to be based around Walsh playing a guard at a women's prison who's formed a band with some of the inmates and sneaks them out to play shows at bars and clubs. But that type of musical theatrical experience requires one little thing the duo was lacking at the time — an actual band.
So Walsh picked up his guitar, Poole learned how to play bass, and the pair recruited drummer Teresa Cruces and new-in-town singer/guitarist/keyboardist Lilah Rose to try to give their theoretical theater piece the musical zest it required.
But there was just one major "problem" — playing together as a band was a lot more invigorating than the actual theatrical project.
"The first show we ever performed was at a punk rock open mic night. And we had seen Lilah perform solo stuff, but we had never performed with her," Poole says. "She's just really good at following her instincts and it isn't contrived at all. And so she's like running around with the tambourine around her neck, like running out into the audience. And me and Chris are like, 'Oh, this is going to be a really fun f—-king band.'"
The music that pours out of Prism Bitch is riotously fun. Much of the band's pop rock overflows with mirth like the buzzing innuendo-filled "In N Out" (from their most recent LP, 2021's Perla) or the recently released, gleefully vapid weekend party anthem single "City Nights." But the group attacks things with a love and friendship ethos, so there's sincerity among all the silliness. That emotionality shines through on tunes like the melancholy but uplifting "Starlight," which was written after the band went through some personal losses.
"I think laughing and crying are just different sides of the same coin," says Walsh.
"Humor doesn't mean you're not talking about something serious," Poole adds. "You have to laugh or you'll cry."
Because the band started as a play, there's always been an inherent theatricality to Prism Bitch. Not only does that bent include the sweet manic energy the group performs with each night, but also in its coordinated fashion choices: colorful tracksuits, pilot and stewardess garb, matching jumpsuits, etc.
"Lauren is a costume designer and went to school for that," Rose points out. "She is really good at taking whatever costumes we get and personalizing them and making them look good on us. We're all from different sporting backgrounds and theater backgrounds, so we like uniforms and we like costumes."
"It's also fun to get into a headspace before a show where you're like, 'Alright, I'm going to put on my rock outfit and rock,'" adds Poole. "Because whatever tiredness that seeps in from traveling or driving through gas stations in your regular day clothes, it is kind of a cool headspace to slide into when you put on your band outfit."
Hailing from the outsider art outpost that is Albuquerque certainly is embedded in Prism Bitch's DNA. Part of what made the members fall in love with being in the band was its just initially being just another artistic side project, something that living in their New Mexico city offered the bandwidth to explore.
"Albuquerque has a small scene, but it's filled with a lot of weird weirdness. That's definitely informed what we do," says Walsh. "There's kind of a BS barometer in Albuquerque. They can smell when something is fake or not genuine. And that keeps you in check a lot."
"Especially when we started, Albuquerque was one of the cheaper places where you could live and actually work a job where you're working like 30 hours a week or less, and you can pay rent. And then you have time to do whatever artistic thing that doesn't pay you that you want to do," says Poole. "As we got touring, and we were meeting bands that lived in bigger markets like LA, I personally felt really grateful because the vibe creating out of somewhere like Albuquerque is that you're doing it because you love it, not because you're able to make money. You have the opportunity to follow your own instincts and not feel like, "Uh oh, there's a trend I'm missing.'"
One of those people in bands that they met while touring was Built to Spill's Doug Martsch. After hearing he'd watched a Prism Bitch set at Boise's Treefort Music Fest, the band approached him after he played a set with his other band Treepeople and literally just asked if Prism Bitch could open for Built to Spill next time the group toured through Albuquerque.
"If you don't ask, it's not going to just happen," Poole says.
It turned out to be fortuitous because not only did the band become one of Built to Spill's go-to touring mates (a club that also includes Spokane's own hiss punk queens Itchy Kitty), but Cruces actually joined up as Built to Spill's drummer starting in 2019.
After making another Treefort venture this week, Prism Bitch will head north to kick off a mini tour alongside pals Itchy Kitty with a sure-to-be-overly-packed gig at Pacific Ave Pizza. Expect a blast of effortless fun, because that's the only way Prism Bitch operates.
"When our personalities come together, we just end up having fun," says Poole. "If you try to do it, then I don't think it comes through as genuine." ♦
Prism Bitch, Itchy Kitty, Iron Chain • Mon, March 25 at 8 pm • $15 • 21+ • Pacific Ave Pizza • 2001 W. Pacific Ave. • instagram.com/pacific_pizza_spokane
