The American Girls’ frontman, Higgins (center), is living his dream of being a rock star. However, he and the rest of the band want to remain personable and accessbile to their fans.
Courtesy Trauma Records
The American Girls meet the American dream
■ Fans’ support continues to
grow as the Oregon band’s
success and popularity soar
By Lisa R. Griffing
Oregon Daily Emerald
For the past five years, local
rockers The American Girls have
been doing more than just playing
guitars and singing melodies. Ac
cording to lead singer and Univer
sity of Oregon alumnus Higgins,
the group is more than just an im
age. He doesn’t want the band to
lose their individuality and be
come prima donnas as their popu
larity grows.
“A factor that makes them
unique is that they are good at re
plying to the fans’ e-mail. They are
personable,” said Faye Alhadeff, a
fan who owns all four of the band’s
albums.
Ashlin Salisbury is a sopho
more at the University and anoth
er aficionado of The American
Girls. She appreciates their ani
mated concerts and unique per
sona.
“I remember the first time I saw
The American Girls,” Salisbury
said. “It was at WOW Hall. It was
amusing because Higgins looked
like Robert Smith from The Cure.
When Higgins sang, The American
Girls exuded this magnetism. It
was great. After that, I was
hooked.”
The American Girls are gaining
recognition as they play concerts
and release albums. The Ameri
can Girls consist of lead singer
Higgins, guitarist Scott Georgis,
trumpet and keyboard player Gus
Baum, bassist and backup vocal
ist Aaron Masonek, and drummer
and backup vocalist Ezra. They
have been with the record label
Trauma for a year and a half,
which is also Bush’s record label.
Most of the American Girls are
natives of Northern California
and graduated from the Universi
ty. In the past, The American
Girls performed in California, but
Higgins believed it “didn’t nur
ture them for what they are musi
cally.”
“Music doesn’t survive without
nurture. There are too many one
hit wonders. I like small labels be
cause our group doesn’t want to be
a number,” said Higgins, who grad
uated from the University with a
degree in theater.
Higgins provided Pulse with
some insight on The American
Girls in a recent interview.
Q^What do The American Girls
♦ do in their spare time?
A#“Watch movies, play basket
-ball, and we hang out.”
Q^What are your musical influ
♦ ences?
A^ “Each other, local bands. I re
♦ ally enjoy British rock.”
O^You remind some fans of The
♦ Cure. Do they influence your
music?
A^ “Well, I listen to The Cure
♦ religiously, so I would say
so.”
What was your best show?
A^“Hmm. That’s a good ques
♦ tion. They are all good, but I
would have to say the best show
was when we played with the
Cherry Poppin’ Daddies at Cuth
bert [Amphitheater]. There were
5,000 people there with so much
energy. We feed off of everyone
else’s energy, and we like to jump
around.”
O^What songs do you sing in
♦ the shower?
A4 “I get the most random horrif
♦ ic songs in my head. But,
lately I would say Coldplay’s
‘Everything’s not lost.’”
Q4If you could meet any famous
♦ person, whom would you
meet?
A^ “Let’s see. Robert Smith [lead
♦ singer of The Cure]. I would
love to meet Bruce Willis. I used to
love Michael Stipe [lead singer of
R.E.M. ]. He has a very human side
where he really looks at the audi
ence.”
O^What would you say is your
♦ most emotional moment at a
concert?
A^ “When I met a girl and sang
♦ about her.”
O^What makes The American
♦ Girls unique?
A4“0ur ability to keep contra
♦ dieting ourselves. We write
songs we like to listen to. We are
our biggest fans.”
Q^What do you mean by The
♦ American Girls’ ability to
contradict yourselves?
A4 “When I write a song, what I
♦ am saying differs by the day.
Sometimes there are happy
melodies with depressing lyrics,
and sometimes it’s happy lyrics. I
think that sad songs are the best
though. In ballads, your words res
onate.”
Q^What is the band’s genius?
“Getting with four people and
♦ coming up with something
and getting someplace with it. It is
pure joy to play a song we just cre
ated and that creation is pure ge
Q4 What emotions do your songs
♦convey?
A4“I write lyrics from my
♦ heart. At a show years ago in
Eugene at the battle of the bands,
someone said, ‘Your lyrics affect
ed me.’ Regardless of what I mean
by it and the lyrics affected some
one — it is the ultimate compli
ment.”
When do you write songs?
A ♦“Every day, I write a new
♦ song so I can sing it to my dog
George, a female English bulldog.
She is the best dog in the world.”
04When is your new album
♦ coming out?
A ♦“I’m not sure. We really don’t
♦ know yet.”
What is your favorite song on
♦ your upcoming album?
A4“I would say ‘Unadvertised.’ I
♦ love sad songs, and this one
is a ballad about not being good
enough for someone and realizing
it.”
Is being a star how you imag
fined it to be?
A ♦“You get to a point where
♦ there are so many triumphs
and downs in the music business.
I am thankful that people care. I
love performing, but I don’t want
to lose my personability.”
Q^How do you feel about peo
♦ ple downloading your music
from Napster?
A^“I don't mind it. I want peo
♦ ple to hear it. I like responses
— even ambiguity. If people like a
band, they will buy a record.”
Q^What is your philosophy in
♦ life?
A ^“Everything revolves around
♦ love. If something doesn’t re
late to love, it’s not important.
Love conquers all.”
04Growing up, what did you
♦ want to do with your life?
A4“I always wanted to be in
♦ love and onstage. I am living
my dream.”
Although Higgins feels that The
American Girls are their own
biggest fans, Alhadeff, Salisbury
and others like them may prove
him wrong. Salisbury has been to
seven concerts, and Alhadeff has
been to eight.
“Eight is not enough,” she said.
When asked what makes The
American Girls unique, Alhadeff
replied, “They always look like
they are having fun on stage, so we
have more fun.”
Salisbury likes “their vibrancy.
Oh man, when Gus dances, it’s so
adorable. He has this hip action go
ing on,” she said. “They are just
fun to groove to. I also like their
name: The American Girls. There
are no women in the band, so it’s a
kind of irony.”
Salisbury said that her favorite
song is “Dumb Crush” because “I
can relate to the feeling behind
the lyrics." Alhadeff chose the
song “More of Me Less of You” as
her favorite because “it’s an all
around fun song that is great for
audience participation. Oh
yeah!”
Alhadeff described The Ameri
can Girls’ music as “rock with
horns with a Cake-ish mixture; it's
eclectic.”
The American Girls won’t be
coming to Eugene for several
months. Their January concert in
Eugene was canceled because of
Bob Marley’s birthday, but they
will be coming to Eugene some
time in April. Those 21 and older
can catch them at their Portland
venues. Check out their Web site at
www.theamericangirls.com for fur
ther information.