By Keith Walsh
Bursting out of the gates with a powerfully raucous debut titled Five Things, Italy’s punk rock trio Smalltown Tigers have quickly become known for their gritty, hook filled tunes. Taking a defiant stance in and out of love, the three girls Valli (bass and vocals), Monty (guitar and vocals) and Castel (drums, joined after Five Things) put a sound to all of the hope, joys, disgust, and disappointment of romantic life. Smalltown Tigers just released their second full length LP, Crush On You, recorded in Spring of 2023 after two tours with OG punk icons The Damned. I sent some questions to them and was very happy to get them back. (My review of the album ‘Crush On You’ is at Punk Rock Beat dot com.)
Popular Culture Beat: Congrats on the band’s popularity and your tours. What’s the best part of being in a band? The worst?
Smalltown Tigers: Hello and thank you! Let’s see…Hanging out with your dear friends in the band, playing in different places every night and, thanks to this, travelling a lot. This is sure be the best part but also the worst because we don’t ever have enough time to properly visit a city!
Popular Culture Beat: Can you tell me some wild stories or special moments from your tours with The Damned?
Smalltown Tigers: We will always remember a funny moment in Milan… As you probably know, in Italy we have a lot of typical food which is different in every region, and in our region one of the most popular foods is called piadina, a type of bread more or less like a cross between taco and a pita. Where we live, we are extremely proud of it and we want to make it known all over the world so we brought piadina, with us to our gig in Milan and we offered it to all The Damned crew! Needless to say, all of them were delighted by it and also on the gigs we did together after Milan they kept on asking us if we still had some left!
Popular Culture Beat: When you get together to create new tunes what sparks your imaginations?
Smalltown Tigers: Sometimes a song comes up from nowhere, just like a note written in an old diary. Some of them came from memories , things that happened to us and maybe we wanted to hide or magnify them between two chords and a drum beat. Some others are dictated by chance, they just happen. One day you pick up the guitar and they’re there.
Popular Culture Beat: How do you envision the music of Smalltown Tigers changing to avoid repeating a formula?
Smalltown Tigers: We don’t think of it as changing. For sure a lot of things will stay the same, that’s the way we play, but we’re exposed to a lot of other music every day. Hopefully we will grow up together with our music and then other influences will become more natural, who knows? Our main goal is to write good songs, never mind the dressing we give to them.
Popular Culture Beat: What message do have for young people, particularly women, who dream of picking up a guitar and doing what Smalltown Tigers do?
Smalltown Tigers: Find something to believe in and don’t let the obstacles get in your way. Following your dreams can be hard but… Together is better! Finding friends with the same interests and passion is the most important step. Together you can realize your dreams.
And of course… Patience, kids!
(Photo by Luca Ortolani Photography. Album cover by Richard Bucchioni.)
(‘Crush On You’ Album Review At Punk Rock Beat dot com)
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Female Punk Trio Smalltown Tigers Have A ‘Crush On You’ (VIDEO) – PunkRockBeat.com
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