Originally published in Verbicide issue #25

Kristin Gundred, for all intents and purposes, is living the good life. Relaxed, laidback, and fresh off of tour, she called to talk on a sunny Sunday afternoon. “I’ve just had a perfect day, just walking around. I took a yoga class, and I’ve been recording music. It’s pretty awesome. No complaints from me today.”

Gundred is the front woman of Grand Ole Party, a band out of San Diego, California. She met band mates John Paul Labno (guitar) and Michael Krechnyak (bass) while attending University of California, Santa Cruz. Their jaw-dropping cocktail of soul and indie rock has recently gained comparisons to The White Stripes and The Strokes.

“We all quit our jobs a year ago to go on tour. I’m probably at about the same level of poverty now as then, but I don’t have to work a stupid job at a clothing store — that really improves your spirit. Even though we don’t make a ton of money by any means, we can still support ourselves somewhat from our art. That’s really lucky, and we know that.”

Grand Ole Party’s debut album, Humanimals, was produced by Blake Sennet of Rilo Kiley. Gundred is the drummer and vocalist in the three-piece band — a rare combo.

“It’s pretty seamless at this point to do them both. I mean, it could just be particularly because of my style, which is pretty simple. I try to do clever things as opposed to, you know, crazy things. I’m not Keith Moon or anything. I think it’s really just an issue of it becoming familiar — muscle memory and stuff.”

Though she’s not Keith Moon on the drums, she’s certainly a strong, female artist packing an Uzi loaded with potential. Her talent transcends the misogynistic assumptions that plague females in the spotlight.

“People say what they intend as a compliment; the context is that what you did is so unbelievable because you’re a woman.” Taking the slanted compliments in stride, she gains strength and inspiration from the women that have come before her.

“Patti Smith — her whole deal I’ve always been really inspired by. A lot of the older girl groups, soul woman singers, the women that were doing stuff with like, X-Ray Specs, The Slits, and Delta 5; I’ve found their music really inspirational. I really dig girl bands, you know? I feel someday I will be in an all-women band; it’s definitely different.”

Gundred’s voice is amazingly powerful with a phenomenal range. She delivers GOP’s unique narrative poetry inspired lyrics with confidence, style, and precision, though, she states, “I was really, really shy about [singing] until I was probably like 20.”

Though she was a natural, Gundred kept her talent to herself, singing in the shower or hiding out in a choir. Her first duet performance took place when she was a senior in high school. “It was a song from a musical about Charles Manson, so it was a very bizarre song anyway, very foreign territory for me. My parents had all of their family and friends there and they made a pact, ‘Even if she’s awful, we’re all going to stand up and clap,’ because I guess they had never really noticed that I sang alright or whatever. They were pleasantly surprised I wasn’t terrible.”

This winter, Gundred, Labno, and Krechnyak are hitting the studio to record a new album. “We’re sort of jam oriented — it’s not always the case where somebody with an acoustic guitar sits down and has a song idea.” GOP’s fiery tracks are traditionally shaped during long improvisational sessions, and their songwriting process is interrupted by life on tour.

“The week we get back from tour we start practicing and we come up with like, 10 songs in 12 days, or something absurd because we haven’t been doing it for so long. We have way too many ideas; we’ll have to sift through them.” She’s also focusing on a new project: a seven-inch record label called Zoo Music: “We just want to put out bands that we think are awesome, that maybe don’t have anybody else putting them out, or maybe they just want to do something weird.” The label’s first release is by San Diego band The Crocodiles.

At 25, Gundred has already achieved more than most, and doesn’t plan to slow down anytime soon.

“We’re at the very beginning of what we hope to be our life careers. So, I don’t really know what to expect. I strive to just play music, have a good time, try to tour a lot, and see how long that’s doable.”