She Wants Revenge – Q&A Interview
LMN&R are excited to profile She Wants Revenge one day before their highly anticipated performance at Cruel World 2025 tomorrow at the Sad Girls Stage at 5:35 p.m. to 6:20 p.m. Brookside at the Pasadena Rose Bowl.
Below what follows is the wide-ranging and insightful, in-depth interview with Justin Warfield and Adam Bravin of She Wants Revenge. Thank you both for taking time from rehearsals to do the interview!
LMN&R: What can you tell me about the inspiration for forthcoming album and what fans can expect with regard to new songs and sound? Would you both say it’s evolution or progression that builds what you both have done?
(Adam) The inspiration for this album so far has really come from reconnection, not just with each other, but with the core of why we started making music together in the first place. There’s been a lot of time, distance, and life lived since our last record, and all of that is finding its way into these new songs. They’re darker in some places, more vulnerable in others, but, for me, there’s a clarity and honesty that feels new. As for whether it’s an evolution or a progression, I’d say it’s both. It builds on everything we’ve done, but it also moves with a different kind of intention. It doesn’t try to recapture the past, it reflects on it, learns from it, and pushes forward.
(Adam) Justin and I still write and produce everything ourselves, that’s the core of who we are creatively. But bringing in a new member for the live band has added a spark to the energy on stage. He understands the spirit of what we’re doing and fits right in. We’re especially excited to play a brand new song at Cruel World. Some people in the crowd will have been with us since the beginning, and others may be hearing us for the first time. Either way, we’re looking forward to sharing something fresh, something that reflects where we are now. It’s always special when a song leaves the studio and finds its place in the world, and there’s no better place to do that than on a stage surrounded by fans.
LMN&R: How have things changed in the music industry for you both since you released your first album and how has it affected you both creatively and professionally?
(JW) When we released our first LP, as far as the industry, it was a lifetime ago. In some ways, hardly recognizable. Pre-Napster, pre-streaming, pre-Spotify, and in an era where legacy media still drove consumption, be it radio, magazines, or the emerging national reach of satellite radio and late night television appearances. Record stores were fading, but physical media was still the norm, and YouTube was brand new. Social media was still in its infancy, and culturally, the homogenization of pop culture wasn’t as prevalent. Back then there were still stylistic differences between the cities you’d show up in on tour, whereas now it’s like mainstream youth culture is largely interchangeable, except for the counter/culture and underground.
So, except for a handful of indies, the industry is not incentivized or set up any longer to discover, develop, or promote a band like us (if it ever was). If we were starting now, it would likely be a very different path and outcome. I do think we would still find our audience and be successful, I just think the scale would be much, much smaller. Certain bands can be born and exist in any era, it all just comes down to the authenticity of what they’re doing, and having the time to find other like minded people to share in the vision and want to become a part of it. We were fortunate to come out during a real sea change, and while we stood out like sore thumbs, we were the beneficiaries of a zeitgeist moment. That said, our staying power is a testament to the music we’re in a long lineage of, and younger audiences discovering it and becoming a part of that experience. It’s pretty amazing to still be here doing it, and in some ways we feel like we’re just getting started. I’ll say this, you have to work a LOT harder in every aspect of being a working musician now, but without the work, it wouldn’t be worth it. My only regret is that with over-saturation of the DSP’s and a disappearing working and middle class of musicians, it’s harder to grow the next Queens Of The Stone Age, The next Primal Scream, or the next Garbage, and it’s impossible to have another Depeche Mode or Cure, so that’s a bit depressing, but that’s more a statement of size and scale a band can reach, not quality of music.
LMN&R: What do you think of Cruel World as artists? It’s an excellent fit for She Wants Revenge. What makes this event special to you both?
(JW) As artists, it’s years in the making, since we were meant to play Cruel World 2020 (the inaugural one), Add to that the fact that it’s one of the coolest festivals in the country, and in our own backyard – and all of these things make for one of the best days of the year to hear classic bands, catch new artists, see all your friends, and celebrate like the Goth Prom that it is. Fit wise, it couldn’t be any better. Every year when I attend, people ask when we’re playing, so it’s nice to have the answer, and to do what we do as hometown boys on an already stacked lineup is just perfect. Where else could you see Death Cult, Mareux, The GoGo’s, Devo, and Nick Cave all play together? We’re thrilled, and we’re going to make it special, memorable, and bring it.
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