Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Zale and Carly Gibson.
Meet Atlanta-based girl power duo, The Pussywillows! The originally acoustic duo that formed in 2015 has turned a full alt rock band experience complete with heavy electric guitar riffs and a punk attitude.
Carly and Hannah have joined forces and they are already leaving their mark on the Georgia music scene as Alternative Rock super group, THE PUSSYWILLOWS (TPW). Individually, these women are exceptionally strong performers and songwriters; together, they are positively formidable. The Pussywillows, in short, are: sweet and savory; sultry and fresh; pure.
The Pussywillows are perfect harmony in motion. Balance is their greatest quality; they weave among one another’s melodies seamlessly. At times during their set, listeners cannot tell who is singing which line, creating an almost subconscious, fascinating game. Their music is beautiful yet haunting. Though sometimes soft, the music always returns the listener to a hard beating pulse surrounded by nasty electric guitar. These best friends push and pull each other and their audiences through intricately constructed sonic spaces. They showcase carefully cultivated lyrics that both evoke and provoke listeners into a daydream wherein they can simultaneously catch cotton candy by sticking out their tongue and stomp proudly through alligator infested swamps in high-heeled leather boots. This duet possesses sass and class and a little something special.
They are best friends and treat each other like a sister. Their brand is about more than kickass rock music that makes you want to lose yourself and hopefully find a truth. Their band is about “Pussy Power” – holding a power within you to be strong and stand up for what you believe in. Pussy Power – empowering yourself and others to be in touch with feminine energy, mother earth, and treating everyone with respect. Pussy Power – being proud of your parts, not for what they give another person, but for how they empower you as a person.
They had a bad recording experience a couple years ago and are in the process of making an EP with Patrick Taylor of Trash Panda to be released in 2018. You can find their single “Nothing At All” anywhere music is sold or streamed. Get more Pussywillows at thepussywillows.com <3
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
We have had a rough time in the studio. We love writing and performing but making a record in the studio was always a mountain that seemed too big to climb. We could not figure out what it was that we didn’t like about the sounds we were capturing in the studio. Over time, I think we have come to the realization that the people and environment were not right, but also our sound was not quite ready yet. We were not quite ready to come out of the oven with these songs.
That particular realization can be devastating to two young, type-A artists who are racing the inevitable clock. We didn’t know if we should start over completely with new songs or give the old ones another go. We let ourselves take some time to accept the fact that we needed to evolve or change in some way. We then took some time to get re-inspired; let the ideas come to us. We spent a lot of time walking around our ATL neighborhood streets and just talking about why we want to make music; that’s when it all hit us.
We need to be a force. We need drums. We need to never give up on this dream.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
The Pussywillows are known for our harmonies and for sounding like a single voice. We don’t hold back. We are known for our matching, eccentric outfits and choreographed head banging. The greatest compliment that we receive is, “you girls are always getting better with each performance.”
We are most proud of creating this “Pussy Power” movement idea and being able to make living playing original music with our best friends.
What sets us apart is that we are real women who make real music for real people. We don’t fake it until we make it. We love our fans and even though that fan number is relatively small compared to Top 40 acts, we make our music from our hearts for our fans and no one else. We don’t have people telling us how to make our music or how to sell it. We follow our gut and try to be brave so that our voices can be heard!
We are competitive with the world but not with each other.
What were you like growing up?
Hannah Zale
-extremely extroverted
-musical theatre kid
-competed in Miss America System Pageants
-classically trained in opera; started training at 14
-typical Jewish, type A control freak
-started writing at age 12
-didn’t listen to rock until my first boyfriend started taking me home from school when I was 15
-picked up a guitar at 19
-never looked back
Carly Gibson
-born in Sun Valley, Idaho
-introverted
-loves animals, was into horseback riding
-did contortion & aerial arts
-always been obsessed with music, started playing guitar at age 12
-painter
-following in her parents musical footsteps
-started her first band at age 13. It was called “Red Headed Step Child”
Pricing:
- Tshirts – $20
- Boxers – $15
- Singles and stickers – each $1
Contact Info:
- Website: http://thepussywillows.com/
- Email: hzalet@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepwillows/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepwillows/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/@thepwillows
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW6RL2Kdok-7zLUpW0itEDQ
Image Credit:
Eryn Ormsby Price for all photos except the live shot from the Georgia Theatre which is by Ryan Myers
Logo by Bruce Young
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
