power pants stay ready in virginia’s new punk valley

When someone says they’re from DC, you can assume they’re not. It’s more likely they hail from one of the many ‘burbs surrounding our nation’s capital. Take the Dischord House—it’s not in DC, but rather across the Potomac River in Arlington. Chances are a “DC punk” is stuck in commuter traffic, driving from a Takoma Park house show back to their own homes in Bowie, Silver Spring, Laurel, Riverdale, Greenbelt, Hyattsville, Wheaton, Fairfax, Reston, Fort Belvoir, Lorton, or somewhere scattered among other ‘dales, ‘burgs and ‘villes. 

All the same, Winchester, Virginia could be the most unlikely incubator for punk in the region. Too rural and historic to qualify as a DC suburb per se, Winchester already earned its musical stripes long ago as the hometown of Patsy Cline. Sure enough, recent years brought about Hopscotch Coffee & Records and even a Black Flag show (sketchy latter-day iteration notwithstanding). And a few residents, current and former, are leading the charge when it comes to garage and pogo-prone sounds.

Since 2023, Power Pants have been making waves with an onslaught of digital and small-run cassette releases. So far there are seven albums, three EPs, a live set, seven compilation appearances, 14 singles, and a brand new split with Dru the Drifter. In recent years the band’s brand of punk has been in short supply in the region, so their emergence in the neighboring DC and Richmond scenes goes a long way to fill a certain rock'n'roll void. 

No surprise, Power Pants’ proliferation of tunes in the vein of the Ramones, the Spits, and current acts like Gee Tee has been embraced across the tri-state and the internet at large. Born of the digital world, Power Pants’ melodic bursts retain a spirited, even sentimental energy despite the precision and volume of their fist-pump inducing, two-minutes-or-less songwriting machine. Each release is a portal to an oddball world via synth and power chord-driven earworms matched with thoughtful sci-fi ruminations.

Now, Power Pants’ output has become a homegrown catalyst for like-minded music nuts to band together in sweaty, smelly rooms. I caught up with the singular Power Pant leader Dee in DC (proper) in the lobby of the Line—a former church turned hybrid-commercial venture (typical)—a few hours before their show at Smash Records. 

You’re from Winchester right? What’s it like for Power Pants in Winchester? 

There's not much really going on. There used to be a scene back in the day—very heavy in pop punk and metal, but that's kind of dwindled down over the years. There used to be spots that bands were able to play. Those are gone. And now it's just bigger performance venues that you have to “pay to play,” so the only places I can play are outside of Winchester. 

Was there a period where it was only a recording project before you started playing out?

Yeah, I think it was after the third record I put out, I'm like, All right, I wanna start doing shows. And luckily I found some friends that are pretty good musicians that caught onto it and wanted to play live. 

Was that something you put together in Winchester?

I haven't ever played a Power Pants show in Winchester. 

None?

I know a spot that I could potentially put one on, but…  

So where was your first show?

The first Power Pants show was in DC at Slash Run before they went out of business. 

I worked there remotely from Richmond. It was weird booking shows from another city and state. Who else played that one? 

The other band I was in, Shawnis and the Shimmers, and I think Sad Roach.

I first heard about Power Pants through Thee Deluxe, which features Codi from Sad Roach. And then when I heard your music I was like, My friend Shawnis in Richmond is going to absolutely love Power Pants. How are Thee Deluxe and Sad Roach connected to Winchester? 

They’re kinda spread out now. The drummer still lives in Winchester but Codi and Carl live in Arlington.

Codi first described you to me as a recording wiz. Do you feel like Power Pants is a part of an extended scene with those bands?

Yeah, cause you know I have members from both those bands that play with me, so it’s like a little circle of people.

It seems less about geography and more about a certain sound that's drawn you all together. 

I already knew Codi from skating up the skate park here and there. But then I discovered this band Thee Deluxe and I’m like Oh, what's this? This sounds cool. And I text Codi, I’m like, Hey have you checked this band out? And he’s like, Yeah, that’s my band. And I'm like, Oh, that’s sick. You guys are awesome!

Wild!

Yeah, 'cause Codi never brought it up, so I was like, Oh, that’s cool dude. Shit rocks. And then later on, I don't know exactly when, but Codi and Sarah started dating and Sarah had this idea for a band called Sad Roach, and then they started doing that. Then before I started playing Power Pants shows, Shawnis hit me up saying, I want to be the first band you play with. I’m like, Alright. Then months went by and I’m turning down shows 'cause I made a promise. 

Did you always know you were gonna put a band together to do Power Pants live? 

I didn't think so. I didn't know if I was gonna find anyone. And then once Codi and Carl and Sarah heard my stuff, they're like, Let's do it!

And then for good measure you joined Shawnis and the Shimmers?

Yeah because I had seen them when they played with Tee Vee Repairman. That was the first time I introduced myself to Shawnis. And then they lost a bassist and were like, Hey, would you consider playing bass? I'm like, Yeah, I'll give it a try. And it was really fun, so I played a few shows with them before the band kind of deteriorated. 

Is there a new project that's come out of that?

Yeah, Chris and Jerry, the masterminds with all the music, started a band called Gleex. Their first show is April 21st and I'll be playing bass with them.

Are they both in your Richmond configuration of Power Pants as well? There are two Power Pants live-band lineups, right? Would you go over your Richmond band? 

Yeah they're both in that. The lineup is of course me on guitar and vocals, Jerry usually plays guitar, but he's on drums. Chris is on keyboard and then Chris's friend, Zach, who is also in another band with them called MK Vulture, is playing bass.

And for everyone keeping score at home, what's the Power Pants DC lineup?

Sarah on bass, Codi on keys and Carl on drums. 

Then whichever band you play with gets determined by whether the show's in Richmond or DC? 

Yeah. I don't wanna make them, you know, hike to Richmond or DC. You know, it works out. 

Would you ever do a Power Pants show where both lineups played? 

Like, members all playing at the same time? Oh, that’s interesting. But maybe, like, having them all play at the same time together, but different instruments for everyone.

Super Power Pants or Power Pants XL. You’ve certainly got enough material for it. 

The thing is if I can remember how to play them.

What’s your writing and recording process look like?

I've been listening to a lot of, like, ’50s to ’70s rock‘n’roll and trying to gain inspiration from that. But I usually just start out with guitar and then lean into the bass and then keys and then flesh out the drum pattern and whatnot. And then vocals will sometimes come like in that moment, but then sometimes I'll just have it sit and then you know, have inspiration kind of hit me out of nowhere. Sometimes it's been happening after a show, late at night on my drive home. I'll put on the track and have that space where there's silence around and it's just me on the road and words will just come to me then. 

When that happens are you singing as you’re driving? 

Yeah. 

Then when you’re at home playing and writing, are you recording as you go?

One of my favorite artists is Jay Reatard, and in his documentary there’s a part where they're talking about at his home, he would have everything mic’d and set up ready to go, like, whenever inspiration hit him, to just get it down. So you don't forget it. I take that mentality and do it myself. 

How’s your home studio lookin’? 

It ain't much. I do everything on my phone. I just use GarageBand. It's just been like second nature. I can listen back wherever I go and I can record wherever.

Are you programming the drums on your phone too? 

Yeah. Some would say it’s lazy but, I don't know, it’s been getting the job done. I’m building a kit and I would love to have a mixer run to that so I can record live drums instead of using the program. 

Your output has been relentless. What’s the quickest turnaround you’ve had for a release?

Maybe a month for like 10 songs. 

By recording digitally on your phone and then releasing the music digitally online, you’ve really streamlined the process. Is this your preferred method, or is it born out of convenience or necessity? Where do you stand on releasing music digitally versus as physical objects? 

I really love physical releases. I want to get away from Spotify because of ads and I had a recent issue with Meta AI releasing a song on my account without my permission, and it was just dog shit music up there for a couple of weeks. 

What? How the hell did that happen? 

It just showed up—on my birthday too, of all days.

What was the name of the song? Or what can you share about it? 

I can’t even remember what it was called, but it just had the worst AI made artwork. And then they tried to make it like, not noticeable, but it said Meta AI, on the cover. 

Did it try to sound like Power Pants?

It was country rock. I had to dispute it and eventually it got taken down, but it was an eyesore for a couple weeks.

What are your plans for physical releases? Seems like pressing records would be difficult to keep up with your output.

Not necessarily. I’ve kind of slowed down now after the seventh release. I’m taking my time and ingesting more music that I haven’t listened to before, and giving some of my songs a purpose, but still having fun with the ones that don't relate to what I'm going through personally. 

Is the song writing itself getting more personal? 

It's been like half-personal, half-fun for each release. But I guess, yeah, now I’m trying to make it about my personal experiences and world issues. 

No shortage of world issues. What are you paying attention to? 

Definitely AI. I fucking hate it.

From personal experience. 

From personal experience, too. I think it was the second record I wrote a song just called “Kill the AI.”

Was that before Power Pants got cloned?

Exactly. It’s stealing money from artists that are actually making music. And then same with artwork being stolen from real artists. I don’t know, it's just all this automation and AI stuff is making people lazy and it's gonna destroy us.

I dig your collage album art and look at it for clues to what’s inspiring the music. Out of all the images you've cut up and put together, what are the main components of Power Pants? 

I would say checkerboard, robots, space aliens. A lot of sci-fi. 

What’s the checkerboard connection? 

I don’t know. I always admired it. I used to go to this barber shop when I was a kid in Manassas with my dad, and the floor was always checkered. And anytime I see checkers, I always think of that and just the memories of going in there to get my haircut, getting popcorn. It was a good time.