my fashion icons!!!

Q: Hi hi hi! Who are your fashion icons? Where do you get your merch inspo? Any fave secondhand/vintage store recs (in NC or anywhere!) - Love your pfp in what I looks like a goodwill fitting room <3

A: I LOVE this question

My big three fashion mothers are PJ Harvey, Brittany Murphy and Helena Bonham Carter. All three dress very true to themselves, comfortably and with messy hair all which is realistic pour moi!

My merch inspo is myself usually! I don’t make many things I wouldn’t wear myself! I try to pick stuff that’s well made and 100% cotton for my handmade merch, and then for our printed merch I handpick all the artists (most of them are tattooers as well)

My favorite second hand stores in NC are usually the charity shops, little old ladies with nice clothes usually donate to these instead of goodwill. For example the ASPCA one (I think it’s next to Mr. K’s) in Asheville is good!

I have a rule that I’m not allowed to buy clothes second hand online anymore… that shit NEVER fits me!

I don’t go thrift shopping for myself as much anymore either cause I’m trying to not buy so much shit! Recently when I travel I look for places that sell like really well made archival and designer pieces that I’ll buy for maybe a lil more expensive but that I’ll cherish 4 lyfe. I have a map here of a BUNCH of places all over the world.

My PFP is in fact in a goodwill dressing room. I was trying on that pink shirt, I indeed bought in and I wear it all da time now.

grocery store sushi

Q: just ate some honestly delicious grocery store sushi from wegmans (i was soooo hungry) and thought of you. your music means so much to me btw and i love you! so like....what do you think about grocery store sushi?

A: I’ve had some really shitty GSS (grocery store sushi). In my experience it is pretty reliably mid! BUT it is a great way to quickly get multiple food groups ingested. I usually just go for the veggie stuff at the grocery store, and get fish at a restaurant.

book rec!

Q: Hiii!! Big big fan of your music, all the way from Australia :) (I missed the show you did down here because I had a work shift I couldn't get out of... I regret it so much ahhh I should've just called in sick T-T).

Recently you said you identify with the 'southern gothic' label, and I wondered if you've ever read Truman Capote's first novel, 'Other Voices, Other Rooms'? It's my favourite novel of all time. It has THE most beautiful lyrical writing (imo), and I feel completely transported whenever I read it. The book is set in rural Alabama (where Capote was raised, and was living at the time), and is a kind of queer coming-of-age story. It actually received quite a bit of backlash at the time for portraying queer characters in a positive/very sympathetic light. It's definitely of its time in other ways though, particularly in its treatment of black characters, so be aware of that. But I would really encourage you to read it; I think you'd love the writing style. It's just so rich and textured !! :-)

Here's a little sample of the first page:

"It's a rough trip no matter how you come, for these washboard roads will loosen up even brandnew cars pretty fast, and hitchhikers always find the going bad. Also, this is lonesome country, and here in the sunken marshes where tiger lilies bloom the size of a man's head there are luminous green logs that shine under the dark water like drowned corpses. Often the only movement on the landscape is a broken spiral of smoke from a sorry-looking farmhouse on the horizon, or a wing-stiffened bird, silent and arrow-eyed, circling endlessly over the bleak deserted pinewoods."

A: Damnnnnn this sounds awesome I’ll def look for a copy!

Mostly posting so other people reading can have access to this recommendation <3

xoxo

Blogging / process / solo project??

Q: Hello!! Fan writing from Columbia South Carolina. A friend and I have been discussing a blossoming indie sleaze revival (Anonymous Blogging, Social media account deletion, cutting off nearly every single original hem of the band t-shirts in our closets), and I was wondering how you went about creating this website. This could be a phenomenon localized entirely within my friend group, but I've been kind of hunting for something similar to this for a while now, any tips would be LOVELY!

Do you have any particular writing process for songs? Your lyrics seem to just have this special quality to them that feels like you just uncovered them in the music itself; I can only imagine that that comes with years and years of practice and four-- soon to be five-- original albums, but if you had any breakthroughs in your perspective on writing while developing your skills that would be wonderful to read about.

Not to glamorize or put you on a pedestal, but I admire your lyrics for the way that the south is portrayed in an honest way. I find it to be absurdly common to have the south demonized in popular (and underground culture) and seeing your love for the south spill through in your lyrics hits home and it makes me feel like i'm not crazy for loving the south despite it's flaws. If u r ever in Columbia on a Friday or Saturday night, stop by New Brookland Tavern! It's a smallish music venue (about 300 cap?) that I run sound for sometimes.

P.s., do you have any hopes for a solo project in the future? Either music or another medium?

A: I just made this website with Squarespace! Neocities is another website building hub to try that’s more accessible $ wise, although the learning curve seems steeper there. There’s website building stuff in the “Resources” tab of this website!

I’ve answered a few asks about my writing process on here! They should be archived under tags underneath posts like “process” or “creativity” or “songwriting” etc. I’ll tag some of those categories on this post for easy access but here’s a direct link to the song writing tag!

https://www.prisondivorcebombshell.com/answering-ur-questions/tag/songwriting#show-archive

No plans for a solo project anytime soon, I love playing with my bandmates too much <3

I have been experimenting with writing in other mediums though, more info on that eventually!

s0uthern g0thic

Q:

just curious if you consider your own music to be sorta modern southern gothic adjacent., the initial reason I personally feel like everything you made really clicked with me was because if felt so at home in the rural, occasionally run down southeastern virginia reality that I grew up around. as I really started pouring over the lyrics I realized there was also intentional allusions to the literary southern gothic canon; Flannery O'Connor etc. so just curious how you feel about being placed in that categorical space

Regardless I love that a band from NC is doing such cool things, thanks for all the music and I cant wait for Bleeds :)

A: Yeah! I feel like that’s a descriptor I definitely identify with because it implies proximity to those kind of writers like O’Connor which is soooo flattering hehe

I love reading books that take place near where I’m from, makes me feel so immersed! I feel like I’m writing the most with fellow southerners in mind to create that feeling for them of “being seen” or whatever… that’s why it’s so surprising and cool that people outside of the region fuck with the music so much too!

wat I luv bout the south

Q:

when i was last listening to your music, i was trying to put my finger on why i love it so so much (besides the way you use your voice and the killer guitar and lyricism and the everything else about it) and then i realized like oh..it feels and sounds like a love letter to the american south. and i was just on a road trip thru kentucky and tennessee on my way back to georgia and ALL i wanted to listen to was wednesday because thats just what felt right
anyway i guess i was wondering what you love about the south and what makes it special to you? when people ask me the same kinda question i can’t really ever come up with anything definitive besides the food and how it feels like home (sry if this was long-winded lol)
also: dean, jess, or logan?
<3

A: The simple answer to what I love most about the south is: it is where I am from!!! That makes it inherently special to me <3

I think the contrasts of beliefs and culture and the kindness of the people here also makes it an endlessly fascinating place. I don’t think people realize that it’s one of the most diverse areas of the country population wise, which brings so many amazing things culturally!

I actually love that the people are underestimated so much here, because I think it creates an amazing potential for artists to create work that surprises and overcomes assumptions.

The food rocks too obviously.

also Jess, obviously!

Visualz

Q: Hey Karly!! I've always admired the visual content you have created for Wednesday (from music vids, monthly vids, artwork, etc), and the world you create within the music and how immersive it can be. I was wondering if you could describe how you came to create Wednesday's visual brand or if you had any advice for artists like myself on how to cultivate and find your own visuals/aesthetics :).

P.S. Super excited for Bleeds, been listening to the singles nonstop. also, I know you're a big Buffy fan and I'm not sure if you've seen this before but I recently visited the MOPOP in Seattle and it has Buffy's actual stake from S2 Ep21 on center display :) I'll attach a imgur link if you're curious.

https://imgur.com/a/WHUWlcH

Thanks!!

Q: Hmmmm I think maybe the key is to think of it less as a “visual brand” for the band, and more of you just really trying to communicate your genuine interests and taste visually. I think if you get into your head about trying to communicate a specific ~ vibe ~ or whatever, it’ll come off as calculated and heavy handed.

Just really dig into what you enjoy, even if it’s goofy as hell, and say true to it.

I’m trying to think of an example….

Like I’ve always genuinely had an obsession with dolls, ever since I was a kid! I had like 50 of them, like victorian type/antique or whatever. The “trendy” version of showing my interest would be to have Blythe dolls or Labubu’s or something like that as a visual…. but that wasn’t what I was into growing up. If I used them as imagery it wouldn’t be true to my experience. Instead, I found the doll maker I contacted for the two headed bunny doll (Nova Odette) that communicated more accurately my actual taste.

I hope this makes sense!

And damn I’d love to see mr pointy in person!!! Jealous!

Soup and Raw Talent

Hi, I hope you’re doing well!! Pick Up That Knife has been an obsession for me since it came out, I think I’ve listened to it like 7382828 times. What a great song !!! Anyway I just wanted to ask, what is your favorite soup? Also a more “serious” question, how much of making art do u think is working at it/practice vs “raw talent”? Does that make sense lol haha. Thank you so much for the wonderful music and also for having this space where we can ask u questions. I hope I can come see ur show in DC this fall!!!

A: Fave soup is ummmmmmm Matzah Ball Soup <3 Jewish penicillin

As for how much of art making is “raw talent”…? Idk… I think good shit just comes from a deeply strong desire to create. If you want it badly enough you figure it out! I think one can teach themselves to do pretty much anything… just takes lotsa practice and a deep need 4 it!

Phone Update!

Q:

Hi Karly! I hope you are doing awesome especially with all these shows coming up for you. I can imagine how exciting it’s all gonna be! I was psyched to see Sasami playing with you guys soon. AH such a treat to see! I remember seeing them play with Cherry Glazerr back in the day and so it’s just awesome to see how they’ve grown so much as an independent artist! ANYWAYS, was wondering how the dumber phone is still going for you? Any changed feelings, good or bad? I’ve full sent on my dumber phone that is supposed to be coming in anytime now in hopes of also decreasing my screen and just overall fixing my relationship with the internet.
Keep kicking ass and hope to see you back in Texas soon!

A:

Dude ya I love Sasami! I’m excited for that show<3

I’m still lovin my dummy phone!! Definitely have seen an uptick in my general patience and attention span, and a huuuuge uptick in free time. I’ve been seeing my friends more and watching more movies and reading more. I use my old iphone as a camera for the youtube videos but other wise the dummy phone does everything I need it to!!

It’s a lil finnicky with group chats and receiving videos but those aren’t deal breakers for me! Plus the phone I have can do Whatsapp so I just group chat with the band on there and it’s worked great!

drama in ur local music scene

Q: so ive been in a couple bands now in my local scene (all different genres too). i just recently started a new band that im fronting and im finding it difficult to find encouragment to keep writing & playing shows because there seems to be a lot of drama in my local scene!!! we have a lot of *extremely* awful people who have higher power in the scene and i do not wish to associate with them... but its hard to look past those artists to get ahead around here!! they play all the venues and all the bills so they're hard to avoid unfortunately.

have you ever experienced issues like this? how do i look past these people and their judgements and continue to do my own thing? also are all small local scenes toxic?? because i have some friends from out of town who's scenes also have issues. it sucks haha

p.s. my band did a maura cover and it was totally awesome so thanks for writing such bangers all the time

A: I mean… I think every music scene has it’s drama I guess?

Idk I just say once you get a radar for the nice ppl just try to surround yourself with them and create the encouraging environment of ur dreams with them and avoid anyone who is creating drama?

I know it’s more complicated than that… I haven’t dealt with that sort of thing in a minute though cause i just really choose not to give any of my energy to it.

Focus on ur own shit and people that are mean or weird will usually have that come back to bite em… and if ya don’t get the schadenfreude of that well…. the less you care about it the easier it is is all I gotta say.

Ik that stuff can feel like the end of the world when ur in it though… just remember that Indie Rock etc is not the center of the universe and be nice. Eventually if u keep actin with kindness you’ll look around and you’ll have surrounded urself with other kind people.

Is this too idealistic? idk! good luck lol

Greensboro, NC recs

Q: Hey Karly!! My band and I r currently on tour and playing Greensboro Friday night and was wondering if u got any recs for spots in Greensboro whether it be food, unique shops, parks, thrifting etc. :p we have like half a day planned to just hang out there but don’t rly know what to hit and wanna make the best of it !!

Wooops I’m definitely responding to this too late for it to be of any use to u!!!

But here is some recs for next time??

Food:

Giacamo’s - Italian Deli

Pho Hien Vuong - Vietnamese

Nazareth Bread - Mediterranean

El Camino Real - Mexican

Sticks and stones - pizza

Big Burger Spot - burger obvi

Yum Yums - hotdogs…. purely for the ambiance

La Palma - Dominican

(honestly any international food on Gate City Blvd gonna b good)

Bar:

Neighbors (has food too)

Suds (or anything on walker)

Westerwood

There’s some breweries downtown too but I’m not really a beer girlie so I can’t suggest any with good conscious

Coffee:

The Borough

Tate Street

Shopping:

Design Archives - vintage

Standout - Tshirt bro type vintage they have cool stuff usually tho

Reconsidered Goods - thrifting (furniture and craft shiyt)

Soul Relief Records

Buffalo Boogie Records

Acme Comics

Stuff to do:

etc. DIY venue has all sorts of stuff going on

Hangar 1819 is mostly hardcore shows

Bog Garden or Bicentennial

ummmm

idk I just run around w my friends here and do random ass stuff

Feel free to add stuff in the comments greensboro ppl

Cds and also Judaism

Q:

Hi! Thank you for running this site! Bath County is one of my favorite songs, amd always reminds me of home up here in CT.
Do you plan on re-releasing old Wednesday CDs (Twin Plagues, IWTDYS)?
If you're comfortable answering, how do you feel Judaism/being Jewish has impacted your work/self?

A:

About the CD’s …. I don’t really know, I’m not usually the authority on that.

Some of the label ppl probably read this blog though to make sure I’m not saying anything INSANE

so if ya’ll see this: the people want CDs

As far as Judaism…. it effects everything in a funny way

Judaism as a culture laid the foundation of many aspects of my life. My most formative experiences were at Jewish Summer camp. Having a crazy (and lovable) Jewish grandma really scares you straight. There’s a lot of shit that is so cool about Judaism (I went to a reform synagogue though which is the chillest version… so can’t speak to anything more conservative than that) but something that I reallllly appreciate looking back on my early experiences in a religious space is that they don’t ever tell ya that you’re gonna go to hell.

I think that’s like a deeply traumatic thing for a child to hear….. just based on my observations of Christianity from the outside.

Judaism has a lot of beautiful singing and dancing and food and tradition and all of that has informed who I have become…!

It’s a VERY interesting time to be Jewish rn… the community is very divided. But eh…. la ti da

Rap World

Q: saw you had a pic of rap world on here and was wondering if that also was your fav movie of 2024? keep making fucking bangers

A: I really like that movie… ya’lll freakin LOVE that shit. I’ve never had such an outcry of love about any piece of media I have talked about on this website until I wrote about Rap World.

Idk if it’s my fave from that year… I don’t remember 2024 already ain’t that shit crazy lol

I think we were touring a ton in ‘24 and I barely watched any freakin’ movies…. so yeah… honestly might be my fave from that year based on the lack of competition

dbt band name origin

Q: Is the band name based on the drive-by truckers song wednesday?? Ty <3

A: I wish…. that would be cool. But no that was just a happy accident :)

I don’t know why we’re named Wednesday… I say a different thing every time someone asks how we got the name.

Sometimes a band name is just a word.

weed

Q: i was wondering what yr relationship w weed is like! u talked ab giving stuff up cold turkey and i feel like you’d have an opinion on this lol. that nc fake legal weed is scary but alas all i can get my hands on….curious what ur take is!

A: Went through a period in my early/mid twenties where I couldn’t touch the stuff without getting majorly paranoid. I think a lot of people have an experience like that.

I’ve come back around to it recently though and it’s been sweet to feel like I have the stability to handle it. I smoke pretty rarely though, I got one tiny bag from a friend for my birthday in November and I still have some of it left.

I don’t touch edibles though I can’t handle those things.

I smoke the CBDA North Carolina weed they have at dispensaries and don’t really have a problem with it. I use it mostly to alleviate my heinous period cramps or when I wanna sit and listen to music and have a cozy fuzzy warm bodily connection with it.

Whatever weed I smoke I need it to be pretty subtle, like barely there high. I prefer like “shitty” mid grade weed over that like really intense shit they have now.

hardcore books recommends

Q: Hi!

Recently read the article on you that was in The Guardian (from June 20) about the new record and the writer mentioned you receiving some books on punk and hardcore history! I thought that was super cool as that music and culture has been a major part of my life and own music/zine career for a long time. Just curious what books you've been checking out and what your thoughts are on everything so far, if you've had the time to? I was so obsessed when I got into all of that stuff, I read everything I could. Sometimes I wish I could go back and relive that same feeling of getting into it, so I wanted to reach out. If it's something that keeps your interest, let me say that it's definitely a complete rabbit hole from here on haha.

NC is such a great spot for current hc bands too, plus with Sorry State and the proximity to Richmond...I've never had a bad time whenever I've rolled thru!

If you're unfamiliar with any of these books, may I recommend? The "Flex" series. If you ever happen to come across any those in your travels or thrifting/record shop adventures, definitely pick them up! They're some of the best, most informative discographies on obscure punk/hardcore records from all over, but they're insanely hard to find. "Cut & Paste: The American Hardcore Fanzine" is a newer one but a really great compendium of old zines which covers a lot of important history as well, and "The Day the Country Died: A History of Anarcho Punk 1980–1984" is an important one from the more political/UK perspective. That's not even mentioning all of the photographic books out these days...

Hope you find something you really dig in all of it!

Stoked for the new record also, love the singles so far!

A: Mostly posting this one for other people interested in this research!

I juuuust finished the novel I’ve been reading yesterday and can finally dig into some of the books I was recommended: “American Hardcore”, “NYH” and “Straight Edge: A clear headed hardcore punk history”.

I’m sure I’ll be writing more thoughts about them on the blog once I can dig in a little further

Buffy <3

Q: Hello - love that you’re a big Buffy fan! I recently finished the series for the first time and really enjoyed it. How did you first get into it?

Wondering your opinions….favorite character(s)? Favorite episodes/storylines? Least favorite characters/storylines?

Also, have you watched the Angel spin-off series and do you have any thoughts on it?

Thanks and love your music and blog!!!!! :3

A: I first starting watching cause my roommate years ago showed me the episode “Hush” from season 5 (I think?) and I was instantly hooked and watched the shit obsessively. If I had the day off of work I would literally just sit in a Lazy boy recliner and watch Buffy from sun up to sun down. I was pretty lonely at the time so the characters were really comforting to me and felt like close friendships in a way by the series end. Then years later I forced Jake to watch it during covid with me and rekindled my obsession with it.

Some of my opinions:

I think Buffy/Sarah Michelle Gellar is one of the best main characters of any series ever. She’s hella flawed but so loveable and the acting is just so funny and dramatic and campy but also genuinely good.

Hate Joss Whedon obviously, but I love most of his shows. I love Firefly and Dollhouse. I think his writing style so soooo fucking influential but I hate his ass as a person.

Xander is one of the worst characters on TV ever. Don’t love Angel either tbh. I didn’t watch the Angel series cause I just don’t care about his azz.

Best characters Anya, Tara, Spike, Cordy and Buffy obvi <3

I love the Faith/Buffy arc the best I think?? But I literally love every season other than one. Dawn story is so crazy I can’t believe they pulled that shit off.

Season one feels like a slog just cause I know how it good it gets in all the later seasons.

Fave eps are probably “Hush”, the musical one obvi, anyone with alternate universe shit like vampire Willow etc, any Halloween eps, the chocolate that turns all the adults into teenagers, “The Zeppo” even though its a Xander episode ew, and hmmm….. any of the otha ones that are typically viewed as iconic (dont wanna spoil stuff for ppl that haven’t seen)

piss c0unt

Don’t think we have forgotten the piss counter for Bleeds. I’m fully expecting (at least) 2 more uses of the word by the time the full album drops. Loving it so far!!

A:

For the uninformed: each Wednesday album increasingly uses of the word piss

This was by accident but happened nonetheless

I regret to inform you that it is only used once on this album ( I think? ) and it’s on WOund Up HEre which is already out

my condolences

coll3ge lyfe

Q: Hey!! I’m moving from nc to chicagooo real soon for college. I was wondering if u have any advice on college living? Moving out and living on your own tips?? Love you lots :3

A: So cute that yall ask me about stuff like this, I feel like an older sisterrrrrrr(╥﹏╥)

Ummmm my best advice is don’t put too much pressure on finding a friend group ur first year. The people you initially hang with will probably completely 180 as you discover what you’re into/ what you like to do!

That being said, go out do shit that you’re interested to find people you get along w. Doesn’t necessarily have to be school related but def entangle your social shit with your hobbies so you find people that fuck with the same stuff you do

If you’ve wanted to start a band, try it! A lot of people wanna do that shit in college (yours truly for instance)

Take some classes outside of your major

Try to go to lots of house shows/ house parties. going to house shows when youre out of school makes you feel like a creep, I miss house shows :(

See a lot of music, movies, plays, whateva and go out if you got all ur work done cause after college your energy/availability for that shit goes down 2000%

Don’t date the same person for all four years

Try to eat all your food groups and exercise, you’ll feel a lot better in general if you do that when u can

ummmmmmmmmmmmm call ur parents every once in a while

best of luck ! xoxo

Wound Up Here reference

Q: okay i know yall said the line "wound up here by holding on" was from a poem but i cannot find that post anywhere... maybe i'm missing something idk. but i was just curious about what that poem was/who wrote it!! thank u so much

also i'm obsessed w this new single i haven't been able to stop listening to it!!!!! hope to see yall in louisville ky soon..... haha i wish

A: It’s referencing a line from my friend Evan’s book!

It’s available here :

https://bookshop.org/p/books/thickets-swamped-in-fence-coated-briars-evan-gray/20730799?ref=hearingthings.co

or here

https://asterismbooks.com/product/thickets-swamped-in-fence-coated-briars-evan-gray

Also I loooooooove Kentucky….. we’ll be there as soon as humanly possible