Surely you know Julia Kugel—a.k.a. Julia of The Coathangers and Soft Palms, not to mention her solo project, Julia, Julia. So what’s in a name? In the case of Kugel, a helluva lot of musical talent and cred, standing as one of the most essential artists on Seattle’s Suicide Squeeze Records—which is saying a lot, given that the label is tickling its 30th anniversary. Of course, Kugel’s stalwart soulmate-label jumped at the opportunity to issue a new configuration called Julia & the Squeezettes, consisting of Staz Lindes of The Paranoyds, Bonnie Bloomgarden of Death Valley Girls, and drummer Rikki Styx, who’s toured with DVGs. They mutually decided to give Lync’s “Cue Cards” a whirl and did justice to the throwback track with adolescent aplomb.
Kugel generously took a break from her myriad projects to discuss the limited-edition 7-inch that she and the Squeezettes squeezed out (which also features Lync’s original 1994 version), along with some insights into her new collaborators and how Kugel and her husband believe that inspiring kids to get creative is perhaps their most valuable project of all.
You juggle so many projects—what about this release spoke to you that it should be a “Julia & the Squeezettes” record?
I put out two solo 7-inches before [in 2012 and 2013 as White Woods], and then 2020 really prompted the diversification of The Coathangers. Because everything was halted due to COVID. Then I also have another project with my husband [Scott Montoya] called Soft Palms. So we released a record in 2020 and have started working on another record. This Suicide Squeeze project was super cool, because it was spontaneous and everyone came over. I like exploring and working with a bunch of different kinds of people and writing.
Did playing with such esteemed and experienced musicians in the Squeezettes mean you congealed all the more quickly?
They have great personalities, and they’re great artists. We’d already known each other. I knew Bonnie the best. Staz (and I) played together before. Rikki showed up first, actually. I’ve been sending ideas, arrangements, and voice demos. She showed up, and we went through the drums, and then Staz showed up and had her bass line, and it was all recorded live. There’s usually so much nitpicking or something, but this one came tougher quickly. Even the mixing was easy. We did one mix and everyone was like, “Yeah, I love it.” Maybe because everyone’s old.
Any more collaborations on the horizon?
Bonnie is working on Death Valley Girls stuff, so I hope that we get to meet up at one of their shows, and that we come out and play the song. Bonnie and I have been talking about working together for a while now, I think she’s making more journeys from LA to Long Beach. So anything is possible. But we haven’t formally discussed anything, because we have some prior commitments.
What’s the most profound experience you’ve had, whether it be connecting with the universe or nature, something that transcended the human level?
My husband and I did this workshop with these high school kids as part of their music program. They came over to our house, and we had to write and record a song. And these kids were novices at their instruments. But teaching them and finding ways of expression for people that may not feel like they have one is always profound. It’s an emotional experience and shows the art of it and not the product of the craft. We used to play Girls Rock! camps, and I would tell the young girls in the crowd to scream, because everyone’s got that. Sometimes we’re taught that we shouldn’t be so loud. When you scream or cry, you’re unlocking something. Also, I’m old enough now where people come to me and say, “Oh, I started playing music because you know, you guys inspired me.” That’s the best.
What’s the last time you remember laughing really, really hard?
A friend of mine got super sunburned, and his dog came up and put his paws on him. He was crying, but I couldn’t help but laugh uncontrollably.
