Interview With Members of She Wants Revenge: L.A. Duo Saves the Music World – One Dark Dance Song at a Time
Spawned from an era that boasts such bands as New Order, Joy Division, The Cure and others like them comes She Wants Revenge, a band that seems to arrive after its time and yet, ahead of the trend.
Some would call them Goth rock, others New Age Dance or Electronica. They would prefer not to be called anything but their name, which is a combination of their “dark” style and their wish to honor all the girls they have loved, lost and left.
The two men, now in their 30s, met years ago at a backyard party. Warfield then an aspiring DJ at 14, met Bravin, who was DJing for the party. Warfield noticed that he loved the music Bravin was playing, and introduced himself. They were friends for years after that, running into each other often in the Los Angeles music scene.
They talked for years about playing music together, but never seemed to actually do so. Finally, in 2003, a mutual friend advised them to quit talking about it and actually do it.
Bravin and Warfield began toying around with music together, and one day, as Warfield recalls it, there was a track Bravin made that he loved, and he asked Bravin if he could add vocals and guitar to it.
“It reminded us of the records that we grew up listening to,” Warfield said of the finished song. “It had a certain darkness and a certain feeling that really reminded us of everything that made us love?[the] records of our childhood.”
Over the next year, She Wants Revenge came to life as Warfield and Bravin recorded several songs right out of their houses. Their plan was to release the record from an indie label and market it themselves. However, again, a mutual friend came through with a different plan: He wanted to play their music for Fred Durst. Reluctant at first, they eventually agreed to give it a shot. It ended up being the deal of their lives.
Warfield said, about their decision, that, “rather than saying ‘it sounds like this’ or ‘it sounds like that’, he was saying ‘it makes me feel like this.”
Durst’s fresh attitude towards their music and true appreciation of it sealed the deal. Durst convinced them to sign with him and gave them full creative rights to the album, a freedom not often afforded to bands anymore.
The next year was spent recording their first full length album, which was released Jan. 31 of this year. It is a mixture of songs they had written and recorded together both before and after being signed. According to Warfield, five or six tracks were pre-signing, including their first single, “Tear You Apart,” which almost didn’t make it onto the album.
Again, with that decision, their friends steered them in the correct direction. “Tear You Apart” is a hit all over alternative stations on regular and satellite radio.
Their music combines beats that can be danced to with vocals that are totally unique. At times, their songs could be labeled as catchy. Others are dark songs about love, lust and longing. Every song on the album is carefully put together and stands on its own, yet is a piece of the puzzle that is their album.
The self-titled album, which eager fans awaited for months, sold over 20 thousand copies in its first week – no small feat for a “Goth rock” band.
Their success was both quick and unexpected.
“We didn’t know how big the audience was going to be for our music but we knew that if we made a record that we loved, at least it would have an audience,” said Warfield.
“We care about what music is being put out, so we knew if we tried to make something that would make ourselves happy?it would make somebody else happy or make somebody else feel something.”
She Wants Revenge just finished their headlining U.S. tour and are currently touring with the rock band Placebo.
“All of this is pretty overwhelming and shocking for us because we still do things like those two guys in the dining room or the bedroom making music and we still put just as much love and care and attention into every step,” says a grateful Warfield about their success. “We’re completely meticulous because we love what we do so much.”
Bravin and Warfield strove to make music that would not only make listeners want to dance, but make them experience emotions that don’t normally come out of popular alternative music. She Wants Revenge, according to them, is about feeling something, just as Fred Durst did when he first heard their music.
Their modest nature and I-don’t-care-if-you-like-it-or-not attitude has helped, not hindered them all they way through their success. While some bands worry about their marketability, She Wants Revenge only worries about pleasing themselves and making music that appeals to them. They made a record that made them feel good; what they never would have guessed is how many fans feel the same way.
