The Linda Lindas on prank wars with Green Day, touring whilst still students, and their second album 'No Obligation' • Interview • DIY Magazine

“We’re in a prank war with Green Day,” informs The Linda Lindas’ vocalist and bassist, Eloise Wong. “Before the show yesterday, they taped Mila’s drumsticks together and sabotaged our bass drum!” Calling DIY from Austin, Texas during a momentary bit of downtime on the road supporting the punk titans, the rest of the band - Bela Salazar (guitar, vocals) and sisters Lucia (guitar, vocals) and Mila de la Garza (drums, vocals) - almost telepathically yell in chorus: “We’re winning though, obviously!”

As you might have already guessed, The Linda Lindas haven’t had your average summer vacation. While their school pals have spent the long sunny months like most other teens around the world, hanging around skateparks and binging on the latest Netflix offerings, the four best mates have been touring America with their heroes turned friends in Green Day, The Smashing Pumpkins and Rancid on an epic 27-date stadium tour.

That’s all well and good until the tour spills into the school year. The tough reality of juggling life in America’s most promising punk band and that of an everyday student (all band members, bar Bela, are still studying) hits home right at the start of today’s chat. “I mean, right after this I’m going to go and cram homework for the rest of the day,” moans Eloise, drawing chuckles from the band.

By now, however, this balancing act has become business as usual for the LA four-piece, who have effortlessly embraced the rock star life since a viral library performance of their no bullshit, riot grrrl anthem ‘Racist, Sexist Boy’ beamed them around the world back in 2021. The video - now nearing two million views - bagged them a multitude of famous fans and a deal with legendary punk label Epitaph, who release their second full-length ‘No Obligation’ this month.

The double life does have some perks though. Eloise reminisces how, “One time after school we went and got bubble tea with Karen O, which was so cool!” Bela also recalls a mad moment: “I didn’t go to my graduation because we had to go and play in Europe like, two days before. I think I graduated though.” Lucia puts on a concerned grin. “I think my math teacher is coming to the LA show, so that will be… interesting.”

“We do deserve to be here and every day gives us a little more confidence in ourselves.” — Bela Salazar

Navigating viral fame and subsequent real world success can be a tricky endeavour for the most seasoned of artists, let alone four teenage schoolmates. Bela says that day-to-day routine is what keeps them grounded. “When I do go to school, I try not to tell anybody about the band; it’s a place where I can just be normal like everybody else,” she notes. With gossip spreading around school halls and social media like wildfire, however, it’s an impossible task to keep their rapidly ascending star a total secret. Eloise admits that “people know all about us - but we have really good friends who aren’t weird about it and I’m grateful for that.”

Having drawn a minority of haters and cynics in the beginning (much like any recipients of a moment of overnight stardom), The Linda Lindas have done a perfect job of scaling up and showing they deserve a seat at the table since their 2022 debut album ‘Growing Up’. “There’s always going to be doubt for anybody doing anything in music,” says Bela. “We just have to keep moving forward and keep going. We do deserve to be here and every day gives us a little more confidence in ourselves.”

Perhaps the biggest testament to that fact is the band’s list of famous fans, which read like a who’s who of rock royalty from their more immediate influences in Paramore, The Breeders and Yeah Yeah Yeahs to the likes of Blondie and The Rolling Stones. Are they getting used to that kind of attention? “Every time something comes in we’re just mind blown,” says Bela. “Like, The Rolling Stones support was ridiculous; they’ve been around forever. That’s the shit that made our grandparents realise like, ‘Wow, OK, this is what you do’.”

A band determined to be much more than a flash in the pan, it’s the longevity of those icons that impresses The Linda Lindas the most. “What’s cool about these people is that they’re still doing it on their own terms and they still have that passion for music and their work. It’s something we hope to have later on too,” says Eloise, before Mila adds: “We’re always trying to have fun in the moment and appreciate what’s happening and learn as much as possible.”

“Punk is doing what you want with your friends and not caring what other people might think about it.” — Eloise Wong

Given their eye-watering live CV, it’s not surprising that you can hear that main stage confidence fizzing throughout ‘No Obligation’. By watching their heroes from the wings night after night, Eloise says they’ve levelled up themselves. “We’re learning so much, like how to fill this giant stage or keep the crowd engaged and keep having fun with it,” she says.

The Linda Lindas’ second is an album written with those massive football stadiums and baseball parks in mind, yet there’s a variety that complements the confrontational punk with which they initially struck such a chord. Take dreamy recent single ‘All In My Head’, which packs the sweetened vocal of peers like Indigo De Souza as Lucia crackles with teenage turmoil: “It’s the loneliness that I hold so dear / It’s the loneliness that I could never fear.”

With bucket list moments whizzing by them like the headlights of oncoming traffic, the band say just trying to have fun in the studio was the most important thing. “It’s just about enjoying it, that’s why we started the band in the first place,” says Mila. “We just love playing together and that’s why we do it.” Eloise echoes this sentiment. “We had so much fun in the studio this time around. We were [mainly] thinking about how sick everything was sounding.”

Although they’ve seen more of it in the last few years, the band’s worldview hasn’t shifted much. Given three members aren’t old enough to vote, they’re using their platform to make their own mark on the future of America. Eloise explains: “When we’re playing to so many different people in so many states, we may as well use that platform. Every show, I’ll encourage people to vote and hopefully we’ll have a female president sooner rather than later.” Bela quietly muses with wide eyes - “The alternative is certainly pretty scary.”

Having thrown themselves into new experiences without skirting around such big narratives, the band have had to grow up fast in the last few years - a subtle evolution which can be heard lyrically and sonically on ‘No Obligation’. “We’ve definitely changed as people,” reflects Eloise. “We also got better at our instruments too, so we learned how to express ourselves that way. It’s just different, we just write about what’s going on and what’s changing in our lives and world.” Perhaps like any good friendship, trust and maintaining the fun have been the most crucial ingredients in the eye of the storm. “It helps that we’re sharing everything with three other people before we’re sharing it with the whole world,” says Bela.

For Eloise, that’s pretty much the essence of what punk stands for in the year 2024. “I think that punk is whatever you want it to be. It’s doing what you want with your friends and not caring what other people might think about it,” she says. “It’s about amplifying your voice because nobody else will and doing what you feel matters. It’s whatever you make it to be, it’s building a community.” By those metrics, The Linda Lindas are as punk as they come.

‘No Obligation’ is out 11th October via Epitaph.

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