Lollapalooza celebrated its 25th anniversary by expanding to a phenomenal four-day festival, headlined this time around by the likes of Red Hot Chili Peppers, J.Cole, and Lana Del Rey. Curious to learn more about 25 of our favorite performers, LADYGUNN was on hand at Chicagoās historic Grant Park providing a predominately blank canvas for each individual to paint a captivating picture of their unique story. Hereās our chat with Abby, Ally, and Victoria of Potty Mouth, who opened up about finding a true sense of purpose after years of trying to please others, and remembering to keep taking risks on their way to hopefully becoming the biggest band in the world.
Would you like to introduce yourselves to the readers?
Abby: Iām Abby, I sing and play guitar.
Ally: Iām Ally, I play bass.
Victoria: Iām Victoria, I play drums.
What do you love about music?
Abby: Oh, interestingā¦ What do we love about music?
Victoria: We love playing live.
Abby: Yeah, we do love playing live. Thatās probably one of my favorite parts of music in general ā just like seeing live music, and playing.
Ally: I like thinking about how songs are put together, and all the layers that go into creating a song, and all the different production decisions. I donāt know, thatās something that I developed more of an ear for after I started playing bass, because I reallyāI mean, I guess with bass itās likeā¦ sometimes you really have to listen for it. So I feel like now I can dissect songs more easily because of that, and thatās what I like to think about with music.
Abby: Also how music can affect a situation. I feel like there are some songs that I just love to put on when Iām driving really late at night with all the windows down, and it just totally makes it a moment.
Can you recall your earliest memory of music?
Ally: I remember when I was really, really ā this is an embarrassing story by the way ā but I remember when I was really, really young, and my older brother was watching MTV, and it was likeā¦ probably in the mid-90s. I remember I knew nothing about music ā I didnāt know any artists or bands other than the ones that were like super, super, super big and everyone knew. There was a music video on MTV, and it was a Michael Jackson music video, and my brother asked me, āAlly, who do you think this is?ā Like, just to test me to see if I knew. I had no idea, but the one artist I knew was Sheryl Crow.
[Abby and Victoria start laughing]
Ally: So I said, āI donāt know, Sheryl Crow?ā And he was like, āNo! Itās Michael Jackson!ā
Victoria: Well, Sheryl Crow did back-up singing for Michael Jackson, actually.
Ally: Oh, really?
Victoria: So youāre not far offā¦
Abby: So you actually outsmarted him at a young ageā¦
Ally: Boo-yah!
Did you ever wanna be anything other than musicians?
Ally: I wanted to get my PhD in sociology ā that was my plan after I graduated college. āCause Potty Mouth didnāt start until after I graduated college. I had won a scholarship to enroll in a PhD program, and I did not end up using that scholarship ā I ended up starting Potty Mouth, and now here we are like five-and-a-half years later.
Abby: I mean, before Potty Mouth I was just in high school, so I thought like, āOh, Iāll be an artist, or a fashion designer, somethingā¦ā Iām rolling my eyes, by the way [laughs]. But yeah I mean, music just became part of my life so early on that now this is likeā¦ Iām just going all in.
Victoria: Yeah, same deal.
Whatās something you wish you knew when you were younger?
Ally: I wish that I knew I was more capable ofā¦ I donāt know, I guess for me, I wish I just likeā¦ picked up an instrument. I played piano, but I wish I had picked up like a guitar or something earlier on. Like I wish I had the confidence to do that and know that I could, and not just assume that it was this natural ability that all my dude friends had, that I didnāt. So I wish I knew that.
Abby: I would sayā¦ I wish that I knew to do things more for myself than for other people. Just because it took me a really long time, and actually until I was in a band, that I felt like I had a purpose just for myself and that made my life unique, and something to work towards. So yeah, I wish when I was younger, I had something like that.
How would you describe your approach to life?
Abby: These are such philosophical questions! Our approach to lifeā¦ Ummā¦
Ally: Hmmā¦
Abby: Just to be grateful that I am where I am, and never take it for granted.
Ally: Something that my really close friends from college and I always say to each other is, āYou can get used to anything, but that doesnāt mean you have to.ā And thatās sort of a way of reminding ourselves that likeā¦ we donāt need to resign ourselves to a situation just because it feels comfortable and safe. And I think that applies a lot to this band for me, because weāve all made a lot of sacrifices to make this band work, and weāve taken a lot of risks. And I think weāre currently in the middle of a big risk: I quit my job, we all moved to L.A., and weāre sort of just trying to survive at this point. I couldāve just stayed in our town in Massachusetts ācause I got used to it and it was comfortable, but againā¦ that doesnāt mean you have to.
They do say life begins at the end of your comfort zone, soā¦
Ally and Abby: Yeahā¦
Abby: Itās so true.
Victoria: My approach to life is try to make the best of every situation.
If you had one wish, what would it be?
[Everyone takes a moment to think]
Abby: To be the biggest band in the world! [Laughs]
Ally: I would just like to see my parents and my brother go on to live really happy and healthy livesā¦ that are stress-free.
Victoria: Be the biggest band in the world! [Abby laughs]
Any final thoughts for the readers?
Abby: Thank you for having us.
Victoria: Yeah, thank you.
Ally: I would say, just remind everyone you can get used to anything, but that doesnāt mean you have to.
Abby: Do what you want!
story / Damon Campbell