Once A Pawn | X-Rated Podcast

by Hilary Stohs-Krause

I used to not care for Once A Pawn's music.

To be really frank, I disliked it. The Lincoln trio, which for a long time was a duo, got their start crafting catchy pop-punk songs in 2003, and that just wasn't my style.

Over the last eight years, however, founders Catherine Balta (drums, vox) and Eric Scrivens (guitar, production), now joined by bassist Mike Flowers, have moved into a more complex rock sound, experimenting with tempo and melody. And before I knew it, I was a fan.

"There's not a ton of bands that have been together for maybe as long as we have," Balta said. "It's just kind of interesting to be around for a while, have people see how we've evolved over these eight or nine years."

During a July 14th visit to the KZUM studios in downtown Lincoln, the band described their sound as orange, rock, music, happy, go-lucky, individual, fans, proud, support and thank-you.

Listen to the podcast below to hear five songs from their next album (which they're starting to record this week), learn about the inspiration for Scrivens' dance moves, why they make socially conscious music and how their first album art cover was mistaken for male genitalia. As an added bonus, the final segment of the podcast features music by queer female artists and music focusing on queer issues in honor of last weekend's Star City Pride, which Balta helped organize.

Photo courtesy of Once A Pawn

Songs:

Art of Simply Being
In This House
Last Time
XXY
FHU (Forever Hearts United)

Bands Once A Pawn recommends:

Nationally: Sick of Sarah, Joanna Newsom, Boniva, Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, Lykke Li

Local: Rock Rose, For Edward, The Betties, Millions of Boys, Mercy Rule, Domestica

Connect with Once A Pawn:

FacebookMySpaceReverbNationOfficial sitePage at Queer Control Records

Hilary Stohs-Krause's fondest wish is to own her own Tardis … or a Viper spaceplane. For more on Nebraska ladies making music, tune into the "X-Rated: Women in Music" radio show every Thursday from 1:05 to 3 p.m. CST at 89.3FM KZUM in Lincoln or streaming live at kzum.org. Find it on Facebook at facebook.com/xmusicnebraska. Or, if Tumblr is more your style, check out xmusic.tumblr.com.