In a recent interview, I spoke with the band CHOOSE YR WEAPON from Boston, Massachusetts about their newest single, “Twenties”, the band’s history, and picked the members' brains. In 20221, amidst the pandemic, CHOOSE YR WEAPON was formed through social media and the Internet by vocalist Marge, guitarist Gihanah, and bassist AJ. The namesake of the band comes from the album of the same name by the group Hiatus Kaiyote, explains Marge, but has taken on both changes in grammar and meaning. “Your voice, your choice, your weapon” became the band’s motto, states Marge, whose weapon of choice is words. With this message in mind, the band has set out to pay homage to the rebellious spirit of punk music while simultaneously pulling from a wide range of influences from Paramore, to classical music, and even Japanese Rock.
Prior to the release of their newest single “Twenties”, the band first introduced themselves to the world with a cover of the song “Take Me Away” from the movie Freaky Friday. “We had settled on the idea of a cover and wanted to pick one to really showcase the nostalgia aspect we were going for,” explained AJ and Gihanah, “and writing a song is difficult because we were all living in different places at the time.” But now, over a year later and with all members now living in the same city, CHOOSE YR WEAPON are finally able to channel their nostalgic sound into their original music, which starts with their newest single.
“Twenties”, in the band’s own words, “describes the dregs and often times confusing and stagnant nature that comes with being in your twenties”. “I think that being at home puts a bigger microscope on what other people are doing constantly,” stated Marge, “and as an Earth sign, I constantly feel like I’m not doing enough.” As a fellow twenty-something-year-old and an Earth sign myself, I can empathize with. Despite the motifs of change and growing up that is found within the two singles from the band so far, it is not safe to make any assumptions about what can be expected from them.
“I don’t want people to listen to our shit and think ‘Oh, that’s what they sound like’. You’re gonna hear this song and then you’re gonna hear the EP and you’re going to realize that you’re never going to be able to put a label on us” stated Aj, passionately. “We don’t want to be limited,’ stated Gihanah, “people are going to put us in a box, but our goal is to prove them wrong.” As a gender non-conforming band of color, CHOOSE YR WEAPON sets out to redefine what it looks like to be in a band, what music is now, and what it has the potential to be. They take pride in an emerging genre-less world and describe themselves as a band that makes good music. Period.
I suggest that you add “Twenties” to your summer playlist, especially if you’re looking for something reminiscent of that Warped Tour nostalgia. CHOOSE YR WEAPON invites you to connect with them on social media and follow their journey, and I encourage you to keep them on your radar.
