Interview with . . . Pity Party

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Pity Party of the San Francisco Bay Area are absolutely ready to present their album, “Sick Sad World,” to the whole entire world. The emo/pop-punk band are doing their very best to fight for for community outreach and mental health.

Thankfully, the group took a short break from rockin’ to talk to us about their musical and advocacy projects.

Please welcome Pity Party to the blog!

Tell us about your latest project.

Our new EP just came out on SBÄM records! ‘Sick Sad World Survival Guide’ is a re-recording/re-imagining of a few of our older favorite songs from our first LP Gnarbage, along with a cover and a brand new song “Ionize My Enemies”. This collection of songs comes from our early 20’s, doing dumb shit, watching close friends pass away, holding each other through the worst and finding ourselves on the other side.

On our webstore (therealpityparty.bandcamp.com), the profits from the blue and maroon/red variant will benefit two organizations (A Safe Place and PAAR) fighting against sexual and domestic violence. A Safe Place in Oakland provides emergency housing, support, counseling and many more essential services to people experiencing domestic violence. Pittsburgh Action Against Rape provides crisis services, health care, advocacy, legal aid, therapy, support services and more to survivors of sexual assault. They also extend their efforts to the community by integrating into the educational system!

We are grateful to be able to use our music to support organizations doing essential work in our communities and beyond! We all have a responsibility to keep each other safe, and it doesn’t have to stop with fiscal resources. Talk to your friends about consent! Learn intervention tactics! Check in with those around you! You are powerful and you have the ability to affect change!

Do you know anything about the other Pity Party band?

Unfortunately. We suggest checking out the Twitter page @shittypartyca for more information, but we are horrified by the actions of their front-person Julian Amparo, who has (as stated by survivors) sexually, physically and emotionally abused multiple women. Our hearts are with those women. Sarah is a survivor of sexual violence in the music scene, and we work vehamently through community action to move DIY punk towards a scene where femmes can exist without fear of experiencing assault.

How long should a pity party last?

25 min

What does the band have planned for this year?

We’re finishing up a new record, so we’re in the studio a lot when we’re home. We’re currently on a full US tour supporting SSWSG. We have some fun shows and little runs with bands we’re excited to announce!
2024 is a full party!

What is your favorite part of touring?

Seeing our friends across the country! Sarah’s favorite part of touring is having the opportunity to talk about consent and mutual aid.

Do you listen to podcasts?

Yes! Lots of crime, horror, political and science podcasts. Sarah and Reid both drive over an hour to band practice, so we listen to LOTS of podcasts.

How did you get involved with A Safe Place and PAAR?

I (Sarah) worked for many years as a high school teacher, and then a student support specialist at Oakland Technical High School. A Safe Place provided emergency housing and services to my students and their families in times of crisis. I am so grateful for their services and for what they provide to the community.

We got involved with Pittsburgh Action Against Rape (PAAR) after the forthcoming of heinous sexual violence performed by a prominent musician from Pittsburgh. We wanted to extend support to this community and really valued the work that PAAR does to not only provide crisis services but to also provide education and early intervention to the community through schools and external workshops. Educating young people on consent is a core mission of ours, and we hope one day to be able to bring regular workshops like these to the punk community!

What do you want people to know?

One last thing! We truly believe in the power of community care and our responsibility to keep others safe. That everyone should have access to safe housing, nutritious foods, effective health care, hygiene products and mental health support systems. We believe that these systems can be built at a community level, to circumvent the absolute abysmal failure and lack of productive structure that our government provides, to ensure not just equal access to a decent quality of life, but the downright survival of so many folks in our country. We are all each other have. You have so much power to affect your community in so many productive ways!!

Email us at pityxparty@gmail.com if you want to learn further how to run food distributions in your communities, create a structure to provide quality healthcare to those who go without, and to discuss how we can work together to create pockets of support and safety (and resilence against capitalism to fight for a better future) in your communities against sexual, domestic, gender-based, sexuality-based and racist violence to try to keep each other here persisting in a fucked up world.