Creative Director & Photographer / Lauren Nakao Winn
Creative Producer / Dakota Griffin
Production Coordinator / Portia Rowley
Video Director / Julius Gutierrez
Assistant Camera / Cassidy McKenna
Stylist / Iryna Li
Stylist Assistant / Daria Zeitler
Makeup Artist / Gabriel Barse
Makeup Assistant / Marianna Jimenez
Hair / Simone Domizi
Hair Assistant / Geraldine Legaspi
Production Assistant / Andrea Menasse
BTS / Payton Kuhn
Production / 199X NYC
Story / Bri Ng Schwartz
Thank you to Danny from All Night Skate
When I first met The Aces at this year’s All Things Go festival, they were a month out from their release of Gold Star Baby, the latest 70s concept album from the group. The album features ABBA and Earth, Wind & Fire-inspired sounds, none of which stray away from The Aces’ signature lyricism that is both personal and passionate. Lyrics include tales of new and old loves, all of which are fit for the dance floor.
All Things Go was one of their first times performing songs from the album, and they shared their plans for tour:
“We’re going to try to make that show more immersive than ever before. Really just feel like you’re at a club listening to this music. And I think we’ll try to be more interactive in general… the festival is the commercial, and the headline show will be the full movie.”
That commercial pulled me in, and we had the chance to celebrate with them for their New York tour stop with a morning at Brooklyn’s own All Night Skate, the roller-disco themed bar and beloved Queer community space, akin to the space that The Aces creates every night at their shows. I joined Cristal, Katie, McKenna, and Alisa in a cozy diner booth following our shoot to catch up since our brief time together at the festival to chat tour, album rollout, the upcoming Gold Star Baby deluxe and the importance of the community built among the fan base.
How has the tour been so far?
Cristal: It’s been super fun. There’s bits we do. We talk a lot. We have fans come on stage, and I look forward to those bits the most in the whole show. I look at the set list and I anticipate bringing fans on stage.
When we met at All Things Go in September, you had said that this was the first time that an album was made by just the four of you. I’d love to hear more about that process, and if you learned anything about yourself and each other as collaborators?
Alisa: It was cool because in the past, me and Cristal would go off with different producers, and then Katie would come into the process a bit later. So this time we started that process from the jump, and Katie produced and was able to develop that skill. It was interesting, because you skip so many steps when you’re with someone who’s not in your band that you haven’t grown up with. You have to get to know them and kind of do those little early pleasantries. With us, we’re sisters. It felt really comfortable, and we were able to tap into something really authentic. The lyrics are really playful and in our normal vernacular and lingo that we have between us. It just felt really easy.
What has been the most rewarding part of the Gold Star Baby era so far?
McKenna: The shows are just so fun and dance-y. It hasn’t always felt that way on tour. It’s been so fun between the four of us. This whole album cycle has energy, is very light, very fun, not serious.
Katie: That’s who we are at our core. We’re jokey with each other and so when the music matches, our energy naturally feels like everything’s cohesive. That’s what makes it feel really rewarding. We’re really in just our natural element.
How did the 70s concept come to be?
Cristal: Alisa and I grew up listening to disco together.
Alisa: It really started because in the previous record, I’ve Loved You For So Long, we were exploring our childhood and pretty heavy themes around some of our personal trauma. So after touring that record, we wanted to have more fun. The tour didn’t feel very fun. It was people crying every night. We were crying. It was important and cathartic, but this was a natural progression. We wanted to make something dance-y and really fun. Disco has always been a massive influence for The Aces, so we’re like, why don’t we just lean into our disco pop side. It came from the intention of genuinely just wanting to have fun and celebrate.
If you could feature any 70s icon on a remix, dead or alive, who would it be?
Alisa: There’s so many amazing options, but maybe Earth, wind and Fire. Or Commodore, one of those classic kinds of bigger band disco groups.
Cristal: It would have to be Earth, wind and Fire. We grew up listening to them so much. Or ABBA.
Katie: ABBA would be amazing!
Have you had a favorite song to play on tour?
McKenna: Our newest song, “Square One” has been my favorite. It’s just been such a fucking vibe and it’s fun to see people not know it at the beginning and then towards the end be screaming it.
Katie: I’ve loved playing a song of ours called “Good Time” which is from the deluxe of our second album that we’ve never played live. This tour we decided to pull out and it’s been so fun.
Alisa: “Fire In The Hole” is also really sick live. We always love it as a deep cut off the record, that seems to be a crowd favorite.
Cristal: And “She Likes Me”. Those two, when they pick up, everyone’s on their feet dancing.
Are you ever surprised by that kind of thing? When you don’t expect a song to be the one that the crowd goes crazy for and then they do?
Alisa: It’s funny. Sometimes the ones you think are going to go crazy don’t and it’s like “Wait, why don’t they like it?” And then a random one that you’re like “Oh whatever, let’s play this one.” and they are freaking out. It’s just kind of unpredictable.
You have your hometown show coming up at the end of November. Is there anything that feels distinct about those shows when you tour?
Alisa: Honestly, we’re not hometown darlings. We very much represent the counterculture of where we’re from. It’s not our biggest show, but it is really special.
Cristal: The energy is really palpable. They’re smaller shows, but the people that come, they need to be at that show.
Alisa: It’s a different energy to them. It feels very important and impactful for the small group of people that really need it.
Cristal: suit, TTSWTRS. boots, Pastiche | Katie: shirt & pants, Shwetambari | McKenna: top & skirt, PIPENCO. boots, Henrik Vibskov | Alisa: shirt & pants, Shwetambari. shoes, Henrik Vibskov
On that note, what message do you have for other Queer people who grew up in similar, conservative backgrounds like yourselves?
Cristal: I would just say really find people, whether that’s online or in person, that make you feel like being you is okay. Find other Queer people, find community and even if you don’t have it in your hometown. Get online. I feel like that’s what’s so special about the age we live in, is that you can literally get on Twitter or TikTok and find other people. For me, that was YouTube. I was looking at Tegan and Sarah banter videos and immersing myself in the culture of their band. That was the thing that really made me feel like I wasn’t alone before I was out to the girls and found my actual community. And now I live in Los Angeles and I have a whole community of queer people around me.
Alisa: Keep taking up your space. I think with the Gold Star Baby tour and this record specifically, that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to come to every town and provide a space for Queer people to come and feel safe and dance and celebrate. It feels like we live in a time right now where everything is in shambles and we’re neck deep in a bunch of bullshit with this administration. So I think now more than ever, Queer people experiencing joy and displaying their joy loudly is actually a total act of protest. So it’s important to go to those spaces, go to those Queer clubs, go to those Queer events, and have a fucking great time.
Gold Star Baby deluxe which is coming out in February. What can you share about these new songs?
Cristal: Like McKenna said, “Square One” just came out and it’s such an amazing breakup song. We’ve been performing it on tour and people are loving screaming “fuck you and your new girlfriend”. We wrote a bunch of songs for this record that didn’t make it, and I think that “Square One” was one we wrote towards the end. Besides that, I can’t say too much, but there’re going to be some good disco disco bangers in there.
Cristal: leather jacket, RETROFETE. shirt & pants, Henrik Vibskov. boots, Pastiche | Katie: blazer, Henrik Vibskov. shirt & pants, SILK LAUNDRY | McKenna: top, Motel Rocks. skirt & boots, Henrik Vibskov. ring, Alexis Bittar | Alisa: blazer & vest, SILK LAUNDRY. pants & shoes, Henrik Vibskov
Can we expect another concept album from you?
Alisa: I definitely wouldn’t take it off the table. I think we’re a little addicted.
Cristal: We always try to be all “no more concepts” and we make a whole concept. We always come up with this whole world. Regardless, you can expect bangers.
Alisa: That’s the consistent thing you can expect from The Aces: bangers, no skips.
Gold Star Baby has become part of the soundtrack of my Fall, and is no skips-certified. Their show at Irving Plaza proved to be a celebration to remember, appropriately set under a disco ball. Fans showed up dressed to impress, and the band’s set even included a costume contest with the prize of doing a shot with the band on stage. The community that The Aces have cultivated is unmatched, fast approaching their 20 year anniversary as a band committed to authenticity in both their music and fan interactions. We can’t wait to see the band build on their momentum in the near year, with February kicking off the European leg of the Gold Star Baby Tour as well as the release of the deluxe album. This Summer, they are set to open for former One Direction member Louis Tomlinson on his upcoming North American Tour. These Gold Star Babies are sure to capture the hearts of new fans in the summer heat.
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