Story / Catherine Santino
The Regrettes are having a ball. When they take the stage in Louisville, Kentucky, the energy in the room shifts. Colors seemed brighter, and it wasnât just because of frontwoman Lydia Nightâs fire engine red jumpsuit and turquoise eyeliner. As they play what would be their next single, âI Dare Youâ, the LA-based foursome (Night, guitarist Genessa Gariano, bassist Brooke Dickson, and drummer Dew Thomsen) exude childlike energy thatâs simply infectious. Night and the others jump around on stage, smiling as the pluck their guitars or relish in a cheeky lyric.
When I sit down with them after the performance, I quickly realize that this wasnât a persona. Though they had just flown in that day and were leaving for the airport shortly after, they graciously shared their thoughts with me in anticipation of their sophomore album, How Do You Love? , which is released on August 9.
Tell me about the new single âI Dare Youâ that you played for us.
LYDIA NIGHT: Itâs a very unlike us; just a classic love song. Which I think is cool. I think what I love about is Iâve given up, personally, on the anti-cheesiness. I feel like itâs kind of just accepting the feelings I was feeling at that time and just being like âYou know what, I am gonna write a song about exactly how Iâm feeling and Iâm gonna be stoked about it.â So the songâs kind of about giving into that. So itâs really exciting. I love having a happy song to play.Â
 You guys definitely have a super positive energy. A lot of musicians take themselves really seriously and itâs clear you guys are having a lot of fun, which is great to see.
LN: We definitely have never taken ourselves too seriously. We really care about what we do and I think that shows but we also have fun playing, so why not show it? Itâs not like weâre trying to hide that weâre having the best time.
GENESSA GARIANO: Itâs not like we sat down and were like âWe are going to appear happyâ [laughs]. We definitely are happy.Â
LN: Weâre just genuine. We try to be as genuine as possible.Â
GG: Weâre a bunch of bad liars.
I love your song âPumpkinâ that you released earlier this year. Thereâs a lot of pop culture references in that song, like Forgetting Sarah Marshall and The Notebook. Do you get a lot of inspiration from pop culture?
LN: Yeah. I feel like itâs another example of being very true to who we are. Those are movies that I love so thatâs where my brain first went. Thatâs just what I was thinking at the time. So I think thatâs just stuff thatâs true to the time period and the lives that weâre living.
Do you think that the way that love is portrayed in pop culture has affected how we function in real life relationships?Â
LN: Definitely. Thereâs no way it hasnât. Expectations are a huge thing. Itâs dangerous with certain people. I I feel like porn is one of the scariest thing about being a teenage girl. I feel like not enough people talk about how dangerous it is. Iâm not saying, like, âporn is horrible!â but Iâm just saying that as a teenage girl, I remember thinking about what guys expect in high school. Because theyâve never touched a girl, they just watch porn and theyâre like âOh this is what losing my virginity is gonna be like.â Thatâs the extreme version of that. But that happens also in also slighter ways with TV and rom coms.
And it doesnât help that thereâs now this added layer of technology.
GG: Itâs so tricky with Instagram and all of the social platforms. I think thatâs a whole other thing.
Brooke Dickson: I will say though, Iâve seen a lot more inclusive, representative stuff on social media. And I think itâs just what you choose to follow and internalize.Â
LN: Itâs all about the resources. Everything is now out there which is great for a lot of educational purposes but also damaging for others. It just makes it harder to view things.Â
You guys are about to embark on a summer-long tour. Is touring exhausting for you?
LN: Yes, but in a great way.
GG: Weâre exhausted until we get home and then weâre like âwait.â
LN: Itâs tiring. It would be crazy to sit here and be like âItâs all fun and gamesâ butâŠ
Drew Thomsen: It takes a certain mindset.
LN: Yeah, itâs all about having a positive mindset going into it and being open to things going really wrong.
GG: And having each other.
DT: Yeah, thatâs the main thing.
LN: Itâs a huge sacrifice like not being home for months on end. You have to have relationships that are strong as fuck. But thatâs also a cool thing. Like we get to weed out the people that donât matter to us. Â
Where did the name âThe Regrettesâ come from?
LN: Weirdly, it was awhile ago before we actually started. I was in another two-piece band and I was trying to think of a new band name and we were just sitting in the car on the way to get frozen yogurt or something. I was trying to think of things that were opposites and sounded cool to me. Like Black Rainbow or stupid shit like that. Then I thought of The Regrettes and I was like âOh. Thatâs a really cool word and something that I havenât heard.â And then I thought it would be cool to spell it with the e-t-t-e-s to give it more of this feminine, 60s girl-group thing that I love so much and wanted represented in our melodies and harmonies. But also when you search our name, weâre the only thing that comes up.
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