Powerviolets

Photo by, Jess Giles

Meet Powerviolets

Violet Hetson’s project draws on the dark forces of flowers and energy. As Powerviolets they churn out wicked cool tunes that I call rough and tumble garage blasters. Over the last few years, they have been putting together an album titled “~No Boys~”. Give it a listen and get to know Violet in our latest interview.

“THE OBSERVATORY” A fill in the blank with Powerviolets

Our class went on a field trip to a VANILLA observatory. It was located on top of a CLOSURE, and it looked like a giant DOCUMENTARY with a slit down its BOOB. We went inside and looked through a BIRTH CHART and were able to see CREDENZAS in the sky that were millions of PENTACLES away. The men and women who FLICK.in the observatory are called FLAPS, and they are always watching for comets, eclipses, and shooting SHELVING UNITS. An eclipse occurs when a DR. DYNAMITE comes between the earth and the AUDIO SCHOOL and everything gets WIRY. Next week, we plan to DESIGN the Museum of Modern WOLFHOUND.

Would You Rather

eat burritos or pizza for the rest of your life?

I hate the game of would you rather, but if I had to choose between pizza and burritos I would pick pizza because you can call more things pizza and do more with it. For example, a flatbread with za'atar seasoning on it could be a ~Middle Eastern~ pizza. Burritos are pretty straight forward and not as versatile. A bad tortilla in my opinion is worse than a bad pizza crust. I also think that when you put a sandwich in a tortilla it becomes a wrap and not a burrito, which is truly unfortunate. This rule does not apply to pizza.

Some questions with Powerviolets

How has your experience been navigating the pandemic and the release of ~No Boys~?

The pandemic forced me to finally put out ~No Boys~ as I had been working on it on and off for a whole ass three years. Since there was quarantine, I used my endless free time to do the final touches and then my lovely partner mixed it. Now we are working on tracking my next sexy album.

What was the point of inspiration for your solo project name, “Powerviolets”?

Beautiful question. I came up with the name Powerviolets when I was like 16 when all of my friends liked the hardcore subgenre, "powerviolence." I thought it was a funny ~play on words~ because I do not/have never made anything remotely close to powerviolence and my name is Violet.

What makes a performance a success to you?

A successful performance to me is a performance where I do not mess up at all. The rest of my band can mess up the songs all they want and I won't be mad, but they're better musicians than me so they rarely do and I give myself a really hard time because I have really awful stage fright. I think that because I write all the songs and I am the frontman/woman? I feel like I need to play everything perfectly. This is just my annoying thought process because I know people go to shows to vibe with the music and get drunk, maybe dance a lil, but I beat myself up over my performance.... I am a bit superstitious though. I like to bring a carnelian crystal to every gig I play because it promotes confidence and creative energy. I've found that when I do not do this, I am unhappy with my performance.

What is your favorite park in New York City? Why?

Dang, I honestly have no idea. Maybe Prospect Park because I do not recall a time where I have sat on a bench alone and cried there.

This album was composed over three years. As an artist, how do you know when a work is “done”?

Hmm, well I think since I recorded everything myself I could re-record and re-record and re-record til the end of time because I wasn't paying for studio time or anything. Shoutout to my dad for letting me hog his recording studio for the year that I lived with him in 2018. I also paid my boyfriend to mix it before we were even together and he took forever. Not to throw him under the bus or anything, I am very happy with the way it came out and it was worth the wait kinda. We are working on the next album in a very organized and timely fashion. All of the basic tracking is done, which I am HYPED about! But yeah an album is "done" when I SAY IT IS MUAHAHAUHAA/ I am happy with it.

What are your hopes for the music scene in New York after the pandemic?

What a thrill it will be when live shows are allowed to happen again. I think that when live music is allowed again, there will be way too many shows and not enough people to go to them! Ha! No, but I think it will go back to normal. I hope that I can go on tour one day. I also hope that more people will pay attention to my music and that I get famous or something cool like that.

What is your dream neighborhood to live in, and why?

My dream neighborhood would be one where there are no Trump supporters and no cops and no racist, homophobic or transphobic people and everyone is a witch. Maybe I am describing a cult. That is fine. A nice happy cult. WHY? Because I want to live harmoniously in a creative community. Aesthetically speaking, my dream neighborhood would have affordable (not haunted) Victorian era mansions and cottages, but also be well populated because I lived in a cottage upstate for a minute and it was very haunted and very lonely.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

My final comment is that I urge everyone to floss regularly. And to listen to my album.