Last month, we caught up with Ramona after their set at Riot Fest. We spoke with singer/guitarist Diego Medrano and singer/bassist Abby Vigderman about their debut album, called Deals, Deals, Deals! (Drummer Shannon Ledbetter couldn’t be present and was presumably roaming the festival grounds). We talked about how the band connected with Red Scare for the record’s release, as well as what recording was like, some of the album’s lyrics and more. Deals, Deals, Deals! finds Ramona combining melodic punk with indie rock, and emphasizing personal, introspective lyrics. Thanks to the unique songwriting found throughout, the record is easily one of the most promising debuts of the year. In addition, we discussed the band’s performance at Riot Fest, their plans for new music and more.
Bill – Your band formed in Seattle and then moved to Philadelphia. What were some of your motivations for relocating?
Diego – I think we wanted to know if we were a good band and we felt like we had done really well in Seattle, but we didn’t know that nationally if it was going to move us in any direction. So, we moved to Philly where we feel like it’s a little bit more of a competitive scene and maybe a little less of the strong community that we had in Seattle. But there’s so many fuckin’ great bands in Philly and we just wanted to see if in a crowded field we could stand out a little bit. And I think we have and I think it’s been cool.
Bill – That’s great. What were some of the things that led to you connecting with Red Scare?
Abby – Basically we just started hanging out with Toby, (label owner Toby Jeg) through friends. I think the second show we played in Philly was with SteveO & The Crippling Addictions and Tim from Elway, and they just started kind of championing us to Toby. Then we started hanging out with Toby and the funny part was that Toby didn’t even think we were interested in being on Red Scare, because we didn’t bring it up. We didn’t want to be those people to be like, “Hey we’re your friends, but also can you do something for us?” He had like given up on the idea that we were interested and then once Diego actually brought it up, he was surprised.
Bill – So that’s the lesson to be learned, just kind of play it cool…
Diego – I guess so. I don’t even know, (laughs).
Abby – It was just right place at the right time. When we were talking about where to move, we were talking about maybe moving to Chicago, particularly for Red Scare, not knowing that Toby had already moved to Philly. That was just luck in that way, that we were kind of in the right place where he literally was.
Bill – That’s a nice coincidence. What was it like recording Deals, Deals, Deals! with Jay Maas in Boston?
Diego – Jay is friends with my older brother Sal, who plays in Rebuilder. When Sal had originally talked about Jay, we didn’t want to go with him just because my brother said he’s a good dude. But when I met him and talked to him, I just fucking loved him so much. He’s just a very, very kind person and his wife and son are really awesome too. Being in their house, it’s just a really welcoming home and then on top of that you’re making cool music. That extends to the recording process where he’s just so nonchalant about everything. You’ll fuck up ten straight times and he’s just like, “Nope. That wasn’t right. Let’s do it again.” And it’s just so low-key.
Abby – You don’t feel weird about messing up.
Diego – Yeah, you never get in your head or anything and I think he’s very good at knowing people and knowing to be like, “Alright. We gotta stop for five minutes and just come back to this.” It was so low pressure that I think we got 90% of the album done in the first few days. It was great.
Bill – When you go back and listen to the record now, what do you like best about how it turned out?
Diego – I think for me it’s the vocals. I never was comfortable with my voice and Abby could always sing, but I think I figured out how to hit my notes and how to sustain and do those things. And I think Abby has figured out sort of the personality that she wants to bring to her voice and to her performance.
Abby – Yeah, I’d agree with that.
Diego – And I think that’s been awesome. So, when I hear it, that’s I think what I take the most pride in, but I also feel a certain restlessness because I don’t think this is the best we can do. I think we have cooler stuff to come.
Bill – For sure. The song “Not Your Token” is one that really stands out when you listen to the album for the first time. What were some of your inspirations for writing that song?
Diego – That song, I mean we have a black trans person in our band, we have a queer female and then we have a Latino man. And I think it’s really easy to maybe lean on that a little bit and say “This is our image and this is what we want to be.” But I think first and foremost, we’ve always wanted to be the best band on a bill or the best band in the room. We work really hard to be a good band and we think that the things we represent are fucking amazing and important to us, but that’s never going away. And that’s also musically not enough to stand on. To me, that song is about like we might be the only band on the bill with a female member or the only band with persons of color or whatever, but we also want to be the best fuckin’ band on that bill. That’s what that’s about.
Bill – That’s really cool and definitely a very important message. Would you say the record’s lyrics have an overall theme?
Diego – I don’t even know if we’ve discussed it, but my take on the album as a whole has always been if you are a somewhat alt-twentysomething living in the U.S., this album probably speaks to you. It’s not just about relationships, it’s not just about race and it’s not just about the current state of the country, but obviously all those things influence it. Maybe age isn’t really a factor, but I think it’s just if you’re really a restless alt-person in the scene, there’s something that you can grab on to.
Abby – You have moments of joy and sadness and anxiety and everything, so it’s the entire experience.
Diego – Totally. It’s a fun record and I think it should be a fun record, but every song in and of itself is kind of a bummer, (laughs).
Bill – What were some of the highlights from your set at Riot Fest today?
Abby – I didn’t even know if people would show up early to see us play, but the crowd was awesome. A bunch of friends showed up from all over the U.S., which felt really good, wearing their Ramona shirts. That felt great, just to see all those friends and then the sheer number of people who were able to make it.
Diego – It was cool. Obviously, the majority of people there we didn’t know, but I feel like in every section there was somebody where I was like, “Oh wait, I know that person and I really care about that person.” And it was really awesome to have that sprinkled into the rest of the crowd. There were a lot of people who I thought were just standing there because music was happening, but then they were singing along and I was like “Oh, that’s really cool.”
Bill – Yeah, there were definitely a lot of people who came early to see you. The first time I saw your band you were opening for The Lawrence Arms at one of their War on Christmas shows. Is there anything in particular that stands out about that show?
Diego – There’s one elephant in the room for sure, (laughs). Well, I certainly wasn’t wearing pants and that’s something to remember. That’s the only time I’ve worn tighty-whities in I think the last 15 or 20 years, so that definitely stands out to me. I just remember trying to step on my guitar pedals wearing socks. I don’t know how jam bands who play barefoot do it, it’s so uncomfortable. That’s gnarly. The first thing I did after our first song and the bet had been fulfilled, I ran and put my shoes on. Pants are more optional, but shoes I need. And not Birkenstocks.
Bill – What else do you have planned this year in terms of touring?
Abby – In a couple weeks we’re doing about six shows with Masked Intruder and Direct Hit. A couple weeks after that we’re doing some shows with The Homeless Gospel Choir. After that is Fest in Gainesville and I think that’s about it.
Diego – That’s it and hopefully working on new stuff.
Bill – Have you started writing or recording new material yet?
Abby – Yeah, we just have not had much time to work on it. We both have written stuff.
Diego – It’s weird because if there’s one byproduct of the album it’s that I think we know the sound that we’re going for and the direction that we want to go in, but we literally just don’t have the hours to make that happen. I think that’s why I’m so antsy to get back to writing and recording. I know what the second record should sound like and I’m stoked to make it.
Abby – We don’t really have anything planned for November and December, so I think that’s what we’re going to focus on then.
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