Girlfriends change name to Bent Shapes, add second guitarist; May 30 @ Great Scott

Published May 07 2012, 12:18 PM by Liz Pelly

Photo by David Goodrich.

Breaking news y'all! Boston's favorite garage rock trio are a trio no longer. And they're changing their name.

As of today, GIRLFRIENDS are officially BENT SHAPES.

"The only thing constant is change," wrote bassist Supriya Gunda in an email to the Phoenix this weekend. "We started tossing around this name change around the same time that Mars went into retrograde. This event only really happens once every two years and two months, as you can probably tell by looking back at major changes in local bands over time. A strong Mars is essential to drive and inspiration. It should be noted, though, that Mars retrograde can be ineffectual if, in a past life, all personal initiative and self-will was insistently discouraged."

The band will now play as a four-piece, adding a second guitarist.

Over the weekend, I asked vocalist/guitarist Ben Potrykus, bassist Supriya Gunda, drummer Andy Sadoway, and their new guitarist Zoe Wyner to answer some questions about the new name and line-up. Read on for the rest of their thoughts regarding the changes, finally having a Googleable name, weird interactions with other bands called Girlfriends, etc. We are psyched to report that according to this Q&A, there might finally be a full-length release in the works for this band. Psyched.

LP: So Girlfriends=Over?? Bummer :/

Ben Potrykus: Not over! Just different.

Supriya Gunda: The only thing constant is change.

Zoe Wyner: Supriya speaks the truth.

Andy Sadoway: See also: Heraclitus

Why are you changing your name to Bent Shapes??

BP: Well, for one thing, there's several other bands named Girlfriends or Girl Friends and people were starting to get confused. We figured it might be a good time for a new name, as we just went through our second lineup change.

SG: It seemed more palatable than our first instinct, "Feels Weird". And yet, it still captures the fundamental essence of how "Feels Weird" felt.

How did you come up with this new name?

BP: Andy came up with it.

AS: I DEEEEEEID IT

SG: We started tossing around this name change around the same time that Mars went into retrograde. This event only really happens once every two years and two months, as you can probably tell by looking back at major changes in local bands over time. A strong Mars is essential to drive and inspiration. It should be noted, though, that Mars retrograde can be ineffectual if, in a past life, all personal initiative and self-will was insistently discouraged.

ZW: They really were dangerously close to changing the name to Feels Weird.

Will the songs still sound the same?

SG: They will, hopefully, sound better.

BP: We’re easing up on the distortion and reverb. They’ve become the audio equivalent of putting melted cheese on all your food.

ZW: I think that the sound has definitely changed to some extent, even if we are just playing some of the same songs. They definitely aren't TOO far off from what they were before. Evolution, y'know?

What made y'all want to add another guitarist?

ZW: I actually remember talking to Ben while I was still playing in Whir about where the sound was going, and as early as a year ago he was talking about how he wanted to be able to have a little more going on when playing live. The second guitar definitely doesn't mean a bigger sound. We're not really moving that far away from the Girlfriends aesthetic.

BP: Or where it ended up, anyway. When Girlfriends started, I was playing mostly chords, but at a certain point, all the four-track demos started incorporating single-picking parts we couldn’t play live.

SG: We've needed some stereo noodling for some time now.

Any awkward/ interesting stories from your time using a name that probably a lot of other bands used also?

BP: We became friends with the Ottawa, Canada Girlfriends (who changed their name to Rat Tales) and traded shows with some of that crew. We played an eviction party with their new band up there and it got a little intense. Like, TV-falling-on-my-pedals-broken-fire-alarm-smoke-confetti-missing-pants-giant-holes-in-walls-for-easier-keg-access intense.

SG: We also got some great press about a Denmark band's new release. That is, until the blogosphere discovered that the Danes were not from Boston.

Are you psyched people will finally be able to google yr band?

BP: Sort of. It's also going to make it easier for our co-workers and relatives to discover what we do every night and weekend, which could be weird. Mostly I will be psyched to not have dudes from the Metro asking if people think we're "a chick band."

SG: Googlability has always been something that is super important to me, and it definitely feels fairly euphoric to finally have it on the horizon.

ZW: Yeah, it'll be especially great to google our bandcamp and find our tunes right away. When I was first learning some of the songs, I would google "Girlfriends bandcamp" and would usually end up with "Brobocop."

AS: What about Bing?

Favorite shapes?

SG: E8, the Freudenthal magic square--I'm a sucker for Lie group constructions.

AS: Yes, I dabbled in the world of Lie algebras when I did my master's degree, and I'll have to agree with Supriya here.

ZW: I'm pretty into penrose tiles.

BP: Quatrefoils are pretty dank.

Any immediate plans for bent shapes?

BP: We have a 7" flexi demo in production right now. That will be out on Cake Time, which is a label/zine some of us run. There’s a bunch of other, less-developed plans, too.

ZW: Playing a show with Grass Widow! And also, so much recording.

AS: We're continuing to book shows for bands who are coming through on tour, which is always exciting.

SG: So many. We have releases in the works, future travels being formulated-- as our friend Erik Szyska, who recorded our last project, would say, "We got jeggings in the works cause we eatin' everything off the menu."