Chastity Belt began as something of a joke when guitarist/singer Julia Shapiro, guitarist Lydia Lund, bassist Annie Truscott and drummer Gretchen Grimm were still undergrads at Walla Walla, Wash.’s Whitman College. After the band relocated to Seattle postgraduation, its first album, 2013’s No Regerts, continued in the in-it-for-yuks vein, with songs inserting a healthy dose of self-deprecating humor into the group’s unschooled, spindly guitar rock. But then a funny thing happened on the way to the punchline: Shapiro found something more than merely “funny” to say, and began writing more sophisticated songs that demanded a closer degree of attention. Which, in turn, pushed the band’s latest LP, Time To Go Home (Hardly Art), toward altogether more fertile creative turf. Chastity Belt will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new feature on them.
Lund: On tour, opportunities to shower become scarce. No other hairstyle better hides greasy hair or keeps dreads in check. Like a character from a Jane Austen novel, I braid my hair every night and have done so for the past 10 years. Having brushed my hair only a handful of times over the same period, I can attest to the detangling qualities of braids. Braiding each other’s hair keeps things exciting on tour. With only a few changes of clothes, different braiding styles make for a perfect way to change up your look. Cornrows and elaborate french braids can kill hours in the van on long tours.
Video after the jump.
