Be Your Own Pet discusses what prompted their return to music following their 15-year hiatus, and what changes have come with it. Lead singer Jemina Pearl Abegg discusses her journey from being a baby punk, to an adult punk, and looks to the future of the scene. Later they played a crazy show in Austin, TX, where they were joined by Sailor Poon.
Be Your Own Pet is back after a 15-year hiatus, and is ready to rock with their new album Mommy. The band still brings the high-level energy, and the crazy performances, it’s almost like they never left.
Lead singer Jemina and bassist Nathan both sat down to discuss this rebirth of BYOP, and how things have changed in the punk scene. Jemina talks about her personal life, bringing up the misogyny she faced as a female punk singer, and how identity has shifted since she has become a mother.
ORB: What prompted this return to music and being in the industry and touring?
Jemina: We were talking about reissuing our old records because they’ve been out of print for a while and Third Man Records was wanting to repress them. And then we were like, what if we played like a handful of shows around the records getting repressed? So then we all went and hung out with the four of us for the first time since we had broken up and it was really fun. And then Nathan was like, I’m down to do this, but I only want to do it if we write new music.
Nathan: What I had in mind was just to write a couple of new jams and throw them in the set. Writing and recording a full length album far exceeded anything I had in mind. I think it’s our best album. I feel like it’s our second first album as a band. It’s like, we are totally different people. But we’re still us.
Jemina: So we got together and we just immediately remembered a lot of songs because we just played them so many times and immediately started sharing ideas for new music. That night, I went to the Third Man Records Christmas party. And Jack White said, “I heard about the Be Your Own Pet practice today through the grapevine, do you guys want to open a couple shows for me”? And I was just like, yes. I didn’t even ask the guys first….After we did those shows, opening up for Jack. We were just yeah, we’re like, let’s keep doing this. And here we are, still going.
ORB: Do you feel like your approach to Mommy has differed from your past albums?
Jemina: I think this record was a lot more collaborative. I mean, we always were a very democratic band. More than the United States of America right now. But we’re a very democratic band, so everybody brings their ideas and we all share them and, and kind of work together. But back in the day, like I never played, I played bass and guitar and other bands, but I never wrote any of the music.
Nathan: It was more or less just like me and up to Jonas to just churn out riffs and stuff. And then she wrote all the lyrics, and it was just kind of like a de facto modus operandi. But now we have fully self taught songwriters in the band.
Jemina: I think we have less of an ego when it comes to songwriting. We’re all now in a place where we’re very much alike and have similar goals. Back then, I was just like, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go. Let’s do as many things as possible, and say yes to everything. And I think not everybody else in the band was really fully on board with that.
Nathan: Yeah, me being 16- I was like, I don’t want to sell out man. Like this plaguing notion of the 90s or something.
ORB: I think that’s really cool that you’re a mom, and you’re also on tour performing super cool shows, and creating really cool music. There’s not a lot of representation of that in the scene.
Jemina: I agree.
ORB: How has becoming a parent changed your approach to music and changed your artistry?
Jemina: I had [my first daughter] when I was 25. I sort of just felt like I have to put all of this old stuff away, and be this new person so I can fit in with other parents that I’m meeting. It took me a while to realize that’s not true. I can still be two things at the same time. I can be a really great mom, and also still be a performer and love music. Women, femme presenting, are judged harsher in society, and I think mothers are judged for everything they do. You can’t win. Yeah, so I just need to be myself. So there’s some songs about that on Mommy for sure.
ORB: I’m pretty sure no one ever asks male-lead bands about their parenting.
Jemina: I think the problem is that we don’t ask men the same question. And it’s just such a sign of how we expect men to be as parents. [While we were playing around with the title] I was like, what if we just called the record Mommy and fully embraced that duality?
Nathan: It’s bold and catchy. It’s just simple. It just felt right.
Jemina: I’m lucky to have bandmates who fully support my creative whims.
ORB: Is there a reason why you named it Mommy?
Jemina: When we were writing the record, I just felt like everyone was obsessed with being “I’m daddy”, or “yes, daddy” and that kind of vibe. And I was like, why can’t mommy be the same way? Why does it seem like, when you call someone mommy [it is not seen from the same] place of power or as a positive thing. So I was like, why don’t we flip it? And it was also embracing the fact that I’m a mom now, and I’m still trying to be a punk. Let’s write more songs about being a mom.
ORB: How did you guys meet?
Jemina: I was friends with our original drummer Jamin. We would go to punk shows together when we were like 13, and Jonas was his friend. Jamin had his punk band. Jonas had his band. I was always begging them to start a band with me. Eventually, they called me [wanted] to start a new band with a girl lead singer. We kind of wrote a song on the spot. And I just started screaming into the microphone. We found Nathan at our school. We’d like practice after school to come up with songs. We played our first show in this pizza restaurant that doesn’t exist anymore in Nashville called Guido’s Pizzeria. They’d have like all ages punk shows in the basement. So we played our first show. I remember Jamin and Jonas prepping me for the first show and they’re like, “you gotta go crazy on stage. You gotta go crazy”. I had been waiting for this moment. I’ve never been happier than just like getting to perform and sing in the band.
Nathan: No one has to tell me to go crazy. They didn’t really have to tell me either.
Jemina: They didn’t realize what was bottled up inside…I’ve had so many parents come up to me after shows and say, “oh my god, like, like, this record means so much to me”. I feel seen for the first time and I feel very validated by it. People think [that] nobody wants this type of music, but I think they definitely do.
ORB: I feel like there’s a lot of anger that informs BYOP. Mommy still has that same oomph to it. I’m wondering with age has the source of that emotion changed?
Jemina: I think it’s also, you know, I’m not getting into physical fights with people.
Nathan: We still have rage, we just know how to channel it.
Jemina: I was dealing with mental health issues during that time. I felt very unsupported. And we were also in this crazy situation being so young and being on tour, and I was just being subjected to so much misogyny. We were so young and kind of thrown into this hedonistic rock and roll world. I feel like there weren’t really people looking out for us. We’re all a lot more medicated now. That’s a good thing. Obviously, like, the world is literally on fire right now, and it feels really bleak sometimes. I think like the fear of the world also still channels our music.
Nathan: Everything’s so much more capitalist and music is not valued at all. But we’re definitely all about it. I’m happy to stand with songs like “Big Trouble” and stuff like that.
Jemina: I think sometimes when you’re younger, you don’t fully understand all the systems that are around you and how they operate. You just feel day-to-day bullshit. And then you know, as you get older you kind of read more about history. You’re like, oh, it’s just fucking rotten to the core. I don’t know, how can you not be angry? I think anger is viewed as a very negative emotion but I think when you use it the right way it’s powerful.
ORB: You’ve talked a lot about the objectification and misogyny you’ve faced in the industry. 15 years have gone by, do you feel like the punk scene has become more inclusive?
Jemina: I think so…there is always still more work to do to include a wide variety of identities to feel welcome…in my mind that’s the punk motto. Everyone who doesn’t fit in is welcome, but a lot of the time the experience is not like that. It’s like “oh you’re a young girl you don’t know anything about that. you don’t have a reason to be angry”. But I’m not a 17-year-old, so it’s hard for me to know. We need to be asking the young females in the scene. People are respectful to me now, no one is trying to put their hands down my pants…that stuff has changed.
Nathan: She was going through all that fucked up shit and I was just having a blast.
Jemina: You guys would try to help…someone once tried to come on stage and kiss me.
Nathan: -and Jonas went and decked him-
Jemina: -And people got mad at us…. you can’t just forcibly kiss people on stage.
Nathan: I’ve also seen you just punch dudes on stage.
Jemina: That’s true.
Both Be Your Own Pet and Sailor Poon took over Parish, and ignited the crowd with their punk beats. It was truly a night for the audience, artists stage dove, moshed, and crowd surfed right alongside the crowd. It was thrilling.
First, Sailor Poon took the stage with their eclectic and grunge-y rock feel. The all-female band is based in Austin, TX, and many of the songs sing passionately about patriarchy and the anger they have.
The band brought raunchiness, and a casual feel to the show, with the main singer utilizing her anger and her body to send the message of “we are punk and we are here to say”. At one point, she began playing the saxophone, which starkly contrasted the loud rock the rest of the band played. They played from a variety of their discography, but specifically focused on their 2020 debut album aptly named Sailor Poon’s First Album. Much of their music strongly resembles the Riot Grrl era. They are unabashedly themselves, messy, loud and creative.
Next, Be Your Own Pet came on stage, playing “Thresher’s Flail”. This song was a perfect opening song. It reminded the crowd that BYOP will always be BYOP, regardless of their hiatus. Jemina excited the crowd with her head banging, and amazing delivery of the lyrics. The band was able to bring out the same anger they had those several years before.
The band played from a variety of their albums, making sure both old and new fans had their chance to sing along to their favorite songs. They played songs such as “Super Soaked”, “Wildcat!”, and “Goodtime!”. Each of the members had their time to shine with several amazing solos, and shoutouts from the audience in the intimate venue.
At one point, the drummer from Sailor Poon ran on stage, diving right into the audience. Fans carried her and danced around her. Later on, Jemina, the singer of BYOP, ran into the audience herself, prompting fans to mosh around her. It is clear that Jemina carries the same motto of “going crazy”, like she did at BYOP’s first performance.
Later on, Jemina introduced “Becky” as the song she wrote about an old friend. As the band began the opening notes, cheers erupted, with fans knowing what was to come. They screamed along to the lyrics. Overall, it was an amazing moment.
The band ended their set with “The Kelly Affair” and “Rubberist”, before they left the stage. They had an amazing performance. Definitely check out their newest album Mommy.
I am a student at University of Houston currently studying Strategic Communications. In my free time, I write for different publications as I am extremely passionate about music. I collect vinyls, go to concerts, and play guitar. Some of my favorite artists include Paramore, Kendrick Lamar, and Lorde. On the weekends I make pottery, sew, and spend time with my dog.
