The tween and teen punk rockers who went viral last week with a live library performance of their original song “Racist, Sexist Boy” have signed a record deal.
The Linda Lindas—a California-based band made up of two sisters, a cousin, and a friend—range in age from 10 to 16. Mila, the drummer whose personal experience with anti-Asian racism inspired the group’s hit song, is the youngest; and Eloise, Lucia, and Bela, the band’s guitarists and fellow vocalists, are 13, 14, and 16 respectively, according to the Los Angeles Times.
But before we go any further, here’s a chance to watch their performance if you haven’t already:
The Linda Lindas are used to fans, crowds, and local fame: They’ve opened for punk icon Alice Bag and Bikini Kills, played a set at the Viva! Pomona festival—which regularly features up-and-coming Latinx indie artists—and have earned praise from The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Best Coast, Rage Against the Machine, and Sonic Youth. (Their music has also been featured in Amy Poehler’s film Moxie and the Netflix doc The Claudia Kishi Club.)Still, going mega viral and landing a record deal with Epitaph Records over the course of just a few days has been a whirlwind for the rising stars: “It’s hard because I have, like, three projects due on Monday, and I haven’t even touched them,” Bela told the LA Times on Saturday.
It’s kind of weird because we’re still at home in our pajamas,” Lucia added. “Nothing really has changed yet; it’s not like we’re going out and it’s like, ‘Oh my God, it’s the Linda Lindas.’” But, like, yesterday my whole feed was just about us, and I was like, ‘Whoa, this is crazy.’ I keep getting phone calls and texts from people that I haven’t talked to in years that I would never think would know about the band.”
In the same interview, The Linda Lindas also talked about why they thought their song “Racist, Sexist Boy” grabbed so many people’s attention. Before the band played the single at the LA Public Library last week, Mila, who is Chinese, said the song was about an incident at school, which involved a boy telling her that her dad told him he should stay away from Chinese people because of covid.
”Of all the songs that we’ve written, it’s the most hard hitting,” Lucia told the outlet. “It’s very tough compared to what we usually write, and it had to be that way. If it wasn’t that way, it probably wouldn’t have had much of an impact.”