Finding UFO bands has become rare these days so it’s getting exciting when a band like CAM GIRL gets in touch. Their recently released album “Flesh & Chrome” offers us a unique mix of glam, new wave of British heavy metal and retro futuristic video game/anime influences! We had to ask Lily Larceny and Kozy Kozette a few questions. Ladies, Gentlemen and Others, here’s CAM GIRL!
First, tell us a bit about the history of CAM GIRL…
Lily Larceny: I’m a trans woman with a criminal record (mainly shop lifting/larceny). I had pretty much one career path, and I spent several years where sex work was my primary income. that’s where the band name came from. A lot of trans women end up there for one reason or another, and it seemed relatable to others like me. Kozy and I were friends for years, and I kept trying to get her to come play music with me. it wasn’t until the band recorded our first single that I was able to get her attention, and she helped with the rest of the first record. the new record is almost entirely her riffs.
Kozy Kozette: The Cam Girl lore is everything Lily, plus 100 amateur musician nerds trying to survive her technical requests! It’s hard being a lyricist in a town suffocated with jam band rejects, you know? I joined Cam Girl after I heard Teenage Vampire and I just thought “Wow, I love this so much!” I ended up joining as a replacement guitarist. I went on to join recording “Untucked” but nearly every song came was coming out differently than what I had originally learned to play for live shows. I knew 3 different versions of each song and I’d forget which parts got changed! I remember bringing my one song “Pussy Strikes Back” to the band, fully expecting no one to like it all and get changed a whole bunch. To my surprise, it changed very little. Working with Lily on some of the lyrics for Pussy was kind of like piecing a puzzle together. Fast forward to last winter. we’re working on “Flesh & Chrome” together and it’s a similar process. Coming up with a concept and putting the pieces together: like, “Hey, so what if we wrote a love song about my vibrator?” or “What about this idea where the only way to get a bigger butt is to summon a demon and sell your soul for it?” Just off the wall ideas! That’s what Cam Girl is like now.
We can hear different influences in your music. Did you know exactly what you wanted to play when you formed the band?
Lily Larceny: I did! My turbojugend friend and I wanted to do action rock, in the vein of Turbonegro, Glucifer, etc. But, I discovered very quickly that when working with four or five other people, you get everyone’s influence, not just your own. When Kozy joined us, it was clear her riffs were going to lead us new places.
Kozy: I knew I would be playing songs the rest of the band wrote! But a band with two guitarists, it’s pretty much pointless to play the same thing! I always loved the stacked harmony sound like Thin Lizzy or Iron Maiden or Randy Rhodes. I thought “let me add some 3rds to that” as I was writing parts to established songs. When I’m writing the guitar parts now, I get a little carried away. Here’s a 3-lead harmony part! Here’s a riff with 4 different sections! Here’s a soft little breakdown! I just want to make songs that sound interesting- something that demands your full attention without getting too boring or repetitive.
You have released quite a few singles. Do you think that releasing singles is the best way to promote a band’s music nowadays?
Lily Larceny: I’m wouldn’t claim to know the *best* way to promote a band’s music, but releasing all the singles this time has drastically increased our streaming numbers.
Kozy: I wouldn’t know either, but the numbers go up like Lily is saying. I’m not sure if it’s the quality of the songs or the catchy-ness. It’s a bit like releasing episodes of a tv show once a week versus dumping them all on a streaming platform at once. You’re engaged with a story over time, I think, rather than binging an entire season in a day. Getting into an older band with a deep catalogue feels like that. New bands don’t have a rich library yet, so I think if I could spare a few minutes to give a song at least one good listen as soon as it is released, I would! I know it hooks me because I’m singing the guitar parts in the shower or I’m waking up from a nap with it in my head so I just gotta go back and listen again. Then the next song is out and I’m practically already drooling for more!
Have you played many shows so far? Best ones and worst ones?
Lily Larceny: We’ve DIY toured the US quite bit, we’re on a 70 stop tour right now to promote the album. Some cities we know we’ll have a great show: Denver, Houston, Columbia SC. While some cities surprised us, like Denton TX. Our worst will always be Oklahoma City 2024. yikes. I’m not sure we can ever show our faces there again.
Kozy: Cam Girl has been on two and a half tours so far, and we’re in the midst of our third, REALLY long tour. I’m actually answering these questions from my bed because we got real sick right in the middle of it all! It sucks so bad having to cancel shows because you get ill. So that is bad, but I think the #1 worst show Cam Girl had was last year, when we hired a drummer to tour like 20 shows with us and he just quit right before the first gig! Who does that?? That didn’t stop Lily and I though. We played some shows with drum tracks until we found a good replacement drummer. I think my worst shows are the ones I break a string and have to figure out how to play my intricate-ass riff somewhere else on the fretboard in real-time. Haha! Folks, don’t get a floyd rose! Just don’t. The best shows I think have to be the ones when a young girl comes up to me after our set and says she wants to play guitar like me. Nothing quite so humbling!
In some of your songs, there’s almost a video game vibe. Have you ever thought about having your music as the soundtrack of a game?
Lily Larceny: We get that a lot. we also get told it sounds like anime theme music. Kozy and I play video games together and binge anime all the time, so it’s no surprise. I think we’d be open to licensing it out for something like that, it’s a fun thought anyway.
Kozy: That was the #1 comment about early versions of Pussy Strikes Back- that it sounded like an anime opening theme. Haha. But yeah, Lily and I live in a house with every retro console you can imagine. We love gaming in our spare time. I would love to hear something like “Plastic Princess” or “Ice Cream” on a game tracklist, but who wants a 3 minute Cam Girl song in their game? Maybe it would work on a game like “Cyberpunk 2077” with an in-game radio.
What band would be prefect for you to open for on a tour?
Lily Larceny: I don’t know of a band doing anything quite like us, but I think the variety we offer would make us a good fit for a lot of rock or metal. Ghost, The Foo Fighters, Turbonegro (of course). More realistically, The Good The Bad And The Zugly?
Kozy: I love Lily’s ambition. I like to joke and say we should be opening for bands like Nickleback and Creed and Imagine Dragons. But I truly wonder how exciting it would be to front someone like Avril Lavigne or Paramore or Lita Ford? St. Vincent or HER? Lady Gaga?? I mean, would we even work in front of Chappell Roan?? The idea of opening for a pop singer makes me laugh. I really love the Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age, so they would be the most fun. I think I would really love to open for a Japanese rock band like SCANDAL.
You describe your music as retro futuristic trash rock. Do you also like synth oriented retro futuristic stuff?
Lily Larceny: When Kozy joined the band, she started calling it that, and I just went with it. I’m not a fan of EDM, personally.
Kozy: Yeah, I mean I went through an EDM phase! What teen my age ever went to a rave and doesn’t indulge in some good synthwave every now and then? Haha. Seriously though, Lily and I listen to bands no one listens to any more. I grew up listening to Queen and Styx and Journey– later falling in love with Ozzy and Judas Priest and Maiden. I’m not sure I’ll ever stop loving that stuff. Who’s making music like that any more?
8) How would you describe your shows to someone who has never seen you live?
Lily Larceny: An absolutely massive spectacle. Big guitar sound, big neon lights, costumes, everything. non-stop high energy, full speed go, every show.
Kozy: Yeah, the arena experience at your local venue!
Do you have any plan to come to Europe?
Lily Larceny: Plans? no, not at this time. Desire, absolutely. I don’t think we can do the show without the lights, which means hauling our neon sign some how. I’m sure it could be done, with enough planning.
Kozy: We have fans across the pond that I’m sure we’d LOVE to meet! I’ve never really traveled abroad though. It sounds like so much fun but we are totally DIY right now and covering the expense is a challenge. If we found someone to finance a tour in Europe, you know we’d come out, baby.
Veglam 
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