INTERVIEW: Dinky Bossetti

Blood, sweat and tears fuel Pink, White & Blue, the second instalment by the Newcastle-based riot grrrl band Dinky Bossetti. With the EP launch coming up on Friday 31st January at The Globe in Newcastle, I got the chance to chat with their singer-songwriter and guitarist Jade Mia Broadhead to find out more.

“We’re the outcasts of the outcasts…” Jade remarks. Alongside Aria Nash (bass) and Chris Howe (drums), Dinky Bossetti are proudly DIY and queer: “I guess we could be called punk but only in terms of our band ethics. I don’t subscribe to the idea of punk just being about three chords and safety pins.” The sound of the band is an amalgamation of influences like Babes In Toyland, Hole, Bikini Kill and Distillers. Dinky gives their all in a live show, playing with fierce energy and a guarantee of a different show every time you see them. Jade adores playing live: “It’s like no other feeling in the world. I’m trying to bring to the band all the things I love as a fan. I’m doing what I love doing the most and feeling more alive than ever.”

Dare to do something different to what everybody else is

Pink, White & Blue is a vibrant, rocking collection of fun and catchy melodies with playful, honest and heartfelt lyrics. Featuring folk, punk, pop and metal influences as well as “big-assed rock riffs”, there’s a whole lot to love about this EP. “It captures the raw emotion and energy of our live shows. This is us.” Jade reflects. From bigotry and shitty men (especially politicians), identity and self-awareness, to tender reflections on love, hardships and Keanu Reeves; Pink, White & Blue offers a vital insight not just into what it’s like to be trans, but how to stay hopeful and keep holding on in an increasingly bleak world.

Powerful opening track What About You? (aka my new favourite trans punk anthem) dares to hold a mirror up to the ever-prominent face of transphobia in the UK (and the world). Jade discussed what allies could be doing to help: “There’s a lot of virtue signalling from both the public and organisations who are happy to wave a rainbow flag but don’t go any further than that. Call out abuse when you see it. Educate yourselves. There is no ‘trans agenda’ or ‘trans mafia.’ What there is, is a very scared minority who are seeing their rights and safety eroded every day. It certainly didn’t stop with the Tory Party. When the right wing rhetoric is at its peak, I feel it in the street. It affects my very existence on a daily basis.”

With more and more vital voices like Dinky Bossetti emerging onto the DIY music scene, it’s an exciting time to hear refreshing new voices from the queer community take the mic. On advice for any trans and queer musicians who are starting out, Jade offered: “For every transphobic or sexist promoter, there’s a whole lot more who are willing to look beyond differences and hear the music. Dare to do something different to what everybody else is. I never felt like I fit in with a scene as a kid and I still don’t in a band. Far better to make your own scene!”

Dinky Bossetti launch Pink, White & Blue at The Globe, Newcastle on Friday 31st January.