Alex Gehring plays guitar in a band called Ringo Deathstarr. And we want to BE her.

RingoDeathstarr

Texan noisepop trio Ringo Deathstarr are excellent. Not only do they have a great name, that makes us think of The Beatles’ big-nosed drummer trussed up in a menacing Darth Vader costume, but they’re a shoegaze band with a twist.

Unapologetically borrowing from The Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine, the end result is their own take on spacey, hallucinogenic rock ‘n’ roll, catapulting you back to the late ’80s faster than you can look awkwardly to the floor and mumble, ‘Psychocandy’.

Now, we normally love a foppish indie band for the very fact they contain foppish indie boys. But that’s where Ringo Deathstarr are different.
We’ve got a bit of a girl crush on their 21 year old bassist and co-vocalist, Alex Gehring. She’s bloody gorgeous – all long limbed and heavy fringed – and she models part-time. And she sews. And plays the banjo. And works in a Texan thrift store. And oozes effortless off-duty rock star style – just take a gander at her LOOKBOOK.nu profile to see what we mean.

We pretty much want to be her. Or at least be her best friend. Instead, we fired questions at her, without making eye contact and laughing too loudly at her jokes. Dammit.

Alex GehrinSum up your style in three words…
Fun. Metallic. Ever-changing.

Now sum up your sound in three words…
Loud. Metallic. Ever-changing!

Ringo Deathstarr is a pretty cool name for a band. Discuss?
I wish I had something to do with it, but the name predates me! However, I am a fan of both the Beatles and Star Wars.

What’s the wildest thing you’ve ever worn on stage?
Mostly I wear vintage – ’90s or ’60s – but on my birthday in Stuttgart, I wore a black halter spandex bell-bottomed jumpsuit with metallic silver planets and stars all over it, it was out of this world.
[LB: cue honks of manic laughter from us…]

alex-gehring-again

How important is image to the band?
Not very important apparently – have you seen the way the guys dress?! I try to convince them there is more to life than free shirts. So far they remain unconvinced.

Which item of clothing do you live in?
My black cowboy hat! It has a string so I can wear it on my back if it’s not on my head, and I love wearing it with little summer dresses. I wore it in Japan and I’ve been wearing it all over Europe; maybe it’s my true Texas side coming out – yeehaw!

If you weren’t in the band, what job would you be doing?
Probably the same jobs I have now: working at Feathers vintage boutique and Thunderbird Coffee in Austin.

The best and worst parts about being the only girl in the band?
I think being in a band with guys has made me a little tougher; it’s almost like touring with older brothers. They don’t put up with any crap and everyone pulls their own weight, which I like! But sometimes it gets a bit smelly…

Whose style did you admire growing up?
I loved all the classic ’60s icons: Twiggy, Jane Birkin, etc…

What’s your best recent shopping discovery?
I found a Moschino Cheap and Chic Mondrian style dress in perfect condition at a thrift store for $20! I adore it.

And we adore you, Alex Gehring, we really do.

Check her out in action in this vid (AKA the moment we fell in love with her and decided we wanted to play guitar, too)…

Ringo Deathstarr’s latest album compilation ‘Sparkler’ is out now – we thoroughly recommend you listen with your ears here.

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