Interview: The Menstrual Cramps @ 2000trees
The Menstrual Cramps by Jez Pennington
Catching up with The Menstrual Cramps at 2000trees festival was a real treat, especially after hearing so much buzz around their recent performances. With their high-energy shows and unapologetically outspoken stance, it’s no wonder everyone in our team wants to cover their gigs! Fresh off a whirlwind seven months that included signing with Alcopop! Records, releasing four singles, and making waves at various festivals, the band is not just busy—they’re thriving in the chaos.
We had the chance to chat with the group about their early morning Trees set, the challenges of balancing full-time jobs with an intense gig schedule, and their involvement in the Boycott Barclays campaign. We also touched on the bittersweet news of Zam stepping back from the band, their plans for new music, and, of course, what they’re currently listening to.
We have sent so many photographers to your gigs, everyone wants to cover your shows. It’s such a favourite; how was your set this morning?
Emilia: It was good. It was really good. It was super early, obviously, so I wasn't sure how it would be—like, if people would be awake or even there. But it was good. It was really packed and fun, and the stage was nice and big.
Zam: Lots of people didn’t go too crazy on Wednesday night, so everyone was ready for Thursday, the beginning of the full festival. So I think it was good—no one was hungover or anything like that.
Everyone’s so ready for Trees! You’ve had a big…seven months this year and end of last year? Signed to Alcopop, lots of festivals, four singles—how’s it going?
Emilia: Busy! Good, yeah. I love it.
Do we love it? Is it a bit tiring, or is it just the best of both?
AJ: Yeah, both. Love it, but also, you know, we all work full-time on Mondays, so sometimes you’re like, ‘Oh my God,’ and then you have to do it all again the next weekend. It’s good, but it’s also a lot, especially coming up to festival season. No rest—camping, air beds, and you go home and you’re like, ‘Do I live here?’
Abi: During the week, I think, ‘I would like that,’ and then we can go home and chill, yeah.
Emilia: I really wish we had a four-day working week as a country? So our full-time jobs were four-day weeks, and then we’d have three days to do band stuff—that would be absolutely ideal. But to be honest, I live for the exhaustion, burnout, and chaos, so who am I kidding? That’s when I thrive.
AJ: Low battery, yeah.
You were also instrumental in the Boycott Barclays campaign. How was that, just adding another big thing on top of everything else—boycotting one of the biggest banks in the world?
The Menstrual Cramps by Jez Pennington
Emilia: Casual, just what I do on the weekends, you know, for fun. But yeah, it was a lot. It was very intense—I had two laptops and two phones going at all times, doing my regular job while handling boycott stuff, band stuff, meetings, phone calls, letters—all of that. Lots of spreadsheets. I’m honestly a whiz at Google Spreadsheets now!
You’re all very outspoken as a band. What can you tell us about making sure you use your platform to share the messages you want?
AJ: It’s a hard line to walk, having the privilege to say things on stage when maybe others don’t have that platform. So you kind of have to use it, but we get loads of backlash as well. It’s a double-edged sword.
When you get backlash, is that when you’re like, ‘We did it, yeah?’
AJ: That thing you said, like, ‘If you don’t like us, you’re probably an asshole.’
For anyone who hasn’t seen you, is there anything you hope they take away when they see your shows this festival season?
Emilia: I guess it depends. I hope some people feel empowered—empowered to stand up for themselves, stand up for their friends, feel comfortable in themselves, feel like they can say something, be outspoken, or even start a band.
On the flip side, I hope certain people look inward and change their own behavior, change their friends’ behavior, take accountability, and improve. There’s always going to be people in the crowd who’ve done horrible things, and they need to learn. If it takes us shouting at them, then that’s what it takes.
What’s next after the festival? We saw a message that maybe Zam is stepping back after the summer?
Zam: Yeah, going off what we talked about earlier—how busy the band is—I just can’t really handle it. Like AJ said, when you’ve got a full-time job, and the gigs aren’t local where you just go for the evening and come home. It’s like doing a full week of work, then going away for the whole weekend. There’s not really time for general life stuff—like doing laundry, dishes, spending time with my partner. It was just getting to be too much, so I decided to step back. But the band is looking for a new member, and they’ve got fill-ins, so they’re still going to be busy and making moves.
How did the rest of the band feel when that decision was made? I assume, based on what we see about the band, that it was an open conversation?
Zam: We did chat about ways to make it work, but with the way the band operates—getting all these gigs on weekends, and we all work full-time—there’s not much leeway. So I just felt like the best thing for me was to step back and let the band find someone new who can gel with that and keep moving forward.
The Menstrual Cramps by Jez Pennington
Emilia: Yeah, it’s hard. It takes a toll on everyone’s physical and mental health. We tried making accommodations for Zam and talked about what would help, but some things are just difficult to work around, like the lack of accessibility or the money to travel back. It’s just a bit impossible for Zam at the moment.
You were very transparent about that decision, sharing it pretty openly and honestly on social media.
Zam: It’s not something to be ashamed of. You don’t know if you can handle something until you try, and if you can’t, there’s nothing wrong with saying, ‘I can’t handle this.’
Handle it for a while, and then life changes. What were some of the things that worked when you made changes from last year to this year? I’m sure others can learn from that.
Zam: Not going out every evening all the time. I used to feel like I had to catch every band and party all night. But it was so tiring. Now, I just see one or two bands I really want to see, then have an early night, spend most of my time backstage, and avoid the hectic festival environment. Early nights are key.
AJ: There are expectations to watch all the bands and be sociable and hang out late, which can burn you out. So we just made sure Zam knew they could leave whenever they wanted or chill out if they didn’t want to be present.
Emilia: Yeah, there are welfare tents, accessibility tents, and Zam started wearing ear defenders more often. It’s a signal to others not to approach them if they’re not up for it. Sometimes after our set, people want to talk to us, but we all need space. Sometimes they just need to zone out and watch something, and we tried to find what worked with camping setups too.
Zam: Turns out, yoga mats are the best thing ever. Air beds are uncomfortable, but yoga mats are great for my back. It sounds weird, but they’re better than air beds.
So what’s next after festival season?
Emilia: We’ve got a mini tour in October with our friends’ band WACO. We’re doing Bristol, London, Sheffield, Manchester, and a few other gigs here and there after festival season. And then finding a new guitarist.
AJ: Yeah, a new permanent guitarist, and then we’ll start writing again.
Are we doing any writing during this transitional period, or have we shelved that for now?
AJ: It was supposed to be an album, with the singles coming out. But once Zam decided to leave, we thought, okay we’ll just put out the four singles as an EP and shelve the album for now. When we get a new guitarist, the sound might change, so there’s no point starting a new album with someone leaving and someone new coming in. We’ll pick it up when we’ve got someone permanent. But with festival season and full-time jobs, we weren’t going to do much writing in the next two months anyway.
Emilia: Yeah, hopefully, we’ll have the EP on physical release towards the end of this year, because it’s just digital at the moment. Hopefully physical vinyl and stuff.
The Menstrual Cramps by Jez Pennington
Last question for you—what are you all listening to? What should other people be listening to?
Zam: Artio is really cool. They’re playing tomorrow, but I’m leaving in the morning. But Artio, I’ve been listening to their album a lot. Also, Boards of Canada—just like electronic ambient music. Shooting Daggers—we caught them earlier; they were really good.
Emilia: Bob Vylan. I’m really excited to see them today. I love listening to them. Also, I just spend most of my time listening to Chappell Roan at the moment, because I just need queer pop in my life every single day.
AJ: I’ve been listening to a lot of Spiritbox and BAD NERVES. They just brought out a new album that I’m vibing with at the moment. Also, Better Lovers, Grove Street, Shooting Daggers.
Emilia: We heart Shooting Daggers! We’re hopefully….planning something secret with them…
That would be so good. Can’t wait! Well that’s all I’ve got, thanks for chatting with us!
Emilia: And thank you for all your support online, by the way. You post about us all the time, you play us all the time. So I really appreciate it.
We’re so happy to support!
Catch The Menstrual Cramps on tour with WACO this October.
