Women making their mark in the music scene always strikes a chord close to my heart. Seeing them chase their dreams and go after what they want, even as a listener, viewer and fellow female is extremely exhilarating. Getting to hear their stories from the beginning is something special that I hold onto very tightly. I had the wonderful pleasure of sitting down on the phone with Julez from Julez and the Rollerz to talk about how the band came to be, influences, their opening slot for The Velveteers show at The Echo and their newest single Call Me Up. You can read our interview together below:
I took a look at your bio on Spotify and gathered that you title yourselves as a California based band. Are you all originally from California?
Actually, no! I moved here, I’m from New Jersey and New York, and I moved here in late summer of 2018 with my partner. We drove cross country, it was a whole thing, but the project started in New York where I went to school.
Where did you go to school?
A place in New York called SUNY Purchase College. I started it there but the rest is history. And then our other guitarist, Hannah, is also from New York, and she moved here, I think, right before the pandemic or during the pandemic. Then Spark, who is our newest member, is the drummer, she’s from Colorado. We’re from all over the place, but I’ve lived here for a while at this point, so this is my home.
Do you like California better than New York/New Jersey area?
They’re different, I mean I love California, I always will. My dad grew up in LA, so he used to take us to all of his spots when we’d visit, and I always had that kind of connection to it, so I was just like ‘one day I’m gonna move to LA’ and I did! I mean, I love New York City, that’s where all of my family is, basically. I grew up in New Jersey, but the rest of my family is in New York City. They’re just different, but you know, California you can’t beat the weather and the nature and everything.
Did everybody gravitate to California for the same reasons, for music?
I think so. I know Hannah did, our guitarist, she has her own project, but she joined the project when she moved here. We just met through word of mouth. And Spark, our drummer, went to school here for music, at Musician’s Institute, and she, I believe moved back here to pursue music again, I’m not really sure. But she had lived here before, left, and now she’s back. And then Morgyn and Shea are both from California.
Oh cool, so they were just right there for you. So was it an organic meeting?
Yes and no. I had started this project with so many different people, it’s had such a rotating cast of musicians at this point, but I had started it with other men who were friends of mine in New York and out here. Around the pandemic, actually, is when ‘The Rollerz’ came to be, because it started off as just ‘Julez,’ as a solo thing, and then I wanted it to be more of a group dynamic. After that it wasn’t really working out with the lineup I had, and I really wanted to try an all women femme rock and roll vibe. Our old bassist recommended Shea (synth), so we met that way, and I found Hannah through a friend, because she had been looking to join a band. Morgyn (bassist) came in around 2023, she was in this band called The Pistols at the time, and she was looking for another project to join. Last year, we needed someone to go on tour with us, and our previous drummer was just really busy, so we found Spark, and she was a great fit.
Have you noticed a change in dynamic now that you’re an all femme rock group?
Yeah, I mean we’ve been like that since late 2021, so it’s been a while, but it’s been a different rotation of people. When I had it with men they were always tight and on it, but we never rehearsed, I don’t think I had the best stage presence. I think that being around a bunch of talented women brings out the best in me on stage because I used to kind of just stand there and look insecure, and now we get to plan outfits and be like sisters and it’s a lot of fun.
That is awesome. So how long have you been playing instruments personally?
I’ve always been a singer, my mom’s a singer. They got me my first guitar when I was like 8, because my mom also played guitar as well as my aunt. So they taught me that song by Chicago (‘25 or 6 to 4’). That was the only song I knew for a while, it wasn’t really until, I want to say, 8th grade I started taking lessons for guitar, and then it wasn’t until high school I started taking more lessons for electric guitar and learning how to, I don’t want to say “shred” because I can’t necessarily “shred,” but I’m kind of just more rhythm now because I do a lot of singing.
Was there any sort of inspiration that made you really want to pursue music?
So many inspirations, I’m not as much anymore, but I was really big into Led Zeppelin in high school and I just wanted to be Robert Plant and Jimmy Page at the same time. At the time I was like “oh I’m gonna have a rock and roll band!” I was so ready to jam with a bunch of people, and when I was touring colleges and went to Purchase, they said that people make bands on the spot, it’s always happening, so I was like ok, I’m gonna go to that school, because I know Regina Spektor, a bunch of bands went there, and Mitski had graduated from there, who’s like a music peer from when I went to college there. It wasn’t until later college that I started actually putting this together, but I really want to say Led Zeppelin and a lot of those classic rock bands really got me there, even though I wouldn’t say those are my inspirations now necessarily, like it’s all across the board.
So that kind of segues me into my next question: I loved reading your Spotify bio and you including the Bandcamp quote that they used for Julez and the Rollerz, which was “the Bangles mixed with Ex Hex.” I thought that was such a brilliant combo to describe you. I wanted to ask you about influences, older or newer, that really strikes a chord with you that makes you want to do what you do?
feel like I used to be very into older bands, and I still am! They’re the blueprint and full inspiration, but I think after joining a music community, I’ve been drawing inspiration from all of my peers and bands all across the board in all genres. Obviously, originally it was Led Zeppelin, but I don’t think they’re necessarily that’s my main inspiration anymore. I think now even current bands like The Beths, or you know, even people like The Velveteers. Jack White, I know our guitarist is very inspired by Jack White. There’s so many. Ex Hex, definitely, I think there’s a big inspiration from them, and a lot of glam rock bands like T. Rex and Flamin’ Groovies, just all across the board, I can’t even pinpoint.
I love that you bring up some of the newer artists, because I was very curious to hear some of the newer artists you pay attention to these days. My next question is who writes the music? Do you all do it as a group? Do you bring something to the table and then instrumentally people piece things together?
It’s usually mostly me, but the last E.P. I think I kind of was just like “hey, learn this,” and people did put some things together, like little pieces of their own, solos that I didn’t write, but the composition, mostly, is me. But this next album that we’re working on, it’s all my lyrics and a lot of the music is written by me, but it’s a lot more collaborative this time around, even lyrically. Everyone does get to give their own writing input.
Live you guys seem like such a jam band?!
Yeah! Especially during our last song ‘Think About It,’ it’s very jammy. That’s when we like to go all out and just be like on the floor. The songs are pretty jammy, there’s a lot of solos I carve out for Hannah to play, just because it’s so interesting trying to incorporate two guitarists, sometimes. Sometimes I’m lead and she’s rhythm, and vice versa. It just depends on what we want to do with the song and sometimes ends up more jammy, sometimes it doesn’t.
That’s really neat, I love that! You just kind of dropped there that there’s an album in the works, so I’m really excited for that!
Maybe…
I think it’s really cool hearing that people are able to connect in that artistic way and combine their thoughts together to make a piece of art that is just spectacular, and I think you guys do a really great job of that. I’m a huge fan of you E.P. Is This Where The Party Is? I think it’s absolutely bangin’.
I love learning about all femme rock groups and their fight to make it known that they deserve their place to be there. We see a lot of women talk about how difficult it was to just be taken seriously, and I feel like a lot more these days we’re seeing rock groups created by females. So my question for you was what’s it like being in an all girl band in LA in 2025?
So it’s so easy for me to go on tangents, but I once did an interview, because I had a radio show, I once did an interview with this artist, Nikki Corvette, who was in this band called Nikki Corvette and the Convertibles, but she was in a girl band and she was telling me about her experience in the late-70s and it seemed like people like her really paved the way for true misogyny towards all femme bands. It was way different back then and I was taking that in as an all girl group too because her experiences seem so much different. Like she really wasn’t taken seriously at the time and she really proved people wrong, and it’s the same thing with like The Runaways, and bands like that. For us now there’s so many girl bands out there that are taken seriously and are not necessarily looked down upon because they’re women, but I know that that still exists out there, it’s just not the same level, I guess. We’re in our own bubble as a girl group because I was so used to being with men who probably would want to mansplain a certain guitar part to me, whereas that’s not really what we’re doing. We’re just supportive to each other and it doesn't feel mansplain-y and weird, so it’s almost like we’re in our own bubble. But when it comes to other bands, it seems like people respect us and take us pretty seriously. There is one venue where I get the vibe that they mostly like male bands, so there’s that, and I never really appreciated that, but otherwise I feel like a lot of women rock bands are dominating the scene right now. It feels like that’s kind of the vibe, even though misogyny is always there, and we can always feel it, especially as a woman, and especially as a queer woman, I do think that we’re taking our power back lately.
I can imagine that it must feel good to play a show, especially nights where you’re the only female group on the bill, and people running up to you afterwards. That gratification must feel very good in this day and age.
Definitely, during our last tour there were young girls coming up to us and being “that was amazing! Can I get your autograph? Can we get a picture?” And that was so sweet because we had toured with this artist, MOONWALKER, who is on TikTok, and we opened for them and they were just in awe. It was such a great feeling.
Well I’m sure you give girls the inspiration that they can do whatever they want to do!
Absolutely! It’s such a great feeling, and we want our music to be accessible to everybody, it still feels like a thing where older men listen to us. Which is so interesting misogyny wise, because you’d think that it wouldn’t be, but it’s mostly older men who love rock music listening to our music. So it was a breath of fresh air seeing younger girls enjoy our music.
Well I feel like listening to your lyrics. I think it’s a lot of personal lyricism and a lot to do with your own growth and experiences, and I think that’s really important for younger girls to have women that give them those voices.
Absolutely, and it’s such a great feeling.
I’m sure! Well you mentioned tour in that last answer, so I definitely wanted to touch on this fun little piece of information: Julez and the Rollerz are opening for The Velveteers on March 13 in LA! How does that feel?
Very exciting! It’s all because of our sweet little manager, Natalie. She had always been a fan of them and had been doing the work, and hooked it up! We’re very excited, I’ve always loved The Velveteers and they’re last album was fantastic. I’m glad that they’re coming out with new music, and we’re also opening for Girl Tones on that same night! So it’s like an all femme night.
What a great bill! I would love to be at that show!
I know, come fly out!
I also wanted to touch on one last thing: and my last question for you is can we be expecting anything in the near future from Julez and the Rollerz?
Yes! March 21st, we have our first single out since our E.P. called Call Me Up. It has a very fun music video, directed by Ayesha Fernandez, and I think people are going to love it. It’s very campy and on brand for us, so look out for that! Very exciting.
I’m very excited to hear about it! Well are there any themes that are not giving too much away that we can expect with this new single?
Themes… It’s weird because I’m in a committed relationship, but I kind of wrote it as a “what if” scenario that I'm interested in this person. It’s basically a little temptation song like “what if I met up with this person?” And “what if it was more so like a queer situation?” All those things.
That’s cool, I really like that! I think that’s a cool vibe to be getting into when we have people like Chappell Roan really dominating the industry right now, and her big message is LGBTQ+ positivity and empowerment, so I think that’s really awesome.
Which is so funny because the young girls that would come up to us, and some of the parents were like “you remind us of a rock Chappell Roan!” I was like bet! I love Chappell Roan! It’s crazy because she played the same venues that we have played and it’s just crazy that she kind of skyrocketed into fame.
It only takes one moment!
It does! Hopefully someday!
I have all the faith in the world for you, and I appreciate you very much for talking to me today! Thank you so much for sitting down with me.
Thank you, Kiki! It was really a pleasure.
Be sure to check out Julez and the Rollerz newest single Call Me Up, and follow them for more bangin’ girl power and rock and roll!
