Care Bears on Fire

Care Bears on Fire is/was an all-female pop/punk trio from Brooklyn, NY. The band was Sophie (vocals, guitar), Izzy (drums) and Jena (bass), but, Jena left in 2011. Sophie and Izzy formed the band, with Lucio (a boy) on bass, in 2005 when they were in 5th grade! They released their first album I Stole Your Animal two years later! But, they weren’t just kids pretending to be grown-ups – they were the real deal. Care Bears on Fire sounded more like Care Bears on Ramones, playing infectious punk laced with a bit of garage rock, like “CBGB’s circa 1975” (The San Francisco Chronicle). Sophie was even featured in Converse‘s “Learn 3 Chords” ad playing an acoustic version of her song “Everybody Else”. Get Over It!, the band’s excellent debut on S-Curve Records, was released in 2009, with Jena on board as their bass player, and was followed-up with an EP, Girls Like It Loud, in 2010. Sophie and Izzy are also, currently, in a band called Claire’s Diary, who released their self-titled debut in 2013. And, now, they’re only 17 years old, and, ready for college!

My daughter Gaby is 10 years old, the same age as Sophie and Izzy when they started CBOF. I wish Gaby would embrace punk instead of tween pop, let alone start a punk band. But, she doesn’t, no matter how much I force feed Nirvana, The Distillers, Social Distortion, etc, when I drive her to school. Anyway …

Get Over It! (2009), CBOF‘s second album, had the benefit of bigger, tighter production, but, as a result, their sound was tamed, becoming a tween version of Green Day ready for Radio Disney. However, that’s not really a bad thing. In fact, this album’s a whole lot of fun! They still kick out big girl chords, but, their songs deal, mostly, with adolescent issues, like individuality (“Everybody Else”), cyber-stalking (“Met You On Myspace”), the in crowd (“Superteen”), self image (“Barbie Eat a Sandwhich”), gym class (“Gym Class Haze”), and everything else (“My Problems”). But, some songs are just about the problems with boys from a grrrl‘s perspective, like “Get Over It” (moving on without regret), the very Dollyrots-esque “You Can’t Make Me” (not changing who you are), and the snotty “Song About You” (dissing via song). Those three tracks are my favorites, especially the last one.

Watch the videos for “Everybody Else” and “Barbie Eat a Sandwhich” here:

Girls Like It Loud (2010), CBOF‘s follow-up EP on S-Curve, is a bit more mature than Get Over It!, like a whole year more mature. “What I Could Be” is a pop/punker about finding your way in life, while “ATM” and “Ask Me How I Am” are both upbeat garage rockers. The former addresses the girls’ fame, while the latter is about frustration. Both are cool. The EP also includes two covers. First, is “Red Lights” by underrated NY power pop band Marbles. Good cover, but, the song’s obscure. Next, is a much more well known cover: “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” by Tears For Fears. CBOF‘s pop/punk re-imagining of that new wave classic is pretty cool, but, I love the original, which is one of my favorite songs of that era.

Watch the video for “ATM” here:

Care Bears on Fire Discography
2006 – Confuse Me [EP]
2007 – I Stole Your Animal [Album]
2009 – Get Over It! (S-Curve Records) [Album]
2010 – Girls Like it Loud (S-Curve Records) [EP]

CLAIRE’S DIARY

Claire’s Diary was formed by Sophie Rae and Isadora “Izzy” Schappell (of CBOF), with Joey Koneko and Kiri Oliver. They play a mix of “grunge, punk, and surf-rock,” which is not that far from CBOF‘s sound, but, far enough. Their first single, “Suzy’s Alright”, is the them for Rookie, an online magazine for teenage girls. “Girl Next Door” and “Build Me A Hero” were also released as a double A-side, before their self-titled debut was released in 2013. “Give Him a Great Big Kiss” is my favorite track.