Every once is a while a band comes along that is hard to describe without adding three or four exclamation marks at the end of each sentence. When I started to write this story about Girl in a Coma, I had to physically restrain myself by duct taping the upper left corner of my keyboard in order to fight this urge. Was I impressed by the fact that they played the nation’s huge music conference SXSW? Yes. Was I impressed that they recorded a demo with Morrissey’s musical director Boz Boorer? Yes, I totally was. Was I impressed by the fact that they toured the United States with the Warped Tour? You betcha.



I was also impressed that “I love Rock-n-Roll” Joan Jett met them on the set of a documentary about unsigned Latino bands and immediately signed them to her own label Black Heart Records.



But what really got me was how much fun I had listening to the music. You’d have to actually be a girl in a coma not to be moved by these songs. These are the type of songs that make you want to grab a hair brush and dance around in front of a mirror … or maybe that’s just me?



As if I didn’t like them enough already, their MySpace headline says, “Find your music, don’t let it come to you,” which is practically my daily mantra. 



The band members from this San Antonio-based pop/punk band are Jenn Alva (bass) Phanie D. (drums) and Nina Diaz (vocals and guitar). Diaz and Phanie D are sisters and Alva is a childhood friend. They have all been gigantic Smith’s/Morrissey fans since they were pre-teens. Two of them have tattoos attesting to it. The band itself is named after a Smiths song “Girlfriend in a Coma.”



Their debut album was produced by Kenny Laguna (Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Eyelinners, Vacancies), Eric Sanger and Gabe Gonzales (both formerly of post-hardcore band Sparta). The album name, Both Before I’m Gone, pays homage to a popular James Dean quote: “Being a good actor isn’t easy. Being a man is even harder. I want to be both before I’m done.” Diaz said being a musician and a human being are difficult, and she hopes to be both before she’s gone. These humans will be playing music this Friday, August 31 at Le Voyeur in Olympia. No, you may not borrow my hair brush!



[Le Voyeur, with Junkmail, 10 p.m., no cover, 404 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia, 360.943.5710]