Page 8 - Vo Vo | FIX MY HEAD #10: COMPLEXITY

Melo Davis (they/he) - vocals, guitar Ro Samarth (they/she) - drums
Ana MeiLi Carling (she) - guitar, vocals Mars Ganito (they) - bass
1. How did MALLRAT start and was it difficult finding each other? What intentions did you set at the begin- ning?
Melo: MALLRAT started as my solo project. At first it was just my way of grappling with my trauma and try- ing to understand my body. I didn’t really set any intentions at the time except that I needed my bandmates to be the right people. There are a lot of areas in my life where I have to split up parts of who I am, so it was really important for me to have bandmates that I not only click with musically but who also make me feel seen as a whole human being. Ro was the first to join the band on drums, and then our friend Em (who plays in their own band, It’s Cool) joined us on guitar. We didn’t have a bassist for the first year of this band be- cause I knew that I hadn’t met the right person yet. Em moved to Philly recently and left the band, but I feel really lucky that my friends Ana MeiLi and Mars just joined MALLRAT on guitar and bass!
2. Tell us about the members.
Melo: My name is Melo, I’m an elf boy/girl who is bisexual, biracial, and French-Vietnamese-American. I play in Mallrat and Lucky Cat, embroider, draw, and record videos of myself dancing in my bedroom.
Ana MeiLi: I’m Ana MeiLi, I play guitar in Mallrat, am part of the punk/pop trio Cutting Room Floor, and have a new band I’m fronting called Lucky Cat. I’m mixed race, queer, gender-fluid, and also a visual artist and sex educator. I’m really excited to be joining Mallrat cause I love Melo’s songs and I think all my band- mates are pretty brilliant.
3. What kind of political or social work are you involved in? Either organizing or creative pursuits...
Melo: I’ve been trying to book shows that center people who are marginalized from music scenes, but I haven’t been doing as much of that work lately because booking shows takes a big emotional toll on me. I’m