A spotlight interview with Paige Hollow of Witch Spit of South Australia, ahead of their appearance at the LOUD WOMEN stage at Rebellion Festival this summer.
How did you choose your band name?
I held onto it for 12+ years after I dribbled once when I was wasted and my mate said “ew, that’s witch spit”
Who’s in the band, and what do you all play/do?
Paige – playing the Franken-guitar and vocals, Alex – drumming, yelling and telling bad jokes.
Describe your sound in three words.
Feral, Feminist, Loud
Tell us about your music
We released our first album as a two piece in 2025, Public Execution. It’s equal parts political/feminist and also a mix of silly stories from our life together touring and being feral girls. The songs speak also of the sexism we’ve faced as musicians and just really highlight the last couple of years touring together.
I think people really love Eddy’s Song. Eddy is reference to ED (Eating Disorders) and the pressure the media puts on us to be thin. I think so many of us, women and men – of ALL shapes and sizes, have struggled with our image and what society expects us to look like. We decided to write about it as if it were a person that was stealing from us, because that’s how it feels living with it.
Most of our lyrics come from unexpected places. A lot of the hooks/choruses in the songs are from drunken conversations. The notes app in my phone is a very scary and sacred place. Sometimes I just say something or hear something and think, that could be a cool lyric I could build of. Alex also has come out with some crackers, even before she was in the band. “I got stoned at grandma’s funeral, I’ve pissed in a urinal” – my favourite Alex written lyric.
What’s your local scene like — and how do you fit in, or stir it up?
Adelaide is really pumping. We’re kind of the underdogs as far as music scenes in Australia. A lot of people in the eastern states don’t think much happens here, but we have such an incredible and diverse scene. We have a lot of dear friends here that we play music with, from all different genres. We definitely used to stir up the straight edge hardcore scene a bit, we don’t really play shows in that scene anymore.
If you could rip up the rulebook of the music industry, what’s the first thing you’d rewrite?
How hard it is to make a living for lower/working class people. I’ve seen so many incredibly talented people quit the industry because it has defeated them, it’s so sad how unsupported it is as far as being a career option. Also men being in charge of everything, lol.
What’s the wildest/strangest thing that’s ever happened at one of your gigs?
I actually have a damaged tooth from a gig we played earlier in the year at this secret venue. There was a lady dancing real intensely and I invited her to come dance on this catwalk they’d built off the stage, cause it seemed like she wanted to. She was pissed (drunk) and she got up on the catwalk and it collapsed, and she fell into my microphone and smashed it into my mouth, pulled out my leads etc. Gotta give it to Alex though, she just kept drumming cause she didn’t see it go down. There was a tree growing out of the middle of the stage so she couldn’t see me hahaha, it was such a bizarre night/venue but was really cool. The cops got called in the middle of our set and the whole party got shut down. My tooth still hurts sometimes.
What’s the biggest hurdle you’ve faced and how did you overcome it?
We’ve had a lot of lineup changes over the years. Making the band work as a two piece has been challenging, including building a Frankenstein guitar! But we got there. Also the barriers we face in Australia as a self-managed band makes it very difficult to smash through the next ceiling. It’s tough out here for heavy musicians!
What’s the proudest moment you’ve had so far as a band/artist?
Getting booked for Rebellion for sure!
What’s the strangest gig you’ve ever played? Tell us why
We played a show in a skate park inside a concrete bowl. It was nearly forty degrees and the PA cut out half way through our first song, and we had to stand there for 40 minutes while they drove to get another one. It was SO AWKWARD. It was a hardcore show and I don’t think the crowd was really into the content of our music. I then couldn’t climb out of the bowl, Alex had to help me cause it was so deep. Such a weird and memorable gig, for all the wrong reasons.
What’s a dream gig or collaboration you must make happen before you die?
Playing with Distillers would make my life complete. On a more realistic level, I’d love to collaborate with Lambrini Girls. Who Let the Dogs Out is my favourite album to have come out in a long time!
What’s next for you?
After this UK trip I’ll make a start on the next album. We’d really love to do a bigger UK/Europe tour next year as well as America and New Zealand (where I was born). We don’t really ever stop and we don’t plan on slowing down any time soon.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Thanks so much to you guys at Loud Women for supporting us so fiercely! It means the world to see so many amazing women run businesses putting more badass non males on stages. Fuck the Patriarchy!!
Who is answering these questions? (Full or stage names please)*
re working on mixing a number of other songs and hoping to release a couple more singles followed by our first EP later this year. We are also playing Garageland Festival in Brighton on 25th July and of course Loud Women Fest at Exchange, Bristol on 22nd August! We also have some fundraiser gigs planned in Bournemouth and Stroud and would love to get back on tour and play more festivals! So get in touch!
Catch Witch Spit at LOUD WOMEN at The Windmill, Brixton on 2 August and LOUD WOMEN Sunday at Rebellion Festival
