IN MY ROOM

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John Eatherly, Nathan Vasquez, Jonas Stein, and

Jemina Pearl, photographed for Spin in Nashville, January 11, 2008

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Be Your Own Pet Inside the punk brats’ rehearsal space at guitarist Jonas Stein’s parents’ house

1NEON SIGN Jonas Stein: “My dad used to own a restaurant, but it failed. I kidnapped this before he could sell it.” Nathan Vasquez: “It was the only light source when we would practice.”

2ZAAT MOVIE POSTER Stein: “This is for a ’70s monster movie my mom was in. This one guy who is obsessed with the movie came to Nashville to get her autograph on a few things and left 3us with two posters.”

MACHETE Vasquez: “We use the machete to cut down thorn plants when we go hiking. Especially during the night—it’s the biggest pain in the balls to walk into thorns all of a sudden.”

4BUZZCOCKS POSTER Stein: “They are my favorite punk band. I really like the mouths in place of the nipples—” Jemina Pearl: “Don’t 5say nipples.”

SCHECTER GUITAR Stein: “This is my favorite guitar. I didn’t know that much about the company; I just saw it in a store and bought 6it impulsively.”

MANNEQUIN HEAD AND NURSE HAT Pearl: “The head I found at an antique mall— I had been looking for one for a while. The nurse hat is from my Halloween costume, which I first wore onstage at a show in Oxford, England. I also wore it on 7New Year’s, in a hot tub.”

THE RUNAWAYS’ QUEENS OF NOISE Pearl: “Thurston [Moore]’s friend owns a record store in Massachusetts, and we went there right around my birthday. This album was, like, $40, and when I went up to the register, [Moore] said, ‘There’s a sale on Runaways records today, right?’ And he just gave it to me.”

8SKATEBOARDS Stein: “I usually like to have one on tour, but I haven’t been able to ride, because I need to put some wheels and trucks on these decks. All my hardware got stolen at South by Southwest last year.”

9FOUR-TRACK RECORDER John Eatherly: “I got in on eBay for $⁸⁰, and we recorded most of the first album on it. It’s my baby.” Vasquez: “It’s captured everything we’ve done, no matter how 1ho₀rribly awry or slightly better.” KEYBOARD Pearl: “I found that at a thrift store in Nashville for, like, $7 this summer. It has so many switches and awesome things.”

BY MICHELLE EGIZIANO