Magneta Lane have been playing their instruments for exactly nine months. Guitarist/singer Lexi recruited two fellow classmates (and one cousin) to join her rock band; the three current members are all only nineteen. Despite their youth, these girls have been doing very well for themselves. Their debut full-length, The Constant Lover, is coming soon on Paper Bag Records, home of the Fembots and Uncut. Jam Butty asked the ladies a few questions.

Do you have any good stories? Any fistfights?
French (the bassist): A few days before our meeting with Paper Bag, I slipped and fell and gave myself a black eye. So when we went into the meeting, I looked like I'd been in a bar fight. I think they thought I was the butch one.

So do you actually fight?
Lexi: Sometimes French and Nadia (the drummer) call me Axl. But we don't fight. We never fight. I'm not a bitchy boss, am I?

What made you girls start playing music?
Lexi: We all were going to shows a lot, and we noticed that if you were a girl, you couldn't talk to the musicians without feeling inferior, like you were a groupie or something. We just wanted equality, to seem like we were more than fans. It had nothing to do with feminism or anything like that. We just wanted to feel like we were on even footing.

Your first gig was at a Shameless party, wasn't it?
French: Actually, that wasn't our first show.
Nadia: Don't tell him about that!
French: Well, we played some crappy bar in Scarborough on a Wednesday night. There were all these dirty old men there and we got kicked out for causing a ruckus.

Sounds like a great first show to me.
Nadia: No, we're all class. No funny stuff.

Do you have any pre-show rituals?
Lexi: We pray.

Really? Are you religious?
Lexi: When we think about what's happened to us in the last two months, all the great things, you've gotta believe that something's out there.

Are you girls touring soon?
Lexi: Maybe. I want to go to Morocco.

Why?
Lexi: Sounds exotic.

I just read a story set in Morocco. It was... no, wait, it was Algeria.
French: That's different.

I tried to listen to your music online but I think I thought your name was Magenta Lane.
Lexi: Magenta is a horrible colour.

I kind of like it. I wouldn't wear it though. What does 'œmagneta'? mean?
Lexi: It's attraction, like a magnet.

Oh yeah. I just saw Evanescence playing down at MuchMusic. There were tonnes of young girls there crying and going nuts. If you could say anything to those girls, what would you say?
Lexi: Respect yourselves. Do what you want to do.