Queer Creators Collection: Introducing Double Standard

Double Standard is your favorite girl band’s favorite girl band. The members took GO through their origins as musicians and bandmates, and elaborated on their journey to where, and who, they are now as they approach the drop of their new EP Double Standard in April. The bond between drummer Meg Cournoyer, lead guitarist Lauren Dinholer, singer/rhythm guitarist Siena Chanel, bass player Zoe Arora, and lead singer Lydia Eberling is undeniably at the heart of their creative process and musical talent. 

Double Standard came to fruition through Siena and Lydia, who went to NYU together and started collaborating towards the end of their senior year. They quickly meshed musically, while playing as a duo with a backing band primarily made up of men. Siena and Lydia wanted to make a united band of all non-male identifying members. On their journey to put the band together, they reached out to Meg, Lauren, and Zoe. “The songs really came into full form when we added these three lovely ladies, who added their own musical touch and inspiration to them,” Lydia gushed to GO.

While a good chunk of songs on Double Standard’s upcoming EP were written by Siena and Lydia, who Siena noted to be her “musical soulmate,” the members reminisced fondly on the creative process of one of their last tracks on the EP. Siena and Lydia pitched a few lyrics to the group, and the rest of the members added their own creative spin. “Meg is hearing drum beats, Lauren and Zoe have this really great ear for melody and harmony,” Lydia said. ”Everything comes together in this very organic lovely way.” Lauren added, “We sat in my room and made a 5-and-a-half-minute long demo where we were like, ‘We’re better than men! Men? No! Women? Yes!’ And we all just got to have fun for 8 hours and express our musicality without feeling like ugh… there’s a man in this room…” She elaborated, “We didn’t have to think that way because we were just playing with each other and we have that trust and that bond. A lot of it comes from our identity and feeling like we just get each other.” 

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Thematically, the members noted that their upcoming EP was made by “a couple of young 20-something people on the cusp of not quite adulthood but something quite close,” Lydia said. Their songs touch on relationships, sexuality, and disillusionment with the male-dominated music industry. “You get a lot of our tongue and cheek and our qui vive personalities in some of the songs. Every song is imbued with snarkiness that is part of our quintessential vibe,” Lydia added.

Meg chimed in, “There’s definitely a level of comfort that comes from being in a room with people who are not men and share some sort of queer identity. There’s a baseline of feeling understood.” She added, “Even when we first started doing anything together, there was an automatic feeling that I know these people and can just be myself around them. Everything else just falls into place so easily, there’s no pressure to be anything but yourself, and making music or anything creative is such a vulnerable thing. To have that already out of the way…the really vulnerable part of creating things together just came so naturally.”  

Along similar lines, Siena took us back to the core values of their music careers in its early stages. “When Lydia and I were searching for bandmates, it was important to create a safe space for queer and non-male identifying people in music, including ourselves. The first time we got in a room with everyone together it was so relaxing to know that you don’t have to prove yourself to these people, and not every idea has to represent your gender or queerness every time you put one out there.”

Zoe noted, “Double Standard represents a space that not only celebrates queerness, but normalizes it in mainstream environments. The genre we perform and the music scene in NYC in general can look down on non-male identifying people for their ability to ‘keep up’ so to speak when playing music. To have a space made where there is no question of our abilities and to have reach for others to see that it’s possible is so wonderful to me.” 

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Lydia added to that sentiment and told GO, “When we play live, we want our shows to be a safe space, where people have the freedom to express via clothing or movement. We want to prioritize that we are a safe space for non-male identifying people and queer people.” She drew on her personal experience as well, which is evident in her older projects. In listening to her songs, Lydia said she could picture where she was at 20 and 21 years old, on the verge of accepting her queerness. “I had spent so much time in the queer scene in NYC, and that culture and those people I made a home and community in is very apparent in my music.” 

The members of Double Standard are all incredibly excited to share their new music with their listeners, and for their EP release show on April 26th, following the drop of their EP Double Standard on April 25th. Be sure to pre-save the EP and check out tickets for the release show! Follow their Instagram @doublestandardtheband for more updates on their music!