MP3: Bullet and Snowfox – “One More Shot”
Stream: Bullet and Snowfox on SoundCloud

Casual Encounters ads on Craigslist don’t usually lead to membership in high energy, post-punk dance bands, but that’s exactly how L.A.’s Bullet and Snowfox got started.

Led by San Diego native Kristen Wagner and influenced by bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees, Blondie, and Garbage, Bullet and Snowfox released its first EP in April. The EP is a sugary sweet and upbeat effort, and it’s no wonder that the band has already been featured on MTV.

Bullet and Snowfox will play the Sonic-Con indie music showcase this Saturday, June 2 at Porter’s Pub. In anticipation of the show, we asked the band — which describes its sound as “a mouth full of candy-flavored knuckle sandwiches” — to tell us about its influences. They happily obliged, and you can check out Bullet and Snowfox’s Poetic Memory below.

Sonic-Con is a music expo held in support of independent record stores and to promote the hobby of music collecting. In addition to a lineup of bands that includes the New Limb, the New Kinetics, the Very, the Colourist, Kelsea Little and the 78s, This Time with Feeling, and Tan Sister Radio, Sonic-Con will also feature a record sale, beer garden, and gourmet food trucks. Tickets may be purhased here for $11.50, or at the door for $15. Proceeds will benefit the National Association of Music Merchants, proprietors of the Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, California. We’re also giving away two tickets to Sonic-Con; visit our Facebook page to enter.

Poetic Memory: Bullet and Snowfox

28 Days Later: Start to finish, this movie is absolutely beautiful. The mood and the score of this movie adds such an intense dynamic. Shot on a handheld. I love artsy, I love gory, this movie is absolutely fantastic. (Josh)

Manchester Orchestra: Yes, the songs are well written, the tones accurately capture the mood, the musicianship is superb; but it’s the lyrics that get you. Andy Hull is a genius, who paints a picture like no other. Love it. (Josh)

Barbie and The Rockers: One of my most vivid childhood memories is of spending endless hours in my bedroom as a 7-year-old playing with my Barbie and The Rockers set. Dolls have a unique way of stretching your imagination because the story has to be created in your mind. And in those moments, with that little cardboard stage and pink plastic instruments, I might as well have been Susanna Hoffs playing Madison Square Garden. (Kristen)

Neon Angel: This is one of the only books I’ve ever read start to finish. I have always been fascinated by what it would have been like to grow up in Los Angeles (maybe because both of my parents did) and the insight into Cherie Currie’s life is so shocking it’s almost unreal. A longtime fan of Joan Jett, I knew little about her Runaways counterpart until reading this book. Having had my introduction to the world of music in an all-girl band, we share some experiences that are undeniable. Although her road to success and career’s ultimate demise are both inspiring and cautionary, respectively, it’s the youthful optimism filled with promise and ambition that’s so enticing…then shit gets real. (Kristen)

“Connection” by Elastica: This song was the sonic template for what I wanted to be when we started Bullet & Snowfox. It’s so simple, yet full of effortless attitude, conveying a feeling of “I would fuck you up, but I just don’t give a shit”. I knew with Josh’s input, having co-writer’s involved and just our sheer personality and taste differences, we would never match that exact sound and we didn’t want to. But listening to this song day in and day out fueled my inspiration for what later evolved into the Bullet & Snowfox that exists today. That’s why I love to play this cover live and pay homage to the ruling chick’s that came before me. (Kristen)

Desperately Seeking Susan: Madonna at her best. I have always been more like Rosanna Arquette’s character in this movie…the square girl dipping her toe in the unknown and then discovering she’s not that square after all. It’s just a reminder that your world is only as big as you allow it to be. If you want it to be different, just walk down a different street. (Kristen)

Hair dye: Without it, everybody would know way too much about everybody else. Blondes would be blonde, brunettes would be brunette and red heads.. Well they’re still a mystery to me. The world would be completely flipped upside down without hair dye. (Matteo)

Ranch dressing (specifically Hidden Valley): Simply put, it makes everything better. I try to live like ranch dressing. (Matteo)

Birth control: It’s SAFE…and if I had to play the drums whilst pregnant, that would be uncomfortable. (Matteo)