Despite being an angelic-faced waif, Annie Hardy, of LA-based band Giant Drag, has been rumored to have as foul a mouth as any pot-bellied truck driver.  Not shocking, considering her band’s past albums have included track titles like “YFLMD” (You Fuck Like My Dad), and the smoky-voiced songstress has been known to enjoy long-winded discussions about sex. 

Yet, aside from a proclivity to sleeping in (she never wakes before 2pm), Hardy has recently, as she puts it, “grown up a bit.”  In addition to co-hosting a weekly Internet radio program – Get The Fuck Up – on LA’s acclaimed Little Radio (and sharing the sound booth with everyone from Apollo Sunshine to Slash), Hardy is hard at work on the band’s third album. And right now she’s a one-woman band: fellow vocalist Micah Calabrese left the band last December.

What better femme to Road Test the newly-launched, ultra-refined LA-based premium denim label Proportion of Blu, which caught our eye last month at Project NY?  So, we outfitted Hardy in a pair of 2 – straight-leg – jeans in a black Tre wash.  In her own words:

Hi Annie.
Hello [sigh]. 

Are you just getting up [it’s 2:45pm in LA]?
Yeah [sigh]. 

Still in bed?
Just got out.

So what’s with the sleeping so late - staying up too late?
Yeah, I stay up late.  Usually 5am.  Last night it was 6am.  I’ll write songs at night… I didn’t always stay up so late.  I think it started in high school when I started putting toxins in my body. 

What are three of your vices?
TV, cigarettes, and Dr. Pepper, to name the safer ones.  Oh, and fucking hawking loogies into empty Dr. Pepper cans because I’m too lazy to get up.

So how did it go with Terrell [Wick, owner and designer of Proportion of Blu] yesterday?
Great!  I got one pair of black jeans.

How do they feel, fit, etc?
They’re really cool.  Very comfortable.  And I can’t believe these little parts [rivets] are real gold.

Are they very stiff?
The denim is kind of hard, but not uncomfortable.  One of the girls there yesterday told me that the harder the denim is, the higher-quality it is.  I never knew that before.  They give way – allow for plenty of movement.  They’re kind of low-cut, and usually I need a belt with low-cut jeans so my butt crack won’t come out.  But, I didn’t wear a belt with these and I don’t think my butt crack came out once. 

So would you wear these on-stage?
Definitely.

Do you wear jeans every day?
Pretty much. 

How many do you own?
I’d say maybe 25.  I just got rid of some.  All the free jeans I’ve gotten are my favorites.  I couldn’t afford to buy that many.

How would you describe your style?
Excuse me [coughs, then hawks a loogie].  My style is like gift-bag chic.  Whatever I get for free mixed with whatever I bought for cheap.

And what would you wear your new Proportion Of Blu’s with?
They’re black, so you can wear them with anything.  I was wearing them with a white shirt and black hooded sweatshirt yesterday.  I like wearing all black.  If I needed to suddenly burglarize someone all I’d have to do is zip up my hoodie and I’d be dark as night. 

Have you ever stolen anything?
Yeah.  I stole one earring.  But my mom found out – right before I was about to drop it off the balcony. 

Off the balcony?
I was three and we lived on this big hill.  I didn’t even have pierced ears.  I think I just thought, ‘This thing is kind of shiny.’  She made me take it back to teach me a lesson.  Though, I think if I had stolen two she would have just kept them for herself. 

Tell me a little about the new Giant Drag album…
Right now I’m working on trying to find a producer.

Do you know whom you’ll be collaborating with as far as musicians?
No, I don’t.  I thought I did but now I don’t.  We moved up to regular Interscope so it’s not as freewheeling as last time.

So no more controversial song titles in store?
I feel like I’ve grown up a little bit.  That was four years ago.  I never thought about the fact that people would be reviewing them and writing about them.  There’s nothing nearly as controversial on the new album. 

Is there a theme running through the new album?
I have 24 songs right now, which is enough for two albums.  I don’t know what the theme is going to be.  They’re a lot slower, sadder songs; the last album was a lot angrier. 

Do you think that’s partly due to Micah having left the band?aside from a proclivityThat’s a little part.  That did get me out of a writing block I was in.  After he quit I was so sad; I was like, “I can write again!” 

If you wrote a song about the jeans you got yesterday, what would the title be?
The title would be ‘I love being black.’  Cause they’re black jeans and I love wearing black jeans.

If you could have any guest on your radio show who would it be?
Probably Axl Rose.  I’d like to collect the whole Guns N’ Roses set.

I read that you’re working on a Madonna tribute album that will go to benefit AIDS.  Are you a big Madge fan?
Not the hugest.  I’m a fan.  I definitely like the song I’m recording… I like anything that benefits AIDS.  AIDS is no good as far as I’m concerned. It’s something that hits close to home.  My mom’s best friend when I was young had it and died when I was 8.  It was back when it was pretty new and nobody understood it.  My best friend’s mom wouldn’t let me drink off the same cup as her.  

Educating people can be a slow process.  Who inspires you?
Oprah Winfrey.  I denied Oprah for a long time; I thought, “This is just a bunch of hooey.”  But then, about a year and a half ago, I started watching because I didn’t have cable.  She’s one of the best.

Would you like to have her on your radio show?
I’d love to.  But it’ll never happen. 

Maybe it will.  If you win one of her ‘Make a Wish Happen’ contests or something?
It’s funny you should mention that because she’s doing that ‘Make Your Wish Come True’ thing right now and I sent her a message on her website last night asking for a miracle for one of my family members.

Well, I’ll definitely keep my fingers crossed for you.  You’re at a pretty unique spot – starting a new album on your own.  How does it feel?  Exciting?  Terrifying?
I’m a couple yards away from terrified, and a little bit excited.  I just don’t trust my own judgment all of the time.  It’s scary to have all the weight on my back.  Like the song.  No one’s taking a load off Annie. 

What do you think Oprah’s advice would be?
She’d tell me to watch that DVD of The Secret.  The energy I put out into the universe is what I get back. 

So strange!  A friend of mine just bought that and couldn’t stop raving about it the other night.  Perhaps that could be your next road-test?
I’d love to.

 ~Alisa Gould-Simon

First photo Michael Schwartz
Third and Fourth photos by Michel-Jean Phillipe; makeup by Lauren J.B. OConnell