The return of Girl in a Coma: An interview with Jenn Alva

By Gregg Shapiro

With only four albums to its name, the San Antonio-based, all-female, two-thirds queer, Girl in a Com still managed to make an enduring impression on listeners. Signed to Joan Jett’s Blackheart Records

label in the mid-2000s, the threesome – out members Jenn Alva and Phanie Diaz, and Phanie’s straight sister Nina – rocked original songs and cover tunes, performing live at SXSWnand on Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors Tour, among others. But by 2018, it was all over. The band broke up. Nina released a solo album, and Jenn and Phanie formed the band Fea. But guess what? Girl in a Coma is back, on tour and in the studio. Jenn was gracious enough to make time for an interview to discuss the band during the summer of 2025. [Girl in a Coma performs at Riot Fest 2025 in Douglass Park on

9/19.]

Gregg Shapiro: Since this interview is taking place following a hiatus of a few years for Girl in a Coma, I’d like to begin with some history of the band for the readers, beginning with the origin of the band’s name?

Jenn Alva: We chose Girl in a Coma, because we were huge Smiths fans, after the song, “Girlfriend in a Coma.” Originally, we wanted to be called Ordinary Girls. I kind of wish we chose that now. At the time, it sounded boring, but now it kind of sounds fitting, especially through everything we've experienced in our career. It probably would have been a really good name, too. Girl in a Coma

was on a hiatus for a few years. We didn't think we were gonna get back together. Then Nina had brought up the idea of maybe we should do some final shows since we never did that. We did a few shows in Texas, and they went so well. Everything seemed like maybe we should get back together for one more album.

GS: Is Girl in a Coma the first band of which you were a member, or were you in bands before that?

JA: Girl in a Coma was my first band. Phanie, the drummer, and I were best friends. We met at age 12. We've been in smaller groups, but not like any group that played more than five shows. Yeah, Girl in a Coma was the first band, and of course, later Phanie and I started Fea.

GS: You mentioned being a fan of The Smiths. Who are some of your other personal music influences?

JA: When we first started, it was definitely Jeff Buckley. A lot of the British indie wave that came through. Travis, Coldplay. We really gravitated to The Verve. Prior to that, I would say, Phanie and I went to a Babes in Toyland concert, and it just changed our lives. That's why we wanted to start a band in the first place. When Nina became the singer, we were like, “Well, it's not the band we

thought we were gonna make.” She sings so melodically, she writes stories, and it just became this kind

of alternative indie group. Phanie and I got to do our tribute to the Riot Grrrl movement. We like all kinds of music, including oldies. Of course, we're here in San Antonio, so there's Tejano music. It's just a big melting pot of a lot of music, and from our parents. We love it all, honestly.

GS: How long have you been playing bass, and do you play any other instruments?

JA: Let's see, I'm 45 now, and I've been playing since I was 20. A little bit before, but before I was kind of lying. Saying, “Oh, I know how to play bass, I really like it.” That's true punk rock spirit, right?

GS: That's true punk rock spirit, right?

JA: Yeah! If anything, Phanie showed me root notes. She’d play guitar and I’d follow along. It wasn't

until Girl in Coma that, being a three-piece, you have to open your mind to make it sound fuller, as

much as you can. I play a little guitar; I dabble in everything. I've kind of got

this ADHD mind where I pick up something, and bass is my love. I could never stop playing bass.

But I pick up all sorts of instruments, I learn a little bit and walk away [laughs].

GS: Both 2009’s “TrioB.C.” and 2010’s “Adventures in Coverland” featured songs sung in

Spanish, and you also mentioned Tejano music being an influence. Please say a few words about the role of Latin culture on the band.

JA: Absolutely! I mean, we're here in South Texas, of course Selena was a huge part of growing up.

There were similar parallels with Selena and Nina. Nina, desperately wanting to learn Spanish, and kind of going through the same thing. Nina started so young. We were touring. She dropped out of school. She got her GED. Music was number one (for her). Selena was all around. She was our pride here in San Antonio, and of course, Corpus and South Texas. We've always wanted to pay tribute.

We all know a little; we don't speak Spanish as fluently as we'd like to because growing up, your

grandmother, your parents, spoke Spanish, but they weren't teaching it to you because they felt like it could hold you back. We know that's ridiculous. It's been a downfall because obviously knowing another

language is just a level up of intelligence, which would have been great. But, yeah, we always want to

pay tribute. Songs in Spanish are just beautiful. We wanted to add Spanish songs, as well.

GS: Speaking of influence, as a queer-identified band, with youand Phanie being out members, how do you see Girl in a Coma’s place in the realm of LGBTQ music?

JA: We’ve always tried to be a part of everything we could be, like festivals. If anything, besides

learning about ourselves and our community, our community has always helped us. Our fan base has

grown so much in South Texas. On our very first tour, we ran out of money in San Francisco. We were

hitting up all those bars with a CD player, back in the day, like “Here, listen to this. Can you buy this

demo? We need to raise money to get back to San Antonio.” Those were queer bars. They were helping

us. They wanted to support an all woman group. It's great to be visible. Onstage, I try to talk a little

bit more about the work we’ve done within the community. Right now, they're hitting trans people, and I

feel like we need to stand up even more. So, when I'm on stage, I'll try to catch the vibe of the crowd.

Usually, it's very good. Obviously, they're there for us, and I'll mention to take care of your LGBTQ+ and

trans people. Be visible with them. Just a short sentence on stage does so much. When I was growing up, I saw (the band) The Toadies play, and Lisa, the bass player, was a lesbian, and she looked like me. It's important to be present, because you don't know, you may change someone's life just by playing music.

GS: Representation matters, and it matters more every day now in this current political climate. Finally, is there new Girl in a Coma music forthcoming?

JA: We do have a few songs that are already done. Before the hiatus, we were playing them a little bit. We've brought them back, and we've done slight rearrangements. We've got about three songs totally ready for the new album. We're going to start working on it some more. Everything is just very delicate. We haven't been back together in so long. I don't want to say, “We've got five albums in us,” when life is just life. There will definitely be a new album, I can say that.