Buffy Samantha Rollins
Interview By: Ginger Coyote
Buffy does the lead vocals for the Indianapolis punk band Panty Line and is the Editor of Pinkie Magazine. I sure hope you enjoy my interview with Buffy Rollins.
Punk Globe: Thanks for the interview, Buffy. Please give the readers some background information on yourself.
Buffy: Thank you for having me, It is an honor! Hello, My name is Buffy Rollins, I am an autistic trans woman, I am currently 26 years old, and my favorite cartoon at the moment is The Power Puff Girls, I am the singer/songwriter for Panty Line, and I am also the founder of Pinkie Magazine.
Punk Globe: When did you form Panty Line?
Buffy: I formed Panty Line, Shortly after being released from Psychiatric care in Indianapolis in 2019. Originally, my idea was to find a creative and healthy way to express how I was feeling.. I knew I was not straight and I knew a lot of people in my life would not understand. I did not want to live in a closet anymore, so I figured I could be a drag queen, but punk rock claimed me first and so Panty Line started in 2019 as an Acoustic Duo, with me singing and Salem on guitar, Whom I met through a mutual friend. Our first show was at Indiana’s longest-running gay bar, The Mark
Punk Globe: How did you come up with Panty Line for the band’s name?
Buffy: Back when I was a closeted crossdresser. I liked being feminine before I knew what being trans or Queer was. One of my favorite things to wear was panties because They made me feel cute and they were easy to hide. A big fear I had was that someone would see my panty line.
Punk Globe: Does Panty Line have all the original members
Buffy: Salem is no longer in the band since they moved to Virginia. We are still good friends though and chat from time to time. Panty Line went through a bit of a revolving lineup change afterward, but I found more permanent members, who are like my family now.
Punk Globe: Who else is in the band and what do they play?
Buffy: Jake Williams, a good friend of mine whom I met through the scene in Muncie, Plays Guitar. Rin GreyWolf, Who I like to call “My sister in crime”, Plays Bass. Nathan Dick, and JJ Pearson, have rotated on drums, depending on who is available.
Punk Globe: Who are some of the band’s influences?
Buffy: I was first, really inspired by a lot of the straight-edge hardcore bands like Youth of Today and Judge. the messages seemed meaningful, short, and to the point. I’m personally not straight edge myself, I’ve never had an issue with alcoholism or any other substances, but people around me did, so the songs still hit close. I would say now, our influences are Husker Du, Dead Kennedys, The Birthday Party, Henry Rollins and of course; The Dicks!! The Dicks changed my life and are a major influence.
Punk Globe: How l met you was through my long-time pal J.J. The drummer for Toxic Reasons. How did you two meet?
Buffy: We had been friends on social media for a while and we both have been involved in the Hoosier punk scene. I originally thought he was just a truck driver, But then he shared a video of toxic reasons “Destroyer” Live from San Francisco and it blew my mind. I was like “Holy shit JJ, i didn’t know you were cool like that” We have been good friends since. He feeds me from time to time and fills in for Panty Line whenever he can. He is our Punk Dad, as we call him.
Punk Globe: Was J.J. a regular at Panty Line shows?
Buffy: I am not sure if JJ had ever seen a panty line show live, but I think JJ experienced his first panty line show, by filling in drums for us in June. It was around the time I was admitted into psychiatric care again and I remember texting him before getting admitted, I let him know we wouldn’t have time to practice, but if I got out in time we would still do the show regardless. Thankfully, I got out in time, the day of, i think, and we did the show. It was a mud wrestling/punk show and we killed it, we blew all the other bands out of the water. It was crazy, kids were moving around, having a good time. I gave one kid in the audience the microphone and they went nuts. JJ told me after the show That it reminded him of the shows he did in Berlin with toxic reasons, which was cool, coming from him. He has been interested in playing ever since.
Punk Globe: Does Panty Line have any releases out?
Buffy: We do! The first 2 releases are what I consider my baby steps. I rushed them because I was excited to make music and i didnt care to learn about making it “Good”. To be honest, I didn’t think panty Line would really become anything and i didn’t think many people would listen to the songs anyway, so i didn’t care as much about how they sounded. Once we released “Austin Texas Uber Alles” and “Millions Of Dead Proud Boys” we started to have a cool thing going, and we have developed a following since. Our most recent release is “The MilkMan Sessions” which was self produced and recorded Live at Milkman studios in Indianapolis, which was an abandoned milk factory, hence the name. The album is a compilation of the early panty line stuff, done the way I would have wanted them to be. It was mostly meant to be a cassette tape release, but it got pressed on vinyl too, which has been sold out on both formats. I’m Super Proud of it!
Punk Globe: I understand he has offered to co-produce a release by you or is it with Panty Line?
Buffy: JJ had gotten a call from Joe Cheeseman. Joe had given JJ a call and said that he was interested in producing and recording a band. When Joe had told JJ it was Panty Line that he wanted to record, JJ had said “Fuck off did they set you up to tell me that?” But alas, it was no joke and JJ was offered to Co-Produce us. JJ then called me up and told me about the news. I’m excited, to say the least. JJ has a lot of good knowledge and experience, so it’s an honor to have him involved.
Punk Globe: How far along is the production have you gone into a studio yet?
Buffy: We have a fistful of songs ready to go and a couple we are working on to prepare for the studio, but we have not gone to the studio yet. We are going to start recording near the end of the year. We have a song coming out soon called “Pig Head” and it’s my favorite song of ours so far.
Punk Globe: You also are the Editor of your very own magazine Pinkie Magazine. How long have you been doing the magazine?
Buffy: A few months now. It is crazy, it started with photos that I printed from my local Walgreens, that I would then glue, tape, and staple together on construction paper. Now, it is an actual magazine! We have a Patreon and profits sold from the magazine go back into the queer community. The show JJ filled in for us in June, we had given out free pepper spray to trans women.
Punk Globe: Tell us some of the fabulous folks you have interviewed.
Buffy: My first real interview was with Susan Stryker, Author and educator best known for her book “Transgender History: The Roots Of Our Revolution” she was extremely kind, and shared an interesting story about how the clash impacted her, which I loved. We also interviewed a former student from IU who dealt with severe Bullying, being a trans student. We also interviewed the Iconic, The fabulous, The legendary, Ginger Coyote!
Punk Globe: Sadly, I got sick and was not able to do the interview. I understand you reached out to the ultra-rad Jayne County tell us about that.
Buffy: I did, but I haven’t gotten a response yet. Fingers crossed though! Jayne If you are reading this I love you! And Pinkie would like to have you on an issue.
Punk Globe: Jayne used to write a column in Punk Globe. It was wonderful. One of her best quotes was about Cherie Currie from The Runaways “From Cherry Bomb To Klannie Mom” Jayne does not agree with Cherie’s politics.. She called out others like Kid Rock, Alice Cooper, and Johnny Ramone. Jayne and I recorded a song song called ‘Rock N Roll RepubliKKKan it is out on Dead Puppy Records try to find it if you can I think I have a MP3 of it
Buffy: I’m excited to listen to it! I will check it out after the interview. It would be a good interview question for her I’m sure!
Punk Globe: How many issues does Pinkie Magazine have out?
Buffy: Currently we have 4 and we are working on our 5th now. In our most recent release (issue 4) I interviewed Alyson from Flummox, which was great. We both got stoned and had a deep conversation. It got to the point where it wasn’t necessarily an “Interview” as it was 2 fellow trans musicians having a heart to heart. I love Alyson and she is incredibly sweet. I also do a review of Bob Mould’s show here in Indianapolis. It left me in tears, I love his music and zen arcade has been my companion the past few months.
Punk Globe: Who else is involved with the magazine?
Buffy: My sister in crime, Rin Greywolf, does a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of putting the zine together, and editing articles. I love her. Stephanie Marlow, helps me put the physical zines together. Alysha Biemolt, is our manager and helps keep things on track. Juniper Vera, our cartoonist, supplies awesome art and comics with every issue.
Punk Globe: Has J.J. written for it yet?
Buffy: He has not. But, I’m sure I can squeeze a good Toxic Reasons story out of him for one of the issues though. He had a good story he told about kicking the tires to his band’s van to make it turn because it fucked up while trying to get to their next show. He told me about it when I came over to eat with him and Tufty.
Punk Globe: Tell us what is in store for the future with you Buffy.
Buffy: Currently, I am unsure. Right now, I am going to school at BSU for a film degree, but I’m failing most of my classes. It’s been rough recently, and the holidays have been putting me in a bad headspace, so I’m Ready for the holidays to end. I’m fairly scared yet curious of the future, I don’t know what it holds for someone like me, I just hope it isn’t painful.. But, that is not how character development works, does it?.
Punk Globe: Do you have any Internet Addresses you would like to share with the readers of Punk Globe?
Buffy: You can follow Pantyline.bandcamp.com to hear our newest release “Milkman sessions” and you can follow Pinkie magazine on Facebook, instagram, and patreon!
Punk Globe: Now the really hard question Describe yourself in THREE words.
Buffy: Angry, Creative, Ambitious
Punk Globe: Any last words for Punk Globe readers Buffy?
Buffy: If i was a power puff girl, I would be Bubbles.
Punk Globe: Thanks for the interview Bunny
