Bad Flirt may have trouble finding dates, but have been more fortunate when it comes to music. The Montreal-based indie band is in the midst of wrapping up a tour in support of their latest album, “Virgin Talk,” while developing quite the fan base – including ‘tween queens Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.

Just last year, The Olsens chose Bad Flirt to be one of 10 finalists in their first ever Battle of the Bands competition, and the band was later voted the winner by the twin’s fans.

“For a time, the Olsen twins I guess decided they wanted to manage a band and we were the ones they wanted to manage,” says Jasamine White-Gluz, Bad Flirt’s lead singer and guitarist. “But it’s like with any spoiled rich kid, they get bored of their toys really fast so they got bored of us pretty quick.”

At least it led the band to a few promotional gigs and a video. Today, their biggest project is “Virgin Talk,” their debut full-length record, released in October.

Bad Flirt started off as a solo project for White-Gluz before she expanded it into a full band.

“I work with a bunch of different musicians in the city so I went through a few different lineups until I found the people that are in the band now, and I guess Montreal’s not too big, especially like English speakers who like music,” White-Gluz tells andPOP.

As for the name, White-Gluz explains it was quite easy to come up with. “We’re all just kind of awkward when it comes to flirting with members of the opposite sex so it’s exactly what you would think. We are the ones with the bad pickup lines and the awkward moves.”

The band’s often described as pop-rock and hard-pop but as White-Gluz admits, “We tend to sometimes think it’s heavier than it actually is.”

White-Gluz, along with the rest of the band (Evan Dubinsky on keyboards, guitarist Laura Lloyd, guitarist and bassist Nick Knowles and drummer Raf De La Durantaye), spent quite some time in the studio working on the record. “We thought a lot about how we were putting it together but we actually didn’t even realize people would hear it,” White-Gluz laughs.

The album was inspired by themes of childhood and leaving home, and a particular ’90s TV show that White-Gluz would not divulge. (Editor’s note: we know what it is. We don’t want to ruin it for you, the readers, so we’ll give you one clue. The show actually started in 1989.)

They teamed up with producer Howard Bilerman (Wolf Parade, Arcade Fire) and later signed with Kartel Musik. “We worked with Howard before we had any idea who would be putting out the record. Howard is a kind of a well known figure in Montreal and his studio Hotel Tango is just equipped with some of the nicest vintage gear I’ve ever seen.”

Bad Flirt has since been touring nonstop for their new album. “We’ve played like over 100 shows this year outside of the country so we’re a little bit tired but we’re still pushing this.”

Rumour has it the band has been working something out with Virgin head honcho Richard Branson to have their music aired in space (if he ever begins his orbit) .

“I think something might’ve been worked out with him but I’m overly afraid of heights so it wouldn’t be me that would be going to space,” White-Gluz says, “but it’s possible our music will be.”






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