But the first time Ritter heard Roten sing was in 2016, when she performed a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Dazed and Confused.” Ritter, a self-proclaimed “classic rock baby” raised on Pink Floyd and Bruce Springsteen, was impressed.
“I still prefer it in [Roten's] voice, honestly,” she says.
Despite having known each other for more than a decade, it wasn’t until the pandemic hit in 2020 that Roten and Ritter decided to start a band. After roping in another friend of theirs — Scottsdale School of Rock alum Sara Windom — the band known as Diva Bleach took shape.
In the three years since, they’ve skyrocketed to impressive heights in the Phoenix scene. With jangly power pop riffs by Windom and Ritter and cathartic vocal performances by Roten, who also plays bass, they’ve become one of the Valley’s rock acts to watch.
You can catch them this Friday, May 12, at The Rebel Lounge with Telltale and fellow locals Sundressed.
Diva Bleach earned a spot on the lineup at December’s ZONA Fest and are going on their first tour this month. They’ve also amassed over 50,000 followers on TikTok and 29,000 followers on Instagram, but they’re less focused on social media now than they were initially.
“[Social media] is not the end-all, be-all thing,” Ritter says. “If your video doesn’t get a whole bunch of watches, your song’s not going to flop.”
@divableach the cicadas: 🤬🤬🤬 #slay #lgbtqplus #indie #bands ♬ Eggshells - Diva Bleach
Ritter also jokes that because the band got traction so fast online, they had to fend off TikTok comments accusing the band of being “trust fund babies” or music industry plants.
“It’s kind of interesting how social media can kind of make us come off different — a lot of [friends] will see our follower count and they’ll say we’re famous or something,” Windom says. “I work at Starbucks still, what are you talking about?”
Aesthetically, the popular appeal of Diva Bleach makes sense, especially as widespread infatuation with 2000s emo continues to rise.
With their frequently fluorescent hair dye and neon pink color scheme, the band's presentation conjures memories of the pop-punk past. After all, Roten cites both My Chemical Romance and early Panic! at the Disco as influences, the band DJed Rebel Lounge's Emo Night last summer, and the cover for Diva Bleach's "No Fun" EP last year even includes a nod to Microsoft Paint.
They're a When We Were Young festival booking away from 2000s emo bingo.
But it's not neon punk for the pure sake of aughts nostalgia — the band's sound is far more fleshed out. The more precise descriptor in the band’s Twitter and Spotify bios is “sparkly pop rock,” and once you hear a track, you realize those three words are spot on.
Ritter’s introduction to music came through classic rock, Roten’s a proud Swiftie, and Windom says that she’s mostly into indie surf rock. While it all generally falls under a pop-rock umbrella, pulling from different corners of the genre helps give Diva Bleach their own distinct style. And the band says they have no issues synthesizing those varied influences.
Prior to forming Diva Bleach, all three members fronted other projects, which meant they all came in with experience as lyricists. That — combined with their years-long friendship — makes the songwriting process come easily.
“Playing cover songs together as kids when we were learning how to be musicians and play our instruments, we already had a really nice foundation for being a band together,” Ritter says.
That friendship is apparent in the music video for their latest single, “Crawling,” which was directed by Phoenix local Kira Ramirez. Roten delivers the song’s hook while looking directly into the lens as Windom and Ritter reach their hands in from off-screen and messily apply makeup.
The video was filmed in a friend of the band’s garage, and the makeup shot took three takes, meaning each time Roten would have to wash the slate clean and do it all over again.
“Crawling” and the latest single “The City,” which came out last week, aren’t necessarily part of any concrete project just yet, though Ritter says a full-length LP is something the band has on their bucket list.
For now, Diva Bleach is focused on their upcoming Southwest tour, the first major tour for the band, and one that allows them to perform alongside Sundressed, a veteran local pop-punk group. That Phoenix symbiosis is important to the band, as all three members were born and raised in the Valley.
But staying home wasn’t always so easy. When Ritter first decided to pursue a music career, she was certain she’d have to leave Arizona behind in order to do so. She applied to and toured out-of-state colleges, but ultimately, nothing clicked the way it did at home.
“I wasn’t finding any people that wanted the same kind of music stuff I did here and I thought I wasn't going to find it,” Ritter says. “But then eventually, I did — just had to look a little harder.”
Now, when you ask Ritter, Roten, or Windom which local acts are their favorites, there’s no succinct answer. Veronica Everheart, Wallace Hound, Bethany Home, Troubled Minds — in just three short years, the list of bands they’ve performed with is essentially a Phoenix emo encyclopedia.
“I feel like the scene has been more alive than ever, so it’s amazing to be able to represent Arizona right now,” Windom says.
Diva Bleach. With Sundressed and My Upside Down, in support of Telltale. 7 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show, Friday, May 12. The Rebel Lounge, 2303 East Indian School Road. Cost is $15 plus fees on the Rebel Lounge website.
