D.C.’s Southern Problems headline Fort Reno tonight. Check out the band’s track “Jennifer.”

We talked to Southern Problems‘ bassist Andy Bowen about the conceptual nature of Southern Problems songwriting, the band’s world view and her experience performing as a trans woman in a band.

Many rock songs cover familiar territory: the angst of growing up, the ups and downs of personal relationships, the fear of death — the painful or blissful human experiences. Yet, rarely are those art-imitating-life works framed in the original manner that Southern Problems has done with their debut album. Bassist Andy Bowen had written a short story about Newt Gingrich going to space and settling on the moon and the songs on Space is singer/guitarist Dan Schwartz’s interpretation of this story.