by Justin Zamudio
The sold out mass of concert goers at the renowned Mohawk club in Austin roared to life and cheered as the stage lights dimmed and a harpsichord-like intro blasted through the speakers. The song was Frank Sinatra’s “My Way,” and a collective groan overtook the standing-only crowd as Ol’ Blue Eyes crooned the first line: “And now, the end is near, and so I face, the final curtain…” The second verse jumped into the Sex Pistols’ power-punk remake. Just before the song finished, Girl in a Coma hit the stage to a steady hollering from the crowd. The band wasted no time on introductions as they rocked their opener, “The Photographer.”
This stage was familiar for the trio from San Antonio, only 80 miles down I-35. They had performed at Mohawk and many other Austin venues since their first full-length album, Both Before I’m Gone, debuted in 2007. This time was different however – this was their penultimate show as a band, and last in Austin. It was the third stop on their Final Curtain tour that started in Houston a couple days earlier, and was ending the next day in San Antonio. Each stop featured a different opening act. For the Austin show, Lockhart, Texas-based band Tele Novella graced the stage with their vintage, pop-minimalist sound.

GIAC is comprised of two sisters, Phanie and Nina Diaz, along with their friend, Jenn Alva. Older sister Phanie – pronounced like “funny” (short for Stephanie) – plays drums, Nina is on guitar and vocals, and Alva is on bass. Midway through their set, Nina, 35, reflected on the early days of GIAC. She had recently relistened to some of their early demos, she said, and laughed at how much she sounded like a chipmunk back then. She was 14-years old when they started.
Throughout their 16-song setlist, Nina shared dedications to close friends they’ve lost. She also talked about key moments they shared as a band, such as their headlining gig at the Polish Woodstock festival, and how naïve they were when they signed with Joan Jett’s Blackheart Records label in 2007.
“We were already making demands. We said we need our first music video in San Antonio, Texas. They said, ‘No. Shut up. You’re going to do it where we tell you, and you’re going to do it with Amanda Lepore.’ ”
So it goes, their first music video, “Road to Home,” features transgender model/singer Amanda Lepore, singing in a bar, not in San Antonio. However, Nina said the video felt like it was ahead of its time.
“It’s beautiful. It’s great. It’s essential. It’s one of the classics.”

The concert featured songs from GIAC’s three original full-length albums, as well as their cover album Adventures in Coverland. They closed their show with a song from a Texas legend – Selena Quintanilla’s “Si Una Vez.” As for the crowd, they switched up their booming applause to chants of the trio’s names between songs. “Jen-na” sounded better in chant than “Jenn,” so the crowd dubbed her Jenna for a moment.

The trio is now moving on from GIAC to focus on other music projects. Nina recently released her second full-length solo album, I Could Be You, You Could Be Me. She’s also exploring a career as a music producer for up-and-coming musicians. Phanie and Alva are part of punk Spanglish band Fea. The band is signed to Blackheart Records and has two full-length albums.

“We’ve had a journey. It’s been, what, 20 years?” Nina said as the band wrapped up their set. “We’ve loved, we’ve lost, we’ve fought and cried… We’ve shared moments and kisses and touches… Thank you so much.”

SETLIST
“The Photographer”
“Say”
“In the Background”
“BB”
“Static Mind”
“Consider”
“Road to Home”
“Adjust”
“Pleasure and Pain”
“Smart”
“El Monte”
“Their Cell”
“Clumsy Sky”
“Ven Cerca”
Encore
“Simple Man”
“Si Una Vez” (Selena Quintanilla cover)
Check out Nina’s solo stuff on ninadiazsolo.com
Learn more about Fea on the Blackheart Records site