zombycare / Let Them Eat Horses

“I just want to see people be more honest.” Vicky goes under the alias zombycare, and does vocals in Bay Area post-hardcore band Let Them Eat Horses. Coming off the back of a promotional demo release with Let Them Eat Horses and a solo EP under zombycare, she tells me about what’s been inspiring her, especially with her band having another demo on the way.

“We all kind of listen to the same albums on repeat. Old My Chemical Romance, old Fall Out Boy stuff… I kind of just study the music a lot. It helps me gauge where I am and how I can get better… [zombycare]... has been a lot of EDM. It’s always been EDM from the start. I was big on Virtual Riot, and Future Bass music. Chiptune, and video game OSTs too. I draw the most inspiration from the Sonic OST.”

Who’s your favorite Sonic character?

“I always thought Silver was the coolest. I think honorable mentions would be Shadow, Maria, and lowkey, Rouge.”

You’re very invested in two different worlds. How do you think Bay Area hardcore compares to what the underground rap scene has going on right now?

She tells me the Bay scene is more of a community, and that seeing the same people at shows is a huge part of that. “I think they’re more attentive. People are way more present when you’re right in front of their face, and they’re more willing to analyze you. They want to understand it in ameaningful way, I feel like.” We both agree on the point that underground rap can sometimes become something only “for the moment,” in her words. “A show always sticks with people more than a song on the internet… You can’t skip a song or go watch another band unless you’re at fucking Rolling Loud or something, I don’t know… You can control the music to a much greater extent online, which can be good and bad… When you’re playing live you’re just kind of forced to let people know who you are, and I really like that.”

When I ask her about albums that came out this year, not much comes to mind. She tells me about a Japanese ambient project neither of us can remember the name of, also mentioning that a lot of new bands making demos this year inspired her. “I liked the Asphyxiated demo. I’m a fan of brutal death metal, so that was cool.”

Kind of on the other side of that, what was your favorite thing you contributed to this year?

“‘don’t touch my pizza’ blowing up was crazy. That’s the biggest one. In the beginning, I was very shaken up. I’d never had something like that happen to me. It’s weird seeing your name everywhere, especially when it’s not for good reasons. I was shaken up until I realized whether or not people enjoyed it, very few people could say that they did what I did. I found gratitude in the fact that I created a moment, and I created a meme… It was a meme that I created, and people gravitated towards it for some reason. I’m grateful for that.”

Who do you take the most influence from for your visual aesthetics, style, and music?

“I look up to Hayley Williams, Avril Lavigne, Rihanna… I love all of their music. In terms of my style, it’s kind of come a long way. I know that whoever the fuck I look up to might look good in whatever they’re rocking, but I always just try and make sure I look and feel good in my own body… At the end of it all, the people I look up to are a stepping stone into expressing myself truly.”

What’s something you want to see more of?

“I want to see more transgender people in the spotlight, more music with political undertones. I want people to be more honest and attentive. Make more video games, create stories, talk to each other more, be more optimistic, be more friendly and compassionate. Wear more colors in your outfit. I think the last thing I’ll say is that I want to see more people making blogs and writing.”

What do you have planned coming into 2026?

“Well, my band’s dropping an EP in a couple of weeks, ‘Tres, Tres, Tres.’ It’s gonna be three songs and an interlude, right after our show with Gxllium. We’re all working really hard, and I know it’ll pay off. In terms of zombycare, I want to do more collabs. I’ve shut myself off to collabs. Whenever I make a beat or something, my first thought isn’t really to send it to someone, it’s to work on it for myself. I want to get out of that headspace, and do more collabs with people. It’s always nice and healthy to do that… I also want to branch out way more, and really thrive. This was a good year, but I want to hold myself to a way higher standard next year.”

Is there anything you want to say, or any shoutouts you want to give?

“This is so fucking cliche, but, be yourself, understand your worth and potential. Your value is not tied to your productivity, or people’s perception of you. You have value because you exist, and someone will recognize that. Don’t get distracted, you should try to live in the moment. Notice your bad habits and break them… Shoutout ztal, that’s my goat. Shoutout Let Them Eat Horses, shoutout zombycare, shoutout tweemos, transgender people, transgender people of color, and marginalized communities.”

Shoutout.

(12/4/25)