September 4, 2023 No Comment

SONG PREMIERE: Long Time Cult-Favorite Frightwig Reignite Punk Fury Via “What Is Love?”

Marking 40 years of existence isn’t for the musical weak and Frightwig has certainly made out like its own version of Lavender Country- highly influential- yet only one in thousands know of. But this band still sounds impactful and furious even in 2023.

Since forming in San Francisco in 1982, Frightwig has been wielding joy and smashing the patriarchy. With life-changing live shows that spread revelry and revolution, Frightwig became a formative influence on the Riot Grrrl movement and paved the way for the likes of Hole, L7, and Lunachicks, among others.

The band’s cult-favorite albums Cat Farm Faboo (Subterranean Records 1984) and Faster, Frightwig, Kill! Kill! (Caroline Records 1986), plus the EPs Phone Sexy (Boner Records 1988) captured the hearts of fellow freaks and outcasts. Tours with Flipper, Butthole Surfers, and Redd Kross saw Frightwig screaming and shredding their way through glass ceilings and unapologetically leaving behind a pile of shards.

After co-founder Cicillia Kuhn passed away in 2017, her bandmates made the decision to honor their sister’s wishes that Frightwig forge ahead. Co-founders Deanna Mitchell (bass, vocals) and Mia d’Bruzzi (guitar, vocals) Eric Drew Feldman, and veteran Frightwig guitarist Rebecca Sevrin returned with We Need to Talk… in 2023, a collection of 11 songs (four of which were previously released) recorded with Kuhn on drums, vocals, and accordion. The band added new drummer Tina Fagnani to complete the lineup and continue a legacy 40 years in the making. Over the years, the lineup featured different casts of characters — including the most recent permanent addition, Eric Drew Feldman (Captain Beefheart, Snakefinger, Frank Black, Pere Ubu, PJ Harvey), in 2012 — but the core tenets of the band never wavered. More than just a punk rock coven, Frightwig is a vehicle for art as activism and have certainly contributed to the American counterculture rooted in their hometown.

Glide is premiering the vivacious “What Is Love?” that sounds like the modern indie punk angst of Wet Leg with the bravado of X-Ray Spex and punks’s pioneers. While it is safe to say Frightwig helped start a movement, it’s still never too late for them to reignite a musical flame again and “What Is Love?” sounds authentically primal and vital.

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August 28, 2023 No Comment

Girl at the Rock Shows – Premiere of Frightwig “Redistribution of Wealth”

I like my songs short and punchy. Blame it on my self-diagnosed ADD or just the way that life is insanely busy and I feel like I can only really focus on something for a couple of seconds, I like songs that get to the point and hit me in the gut even if only for a short amount of time. That’s not what you get from “Redistribution of Wealth” from Frightwig but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Listening to this six and a half minute long song helped me find a sense of calm in what has already been a nutty morning. It gave me a second to chill out but also made my brain think about the poignant and important message of this track. Frightwig is not a new band and formed way back in 1982. You can feel that in this song because there’s something so well trained and deliberate about every note but there’s also this slight sense of angst and modern flare that keeps this song from feeling dated. Typically I will sit here and furiously write notes down upon the first listen of a song but this one left me just sitting there in awe of the composition and sheer talent that bleeds throughout this song.

Frightwig has a new album coming out on September 29th entitled ‘We Need To Talk…’. This is the first single from that album so, if you like what you hear today, go ahead and make a note on your calendar about September 29th!

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August 18, 2023 No Comment

NEW FRIGHTWIG ALBUM “WE NEED TO TALK…” COMING SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 FROM LABEL 51 RECORDINGS

Since forming in San Francisco in 1982, feminist punk pioneers FRIGHTWIG have been wielding joy and smashing the patriarchy. With life-changing live shows that spread revelry and revolution, Frightwig became a formative influence on the Riot Grrrl movement and paved the way for the likes of Hole, L7, and Lunachicks, among others.

The band’s cult-favorite albums Cat Farm Faboo (Subterranean Records 1984) and Faster, Frightwig, Kill! Kill! (Caroline Records 1986), plus the EPs Phone Sexy (Boner Records 1988) captured the hearts of fellow freaks and outcasts. Songs like “My Crotch Does Not Say Go,” “A Man’s Gotta Do What a Man’s Gotta Do,” and “Crazy World” upended the masculine hardcore scene by infusing it with the vicious wit of women on a tear. Tours with Flipper, Butthole Surfers, and Redd Kross saw Frightwig screaming and shredding their way through glass ceilings and unapologetically leaving behind a pile of shards.

Co-founders Deanna Mitchell (bass, vocals) and Mia d’Bruzzi (guitar, vocals) discovered a soul sister in Cecilia Kuhn (drums, vocals). The trio obliterated the stages at The Farm, Mabuhay Gardens, and the Fillmore with a level of intensity that flabbergasted audiences, critics, and fellow artists.

Over the years, the lineup featured different casts of characters — including the most recent permanent addition, Eric Drew Feldman (Captain Beefheart, Snakefinger, Frank Black, Pere Ubu, PJ Harvey, Knife & Fork), in 2012 — but the core tenets of the band never wavered. More than just a punk rock coven, Frightwig is a vehicle for art as activism and have certainly contributed to the American counterculture rooted in their hometown.

After Kuhn transcended this world in 2017, her bandmates made the decision to honor their sister’s wishes that Frightwig forge ahead. Mitchell, d’Bruzzi, Feldman, and veteran Frightwig guitarist Rebecca Sevrin returned with We Need to Talk… in 2023, a collection of 11 songs (four of which were previously released) recorded with Kuhn on drums, vocals, and accordion. The band added new drummer Tina Fagnani to complete the lineup and continue a legacy 40 years in the making.

— Jeanne Fury, writer, co-author of Fallopian Rhapsody: The Story of the Lunachicks(Hachette Books, 2021)

PRE-ORDER NOW FROM LABEL 51 RECORDINGS
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Frightwig Are Pleased To Announce Distribution Deal with MRI Entertainment

September 1, 2014 No Comment

WOWCoverFrightwig release their War On Women/Hear What I Say Limited Edition 7” vinyl 45. The all-star line-up features founding members Deanna Mitchell on bass/vocals, Mia d’Bruzzi on guitar/vocals and secret weapon Cecilia Kuhn on drums/vocals, who are joined by the legendary Eric Drew Feldman on magical keyboards/vocals! 

Release Date 9/16/2014. Produced by Eric Drew Feldman, the two songs are presented in the only way that Frightwig knows how: rocking, snarling, blasting, prowling, and honest.

Frightwig has returned with a vengeance to the center stage.

 

‘More valid in today’s world than the one in which they created all things riot.
Frightwig are a wallop of power and love and smarts and sexy, all in the way only a city like San Francisco can deliver.’

– Roddy Bottom Imperial Teen/Faith No More

“Hallelujah Brothers and Sisters! Frightwig is back and bringing their rock and roll message of freedom and empowerment to all.
I’ve borne witness to this revival and it is a glorious thing to behold. Long live Frightwig!”

– Steven McDonald, of Redd Kross & OFF!

“What fool said there are no second acts in American lives? Frightwig, the great femme-psych band of the pre-grunge, pre-grrrl Haties,
are back with their wits, talons, and riffs as sharp as ever, ready to shred the lies and liars of the, sadly, still-raging war on women.”

– Evelyn McDonnell, Writer/Author

 

 

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