Pioneering feminist punk band FRIGHTWIG has returned with their latest album, We Need to Talk… (Label 51 Recordings), plus a special bonus 7″ single dedicated to their late but forever-present drummer Cecilia Kuhn who transcended this earthly plane in 2017.
Since forming in San Francisco in 1983, Frightwig has had two objectives: Spread joy and smash the patriarchy. For 40 years, they’ve succeeded on both fronts with a mix of in-your-face hardcore energy and a fearless activist spirit. A formative influence on the Riot Grrrl movement and beyond, the band embraces fellow freaks, sinners, and misfits — and the coven of Frightwig devotees has only grown larger and stronger with time.
– Jeanne Fury, writer and co-author of Fallopian Rhapsody: The Story of the Lunachicks (Hachette Books, 2021)
Birthed in 1983 by Deanna Mitchell and Mia d’Bruzzi, Frightwig invented the template for the Riot-grrl phenomenon that followed over a decade later. Funny, funky and furious, Frightwig produced the full-length albums Cat Farm Faboo (Subterranean Records 1984) and Faster Frightwig Kill Kill (Caroline Records 1986), as well as the EP Phone Sexy (Boner Records 1988). The first two LPs were re-released as the double album Wild Women Never Die… (Southern Records 1994). Frightwig has widely been credited as one of the most original, intense and fearless feminist bands by musicians, critics and fans alike.
Feminist punk pioneers Frightwig have come full circle. Co-founders Deanna Mitchell and Mia Simmans formed the band in San Francisco in 1983, and made it their mission to dismantle the patriarchy, one hilariously hellraising song at a time. Two cult-favorite albums (1984’s Cat Farm Faboo and 1986’s Faster, Frightwig, Kill! Kill!) and two EPs (1989’s Phone Sexy and 2013’s Hit Return) unleashed songs like “My Crotch Does Not Say Go,” “A Man’s Gotta Do What a Man’s Gotta Do,” and “Crazy World” into the universe. Tours with Flipper, Butthole Surfers, and Redd Kross helped introduce crowds to Frightwig’s raucous live shows, inspiring Hole, Bikini Kill, L7, and Lunachicks, among others. Throughout line-up changes, motherhood, and hiatuses, Frightwig remained committed to their original ideals. Before beloved drummer Cecilia Kuhn passed away in 2017, she urged her bandmates to keep spreading the music and message. After some deep soul searching, Deanna and Mia eventually found themselves in a room, just the two of them and their instruments. This was how Frightwig started, and this is how Frightwig will continue—with Saint Cecilia’s blessing. You better get ready.
Written by Jeanne Fury