GRRL026: Femme punk, misconceptions, and song inspiration, with the Fresh Brunettes

ANYWAY, HERE’S EPISODE 26.

This episode of Grrl on Grrl features Aleisha and Alexis of San Diego “femme punk” band The Fresh Brunettes. Their bassist Paul was also in the room, but didn’t say much, as bassists are wont to do, and Fresh Brunettes’ dog mascot Cosmo also graced us with his presence.

Besides the amazing songs from Lisa Prank, Soft Lions, the Candelights, you’ll hear Alexis and Aleisha talk about preconceived notions of what a guitarist or drummer should look like, some inspiration for their songs, and what they appreciate when interacting with their audience.

Thank you as always to Glenn Greggs of Wait Think Fast Production for providing hosting costs, to Polish for providing their song “Drive” for the intro and outro music, and for the first time ever, to Adam Goron, producer of Chicago’s “premier” Star Trek podcast Space Lincoln, for helping me remove some crazy noise on one of the interview tracks. A true lifesaver!

Listen Here

Download GRRL026 on Libsyn [31.2MB, 34 minutes] or stream from these websites [iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | Google Play]

Show Notes

• The who’s who of the Fresh Brunettes
• A little bit about the name of their latest album Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition
• What does calling themselves “femme punk” mean
  • Making feminist music; “crass with class”
• [4:30] Lisa Prank – “Luv is Dumb“
• Meanings behind new songs not on their latest album: “GPS” and “Miss America”
  • “Miss America” based off a poem by Alexis
  • Trigger warning: description of an assault video
• Deciding on what songs to play and what to have on the album
• [11:40] Soft Lions – “Digital Girls“
• Their interview on San Diego radio station 91x (91.1)
• Fans/audience responses and conversations
  • “That’s probably why I like performing so much. It’s my chance to let loose.”
  • Being “unexpectedly” loud (and whether that has to do with gender)
  • Being shy in person but having to perform banter as well
• [19:30] The Candelights – “Motel” (Facebook) – formerly known as The End
• Misconceptions and assumptions made on what Aleisha plays or sounds like
  • Counterpoint: Alexis on drums
• Without Paul the bassist, the new album would not have been made!
• “Would you do anything different?” Book differently, being smarter about booking in 2017
• CD/cassette release – Hoping to release through Weiner Records, but…
• [28:30] The Fresh Brunettes – “Friends”
• Googling The Fresh Brunettes & Paul’s insightful commentary

Links

• The Fresh Brunettes on Facebook
• on Instagram
• Buy Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition on CDBaby
• Their demos