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Interview with Culture Documenter and Author Audrey Golden

Audrey holding Ana’s 1979 Raincoats tour diary. Photo: Shirley O’Loughlin

Just a few days before the U.S. publication date of Shouting Out Loud: Lives of the Raincoats, we caught up with the New York writer-editor-journalist and cat mom Audrey Golden to ask about her process, the music she loves and her life. She also wrote the great oral history I Thought I Heard You Speak: Women at Factory Records, which finally unearthed the stories from the women behind the famed Manchester label. Scroll all the way down to see where some upcoming book events are and read our excerpt as well. (Photographs courtesy of Audrey Golden)

READ: Our excerpt from Shouting Out Loud

chickfactor: What are you up to today?
Audrey Golden: I’m listening to a new Lung Leg song that’ll be out in October, and I LOVE it. It’s so powerful, and so fun and cathartic to sing along to. I’m writing a piece about them and the music scene in Glasgow, and I’m trying to finish that up today.

I’m getting ready for the publication of and a lot of upcoming book events for Shouting Out Loud! I’m getting ready to head to Seattle and Portland next week (for events on July 17 and 18), then some events on the east coast (Rough Trade NYC on July 25 and Mass MoCA on July 31) before I head to Europe, where I’ll be joined by The Raincoats for events. Since the book is out really soon, I’ve also been doing interviews and some publicity for it. I’m so excited for it to finally get into readers’ hands! And really hoping it’s what all the lovers of The Raincoats are hoping it’ll be.

Where all have you lived?
I’ve lived in a lot of places, actually! I grew up on the east coast, in Connecticut and Florida, mostly. I went to college back in CT (at Wesleyan), law school in North Carolina (at Wake Forest U), and grad school in Charlottesville, Virginia at UVA, where I got my PhD. Being in academia, I also ended up in some places I didn’t expect but loved living, including Iowa City. I’ve spent the most time living in New York – both the city and the Hudson Valley, where I live now.

Inside cover of Audrey’s own Raincoats book notebook: “I start a new notebook for each project I work on,” she says

What was your family like? What were you like as a teenager?
Oh, man. There is so much I could say here but won’t (haha). My family was a little dysfunctional, and I’m the oldest of four kids who are all sort of close in age. Like any dysfunctional family, though, there were good aspects, too. I grew up in a family of readers, and I’m really grateful for that. Even when we barely had any money, my parents made sure we had books, and always let us pick out new books. It made me a person who values books and reading immensely. (I’ve definitely long been a believer in that John Waters quote, “if you go home with somebody and they don’t have books, don’t fuck them!” I think I’m getting that mostly right.)

I had a lot of responsibilities that a teenager probably shouldn’t have, and I felt really discouraged by what I saw as a really sexist world around me that just wouldn’t budge no matter what I did. I listened to a LOT of music and I loved making mixed-media art. I generally did really well in school academically (and I was lucky that I could do that without putting in very much effort), but I also hated high school so much — all the social bullshit, all the sexist, racist crap from the school administrators and teachers. I must have forged maybe 100 notes from my mom so I could have “excused” absences — there were so many days where I’d let my younger brother out of the car in the student parking lot, and as soon as I saw him go through the doors, I’d drive off and bring a note the next day that “explained” I had period cramps and had to stay home. None of those idiot administrators wanted to get into a conversation with me about that! Always worked like a charm. I listened to so much Nirvana, Veruca Salt, Soundgarden, Bikini Kill, Team Dresch, Screaming Trees, Letters to Cleo, Mudhoney, REM, Velvet Underground, NIN… and I took myself to so many movies when I skipped school. I got a lot of my music knowledge from film soundtracks, and I loved sitting alone in those theaters seeing Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides and Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous and dreaming of another life.

A notebook page from when she was working on Shouting Out Loud

Do you play music? Karaoke?
I started playing piano when I was 3 years old, and violin a few years later. I really hated taking lessons and playing classical music, but it was good training for being able to play different kinds of music later on. I’ve only recently gotten back into thinking about the violin, decades later (after playing up to college, with a symphony) because I recently bought a Fender electric violin that I can plug into pedals and really mess around with (I mean that in the best possible way!). I’ve never really stopped playing piano and keyboards/synths, and it’s a mix of just messing around in my music room and playing covers, playing a little bit on some of my partner’s music, and writing a little bit of my own (under the pseudonym Warm Druid). I also love playing ukulele, and I have way too many ukuleles depending on who you ask (haha!). Every time I see one that sounds just a little bit different, or has a cool design, I can’t help myself!

Tell us about your radio show — is it still going?
It’s on a little bit of a hiatus right this moment (largely because of time I just can’t seem to find!), but it’ll be back up and running very soon. The show is called “Breaking Glass,” and it highlights women in music — as musicians, obviously, but also women doing “behind the scenes” work that often doesn’t get recognized. And there are a lot more women doing that kind of work than I imagine most people suspect. We should be celebrating them more, and really encouraging younger women to get into some of those roles that are still dominated by men. I have a pipe dream of opening a small studio to train women as sound engineers, and at some point, I really want that to become more than just a pipe dream!

Did you always want to be a storyteller?
Yeah, I did, I think. Does everyone say this? I was constantly writing stories as a kid and making my own books. The latter is something I’ve actually continued to do, too — I make my own artist books and archival clamshell boxes. I really love the detail and precision work these require, and I especially love making miniature hardcover books and books with various Japanese bindings. But yes, back to the question, I think I’ve wanted to be a storyteller since a very young age because of how much I loved reading stories, and I’m on a constant search for books that make me sort of stop in my reading tracks, if you will. It feels like an incredible kind of thing to be able to contribute to the world. And my dad was also a wild storyteller (orally though, not in print), and maybe I’ve inherited a little bit of that, too.

Do you have any stories about hilarious/difficult/standout interviews you’ve done?
In terms of standout and hilarious interviews, and Shouting Out Loud-related, I LOVE interviewing Liz Naylor. I’ve talked to her now for three different projects (I Thought I Heard You Speak: Women At Factory Records; Shouting Out Loud: Lives of The Raincoats; and a draft a just finished, QUEERCORE for Bloomsbury’s new 33 ⅓ “Genre Series”), and she’s always such an incredible storyteller. She often will say she doesn’t have a great memory for X, Y, or Z thing, and then she ends up having a really fantastic and detailed memory. She’s also witty and hilarious. I hope I end up interviewing her for every book I write!

As for a sort of difficult one: I interviewed Mark Arm of Mudhoney several years ago for an article in advance of their first European tour after the pandemic lockdowns. I’m a really big Mudhoney fan, and I was very nervous to talk to him. I felt really self-conscious during the whole thing (over zoom), so I probably wasn’t at my best. Anyway, I got the sense he wasn’t having a good time talking to me, and I think I was getting a little flustered. At some point, I made a comment about my having been “around for grunge” (argh, I regretted it as soon as I said it), but yes said it, and he ran with it a little. I still feel sort of stupid about the whole thing, if I’m being honest. It feels good to let my embarrassment out here, ha!

Do you have any rituals or do’s and don’ts regarding interviews? Tips or advice?
In terms of do’s, always do research in advance, and as much as you can. Especially when you’re doing oral history research, it’s really crucial to have a lot of background information so you can ask the kinds of questions that are going to produce information that’s helpful to you. As for don’ts, this is probably obvious, but yes-or-no questions are rarely useful unless you’re really just trying to clarify a point or get someone to confirm some sort of “fact.” I really like oral history research — regardless of whether you’re ultimately gonna write a book in an oral history format — because of the way it creates a dialogic process of storytelling. So my techniques and approaches are always about trying to develop the kind of rapport with a speaker where they know they can trust you (and I hope most of the people I’ve interviewed for oral history research feel that way!), and where you’re able to actually engage in a kind of dialogue through which you can dig deeper into their responses with the knowledge that’s necessary to do that.

A tip/advice that I always like to do whenever I’m doing any kind of oral history interview research: give your interviewee the option (within reason) to come back and tell you that something they said is off the record, and that you’ll agree to keep this private. I think this is really crucial if you want to get as full a story as you can, and to ensure that you’ve attended to your interviewee’s emotional and psychological needs, and their own comfort, as well. I don’t ever want to be in the business of telling something that someone wants to keep private, and I feel like that’s a good rule for anyone doing oral history work to follow. It’s different, of course, if you’re interviewing an artist for an article about an upcoming record or tour, and you’ve gotta get the piece out in a couple of days. Essentially, use your good judgment, and always think of the ethics of the work you’re doing.


Why did you decide on the oral history format for I Thought I Heard You Speak? What are some of the challenges and benefits of doing an oral history?
I knew that book needed to be in an oral history format because of the stark exclusion of so many women’s voices from the history of Factory Records. I wanted their voices to be the thing in that book and to really shine — especially those women who did so much work to make that label work and weren’t even mentioned once by name, or were mentioned once in existing books and got their names misspelled.

You know, I originally wasn’t going to name him, but after some recent stuff, I feel like I really should. Can I do it here? I heard from one of the women I interviewed for that book (and who’s in the book), that she’d mentioned to James Nice she was interviewing with me, probably back in 2020 or 2021. She’d told him about my book and relayed to me that he’d replied with something to her like, “who’d want to read that book?” and I thought UGH. Up to that point, I’d loved reading his book on Factory, and loved knowing a lot of those stories. I’d hoped I Thought I Heard You Speak would be something that he and anyone else who’d written on Factory would see as this wonderful thing that enlivened the music history they loved so much, too. Anyway, on top of that comment, I saw Faber just reissued his Factory Records book, and in all the marketing and announcements, he’s doubling down on calling his book the “definitive history” of the label while adding stuff about how, essentially, everyone who is anyone agrees with that description. And people wonder how certain voices get marginalized from histories? It’s because of that insistence on the “definitive” label (as I’ve said a million times, I suspect, and in so many places, no history is EVER definitive), and the refusal of anyone to just own something and say “wow, can’t believe I missed some of these voices. So glad there’s something out there that really makes this history fuller!” Honestly, it only makes me want to break down all this male gatekeeping even more. For fuck’s sake. It bums me out, but I’m also not that surprised in the end. Sad about it, and demoralized, but not that surprised.

But let me also say a couple more good things about the oral history format and its challenges!!! Because this is also how I did a lot of the research for Shouting Out Loud. I knew I wasn’t going to write this book as an oral history (which Mojo got really wrong after reading it, which made me sad!) because there was a lot more research going into the book beyond those oral history interviews, but I also really wanted this to be a book with my narrative voice telling the story.

Oral history research can be really challenging because it can be REALLY difficult to track some people down, and it can be difficult to connect with people in interviews sometimes — no matter how much background research and work you do before the interview (so my advice about this is, give yourself a little grace if you’re doing this kind of research and an interview just doesn’t feel like it clicked, or that you got anything great out of it — it’s not always you!). And when you’re planning a book in an oral history format — like I Thought I Heard You Speak — you can feel a real need to get ALL of the voices you want in there, but if you can’t track someone down, or just can’t convince someone to speak, you can feel this sense of incompleteness. Ultimately, I think you’ve got to just live with that, and I like to provide a note about who I really wanted to talk with but couldn’t for whatever reason. One of the great joys of oral history work is that you become this interlocutor in the collation of a narrative and oral archive, even if it never leaves your own hard drive, and even if a lot of the material doesn’t end up in the book you’re writing. You become a collector of stories, and the histories alongside them, and I adore that aspect and find it really meaningful.

Audrey with Shirley, Ana, and Gina at a London pub dinner one night after she had been archiving their stuff

How did the political moment the Raincoats formed in shape their character?
So much, I think. They were thinking about the DIY rise of punk, the anti-racism and anti-sexism of the political moment in London (especially coinciding with Rock Against Racism and Rock Against Sexism), and I think they took all of that to heart and did something distinctive with it.

What are some classic Raincoats lessons we can apply to the current moment?
They saw that these converging moments (that I noted above) meant it was possible to truly make something your own way, and do it on your own terms. I love this quote Ana had when we were talking for the book, which I used in Shouting Out Loud, and it had to do with a fan coming up to her and Anne Wood at a 2010s show in Japan. The fan, a young girl, said she wanted to be like The Raincoats, and Anne essentially told her that you can be like The Raincoats by being yourself! What a great life lesson, and it reflects (to me) the line in “Fairytale,” that “no one teaches you how to live.” I wish I’d had that advice when I was a lot younger. I probably would have had a lot more self-confidence, and it wouldn’t have taken me until I was in my 40s to feel like I had a true sense of myself and what it means to really exist as yourself in the world. But I do now, I think. Thanks, Raincoats!

Audrey at a book event in Austin

The Raincoats’ music seems like one element in their life’s work. They also show us that art is something you do into your older years, and many get better at it. Why do you think they have stayed relevant and what’s the secret to their longevity?
You know, I was just telling a friend something my grandmother said to me a few years before she died (and she lived a very long life in terms of years!). She said something like, “I always feel 25 yrs old when I’m just sitting here thinking, or watching something, and we all mostly do, until we try to stand up (she was having mobility issues at the time).” And, she added, “it all goes by like lightning.” What she meant, or at least how I took it, was that we don’t feel like older versions of ourselves (or oneself) at any given point in time. It’s still possible to have so many of the feelings we had a long time ago — sitting in an art classroom, and dreaming about the future, for example, or sitting in a park with a walkman while listening to Nirvana — time collapses in that way, and we still have access to the senses of wonder and possibility that are so characteristic of being young. I don’t know for sure about The Raincoats, but I think this is one of the things that makes it possible to feel like there’s no expiration date on creativity. And especially for women — that idea is such a product of a misogynist culture.

I think The Raincoats would also say that artists of varying generations becoming interested in their music has sort of re-catalyzed them, in turn, to come back to their own music and to want to make more art anew. They’re constantly inspiring, and being inspired — this circular process that’s really lovely to be able to track and to witness across time and space.

And, of course, in terms of the longevity of their music, there’s just absolutely NOTHING that’s tethered to a particular temporal moment in any of their songs or albums, and that is something that’s so amazing to me about their work. It feels like it could have been written at the same time the Fluxus artists started dipping into sonic expression, or just recorded yesterday. That’s one of the ways their music lives outside time (in addition to their intentionally arrhythmic time signatures), which is something that I really wanted to come across in Shouting Out Loud, and something that I think is so special about their music.

Audrey in a grizzly bear mask she sculpted with some ‘found’ grizzly jaws

The Raincoats had their community in the UK in the early days but seemed to fit in with the NYC scene more when it comes to music. It seems like a common theme with women musicians of that era – they were not taken seriously even though they turned out to be legends. Why was that?
Yeah, as I hope anyone who reads Shouting Out Loud will see, there’s a really indelible connection between The Raincoats and NYC. Their sound fit in (not by being similar to sonically, but by having a similar experimental approach to) so many of the no wave bands coming out of the downtown scene at the time. And so many of those artists were women! And as to the women-musicians-not-being-taken-seriously, argh, it’s so true, and I think it’s so much a result of women just not being taken seriously in general. I think a lot of that is because the gatekeepers were men — and by gatekeepers, I mean the ones writing the music journalism, running labels, overseeing venues, etc etc. I talked to Vivien Goldman about this for Shouting Out Loud, and in more detail for a profile I just did of her for Gusher magazine, but she was among the only women in this crucial role. For the most part, I think, you just weren’t getting male music journalists and A&R guys (and yes, they were mostly guys) celebrating female artists. I think that’s changing a little, but not as much as it could. I mean, look at the data coming out from UCLA’s Gender in Popular Music project. Female-fronted bands are still few and far between on major festival lineups, at the controls in sound booths, and on. And the same goes for so many artists of color, and women of color. There are still a lot of gatekeepers with ideas that don’t seem to have progressed from the 1970s and 1980s, at least when it comes to a lot of music stuff that isn’t in indie spheres.

What is it about the word feminism that many people have a hard time with, even feminist trailblazers. Is there a different word we should use?
I think there are different issues surrounding its use. Within The Raincoats, the band members who didn’t want to explicitly call themselves feminist definitely shared a belief in female equality and power but didn’t want to be pigeonholed. There’s also the question about (or lack of) intersectionality that became prominent in riot grrrl communities, and that’s quite obviously a significant and salient point — the way the term feminism was imagined was often a very white one. Even if there wasn’t an intentional exclusion of women of color, there was often a de facto one in terms of issues addressed and the way in which a “feminist” was envisioned.

I go back and forth myself about how I think of the term, and I think there are pros and cons of its use (but NOT pros and cons to the idea that women, including women of color, are equal to men). I don’t know if there’s a better word for that… EqualRightsist doesn’t quite have the same ring to it! Sort of pathetic we have to even think about defining ourselves in ways that make clear we believe women are equal, but that is indeed where we (still) are, and perhaps more than we even were a couple of decades ago, in some ways given the current political situation in the US.

Audrey with a Peruvian street dog

Since we are facing a democracy crisis in the U.S., tell us how the idea of democracy worked for the band.
I think, like a lot of bands, The Raincoats really wanted to be a democracy, and it was their ideal. But, in practice, nothing ever really quite works that way, right? There were shared ideas that were always brought to the group, and they shared royalties very equally and fairly — everything to do with money was absolutely equal, no matter who wrote a particular song or came up with the bass line or whatever — and that’s something that remains really important to them. But I think when you put several very strong-willed and powerful women together in a group, a true democracy isn’t necessarily possible. Ongoing friendship and compromise, certainly! But true democracy, probably not really in the end (but perhaps it’s true to say they came closer than many other bands trying to get there!).

Tell us a story you had to leave out of the book for whatever reason.
I learned from The Raincoats that Anton Fier (of The Feelies, Lounge Lizards, Pere Ubu, and more) had auditioned to be their drummer at one point in the early 80s. I’m a HUGE fan of The Feelies, so I wanted to explore this a lot more. It turned out it wasn’t something that had stuck in the memories of The Raincoats as much as other things had, and unfortunately, Anton Fier had already left this realm, so I couldn’t get in touch with him to hear more.

Audrey’s hands at a 1/4″ tape reel to reel

What part of NYC do you live in?
I actually live in the Hudson Valley now! I was one of the NYC departers during COVID. I honestly love living near a train and being pretty close to the city now but having a backyard with a garden, and more wall space to hang more art! I feel really lucky to live in such a cool old house where I can still have access to NYC in all the best ways.

What are you working on now? Any other books in the pipeline?
Yes! I have a book for Bloomsbury’s relatively new “Genre Series” coming out in the nearish future on QUEERCORE, which was a total dream to write. I turned that manuscript in not too long ago, so I’ve now completely immersed myself (research and writing-wise) in my next big project, which is a biography of Mark Lanegan. I’m doing oral history research for this one, too, but unlike other books I’ve written, I’m planning to really craft this one in the form of a novel for all kinds of reasons that are constantly running through my head.

Audrey in a Guerrilla Girls paper cutout mask while sewing

What are you reading, watching, eating?
I’m one of those people who is always reading several different books at once, and in little spurts. I’ll go from one to another without finishing one, is what I mean. I’m currently revisiting Stefan Zweig’s The Royal Game, and I’m in the middle of Markus Werner’s The Frog in the Throat, Karen Russell’s The Antidote, and Nick Cave’s book of interviews with Seán O’Hagan. I’m also always going back to and reading new little portions of Walter Benjamin’s The Arcades Project, or rereading portions that I’d forgotten I’d read. There’s always something in there that brings meaning to me at some random moment.

Watching: I’m such a sucker for British detective shows, so that’s usually what I’m watching if I’m looking for something to interest me for a given 50 minutes or so! I especially love the detective shows with female leads.

I also recently watched Andrew Haigh’s film All of Us Strangers and loved it so intensely. And I also just saw The Ballad of Wallis Island, which warmed my heart like no other film has in recent memory — I loved it.

As for food, I’m always eating pasta and desserts… haha, maybe that doesn’t sound too great. I’m especially a sucker for really delicious pies.

Audrey combing through 7-inches

Day jobs, pets, hobbies?
I work a regular 9-5 day job as an editor at Bard College. Writing books would be totally impossible, financially speaking, otherwise! I was on university faculty for a long time at a few different institutions, but I ultimately decided to leave academia in 2021 after a lot of careful thought, and I’m honestly really glad I did, although I miss teaching some of the great students I had over the years!

As for pets, I am a really ardent animal lover. Currently, we have three cats (two newly adopted 2-yr-old bonded siblings, Ozzy and Augustus Pablo, who are super sweet). Our third cat is Marguerite, a 13-yr-old weirdo, who we’ve had since she was a kitten, and who I love for who she is! I recently lost my sweetest boy, Matin, a 13-yr-old tabby cat who we’d also had since he was a kitten (some friends found him, along with his sister Marguerite, in pretty bad shape in the woods, and we rescued them). He was the best animal, and I miss him every day, honestly. I’ve also had and fostered dogs in the past, and I’m constantly pestering my partner about adopting another dog (he’s sort of agreed to move forward with that plan in January, after my book travel settles down). I’ve also been trying to convince a couple of local farmers to let me “invest” in two sheep on their farm (meaning, basically, I’d have two sheep of my own at their farm). I’d honestly have a whole menagerie of rescue creatures if I had the space and finances to do it.

And hobbies! I’m a book and art and record collector, and I play a lot of music in my spare time. I also love fashion design and try to work on my own clothes when I find cool new textiles, or something at a thrift store I can dye and repurpose.

Upcoming book events for Shouting Out Loud: 

  • July 17, Seattle, Hex Enduction Books and Records, 6pm (part of Art Walk, and there will be a singalong!)
  • July 18, Portland OR, Powell’s, with Gail O’Hara, Corin Tucker, and Sheri Hood, 7pm
  • July 25, NYC, Rough Trade NYC, with Evan “Funk” Davies of WFMU, 6pm
  • July 31, North Adams MA, Mass MoCA, 5pm
  • August 30, Dorset UK, End of the Road Festival, In-convo with Gina Birch, 10:30am, signing 12pm
  • August 31, Bristol UK, Rough Trade Bristol, with Ana Calderon of Digital Resistance, 5pm
  • September 3, Glasgow UK, Glad Cafe, with The Raincoats, 7pm
  • September 6, London UK, Rough Trade East, with The Raincoats, 7pm
  • October 14, Porto PT, Termita bookstore, with Ana da Silva
  • October 18, Lisbon PT, Well Read Lisbon, with Ana da Silva
  • TBD:
    • Los Angeles
    • Boston

Records Audrey cannot live without

  • New Order, Power, Corruption & Lies
  • Ramones, Rocket to Russia
  • Hole, Live Through This
  • Townes Van Zandt, Live at the Old Quarter
  • Leonard Cohen, Songs from a Room
  • Magnetic Fields, 69 Love Songs
  • The Feelies, Crazy Rhythms
  • Mark Lanegan, Whiskey for the Holy Ghost
  • The Raincoats, Odyshape
  • Bikini Kill, Pussy Whipped
  • Nirvana, Unplugged in New York
  • Velvet Underground, Loaded
  • Team Dresch, Personal Best
  • Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks
Audrey with Ana and Shirley, leaning over a record label in their living room, trying to help them figure out if that was an original 1979 The Raincoats vinyl label or a 1993 reprint for Rough Trade (it was in a folder of Ana’s stuff)
Audrey looking at a color photo slide while cataloguing the Raincoats archive in Ana and Shirley’s kitchen. Photo: Gina Birch
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Excerpt: Shouting Out Loud: Lives of the Raincoats by Audrey Golden

Ana da Silva by Joe Dilworth, 1995, courtesy of the Raincoats
Gina Birch by Joe Dilworth, 1995, courtesy of the Raincoats

We are thrilled to present an excerpt from Audrey Golden’s new book SHOUTING OUT LOUD: LIVES OF THE RAINCOATS: Read three sections from the book’s midsection about the impact the Raincoats’ music had on Olympia, Washington, in particular. It’s a wonderful snapshot of how we all discovered music in the pre-internet (basically) era and it shows how bands like the Raincoats exploded the notion of what it means to be punk.

US folks can order here – out July 15
UK folks can order here – out July 31

Or come get a book at one of Audrey’s book events next week:
July 17 Seattle: a book reading and a Raincoats sing-a-long at Hex Enduction Records in Seattle as part of Art Walk!
July 18 Portland: Come to Powell’s Books for a book launch event featuring Audrey, Corin Tucker, former Raincoats U.S. manager Sheri Hood and Gail O
July 25 NYC: Book talk and signing at Rough Trade Below in NYC
July 31: MassMoca book event

U.S. edition of Shouting Out Loud

LIFE NUMBER 2

“We realized eventually that in the United States, that’s where we had the most people interested in what we do, and where we had the biggest influence,” Ana says. And so, in the rainy musical wilds of America’s Pacific Northwest, The Raincoats’ second life began.

Beautiful KAOS at 89.3 FM

Unbeknownst to the band, their second life was germinating well before they’d even broken up and their first life came to a somewhat unceremonious end. It all began at KAOS, Olympia, Washington’s independent public radio station operating in partnership with the gloriously radical Evergreen State College.

Bruce Pavitt, who’s perhaps best known as a cofounder of Sub Pop Records in Seattle, developed a lifelong interest in hyperlocal music communities once he made it out to Olympia in 1979. As he saw it, the scene in Washington’s small capital city was a place shaped by the influence of The Raincoats. When Bruce left his hometown of Chicago to attend Evergreen and joined the slate of presenters at KAOS, he discovered “the most progressive music policy in America,” and what he emphasizes is “an unexplored impact.” That story actually starts with John Foster, Bruce explains.

“John was the music director at KAOS, and his feeling was that a community radio station should play music that prioritizes music made by members of the community,” Bruce says. “So he instituted a policy that stated eighty percent of what got played at KAOS had to be on an indie label. This is where I got my real education.” Bruce started his KAOS show and zine of the same name, Subterranean Pop, out of which he eventually formed Sub Pop Records to the north, “and all this flowed out of the KAOS music policy.” Bruce got a quick introduction to the Rough Trade bands, which were central at KAOS. “Rough Trade happened to be an indie DIY, of course, but what’s also crucial contextually is that they were supporting so much music made by women.” In Bruce’s KAOS show, he pulled from the station’s vast collection that included The Raincoats, Delta 5, Young Marble Giants, and others. “‘Lola’ by The Raincoats was getting a lot of airplay,” Bruce says, “and it influenced the culture of the whole community.”

As John reflects, “The one thing I can say about Olympia in the late seventies and early eighties is that it was not a bunch of snobby scenesters; folks were very nice. Everyone who participated in the scene, playing or observing, was welcome and accepted for whatever they brought. The Raincoats embodied that ethos to us.”

Bruce cites Calvin Johnson and his band Beat Happening as particularly influenced by The Raincoats, thanks to KAOS. Calvin was playing The Raincoats on his KAOS Olympia Community Radio show Boy Meets Girl. Fellow Olympia artist and musician Lois Maffeo also draws a connection between The Raincoats and Beat Happening: “It would be pure speculation to say that Beat Happening found inspiration in The Raincoats’ music, although sonically, I can see a parallel in the skronky songs of Supreme Cool Beings, whose cassette was the first release on K Records [the label Calvin would later establish in Olympia].” Referring to Calvin specifically, Lois says, “His anti-corporate philosophy and esthetic of both music-making and music-listening are central to the Northwest scene.”

Slim Moon, who’d go on to found another influential Olympia label, Kill Rock Stars, remembers Lois’s own KAOS show Your Dream Girl as a constant source of Raincoats songs. It created a dialogue among a wide and diverse range of female artists, and there was rarely a Your Dream Girl show, if there even was one, that didn’t feature at least one Raincoats track. Lois frequently drew from The Kitchen Tapes, playing “Puberty Song,” “Rainstorm,” and “No Side to Fall In.” As for the latter, Lois was completely taken in by the sound of the electric violin on that track, explaining, “‘No Side to Fall In’ just starts with that ripping scratch sound and then matches it at the end with the bare chorus of voices singing along with, what, a stick and a can? That combination of wild sound and plain sound was catnip to me! Today!” She also loved “In Love,” the first Raincoats song she ever heard when she bought a copy of Wanna Buy a Bridge? on vinyl in a Seattle record shop.

Lois’ playlist from January 1985, courtesy of Lois Maffeo

Lois regularly featured tracks from The Kitchen Tapes for a simple reason: “I was proud to own it,” she says. “I’m not a record collector/nerd/jerk in general, but I think I was bragging a little with that. I loved that tape because it was authentic-sounding. It had all the mistakes and out-of-tune moments that only happen on live recordings and I found that really invigorating.” For Lois, the cassette was also a prized possession because it “shared songs from my absolute favorite record by The Raincoats—the ‘Animal Rhapsody’ 12-inch with ‘No One’s Little Girl’ and ‘Honey Mad Woman’ on the B-side,” so she was “delighted to hear live versions of beloved tracks.” Lois loves that single so much that, she says, “It’s the only record I have two copies of. I wanted to make sure that if I wore the first one out, I’d have a backup!”

As a KAOS presenter, Lois’s show was crucial not only in cementing the significance of The Raincoats in Olympia, but illuminating a sonic lineage of which The Raincoats were a crucial part. On Your Dream Girl shows, The Raincoats played alongside artists who came long before like Eartha Kitt, contemporaries such as Kleenex/LiLiPUT [due to legal issues, the band initially called Kleenex changed its name to LiLiPUT in late 1979] and Crass, as well as more recent hip-hop and disco artists like Taana Gardner. Lois describes her playlists as “genre-busting.” That term, she says, also emerges if you listen solely to Raincoats records. “If you hear The Roches, African electric guitars, eighties NYC hip-hop, nursery rhymes, British pop,” Lois reflects, “yep, it’s there but it’s re-patterned and made into something new. Radically different from pastiche.”

Bruce is certain: “KAOS came to shape the culture of Olympia,” and “KAOS is ultimately the roots of Raincoats appreciation in Olympia and ultimately the Northwest.”

UK edition of Shouting Out Loud

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But Really, All Roads Lead to Olympia

The Pacific Northwest became ground zero for the birth of The Raincoats’ second life, centered on a vibrant new generation of feminist, anarchic, queer musicians. After KAOS playlists had enough airtime to shape the cultural framework of the small Washington city, connections to The Raincoats really became apparent. Fellow West Coaster and drummer extraordinaire Patty Schemel declares, “Olympians revere The Raincoats.”

According to Lois Maffeo, the “ethos of the music and art scene” in Olympia at that point in time was akin to what The Raincoats revealed was possible: “Make do and make magic out of nothing.” Simple enough, right? But as Lois emphasizes, “The scene in Olympia was aware that simplicity wasn’t simple”—they recognized the trick of The Raincoats’ music.

The Raincoats’ songs became part of the fabric of the city and the culture it (re)produced. “The acts of making music and making art were liberating,” Lois says. “What were we liberated from? Corporate culture. Patriarchy. Religion. Military. Expectations. And many of us heard the sound of those expectations being dissected and the sound of that freedom being enacted in the music of The Raincoats. The arrow flies from ‘No One’s Little Girl’ to Riot Grrrl pretty swiftly.”

Like Lois, Jean Smith of the Vancouver band Mecca Normal was also taking cues from The Raincoats. Although Jean was based in a city a few hours north of Olympia, her two-piece band with David Lester would, like Beat Happening and so many of the Riot Grrrl artists to come, become abidingly linked to Olympia and K Records. “Listening to The Raincoats freed me from many previously held limitations,” Jean says. “That they were women made that freedom tangible. Visceral. I could hear their like-minded affinities and encouragement, yet their approaches were all very different. They seemed to be functioning based on working fully with what they had at hand, giving it everything in terms of creativity, confidence, and vulnerability.” Jean underscores that she and David are a bit older than the Riot Grrrls who emerged out of Olympia in the early nineties; Mecca Normal’s music was important, like Lois’s KAOS show, in making Riot Grrrl possible. “The Raincoats allowed me to take inspiration, to build and maintain confidence, and some years later, to inspire the cofounders of Riot Grrrl,” says Jean, “along with The Raincoats and all those other women-fronted bands that energized a social movement that, to this day, still shows signs of being ongoing as opposed to over, in the way that rock historians like to nail things down.”

Corin Tucker during the time Olympia was discovering the Raincoats. Courtesy of Corin

Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney, who were some of those original Riot Grrrls in Olympia (with the bands Excuse 17 and Heavens to Betsy), confirm Jean’s words. “I always liked how The Raincoats felt deliberately and dangerously strange,” Corin says, “and that gave license to a lot of bands in Olympia, including Sleater-Kinney, to forgo traditional instrumentation. We didn’t have a bass, and often we were playing dueling melodies. The Raincoats deconstructed all these entrenched, codified ideas about music and yet remained very appealing and clever.” Carrie agrees: “I love the artiness of The Raincoats combined with this intellectual quality. The music showed a real openness to experiment within the band that I really related to, and that avant-garde element was something that really influenced Sleater-Kinney.”

As any fan knows, the band name Sleater-Kinney originates from Sleater Kinney Road that runs through Lacey, Washington, adjacent to Olympia. “We didn’t relate to that meat-and-potatoes punk rock and were always striving for something more experimental,” Carrie says, “so The Raincoats were very influential to us in that way.” Corin adds, “I don’t know if they were trying to be ugly, with a sort of dissonance, but to us, there was something so charming about that, and that charm had teeth to it. It was a kind of cloaked weaponry that Sleater-Kinney was really into.” She continues, “With Sleater-Kinney, we wanted to say, ‘Come a little closer, and out come those teeth,’ and The Raincoats did that, too. I feel like bands in Olympia wouldn’t dare be as weird as they actually were without The Raincoats, because otherwise people are too afraid to do that stuff. But The Raincoats sounded fearless.”

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In 1983, Calvin wrote one of the first US Raincoats cover stories and interviews in OP magazine, in which he asked Ana what she liked to have for breakfast (she wasn’t keen to answer). John Foster of KAOS was a cofounder of OP with Toni Holm, Dana Squires, and David Rauh. The magazine was short-lived—only twenty-six issues, one for each letter of the alphabet—and the founders wanted more Raincoats. Dana, who also served as art director for the magazine, says: “They were an influence, as they sounded like they were doing what they needed to do . . . sounded natural.” Bruce Pavitt remembers Dana’s love of The Raincoats in particular. “I very specifically remember her reproducing the Odyshape cover,” he smiled. He also describes OP as an influential magazine that did in print what KAOS did in sound, ultimately reaching a bigger audience. “KAOS DJs wrote for OP,” he explains, and, “Both KAOS and OP began getting international recognition.”

Kathi Wilcox and Ana da Silva, 1993. Courtesy of Kathi Wilcox

As a fan and interviewer of The Raincoats, Calvin would ultimately be the one to introduce The Raincoats to one of the artists who permanently put Olympia on the feminist map. Tobi Vail, cofounder and drummer of Bikini Kill, “first heard The Raincoats in September 1984 because Calvin put them on a mixtape for me,” she says. She was fifteen years old.

She knew Beat Happening as a local band and had gone to see a few of their shows, but she also associated Calvin with his day job: He drove a shuttle from Evergreen State College to downtown, and that’s how Tobi got to a lot of gigs. She’d also listened to Calvin’s KAOS show and was eager to know more about some of the female artists he’d been playing. Tobi spotted him one day in downtown Olympia. “I ran up to him on the street and said, ‘You just played this song on the radio, and you said the band was all girls, and they weren’t singing in English. Who was it?!’” Calvin assumed it was Shonen Knife (an all-female Japanese pop-punk band from Osaka, who’d ultimately be released in America on K Records), but Tobi insisted it wasn’t and that she needed a mixtape. It turned out the band was the female-fronted French group The Calamities, who recorded a single eponymous LP on Posh Boy Records (a Hollywood label linked to the rise of the early-eighties punk scene in Orange County). Calvin’s mixtape included The Raincoats’ “In Love.” Tobi fell in love with The Raincoats.

She started hanging out at Calvin’s apartment where she could listen to his Raincoats records, and a couple years later got her own KAOS show. “The reason I did it was because, that way, I wouldn’t have to bother other people to tape me records,” she remembers. “I could hear all the music I wanted and listen to The Raincoats [album].” KAOS was the only place in town besides Calvin’s apartment with an original copy. “I immediately started listening to that record. It got stuck in my head, it lasted, and there was more and more to discover,” Tobi says. The song “The Void” would become her anthem of sorts, shaping her musical sensibilities as she formed bands that included the Go Team (with Calvin) and, soon after, Bikini Kill. “I was obsessed,” she admits.

Tobi didn’t actually own the record herself for several more years—British import copies from 1979 were extremely hard to come by. “I’d never seen it in a record store here ever,” she remembers, initially assuming it was because Olympia was “pretty isolated, and the record stores here had a limited selection of punk and post-punk.” When she went on tour to San Francisco in 1987, she thought she’d find it, but nothing. “As a kid in the United States, it turned out you could only have that record if you happened to be alive and buying music when it came out in 1979.” Tobi introduced her friend Kurt Cobain, who was about to become known worldwide as the frontman of Nirvana, to The Raincoats. They’d listen to them together on the cassettes they’d recorded from Calvin’s vast collection. She eventually got her own copy when Kurt and Nirvana went over to Europe. “He brought me some Wipers records from Germany, too,” Tobi recalls.

A manifesto from Ana and Gina for @wepresent

Meanwhile, in a more roundabout way, Calvin was also the link between Kathi Wilcox of Bikini Kill and The Raincoats. Around 1984 or ’85, Kathi’s stepbrother gave her the Fairytale 7-inch EP. He was a student at Evergreen and lived across the hall from Calvin, so “he was familiar with the music scene and bought all these records,” Kathi remembers. She wasn’t even in high school yet. Eventually, her stepbrother wanted to listen to his vinyl on cassette, so he brought the goods to her and asked if she’d make cassettes of them all; the upshot was she could keep the vinyl. Fairytale was in that stack. “Suddenly I had the Raincoats!” Kathi says. “I didn’t have any frame or reference for understanding their music, but that record hit me the hardest when I got into high school and was really trying to wrap my mind around what music was.” It gave Kathi a way to completely recalibrate her thinking about songs—how they’re made and what they can do. When she eventually met Tobi, they came to one another as Raincoats fans. Kathi didn’t have the self-titled LP The Raincoats, and Tobi didn’t have the Fairytale EP, so they shared their records.

Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney confirms that the apartment complex where Calvin and Kathi’s stepbrother were living was a Raincoats hotbed. “I definitely first heard The Raincoats in the Martin Apartments in Olympia, around 1994. Everyone was looking for those records,” she says. “They were just something you were searching for. And if you had a Raincoats record, you definitely showed it off in your apartment!”

“I didn’t know then, but it seems like lots of encounters people were having with our music was through tapes, and people making tapes of tapes of tapes,” Ana says. “In Portland, Olympia, I heard from Calvin of K Records that he was doing that kind of thing, and Rob Sheffield in New York, as well.”

Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill eventually made her way to Olympia to attend Evergreen State College. It was there—thanks in large part to the ethos of a city inspired by The Raincoats—that she learned without a doubt “punk is NOT a genre,” Kathleen declares. “I was already open to the idea that punk wasn’t a genre—it’s an idea!—but listening to the bands on K Records, and listening to The Raincoats, made me know that punk doesn’t have to be this in-your-face aggressive, fuck-you music. It can be this really complicated, nuanced thing.” What punk meant, Kathleen learned from The Raincoats, “was that we could do whatever the fuck we wanted, and what felt important was making the kind of music we wanted to make.”

Excerpted from the book Shouting Out Loud by Audrey Golden. Copyright © 2025 by Audrey Golden. Reprinted with Permission of Grand Central Publishing. All rights reserved.

Here’s Audrey in the Quietus on the Raincoats

You can read another excerpt here

Lois and Heather Dunn (who drummed for the Raincoats) on tour

Kurt liner notes, image courtesy of the Raincoats
Portland merch sales, image courtesy of the Raincoats
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Lightheaded Interview by Jen Sbragia

Lightheaded — Courtesy of Lightheaded

We are so feeling LIGHTHEADED

Cynthia Rittenbach and Stephen Stec founded LIGHTHEADED on the Jersey Shore in 2017, aligning with a rotating crew of drummers, guitarists and backup vocalists. After releasing their debut EP and debut album the following year, they have already embarked on some big tours and played some prestigious janglefests—even playing alongside legends like Heavenly, The Softies, and The Ladybug Transistor. Next up is Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming!, out in late June on Slumberland in the U.S. and the UK’s Skep Wax label. It was recorded on the right coast with Gary Olson and the best coast with Alicia Vanden Heuvel, with Fred Thomas adding some reverb from the country’s midsection. The songs contain all the swoons and la-la-las of all great pop and feature guest spots from Starcleaner Reunion and Trinket. We caught up with them about their new album, favorite records and summer plans!

Interview by Jen Sbragia / Images courtesy of Lightheaded

On tour in the Bay for Oakland Pop Fest/recording ‘Thinking Dreaming Scheming!’ Courtesy of Lightheaded

Chickfactor: Please introduce yourselves, and tell us what instruments you play.
I’m Cynthia, I play bass and the xylophone. And sing.
I’m Stephen, I play guitar.

Tell us about the new songs!
Cynthia: we recorded them with only the best. We had a huge group of all of our friends and some of our biggest idols to help record and produce. Recorded it on both coasts in New York, San Francisco, and Philadelphia. Some songs with Gary Ladybug, others with Alicia Aislers. Crash Landing of the Clod stands out, all the heartbreak ones always do. Same Drop really, too. It’s sort of an endearing little tune that makes me think visually of umbrellas and binoculars.

Stephen: they’re all newer stuff for us, too. Pretty short songs. Everything pretty much written in 2023/2024 during a sort of wilderness period. Most songs are about falling in and out of love, besides the super obvious one. I think overall, this batch of songs are a little more direct than we’ve been in the past. Maybe we were just going through a phase? We also had a really good group of pals hanging out with us to track on both coasts. Jo and Adam from Starcleaner Reunion added a ton on this album, as did Sara and Madison on quite a few tracks. I hear them so much on the songs they played on, it makes me quite happy.

What is your songwriting process like? Is it collaborative or do you each come to the table with fully formed pieces?
Cynthia: I think most songs are very much a combination of our ideas melted together. Some start with my musical melodies… other times some chords, or a rhythm I like. Other times, just Stephen’s lyrics can be inspiring. But either way, I do really enjoy adding the finishing touches. That part of the process always stands out as one of the most fulfilling. I had a lot of fun on this record doing things we never really did before, like bird sounds and xylophones.

Stephen: yeah, for every song, it’s a total collaboration. There’s never been a single Lightheaded song where we both don’t contribute a lot of ideas to whoever started the initial thought.  Like, even if Cynthia writes a whole song, I’ll still write the lyrics for everything, which are very important to the direction of a track. And if I write a whole song, Cynthia will still completely influence the sound by writing the rhythm parts and adding melodies. That openness is really important and freeing to what we are.

Courtesy of Lightheaded

What are some of your influences that might surprise people to learn?
Cynthia: I’ve been really into ’90s rave lately.
Stephen: She’s been playing a lot of Method Man and Wu Tang.
Cynthia: Oh yeah, Wu Tang. Shout out Wu Tang. Also, I started following a new playlist. It’s called ‘Best Gregorian Chants’…
Stephen: I myself rip off a lot of Arthur Rimbaud and Tupac.

Courtesy of Lightheaded

Are you inspired by non musical things, like art or fashion…?
Cynthia: learning about how computers work has been influencing the world around me. Life is all about systems. It’s made me try to look at things more efficiently. It’s sort of given me a fresh view on my process of creativity.

Stephen: hm, maybe some old video games with 8 bit graphics and memorable soundtracks, I’d say WWE Wrestling, surrealist poetry too, but mainly for me, it’s my students. They are very inspirational in a lot of different ways. The things they do, the comings and goings of their life that they share. Sometimes I’ll even grab a lyric from something they say, or that I’ll say to them. It happened once with ‘Crash Landing of the Clod,’ when I experienced a sixteen year old very loudly trying to have ‘a one on one conversation in a quiet room’. I was like “you have to stop, it’s silent reading,” lolol!

Where would you like to tour or play that you haven’t been yet?
Cynthia: Japan and Germany.
Stephen: Das uber cool, Cindy. Yeah, for us, it was always really France and Japan, but we are crossing France off the list in July. Wee wee! Pretty exciting stuff! Uhm, so that leaves Japan for me, then, I think… New Zealand…?!

Set list for Ladybug Transistor tour at Tubby’s NY. Courtesy of Lightheaded

Tell us about your day jobs.
Cynthia: I am a computer science major right now. Looking forward to an internship.
Stephen: I am a teacher. I love the kids and summers, but the profession has its tribulations. It’s changed a lot. I might leave one day. I keep a list of jobs I think I’d be good at if I didn’t teach English. My top 3 right now are an ambulance driver, meteor hunter, or taste tester. I guess I’m open to job offers.

If you could have a time machine, what long-defunct bands would you go see?
Cynthia: John Lennon or John Legend.
Stephen: The 3 Stooges.

Cynthia and K waiting for Heavenly show. Courtesy of Lightheaded

What’s next for Lightheaded?
Cynthia: I’ve recently gotten a Fostex tape machine, Tascam mixer, and Pro VLA II compressor that I’m looking forward to tracking our next record with in upstate New York with my friends. It feels like one of the most promising lineups yet, to play with Gavin and Madison… hopefully Jacki more, too. We are going to make something special.

Stephen: For the meantime, we have an EP coming out on a great green vinyl for Slumberland/Skep Wax called Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming! on June 27, 2025. Featuring hot new indie pop trax about binoculars, magic carpets, Amelia Fletcher, and a whole lot more you can shake your tambourine to. The b-side of the vinyl will have our debut EP, its first vinyl release. We’re going to play a fun album release show with our buddies Jeanines, Love/Burns, and The Frenchmen, before heading out to Paris and the UK to tour the album for two weeks. We are particularly excited to play July 19th at the Lexington in London with HEAVENLY and to close out the Glas-Goes Pop Festival with an after party at Stephen Pastels record shop. But truly, tell us what’s next for Lightheaded. Drop us a line wherever you can find us!

Bowling alley hair check. Courtesy of Lightheaded

Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming! is out June 27. The first pressing LP is on minty green vinyl. The cassette version only includes songs 1-5; the rest are on the Good Good Great! tape.
BUY: Slumberland Records is releasing it in the U.S.
BUY: Skep Wax Records is releasing it in the UK.
LISTEN to the first single here. 

Courtesy of Lightheaded
This show already happened. Courtesy of Lightheaded

Records Cynthia Cannot Live Without
Margo Guryan ‘Take A Picture’
Masculin Feminin soundtrack
The Pastels ‘Truckload of Trouble’
The Smiths ‘Strangeways Here We Come’
Dusty Springfield ‘Dusty’
The Particles ‘1980s Bubblegum’
Kraftwerk ‘Computer World’
Belle and Sebastian ‘The Life Pursuit’
Grimes ‘Visions’
Lush ‘Split’

Records Stephen Cannot Live Without
Felt ‘Strange Idol Patterns and Other Short Stories’
The Monkees ‘Greatest Hits’
Beat Happening ‘S/T’
The Magnetic Fields ‘69 Love Songs’
Jonathan Richman ‘I, Jonathan’
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart ‘S/T’
Masculin Feminin soundtrack
The Byrds ‘Younger Than Yesterday’
Rocketship ‘A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness’
The Feelies ‘The Good Earth’

This show is in the past. Courtesy of Lightheaded
Group shot to commemorate the Ladybug Transistor tour. Courtesy of Lightheaded
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Sometimes I Want to Return … Sensitive Live Is Out Now

Sometimes I Want to Return: Sensitive Live (Watch now!) 

On the evening of February 12, 2025, in a tiny venue deep in the heart of London’s West End, a very special group of people met to celebrate the launch of the album Sensitive – An Indie Pop Anthology. Available today is sometimes i want to return ~ sensitive live, directed by Tim Sidwell, a filmed version of the record release party where a band called the Sensitivities backed up various singers in celebration of the compilation on Needle Mythology. Watch the trailer here. 

In the mid-1980s, a new wave of independent music emerged in the UK.   Supported by fanzines and DJs such as John Peel and Janice Long, the musicians emerging from this scene were defiantly DIY in their outlook.
Record labels such as Creation, 53rd & 3rd, The Subway Organisation, and Sarah became synonymous with this emerging scene.
Fusing the vernacular of 60s girl groups, psych-pop and the poetic daredevilry of post-punk trailblazers like The Smiths, Altered Images and Orange Juice, these groups helped define the indie zeitgeist.
Forty years later, in central London, a very special concert took place to mark the release of ‘sensitive’ – an anthology celebrating this scene.
Playing with a very special “house band”, singers from these groups travelled from all over the UK to take part.
What ensued was an unforgettable evening. A emotional one-off celebration, featuring classic songs from the era, which can be heard in their original form on the ‘sensitive’ album.
‘sometimes i want to return’ is the film of that evening. (From the film website)

(Editor’s note: Many of us couldn’t be there so thank you Pete Paphides for making it possible to us to watch this now! This music is basically exactly what made Pam Berry and I start this fanzine. Watching the film is both joyous and life-affirming but also a welcome distraction from the pain of living in the U S A in this moment.)

Pete Paphides and Amelia Fletcher. Photo: Ken Copsey
The film features the following artists:
James Knox from The Waltones
Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey from Talulah Gosh
James Roberts from The Sea Urchins
Sean Dickson from The Soup Dragons
Phil Wilson and Frank Sweeney from The June Brides
Beth Arzy (Jetstream Pony) who sang “Somewhere In China” by Shop Assistants
Pete Astor and Andy Strickland from The Loft and The Weather Prophets
Clare Grogan from Altered Images
Convening for one night only were “house” band The Sensitivities:
Amelia Fletcher (vocals, gutar)
Rob Pursey (bass guitar)
Bob Collins (lead guitar)
Ian Button (drums, backing vocals)
Clare Grogan singing the Primitives’ Crash. Photo: Ken Copsey

Ian Button: There was the bit where Sean D was handing over to Clare G at the practice. I think they knew each other but not sure?

We’d just played “Hang Ten” with Sean but we’d done it really fast, and as he was leaving he told Clare, “Watch out for these guys, they’re punk rockers!” 

I didn’t pluck up the nerve to ask Clare if it had been her in a beret across the room from me at a dark and quite empty Theatre of Hate gig in 1980/81. I wouldn’t wear my glasses back then, and I’ve often told people it was her. I don’t know if I want that memory confirmed or shattered! 

Rob Pursey: One of my favourite memories of the rehearsals was Pete (Paphides) sitting cross-legged on the floor, listening intently as we worked through the songs. He seemed very happy, and serious at the same time, and I suddenly had a very clear idea of what he’d have been like as a teenager.  I got glimpses of teenage versions of loads of people that day.  Everyone still seemed able to tap into the idealism and the sheer excitement of the music that defined their youth.  I think that’s what made the occasion so wonderful.

The gig was a blur, and we had to concentrate really hard on all these songs we’d only just learnt. But when James started singing ‘Pristine Christine’ a shiver went down my spine and I remember thinking ‘try to remember this moment’. 

Andy Strickland and “silver fox of indiepop” Pete Astor from The Loft and The Weather Prophets. Photo: Ken Copsey

Amelia Fletcher: My main memory is trying to carry on doing backing vocals and playing guitar correctly while my childhood hero, Clare Grogan, leant against me and shared my mic, in a rock n roll manner. 

I was shocked at how everyone on the stage, and in the audience, looked exactly the same as they did in 1987.  The lighting may have been favourable.

The house band in their natural habitat: rehearsal space

Bob Collins: For me, some highlights

1. Also on Clare G entering the room and going from extremely nervous to her immediately putting us at our ease, laughing and joking and not being precious about anything. In particular a great snapshot memory for me is Clare and Amelia doing a quiet practice of the Crash harmonies while i accompanied on guitar. That was a real ‘pinch yourself’ moment.

2. Sean also being super friendly and giving us the long version of the story he tells on the film (it was worth it!)

3. James from the Sea Urchins appearing hugely nervous at first in rehearsal (hope he won’t mind me saying that) but then carrying it off just perfectly. His singing (as evidenced on the film) is fantastic. And the gasp from the room as he took the stage from people who knew who he was, the second gasp from the people that didn’t when he introduced himself, and the third gasp when we actually started the song! This was a song I didn’t really know before we started rehearsing but it became possibly my favourite one of all and, by the time we’d performed, it felt for me like the all time classic that other people already knew it was!

Courtesy of Bob Collins

I’ve attached two images – one is obviously the notes for the chords and structure of “Pristine Christine,” and the other is my annotated list of songs. I thought this would give a tantalising glimpse into a couple of songs we didn’t perform (and one one we did but isn’t on the film), but I also thought it might work as a fun competition for chickfactor readers to see who can work out what the annotations next to each song mean (not entirely sure I can remember myself!)

Pete Paphides, Needle Mythology: Rob Pursey was kind of joking when he said that this is the indiepop Last Waltz. In fact, I know he was joking a bit. But I don’t think that’s too far off the mark really because it really dawned on us in the rehearsal room as we saw all the singers coming and going one by one to do their vocals for the only time prior to the concert which was happening that evening that this had turned into something really unique and special and possibly unrepeatable and certainly on the evening that absolute magic, that absolute fizz in the air that you really were watching something you were going to remember for the rest of your life. I’m so glad that for once in my life I had the foresight to ask a camera crew to come along and film it—and a really good one by the way—and there’s an absolute magic in the air.

Pete Paphides. Photo: Ken Copsey

Everything was a highlight really. It was wonderful to see James Knox give such a charismatic performance of “She Looked Right Through Me.” Beth Arzy really did justice and more to “Somewhere in China” – I think she really got the fragile beauty of that song. The house band were just amazing, they were at it for more than an hour, just incredible, turning their hands to the peculiarities and brilliant detail in every single song. James Roberts from the Sea Urchins just comes strolling into that room like it was only the day before since we’s last seen him and not 30 years ago  His voice sounded so beautiful on ”Pristine Christine.” Phil Wilson unleashing his inner rock and roll star, a complete change of personality in stepping on to that stage, it was incredible. Pete Astor, the silver fox of indie pop now, just really imperiously locking into the brilliance of those songs and Andy next to him. Sean Dickson who relived the riotous, carefree energy of Hang Ten, so charismatic. And then of course Clare Grogan, the pure starburst of brilliance and charisma and loveliness, she just charmed everyone around her as you can see in the film. And then that emotional climax, Amelia stepping forward to do “Sensitive,” really doing the song justice, just fantastic, and of course the version of “Talulah Gosh” was just as moving for all of us who were there.

available to purchase and download
Courtesy of Bob Collins
Clare and Amelia in rehearsal; courtesy of the Sensitivities
The force of nature that is Clare Grogan. Photo: Ken Copsey
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An Interview with Mark Goodall About His El Records Book

ON THE PASSAGE OF A FEW PEOPLE THROUGH A RATHER BRIEF MOMENT IN TIME: él RECORDS

40 years since the start of él Records there is now a burst of activities commemorating Mike Alway’s pop-art label él Records. Stefan Zachrisson talks to Mark Goodall about his new book Bright Young Things. The Art and Philosophy of él Records.

”If él wasn’t a label it would be a restaurant or a bar, one of those old bars where there’s no music at all, loads of good conversation, where you have this special relationship with the barman – though not too pally – the idea of something private and delicately euphoric.” A very Buñuel influenced Mike Alway quote from a lengthy Sounds feature on él Records in 1986.

The people hanging around at this metaphorical bar during five years in the mid to late 1980s would other than Alway be such eccentric aesthetes as Philippe Auclair, Nick Currie, Simon Fisher Turner, Bid, Nick Wesolowski, Cat Rees, Julia Gilbert, Matt Lipsey, Jessica Griffin, Vic Godard, Richard Preston, Karl Blake, Jim Phelan and Kevin Wright, to name just a few. During that brief time this group of people contributed to what became a really special record label.

Would-Be-Goods by Nick Wesolowski

él founder Mike Alway loved 1960s pop culture but, like many of the él musicians, came out of the post-punk era; an environment where pretentiousness and curiosity really could thrive. He was a&r for Cherry Red in the early 1980s, releasing the classic Pillows & Prayers compilation, introducing Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt to each other, and generally introducing ”light music” as a way forward.

Many of the él influences came from film; the name is from a Buñuel movie and directors Powell & Pressburger and Orson Welles were constantly mentioned as influences by Alway. When ”indie” was at its most mundande in the late 1980s Alway instead used él to create a kind of parallel fantasy world – in an admittedly low-budget way – suggesting personas, concepts and titles for the musicians. Some of the results were glorious failures but mostly it really did work.

What is the legacy of él today? Most people cannot name one record that él released. But like many of the best independent record labels of yore él was about more than actual music, even though a lot of great records came out of it. It’s a kind of fleeting spirit, which for me, regarding él, has lived on not only through a great influence on Japanese pop but also with the stylish playfulness of someone like Tyler, the Creator.

Louis Philippe by Nick Wesolowski

So él may seem obscure but it’s not completely forgotten: Spring of 2025 sees the release of two major retrospectives: Mark Goodall’s book Bright Young Things. The Art and Philosophy of él Records and the compilation The Rubens Room. Él Records: In Camera. Furthermore, several former él artists are releasing new music and doing concerts (Louis Philippe, Momus, Hotel Artesia, The Monochrome Set, Would-Be-Goods), while él as a name has for some time been re-activated as an archival/reissue label.

To highlight these happenings I interviewed Mark Goodall about his book. Goodall’s also the author of Sweet and Savage, a book about mondo films, and Gathering of the Tribe about music and the occult. He co-produced and directed the film Holy Terrors based on the stories of Arthur Machen, and is the singer/guitarist in the group Rudolf Rocker. (Text and inteview: Stefan Zachrisson)

Bid from the Monochrome Set; courtesy of Tapete Records

Chickfactor: It’s a book about él – how would you describe your relation to
the label and its music?
Mark Goodall: It was only through conceptualising the book that I realised the scope of él records. Up to that point I had loved bits and pieces of their output – the first Momus LP, the Flair 89 LP, The World in Winter – and of course The Monochrome Set before that. I loved the post-punk/new wave scene and thought it was the most innovative period in pop music history since the 1960s.

What was your main motivation writing the book, the point you wanted to make? 
With the book I wanted to explore the unique qualities of the label. There were lot of indie labels, but only one él. To me, the label had a ‘philosophy’ rather than just a modus operandi that stood it apart. That came of course from Mike Alway.

él records founder Mike Alway

How would you, in short, describe that kind of “philosophy”?
The él philosophy to me seems to be:
1. The aim to create great (musical) art by synthesising other art forms, especially film, fashion and graphic design
2. The idea of creating new music by re-inventing 1960 pop sounds into a new wave
3. To combine the hit factories of the 1960s with Andy Warhol’s ‘Factory’ into a creative form of collaborative practice
This is kind of what my book is trying to explore.

Was there something surprising that you realized while writing the
book, some new insight/understanding?
Through interviewing almost everyone involved in the label, I learned more about the working methods of the label and the artists. The collaborative nature came across in a way that was not evident. Through assembling the records as a distinct body of work, the beauty of the visual aspect of the label became more apparent.

How was it for those involved to look back and talk about their él past? Did anyone say no to being interviewed?
It was forty years ago so memories were somewhat frayed! I think the timing was right – not so long that those involved were no longer around, but long enough for any resentments to have mellowed. I think it was mostly an enjoyable experience and a confirmation of the excellence of the work that they did. The only person who did not respond to an interview was Julia Gilbert (Anthony Adverse).

If you’d pick one él artefact – a song, a record, a cover, a lyric, an image, etc – as the pivotal one, what would it be and why?
Difficult to choose as there are so many classic LPs of course – The Camera Loves Me, Choirboys Gas, Royal Bastard – but probably for me the Marden Hill Cadaquez LP is the most extraordinary combination of originality, variety and skill. In short form, the 7-inch and 10-inch sets are incredible.

Marden Hill

él was influenced by things like the past, art, movies etc and created something new. Is there anything going on culturally today that you’d say function a bit like él did?
No, it was totally original, unique, because of that combination you mention, and while the spirit is evident in other labels and artists there is nothing like it today and probably never will be. The world has changed and could certainly do with another ‘él’ but I can’t see it. It was a product of particular historical moment…

Mark Goodall’s book Bright Young Things. The Art and Philosophy of él Records is published by Ventil Verlag on April 11.

A Q&A with Mark Goodall and Louis Philippe about the book takes place at the Rough Trade shop at Denmark Street in London on April 14.

The 25-track compilation album The Rubens Room. Él Records: In
Camera is released by Tapete Records on April 11.

New albums by former él artists this Spring: Louis Philippe, The Road to the Sea, Momus, Quietism, and Hotel Artesia, Everywhere Alone.

Stefan Zachrisson is a librarian in Stockholm, Sweden, who’s also the administrator of Adeste Fideles, a Facebook group about él and writes the CORRESPONDENCE newsletter. Previously he’s been involved in the international pop underground through BCNVT, Friendly Noise and Benno.
Oh Constance / Photo by Peter Moss
Photo by Peter Moss
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Songwriting School with Kendall Jane Meade

Kendall Jane Meade by Jimmy Pham

Songwriting School
Ten singers and songwriters who have inspired me always, and on my new album, Space. By Kendall Jane Meade

1. Joni Mitchell 
An old boyfriend gave me a copy of Blue after we had broken up, and I was instantly hooked. I remember also getting The Softies album It’s Love around the same time. Both albums influenced me like crazy, and still do.

  1. 2. Vashti Bunyan
    Gordon Zacharias turned me on to Vashti’s album Diamond Day. It was produced by Joe Boyd, who also produced Nick Drake. I loved how incredibly gently she sang. People are always telling me to sing louder in live shows, which I kind of love not doing as an act of rebellion. Vashti would approve. So would Mark Linkous. They both taught me there is strength in softness, too. You just need to find your audience who want to listen to whatever you’re doing.


3. Margo Guryan
My kind of pop queen. A delicate vocalist with a voice like no other. “Take a Picture” and “Think of Rain” are so beautiful, and “What Can I Give You” has a rollicking, party-like quality that I have always wanted to capture in one of my recordings but never get there. Maybe my next album. 

4. Christine McVie
Truly an icon. Her solo album, Christine Perfect (Perfect is her maiden name), is amazing. There is a song, “When You Say,” that is always on my eternal playlist. There is a string interlude in the song that’s completely unexpected but works. It’s quirky. I also relate to her as being totally cool with being part of a greater group in Fleetwood Mac. She didn’t need to be in the spotlight, yet she was quietly writing all the hits. I’m also going to cram in here that I love Stevie Nicks’ solo album Bella Donna.

Kendall Jane Meade by Jimmy Pham

5. Sandy Denny
I cover one of her songs, Solo, on my new album, Space. That song is one of those tunes that I have loved for decades. I feel that it tells my story as of late, so I finally recorded it. Sandy’s voice is stunning and airy and also ethereal. Her work in Fairport and her solo work are otherworldly.

  1. 6. Kirsty MacColl
    Gail (Chickfactor editor and longtime pal) turned me on to Kirsty. Her strength and confidence is what I admire. There is such life to her voice, and her songs are so brilliant. I would say that “Days” is one of my favorites. A little-known fact is that she sequenced U2’s The Joshua Tree because her husband at the time was U2’s producer, Steve Lillywhite.
Margaret White and Kendall Jane Meade at SXSW – Photo: Shelby Meade

7. Joan Baez
What an absolute icon. Totally brave, outspoken, and a truly sensitive soul with the balls to take an antiwar stance from such a young age. “Diamonds and Rust” and “Sweet Sir Galahad” are two of the songs she wrote during the heyday of her career, and they are both stunning. I highly recommend the recent documentary about her called I Am A Noise.

  1. 8. Patsy Cline
    While she didn’t write many of her songs, her voice and delivery broke my heart and soothed me at the same time. I remember being a college student at Boston University, finding her music at a used record store and hyper fixating on “She’s Got You” and, of course, “Crazy,” which was written by Willie Nelson.
Kendall at SXSW this year. Photo: Margaret White

9. Juliana Hatfield
I was a huge Blake Babies fan and later a fan of her solo work. She can do it all and is still one of the strongest performers out there. I remember seeing her solo shows back when I was in college at TT The Bears in Cambridge. After one show I saw her in the ladies’ room and she was dripping in sweat, that’s how passionately she performs.

  1. 10. Kim Deal
    She was the coolest part of the Pixies, and the Breeders albums were a massive influence on me. So catchy, cool, and effortless. I’m so happy she has a new album out. Just thinking of her makes me want to crank up “Divine Hammer” in my car and drive fast. You can hear this influence in the choruses of my new song “Stereo” off of Space.

Listen to Kendall’s new record SPACE here!

Kendall and pals at SXSW. Photo: Shelby Meade
The gang at SXSW. Photo: Anet Prinz

 

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chickfactor 2024 lists: Ladybug Transistor Tour Diary

The Ladybug Transistor at Deep Cuts in Medford MA. Photo by Ben Stas.

Top tour experiences with The Ladybug Transistor: December 2024
by Jennifer Baron (The Ladybug Transistor + The Garment District)
Being a total fan girl while touring with the fantastic Lightheaded and Tony Molina band (and having Mark Robinson on the bill in Medford, MA) and sharing the stage with Ladybug members from all iterations of the band each night was absolutely dreamy—every night was a joy, with beautiful venues and fantastic audiences, and I just wish we could have lived it all in slow motion!

Rest area snowball fight in New Hampshire

Here are some of my top highlights from an abbreviated tour diary of sorts:

On the drive from Keene, New Hampshire to Kingston, New York: Visiting the iconic Hogback Mountain Country Store perched atop scenic Route 9 in Marlboro, Vermont, just after a serene December snowfall. A Vermont fixture since 1936, the cozy shop is located at the Hogback Mountain Scenic Overlook at 2,250 feet. The sweeping views span breathtaking Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, pointing to Mount Holyoke, where I attended college. Perusing the shop and natural history museum, with an incredible section of maple syrup, donuts, libations and apparel—that I could not fit in my suitcase.

Nova Arts Block, Keene, New Hampshire
Scott McCaughey playing with The Ladybug Transistor at Mississippi Studios in PDX

Having the wonderful Scott McCaughey join us for our cover of Gene Clark’s “I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better” at the fantastic Mississippi Studios in Portland, and meeting Scott’s adorable dog Gladys during our sound check. And also seeing you there, Gail, along with dear friends from Pittsburgh and college. A beautiful venue throughout.

Sasha Bell, Scott McCaughey, Jennifer Baron at Mississippi Studios

Two sublime, and related, vegan dinners from venues where we performed:
At The Atrium plant-based restaurant inside Public Records in Brooklyn: Hibachi grilled tamarind Jewel yams with tamarind yogurt, salsa macha, pumpkin seed gremolata, coriander and mint. From Checker Hall inside The Lodge Room in Highland Park, Los Angeles: Sticky sweet potato dish with garlic glaze, aji verde, hazelnut and harissa oil. OMG, take me back.

LBT and Tony Molina band in the Mission District

Reuniting with our dearest friend Alicia Vanden Heuvel for the West Coast tour; revisiting Atlas Cafe in the Mission where we used to love going for breakfast when we toured in California with friends such as The Aislers Set, the Lucksmiths and Of Montreal. This visit was WAY TOO BRIEF. Thank you for everything, Alicia and Tony!

Rickshaw Stop LBT Cocktail

The Ladybug Transistor cocktail made for our show by the Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco and having it be exactly the kind of cocktail I love: tequila, grapefruit, lime, grenadine and soda. Loved having The Telephone Numbers plus DJs Jessica B, Coleminer and Miller Genuine Daft help to make this night so extra special.

Jacki Walburn from Lightheaded playing with The Ladybug Transistor at Public Records in Brooklyn

Having Jacki from Lightheaded “play” an apple (and tambourine) while joining us for “The Swimmer” (see 1:53) at Public Records in Brooklyn, and likewise, finally getting to “play” an apple myself, after all of these years, along with Ladybug percussionist dynamo Eric Farber, who joined is for our show at The Lodge Room in LA.

LBT at The Lodge Room in LA. Photo by Darian Sahanaja

Seeing the one and only, Joe Belock, aka WFMU’s Three Chord Monte, along with the ever-fabulous Jack Silbert, at our show at Public Records in Brooklyn. Thank you Joe, for spinning The Garment District!
Having original Ladybug drummer Ed Powers join us for “Rushes of Pure Spring” at Nova Arts Block in Keene, New Hampshire, where we had a blissful reunion of so many old friends from NYC and New England.

Spending the night at Gaia Hotel in Anderson CA (thank you Scott McCaughey, for the pro tip!) … but too cold for the hot tub!

Åke Strömer at Love of Fuzz in Troy New York

Visiting the terrific Love of Fuzz music store in Troy, New York, thanks to pedal-making, van-driving and merchandise-selling Swede guru, Åke Strömer.

Random and good-natured practical jokes and snowball fights at the many rest stops we frequented along the way.

IYKYK: Enjoying the best-in-the-game, late-night Smiling Pizza and blowing a kiss to my old apartment on 7th Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Reunions of all sorts on this tour, including a mini high school reunion and Frock reunion (Sasha from Ladybug, Annie from Spent and me!) in LA. So good for the soul, heart and spirit.

Flowers from Mooncake Flower Farm

Receiving gorgeous local flowers grown by Stephen Hunking (who helped us recreate the original packaging for “The Albemarle Sound” reissue), who runs Mooncake Flower Farm in Camas Washington, which graced our stage, and van, for the West Coast shows. Check out his new band, Dew Claw!

Favorite new sparkly vintage necklace scored at a vintage and antique warehouse in Kalama, Washington.

Staying in the house where we used to live (Marlborough Farms) in Brooklyn, while hunkering down in the basement studio for rehearsals and making frequent trips to the Flatbush Food Co-op. Taking breaks to watch “The Making of Do They Know It’s Christmas?” and have Sasha do tarot readings and cook us amazing dinner!

Griffith Observatory full December Moon. Photo by Sam Blehar
Controlling the dome speed at Griffith Observatory in LA

During a few days off in Los Angeles with my cousin Sam after the tour: Being invited to control the speed of the dome at Griffith Observatory; the best pupusa breakfast ever at the Atwater Village Farmers’ Market with dear friends I first met years ago while living in NYC (thank you, Jeff Feuerzeig, Dean Warheam and Matt Chesse!); finding the Ennis House in Los Feliz; revisiting the Laurel Canyon Country Store …

L-R: My dream supergroup! Matt Chessé, Dean Wareham, Britta Phillips, Jennifer Baron, Darian Sahanaja, Sasha Bell, Domenic Priore, Jeff Feuerzeig and Becky Ebenkamp after our show at The Lodge Room in LA
The Ennis House in Los Feliz in LA

It was deeply meaningful to play our music and be able to exist in a bit of an alternate universe bubble for a few weeks on both coasts during this truly multimodal tour! THANK YOU to my Ladybug bandmates and to every single person who attended these shows, listened with enthusiasm and helped us to sell out of our vinyl and T-shirts. Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records is currently planning a repress of “The Albemarle Sound” reissue and we hope to see you all again soon!

Reissue Deluxe Version with Mobile
Best pupusa breakfast ever at the Atwater Village Farmers Market in LA
The Ladybug Transistor and Lightheaded in Brooklyn
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chickfactor lists 2024: round four

Birdie

Paul Kelly (Birdie/East Village): Top Ten London Pubs
I should probably keep some of these pubs secret but hopefully most readers are in the US anyway.

The Betsey Trotwood – Farringdon Road, EC1
King Charles 1st – Northdown Street, N1
The Shakespeare – Arlington Way, EC1
The Angel – St Giles High Street, WC2
The Dolphin Tavern – Red Lion Street, WC1
Hemingford Arms – Hemingford Rd, N1
Bradley’s Spanish Bar – Hanway Street, W1
The Lamb – Lamb’s Conduit Street, WC1
The Blue Posts – Berwick Street, Soho
Cittie of Yorke – High Holborn, WC1

Erin Moran (A Girl Called Eddy)
My Top 10 Albums of 2024 (new releases and new to me discoveries)
1. The Lemon Twigs/A Dream is All We Know
2. Laetitia Sadier/Rooting for Love
3. Jerry Merrick/Follow
4. High Llamas/ Hey Panda
5. The Cure/ Songs of a Lost World
6. Blossom Dearie/ Verve-Third Man Special Edition
7. The Pearlfishers/ Making Tapes for Girls
8. Joni Mitchell/ Hejira Demos
9. Walter Wanderley/Kee-Ka-Roo
10 Rod Stewart /Never a Dull Moment

Top 5 Dutch Artworks Visited by Jim and Emily with Belgian Beer Pairings

1. Rembrandt’s The Night Watch – Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Pair with – St Bernardus Christmas Ale. “A strong, dark, quadrupel, It tastes of licorice, apricots and marzipan.”

2. Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring – Maurits Huis, Den Haag. Pairs well with Chimay Grande Reserve (blue) Trappist Ale. “It exhibits a considerable depth of fruity, peppery character (including hints of plum, raisin and nutmeg).”

3. Frans Hal’s The Regentesses of the Old Men’s Almhouse Haarlem – Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem. Pair with a Cherry Chouffe, “a Belgian Brown Ale – with cherries added. Ruby-tinted, it has a full cherry aroma with notes of strawberry, almond, spices, and port. Round-bodied, soft, and delicate, it has a satisfying finish, with very slight bitterness.”

4. Dom Tower and Church, Utrecht – Paired here with La Trappe Tripel, “a strong coppery-gold Trappist ale with an off-white foamy head and an enticing aroma of fruit, honey and spice. Coriander adds an herbally spicy note to its fruity, well-balanced bittersweet taste.”

5. Rietveld Schroeder Huis, Utrecht – Pairs nicely with St. Bernardus Wit “The Aroma is wheaty, with apple-like tartness; herbal-spicy notes of coriander, white pepper and orange peel are complemented by a light, honey-like sweetness.”

All descriptions taken from the Belgian Style Ales website.

Jessica Pratt / Photo: Renee Parkhurst

Gail O’Hara / chickfactor editor in chief 
Jessica Pratt, Here in the Pitch
The Innocence Mission, Midwinter Swimmers
Yea-Ming and the Rumours, I Can’t Have It All
The Umbrellas, Fairweather Friend
Rachel Love, Lyra
Chime School, The Boy Who Ran the Paisley Hotel
Myriam Gendron, Mayday
Reds Pinks and Purples, Unwishing Well
The Softies, The Bed I Made
La Luz, News of the Universe
Tara Jane O’Neil, Cool Cloud of Okayness
William Tyler, Future Myths
Milton Nascimento + Esperanza Spalding, Milton + esperanza
Tears Run Rings, Everything in the End
The Green Child, Look Familiar
High Llamas, Hey Panda
Pernice Brothers, Who Will You Believe
Kathryn Williams and Withered Hand, Willson Williams
Yasmin Williams, Acadia
Kate Bollinger, Songs from a Thousand Frames of Mind
Magic Fig, S/T
Mt Misery, Love in Mind
Jim White and Marisa Anderson, Swallowtail
Mary Timony, Untame the Tiger
Broadcast, Spell Blanket + Distant Call
Ladybug Transistor, Albemarle Sound
Birdie, Some Dusty (oh hey, yes, I wrote the liner notes!)
Sacred Paws, Another Day
Iraina Mancini, Sugar High (St Etienne Version) I played this endlessly
The Clientele, Trains in the Night + Claire’s Not Real
The Cords, Bo’s New Haircut/Rather Not Stay

+ also too:
– Karaoke parties: highlight was Janice Headley’s version of Cibo Matto’s “Birthday Cake”
– Road trips: Going to Olympia with JJ, Nancy and Yvonne was super-fun (save for the drive home) and we got to see Lois and Heather Dunn play together and Lois even slayed the room as Calvin in “C Is the Heavenly Option” – EPIC!
– Timberline outing with visiting pals
– USWNT winning Olympic Gold: triple espresso FTW!
– Portland Thorns (esp. beating Orlando and witnessing 12 years of #12 Captain Christine Sinclair): Please stop trading away our favorite players and hire more women in the NWSL FFS.
– Portland Timbers (esp. beating the cup winning LA Galaxy): Please get a new owner and GM ASAP.
– West Coast Heavenly Tour; TMF 69LS friend reunions; YLT + Built to Spill; Alvvays and the Beths in the town square. Swansea Sound + meeting Hue

Me and Charles at the studio making the album
I had my head down most of the year making my upcoming album (shameless plug: my first “solo” album, Space, comes out 2.28 on Mother West), but when I wasn’t recording or obsessing over something or other about the record, I was loving experiencing the following things:
SONGS
“Dominoes” by Mary Timony
“A Little Longer” by Johanna Samuels
“Slim Pickings” by Sabrina Carpenter
“Girl, So Confusing” by Charli xcx (feat Lorde)
“Tiny Flame” by The Softies
“Right Back To It” by Waxahatchee feat MJ Lenderman
“Deeper Well” by Kacey Musgraves
FILMS
Flipside by Chris Wilcha
23 Mile by Mitch McCabe
A Complete Unknown by James Mangold
LIVE SHOWS
Magnetic Fields two nights in a row in LA with Gail Chickfactor
Mary Timony at the Lodge Room
Matthew Caws (solo) at a KCSN event at Houdini’s old mansion in LA
Kacey Musgraves in Dallas
Ladybug Transistor at Lodge Room
Mac DeMarco at the Greek with my nephew
Mitski and Sharon Van Etten at the Hollywood Bowl
The Love Hangover at The Bowery Ballroom in NYC
Matthew Edwards at SYZYGY in SF
Joni Mitchell and Friends at the Bowl
Will Sheff at this groovy stoner event at the Philosophical Research Society (and I even got to sing a song with him),
Joan Wasser at the Cha Cha Lounge in LA.
Friends and fam at The Hotel Cafe
OTHER STUFF
Buying my niece her first guitar (she chose a Fender acoustic).

Hosting a residency at Hotel Cafe in October and playing every week was great for me to brush up on my act as a performer. It was also a wonderful way to gather old and new friends. Benjamin Cartel, Nicole Lawrence, Alie Byland, and Eli Wulfmeier opened the shows, and they were excellent.

Making time for long, healthy hikes with friends in and around LA (a bonus of living here).

Feeling very ladylike by joining The Huntington in Pasadena, which hosts the most beautiful art collections and has huge botanical gardens to get lost in. My friends and I took our moms there for high tea, and it was so sweet.

I spent 3 days in Palma de Mallorca for a friend’s big birthday. It was stunning, and I would love to go back. Shout out to all the pastry shops in Palma and the beautiful beaches.
I got to spend time in Detroit with my Dad and play my now annual holiday show at a little dive bar called The Polka Dot.

Wrangling many of my friends to play on my new record in LA, Detroit, and NYC, and wrangling others to make content with me and artwork and all of the things that go into making and promoting an album. Feeling very grateful.

Dickon Edwards

SONGS:
Chappell Roan, ‘Good Luck, Babe!’,
Jessica Pratt, ‘Life Is’
Gigi Perez, ‘The Sailor Song’
Tess Parks, ‘California’s Dreaming’
Pet Shop Boys, ‘Loneliness’
Bruno Mars and Rosé, ‘APT.’
Claire Rousay, ‘Head’
Laurie Anderson, ‘Road to Mandalay’
Emma Anderson, ‘Taste The Air (Julia Holter Mix)’
Charley Stone, ‘Free Food’
Janis, Perez & YANIS, ‘Pharmacoliberation’
Noel, ‘Dancing is Dangerous’
Abstract Crimewave ‘The Longest Night’
Fuse ODG, ‘We Know It’s Christmas’

BOOKS (fiction):
Alan Hollinghurst, Our Evenings
Nat Reeve, Earlyfate
H. Gareth Gavin, Never Was
Khaled Alesmael, Selamlik
Chloe Michelle Howarth, Sunburn
Iain Sinclair, Pariah Genius
Justin Torres, Blackouts
Adam Macqueen Haunted Tales
Henry Van Dyke, Ladies of the Rachmaninoff Eyes (reissue)

BOOKS (non-fiction / memoir)
Katherine Bucknell, Christopher Isherwood Inside Out
Claire Dederer, Monsters
Xiaolu Guo, My Battle of Hastings
Liam Konemann, The Appendix
Salman Rushdie, Knife
Hanif Kureishi, Shattered
Claude Cahun, Cancelled Confessions

BOOKS (poetry):
Peter Scalpello, Limbic
JP Seabright, George Parker, Jaime Lock, Not Your Orlando
Camille Ralphs, After You Were, I Am
Jen Calleja, Goblinhood (poems and essays)

FILMS / TV:
Orlando, My Political Biography
Wilding
Scala!
Poor Things
Past Lives
Feud: Capote Vs the Swans

PLACES:
The Goat Ledge Beach Cafe, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex
Black Gull Books, St Leonards
Cute (exhibition), Somerset House, London

Oed Ronne (The Ocean Blue)
There were four standout records I heard this year, 3 of which came from people I was hashtag blest to play shows with this year.

Photos of Happy by Oed Ronne
Bart and the Bedazzled – Blue Motel
We got to play a few shows with Bart and his band the Bedazzled this year – all charming, warm, and incredibly talented. Man, Bart has the ability to command the room. Though a few years old, this record was in the background of all year long for me. Absolutely lovely.
Asteroid No.4 – Several Shapes of Solar Flares
We also got to play a few shows with Asteroid No. 4 for a few shows this last year. Always rocking sunglasses and walls of melody and guitars. Amazing band.

Fave track: Rescue

Wayne Faler – Wayne Faler 
Wayne plays guitar in Bart’s band and on this, his debut, he sort of reminds me of Deebank-era Felt and the Go-Betweens. I love the way the 7/4 hook of Millwood St sucks you in. I’m at risk of wearing this album out for reals.

Fave track: Millwood St

The Tyde – Season 5
Thank goodness there was a new Tyde record this year. Kind of stylisitically the same touchstones but also here with a dash of Mike Post and more of a tropical flavor. I love this record.

Fave track: Heal Thyself

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chickfactor lists 2024: round three

Chime School – courtesy of Chime School

Andy Pastalaniec (Chime School)
We did a bit of touring in 2024! In no particular order here’s some of our favorite food and drinks along the way:

1. Espresso and Patisserie at Le Sullyin Paris, France.
2. Picon Bière – Amer Picon (orange liqueur) mixed with Kronenbourg 1664, at Le Hasard Ludiquein Paris, France.
3. Pie and Mash; Scotch Eggs, from Tebay Farmshop, Tebay, UK.
4. “$2.95 All-Day Breakfast” at Bon’s off Broadway, Vancouver BC.
5. Anything on the menu at Salsa & Beer, Los Angeles.
6. GONZO Ramen, Carlsbad, CA. Seriously the best Ramen any of us have ever had.
7. Curry and Porotta bread from Kerala South Indian Restaurant, Coventry, UK. On the same block as Just Dropped In Records!
8. Cheeseburgers at Hattie’s Hat, Seattle, WA.
9. Buckfast Tonic Wine, Glasgow, UK, for a much needed pre-show “pick me up”!
10. Fresh salads, juices, and packet sandwiches from any and all motorway stops in the UK; they kept us healthy on tour!

Seablite with Laetitia Sadier (photo courtesy of Seablite)

Seablite: Places we’ve never been but want to go:
1. Aoshima, “cat island” – Andy
2. Berlin – Jen
3. Transylvania – Galine
4. Hashima Island, Japan – Lauren
5. The Troll Hole Museum

Dawn and Trixie (Photo courtesy of D&T)

Dawn Sutter Madell (Agoraphone) + Trixie Madell (Girl Scout Handbook) 
Best Shows We Saw Together 2024
PJ Harvey at Terminal 5
Sun Ra Arkestra at Central Park, Sony Hall
Kim Gordon Central Park
Yo La Tengo at Sony Hall
Bikini Kill at Paramount
Adrienne Lenker Music Hall of Williamsburg
Quasi at Bowery Ballroom
Off Pink at a record store
Julien Baker, Torres at Webster Hall
Bratmobile at Warsaw
X, Jon Spencer, Lydia Loveless, Finom at Square Roots Festival, Chicago
Sweeping Promises, Jessica Pratt, Brittany Howard, Grandmaster Flash, De La Soul, Mannequin Pussy, Muna at Pitchfork Chicago
Son Rompe Pera, Fishbone at Prospect Park

Cotton Candy (Photo: Evelyn Hurley)

Evelyn Hurley (Cotton Candy) 

Favorite book: my favorite book this year was published in 1970, it’s “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee”, by Dee Brown. This was my choice for my non-fiction bookclub, so I also forced a few other people to read it. It was so well written, easy to read, interesting, fascinating, enlightening and unbearably tragic. I can’t stop thinking about it, and I wish I’d read it 30 years ago.

Favorite cocktail: the Hugo, which is St. Germain elderflower liqueur, Prosecco, seltzer & mint. Except I put the liquid in a blender and add ice and make a slushy, which is fabulouso, but dangerous, lol

Favorite meal: post graduation dinner at Thompson and Bleeker in Ithaca NY. Amazing pizza, fantastic salads, delicious cold beer, and not insanely expensive!!

Favorite radio shows: I love listening to two radio shows on WMBR.org, “Coffee Time” from 2-4 on Friday, and “Backwoods” from 10-12 on Saturdays. Both remind me that the weekend is coming or is here, so time to chill out!

Favorite movie: “My Old Ass” which was so sweet and lovely, see it if you can!

Favorite songs: “Gild the Lily,” by Billy Strings. It’s a country music song that reminds me of country songs that my mom would listen to on the radio when I was a kid. Plus, it’s about birds singing, which is lovely.
I also love that song “Sexy to Someone” by Clairo; it’s catchy, cute and the keyboards sound so cool.

Mario and Riley – Courtesy of Riley

Riley Riley (Artsick/Boyracer) – Favorites of 2024:
Music in alphabetical order:
Adrianne Lenker “Bright Future”
Beth Gibbons “Lives Outgrown”
Billie Eilish “Hit Me Hard And Soft” The concert was amazing.
Doechii “Alligator Bites Never Heal”
Kim Deal “Nobody Loves You More”
Mo Dotti “Opaque”
Rachel Love “Lyra”
The Softies “The Bed I Made”
WUT “Mingling With The Thorns”

Fav local Seaside/Monterey Bay things:
1. Mando Surf Company is a local surfboard shaper and a friend of mine. Their boards are gorgeous pieces of art, one of which ended up at SFMOMA for their “Get in the Game” exhibit.
2. Pop and Hiss is a new local venue/record shop/bar in Pacific Grove. Super cool spot to check out if in the area.
3. Captain Stoker Coffee is delicious and the best coffee in Monterey IMO

Fav things I did:
1. Oakland Weekender 2024 happened at Thee Stork Club and was amazing… again!
2. Played a PNW mini tour with my favs, All Girl Summer Fun Band and Kids On A Crime Spree. Major bonus: got to see Gail!
3. Played a couple of shows with my besties band, WUT and got to join them for a couple songs live.
4. Danced to an incredible set by Kid Frostbite with friends.
5. The new Boyracer record called “Seaside Riot” came out and I am so proud to be part of it.
6. Drove down to Big Sur with my family, parked on a cliff and saw the Tsuchinshan-ATLAS comet… it was breathtaking and such a memorable moment. It was last visible 80,000 years ago.
7. Read “You Better Be Lightning” by Andrea Gibson
8. Dog cuddles
9. Hiking in Big Sur
10. Got to hangout with Kim Baxter from AGSFB in Monterey… we had the best time getting some food and sitting by the water.
11. Recording new Artsick
12. Mushroom Tea…

Alicia Vanden Heuvel (courtesy of Alicia)

Alicia Vanden Heuvel: Top Ten live shows that I had the pleasure of attending (in no particular order)

  • RYLI at the 4 Star Theater! This is Yea Ming Chen’s new band & I was driven to dance. That woman knows how to write a pop song!
  • Watching Josh Miller play bass in Chime School AND Anna Hillburg Band, both experiences are mind-bending
  • Watching Ladybug Transistor reunion live in LA at the Lodge Room. Trumpets, flutes, & song craft from Sasha, Jennifer, Gary, Julia, and Jeff. What a group!
  • Gerard Love at Glasgoes Pop! What a voice!  (And with the crowd singing along it was like the best party)
  • Heavenly at Glasgoes Pop dancing with Kenji (The Fairways forever) & Ari (Poastal forever)! I nearly died!
  • The Softies, with Anna Hillburg at Bottom of the Hill, because OMG it’s The Softies. Also, bonus, Rose sang a song with Anna & it was epic.
  • Galore! Anywhere they play, every time.  Three part harmonies and killer melodies. I die again.
  • Shannon Shaw at the Fox with my buddies Noelle & The Deserters. Epic venue, epic night.
  • Lightheaded at the Oakland Weekender!! They ripped! I was not expecting the ferocity of pop that came our way, all the way from Jersey, I love them.
  • Jessica Pratt at Bimbos. Her album made my year, and seeing her perform the songs live was otherworldly.
Tears Run Rings – Photo: Janice Headley

Laura Watling (Tears Run Rings) Top 10 Songs of 2024

1. Caribou- Campfire
2. Seefeel- Multifolds
3. Chris Cohen- Night and Day
4. Real Estate- Airdrop
5. Orcas- Riptide
6. Mahogany- A Scaffold
7. Bedroom- Her Ghost
8. Epic45- New Town Faded
9. Dottie- Disappearing
10. Royksopp- Camera Obscura (but actually the whole album, Nebulous Nights)

Read the lists ROUND ONE
Read the lists ROUND TWO 
Read the lists ROUND FOUR

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chickfactor lists 2024: round two

The Umbrellas on CF19, 2022. Photo: Gail O’Hara

The Umbrellas: here is our end of the year list, we decided to rank gas stations!

The Umbrellas were on the road ALOT (possibly far too much) this past year. Given this, what better way to wrap up 2024 than a retrospect of where we spent a majority of our time, gas stations…?

One9 – This fueling station we believe is a newish franchise. The whole sign and exterior looks like it was designed by a silicon valley software developer. They have hot food items, a lot of car accessories you wouldn’t normally find (like hub caps), and the latest trending food items. Nick tried an Oreos Coca-cola and commented that it tasted like cleaning supplies.

Kum & Go – Ha ha ha … get your mind out of the gutter! This midwest franchise only has a few locations, but each one is more charming than the last. Generally friendly staff who don’t mind you giggling when you bring one of to their “Kum & Go” t-shirts up to the counter to purchase.

Sinclair- That dinosaur logo is cool! Maybe it has to do with the fact that these are not terribly common in the bay area, but whenever we stop into one there’s an indescribable sense of nostalgia and whimsy. It feels like an old-timey gas pump attendant dressed in all white with a newscap is going to pop out from behind the big fiberglass Dinosaur they have on display. While other chains have rebranded or updated their logo … that dino has always remained, plastered on their fueling pumps.

Buc-ees – An allegory for what America is: Large, overwhelming, and hundreds of bathroom stalls. A must-stop for anyone driving through the south or mid-west. What more is there to say that hasn’t been said by bands and short-form video influencers alike? Matt says to make sure to try the Brisket sandwich. Pro-tip: skip the prepackaged bagged jerky and go straight to the counter for the fresh stuff.

Love’s – Love’s is like a reliable old friend that will always be there for you. Love’s doesn’t judge you when you’ve had one too many hard seltzers and you stumble around looking for their mini-tacos. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to catch the Love’s x Del Taco combo. Love’s would never dream of thinking illy of you! Hot showers, hot food, and hot deals (each location has a discount food rack of unsold seasonal items). Through and through The Umbrellas are a Love’s band. So spread the love and stop into your local Love’s the next time you need to top off your tank.

Claudia Gonson. Photo: Eve Gonson

Kid slang! 2024 – Claudia Gonson (from the Magnetic Fields) 

Huzz- attractive…non derogatory

Fine Shyt- sexy person, non derogatory

Link- hooking up

Bop- ho, derogatory

Buss – really great

Eats (“that eats”), ate up- really great

Cooked -done for

Cooking -doing well

Gyat- ass

Rizz -charisma, your ability to pull

Pull- your game, your ability to attract people

Game- your ability to get people to have a crush on you “she’s got game”

Low key – verbal tic, like “like”

Chalant – extrovert, over sharing, not mysterious

Non chalant – mysterious

Dip- leave

Crash out or tweak – I’m gonna lose it

Glazing- over praising

Tuff- good

Peter Momtchiloff with Jen Sbragia, Portland OR (Photo: Gail O’Hara)

Peter Momtchiloff (Heavenly, Would-Be-Goods, Tufthunter):
Best trailside vittles of 2024

  1. Ox and Finch, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow (with the Would-be-goods)
  2. Taberna La Concha, Calle Cava Baja, Madrid (with Jessica and Heavenly)
  3. Donde Augusto, Mercado Central, Santiago de Chile (with Heavenly and Anto)
  4. Kouraku, Little Tokyo, Los Angeles (with robot)
  5. Souvla, Hayes Valley, SF (with the Umbrellas)
  6. Old School Pizzeria, Franklin St, Olympia (with Heather and Pat)

Daniel Handler / Lemony Snicket: For whatever reason, my attention span seemed to increase this year.  For example:

Best long poems I read or reread this year:
Liu Shang, “Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute”
Matthew Rohrer, “The Others”
John Ashbery, “The Wave”
Annelyse Gelman, “Vexations”
Alice Notley, “In The Pines”
Laura Henrikesen, “Laura’s Desires”

Best long songs I liked this year:
Gerard Cleaver, “The Process”
Destroyer, “Bay of Pigs”
Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell, “Mutron/Arabian Nightmare”
Nichuminu, “Aberraciones y Milagros”
Matmos, “Ultimate Care II”
Yukihiro Fukutomi, “5 Blind Boys”
Prince, “Automatic”

Julie Underwood: Your Girlfriend Made You A Mixtape 
My favorite books I read in 2024:

  1. Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk by Kathleen Hanna
  2. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
  3. The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir by Griffin Dunne
  4. Grief Is for People by Sloane Crosley
  5. Long Island by Colm Tóbín
  6. Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino
  7. My Name is Barbra by Barbra Streisand*
  8. Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten
  9. The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters*
  10. The Rachel Incident: A Novel by Caroline O’Donoghue*
    *originally released in 2023

+ My favorite albums of 2024

  1. Beyoncé – Cowboy Carter (tie) 
  2. Charli xcx – Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat (tie)
  3. Waxahatchee –Tigers Blood
  4. The Hard Quartet – self-titled
  5. Cassandra Jenkins – My Light, My Destroyer 
  6. Fontaines D.C. – Romance 
  7. Rosali – Bite Down 
  8. The Umbrellas – Fairweather Friends 
  9. Jessica Pratt –Here in the Pitch 
  10. Kate Bollinger – Songs From A Thousand Frames of Mind 
Ed Mazzucco (Photo: Gail O’Hara)

Ed Mazzucco / Shelflife Records, Tears Run Rings:
10 songs I listened to a lot in 2024 

Colle – Green Edge
Crimson Whisper – Joshua’s Gaze
Dummy – Soonish…
Mo Dotti – Really Wish
Memory Drawers – Hart
Mahogany – A Scaffold
The Horrors – Lotus Eater
Seefeel – Sky Hooks
Caribou – Come Find Me
Chris Cohen – Wishing Well

Read round one
Read round three
Read round four