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The Hissyfits
Diary of a Princess
by Brenda Kahn |
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Last year I attended the NXNW Music Conference in Portland, OR.
My friend Betsy and I sat in her dining room looking through the
local paper reading the little reviews of bands in town for the
Conference. Something about the Hissyfits jumped off the page. "We
have to go see a band called The Hissyfits" I said. They were playing
at 1AM at a bar clear across town. I expected to be one of ten pop/punk
lovers trekking across Oregon to see to a rock band in the middle
of the night, but the place was packed and the energy was high.
As usual, the sound was random and the monitors were buzzing, but
the Hissyfits exploded with their special brand of melodic punk
rock. Bass player Fon Lin was announced as a new member, but played
like she had been wielding the Hissyfit axe forever. Princess sparkled
from head to toe, working to out sparkle her shiny guitar. And P-Girl
kept the whole crew steady on the drums. After the show I walked
up to Princess and said, "Would you play a gig I'm putting together
in Philly?" And she said, "Sure - what's the date."
The Hissyfits are a new breed of girl rock band. The kind that work
on their dissertations by day and play power pop at night. With
a bit of experience behind them, the Hissyfits prepare to release
their first full length album. Princess gives us look into the Hissyfit
kingdom of rock n' roll.
WOMANROCK:
The Orchard was one of the first online companies offering distribution
for independents. They released your compilation of past recordings
entitled, Wish. What was your experience with them? Do you
think their model for distribution works for independents?
PRINCESS:
Actually, our experience with the Orchard wasn't great. We found
that we have more control over tracking our sales and receiving
payment for our merchandise when we handle it ourselves. It does
take a little bit of work though, so we may try another online distributor
for our next album.
WOMANROCK:
Has the Internet been helpful for you as a way of promoting your
music? Do you have MP3's on the Web for fans to download?
PRINCESS:
Yes, the Internet has helped us reach people all over the world
- we're all right at each other's fingertips! You can find our music
online by plugging our name into the Listen.com search engine and
they'll direct you to the sites where you can listen to us like
MP3.com, IUMA.com, LOCALMUSIC.com, etc.
WOMANROCK:
What made you start a rock n' roll band? Was there a certain band
or person that inspired your desire to rock?
PRINCESS:
WE WERE JUST BORN TO ROCK!
WOMANROCK:
When "Wish You Were Here" was released on Subterrania in
Europe did you have a chance to tour in Europe or Asia? Any road
stories for the WOMANROCK readers?
PRINCESS:
Unfortunately we haven't made it across the ocean yet, but we have
traveled a lot to the west coast; L.A. San Francisco, Seattle, Portland.
We love touring and have had some really fun shows like at the Tonic
Lounge at NXNW in Portland (where we met WOMANROCK's lovely Mistress
Brenda!). We've also had some not-so-great shows on the road, like
the time a guy threw a napkin at me in S.F. He said he was just
trying to liven things up. Yeah, whatever. The best/worst show was
when the whole band was in a fight and not speaking to each other,
but we had to play anyway. We were in a basement packed full of
kids at a house party in the Midwest. We knew if we didn't rock
out, they would probably shoot us with their hunting rifles and
cook us over a fire in the back yard. So rock out we did!
WOMANROCK:
Tell me about the new record. Have you finished recording?
PRINCESS:
This is an exclusive - You're reading it here first! We've just
signed a deal with Top Quality Rock & Roll out of Detroit to record
our first full length album. We've already got a few tracks down
which are sounding really good and we'll finish it up after the
holidays.
WOMANROCK:
How did the most recent label deal come about?
PRINCESS:
Mike from Top Quality Rock & Roll had heard our first 7" on Mutant
Pop and dug it, so he came to see us play last year at CMJ. Apparently
he liked that too because he asked if we would like to contribute
a song to his "Patty Duke Cover Songs Compilation Project." We were
like, "What?" Then we said, "Sure" and recorded a cool version of
"Say Something Funny." It's coming out on his next Patty release
which you can order at TOPQUALITYROCKANDROLL.COM.
He came to see us at this year's CMJ Festival again and proposed
to us over dinner at ACME Diner.
WOMANROCK:
When is the release date? Will you be touring to support the release?
PRINCESS:
We hope to have the album out by April so we can tour the country
in May/June.
WOMANROCK:
Do you find recording helps to define your sound?
PRINCESS:
Yes, but not the way I thought it would. I thought I could expand
on my sound by trying different things in the studio, but what I
actually discovered is that I am most happy when I play my own guitar
through my own amp and get my own sound.
WOMANROCK:
What made you choose a Danelectro? What kind of amp do you play
it through?
PRINCESS:
Honestly, I bought my Danelectro because I have very painful slipped
discs in my lower back and my other guitar (an Ibanez Talman) became
too heavy for me to hold. I put a Humbucker in the high-end pick
up of my Danelectro, but I still prefer the crunchier sound I get
through my Ibanez. But then again, the Danelectro is sparkly! I
play through a Fender Hot Rod Deville tube amp. It's so loud I can
barely set it above "2". I'm pretty happy with it, but didn't actually
choose it - I inherited it!
WOMANROCK:
Do you feel you are constantly trying to prove yourself as an all-girl
band, or has the industry become accustomed to women musicians on
stage finally.
PRINCESS:
Historically there has not been as much support or exposure from
the music industry for women trying to do rock music, especially
all-female bands, which is unfortunate because there are a lot of
great female bands out there! A lot of people have the attitude
that girls can't rock, and unfortunately, not a lot of girls are
encouraged to pursue rock music as kids, which is part of the problem.
Also, some people limit the definition of "being able to rock" to
how proficient a musician is at doing wanky guitar solos that were
so popular with guy bands of the 70s. We wish more women were encouraged
to "just do it" and not be afraid of judgement or failure - the
whole essence of rock is about the freedom to express yourself in
whatever way you like. We've found that even when we do have some
measure of success, there are people who will say, "It's just because
you have tits," but we know from the feedback we get from tons of
our fans that they really like us for our music. We just have to
keep doing it for the music and hopefully the industry and the public
will one day give women rockers the respect, support, and exposure
they deserve.
WOMANROCK:
Why are you known as the Princess? What kind of Princess are you?
Do you have a Prince? A kingdom?
PRINCESS:
It's just a silly pet name my ex - Johnny Reno from the now defunct
band Egghead - gave me. He meant it as a term of endearment, but
I think it stuck for other reasons! And actually, yes my current
boyfriend acts exactly like "The Little Prince" from the book! I
wouldn't say I have much of a kingdom At the moment though, my New
York City bedroom is about 10 feet by 6 feet. I guess our practice
space is my sanctuary. But hopefully someday soon The Hissyfits
will rule the world! :)
WOMANROCK:
Anything else you'd like to add for the WOMANROCK audience?
PRINCESS:
We'd just like to encourage all women and girls to pursue their
dreams whatever they may be. And we'd like to thank everyone who
has supported us, especially Brenda.
P.S. If anyone has suggestions for the name of our new album we'd
love to hear them. Please write to us at our new E-mail address:
HISSYFITS@HOTMAIL.COM.
LOVE, THE HISSYFITS (Princess, P-Girl, and Fon-Lin) |
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More
on The Hissyfits - Planet Girl
Show, Year End Wrap-Up. |
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_________________________________
 For
more information check out:
www.hissyfits.com
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_________________________________
Brenda Kahn
is a New York recording artist and the editor of WOMANROCK.com.
Past notes from the Editor. |
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