Frightwig
We Need to Talk…
Since forming in San Francisco in 1982, feminist punk pioneers FRIGHTWIG have been wielding joy and smashing the patriarchy. With life-changing live shows that spread revelry and revolution, Frightwig became a formative influence on the Riot Grrrl movement and paved the way for the likes of Hole, L7, and Lunachicks, among others.
The band’s cult-favorite albums Cat Farm Faboo (Subterranean Records 1984) and Faster, Frightwig, Kill! Kill! (Caroline Records 1986), plus the EPs Phone Sexy (Boner Records 1988) captured the hearts of fellow freaks and outcasts. Songs like “My Crotch Does Not Say Go,” “A Man’s Gotta Do What a Man’s Gotta Do,” and “Crazy World” upended the masculine hardcore scene by infusing it with the vicious wit of women on a tear. Tours with Flipper, Butthole Surfers, and Redd Kross saw Frightwig screaming and shredding their way through glass ceilings and unapologetically leaving behind a pile of shards.
Co-founders Deanna Mitchell (bass, vocals) and Mia d’Bruzzi (guitar, vocals) discovered a soul sister in Cecilia Kuhn (drums, vocals). The trio obliterated the stages at The Farm, Mabuhay Gardens, and the Fillmore with a level of intensity that flabbergasted audiences, critics, and fellow artists.
Over the years, the lineup featured different casts of characters — including the most recent permanent addition, Eric Drew Feldman (Captain Beefheart, Snakefinger, Frank Black, Pere Ubu, PJ Harvey, Knife & Fork), in 2012 — but the core tenets of the band never wavered. More than just a punk rock coven, Frightwig is a vehicle for art as activism and have certainly contributed to the American counterculture rooted in their hometown.
After Kuhn transcended this world in 2017, her bandmates made the decision to honor their sister’s wishes that Frightwig forge ahead. Mitchell, d’Bruzzi, Feldman, and veteran Frightwig guitarist Rebecca Sevrin returned with We Need to Talk… in 2023, a collection of 11 songs (four of which were previously released) recorded with Kuhn on drums, vocals, and accordion. The band added new drummer Tina Fagnani to complete the lineup and continue a legacy 40 years in the making.
— Jeanne Fury, writer, co-author of Fallopian Rhapsody: The Story of the Lunachicks (Hachette Books, 2021)
Frightwig’s new album, 40 years after their first,
We Need To Talk… carries on the legacy with their slashing lyrics and take no prisoner music. Label 51 is proud to be able to release this seminal album with a special 7” bonus tribute to their original drummer, Cecilia Kuhn, who passed away in 2017.
Pioneering feminist punk band FRIGHTWIG has returned with their latest album, We Need to Talk… on Label 51 Recordings, plus a special bonus 7″ single dedicated to their late but forever-present drummer Cecilia Kuhn who transcended this earthly plane in 2017.
Since forming in San Francisco in 1983, Frightwig has had two objectives: Spread joy and smash the patriarchy. For 40 years, they’ve succeeded on both fronts with a mix of in-your-face hardcore energy and a fearless activist spirit. A formative influence on the Riot Grrrl movement and beyond, the band embraces fellow freaks, sinners, and misfits — and the coven of Frightwig devotees has only grown larger and stronger with time. Jeanne Fury, Writer, editor and coauthor of “Fallopian Rhapsody: The Story of the Lunachicks” (Hachette Books, 2021)
