Lunachicks

Few bands capture the rebellious spirit of New York City punk quite like the Lunachicks. Formed in 1987 by teenagers Theo Kogan, Gina Volpe, and Sydney "Squid" Silver — all students at the prestigious Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts — the band began the way all great punk stories do: with nothing but ambition, a bedroom to rehearse in, and absolutely no intention of playing it safe. Their very first composition, the sprawling "Theme Song," was a gleefully anarchic piece about murdering their English teacher, setting the tone for everything that followed.

Early recognition came from an unlikely but prestigious source. Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore caught one of the band's earliest performances and were immediately impressed. They forwarded a demo tape to Paul Smith in England, which secured the Lunachicks a deal with his label Blast First. With drummer Becky Wreck now holding down the rhythm section, the band released a self-titled four-song EP in 1989 and their debut album, Babysitters on Acid, both produced by Wharton Tiers. Though the record was initially only available in Europe, it announced the band to the world with unmistakable force, even if the band themselves harbored little affection for its production.

Drawing on the primal energy of the Ramones, the theatrical swagger of Kiss, and the raw aggression of the MC5, the Lunachicks forged a sound that sat at the intersection of punk rock, hardcore, and alternative rock, while their unfiltered personalities and sharp wit aligned them naturally with the emerging riot grrrl movement. They were funny, ferocious, and completely their own invention. Their 1992 follow-up, Binge & Purge, solidified their underground reputation, and a memorable television appearance by drummer Becky Wreck on Howard Stern's Lesbian Dating Game added a slice of cult notoriety to the band's growing mythology.

The mid-1990s saw the Lunachicks hitting their commercial stride on Go Kart Records. Jerk of All Trades arrived in 1995, followed by 1997's Pretty Ugly, produced by Ryan Greene and NOFX's Fat Mike. That album produced their most widely recognized track, Don't Want You, a song that found its way into the cultural fabric in unexpected ways — most notably appearing in the background of a scene in the acclaimed film Boys Don't Cry. The band's tireless touring schedule during this period saw them sharing stages with the Ramones, the Buzzcocks, No Doubt, the Go-Go's, Rancid, and NOFX, while also joining the Vans Warped Tour in 1999 and 2000 as one of only three female acts on the bill.

After releasing the live album Drop Dead Live in 1998 and their final studio effort, Luxury Problem, in 1999, the Lunachicks quietly slipped into hiatus in the summer of 2001 without ever formally disbanding. Brief reunion shows in 2002 and 2004 offered fans fleeting glimpses of what had been, but it was not until November 2019 that the band announced a full-scale comeback. Those planned Webster Hall shows, originally set for April 2020, were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the band finally returned to the stage at the Punk Rock Bowling festival in Las Vegas in September 2021, opening for Devo and reminding everyone exactly why they had been missed.

Beyond their music, the Lunachicks have continued to shape culture in meaningful ways. In September 2021, Hachette Books published the band's memoir, Fallopian Rhapsody: The Story of the Lunachicks, co-written with journalist Jeanne Fury, earning praise for its frank and unvarnished honesty. Then in 2023, director Ilya Chaiken's documentary Pretty Ugly: The Story of the Lunachicks premiered at the DOC NYC festival, featuring testimonials from figures including Blondie's Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, and members of L7 and the Offspring, cementing the band's rightful place in punk rock history. From a high school bedroom in New York City to the stages of international festivals, the Lunachicks have always refused to be anything less than exactly themselves — and punk rock is richer for it.