Tough love

On first impression, the ladies of The Coathangers seem pretty tough. One look at them—a mess of dark hair, a whole lotta bangs and, in drummer Stephanie Luke’s case, two arms full of tattoos—and you’d think they’re a rowdy all-girl punk band playing songs with titles like, “Shut the Fuck Up” and “Don’t Touch My Shit.” That their name is a blatant abortion reference certainly doesn’t help their case.

But, really, and not to paraphrase Cyndi Lauper here, The Coathangers just want to have fun. Their idea of a good time goes something like this: baking cookies, eating Funfetti cupcakes and maybe splurging on some Yuengling beer. And being the nice, Southern ladies that they are, they want everyone that comes to their shows to have a good time, too. Early shows in their Atlanta hometown had them throwing homemade cookies and confetti at the audience while yelling, “Eat some fucking cookies!”

“Especially at home, we try to make every show really special,” guitarist and vocalist Julia Kugel says. “We would kind of make it like a party, a reason for people to come out and get a tasty treat.”

It wasn’t too long ago that The Coathangers—Kugel, Candice Jones (keyboard and vocals), Stephanie Luke (drums and vocals) and Meredith Franco (bass and vocals)—were working and hanging out like anyone else. Friends for a long time, they never thought they’d start a band, but their story has all the makings of a classic punk-band beginning. They simply set out one day to buy the cheapest pawned musical equipment they could find, even though none of them knew how to play.

“None of us took lessons,” Kugel says. “We all just kinda played what sounded right to our ears.”

They didn’t initially think much of what Kugel describes as their “little stupid songs,” and they certainly didn’t plan on sharing them.

“It was weird: We didn’t want to play shows at first at all,” Kugel says. “But Meredith’s brother convinced us that we should play shows, so we played our first show, and I guess the rest is history.”

And while that band history is relatively brief, because they set out with practically no expectations, everything that’s happened has been cause for celebration.

“Mark from Die Slaughterhaus [Records] came to one of our shows, and he’s like, ‘Hey, I want to put out a 7-inch,’ and we thought that was it. That was the biggest thing,” Kugel explains. “Everything is really, really exciting and really special because we never expected anything.”

Their second full-length, Scramble, was released in early April. Much like their first, it’s full of inside jokes, satire and silly, literal songs (like “Stop Stomp Stompin’,” an ode to a heavy-footed upstairs neighbor). Filled with girlish shrieks and loose guitar riffs, their music isn’t really meant to be analyzed, and if it seems like The Coathangers don’t take anything seriously, it’s because that’s how they get through life.

 “It’s not so much of a joke, but there’s humor in everything,” Kugel says. “In life and in tragedy, you have to find something to laugh at or, otherwise, you’ll fucking kill yourself, you know?”

Even a little squabble between Franco and Kugel ended up inspiring the song “Nestle in My Boobies.”
Franco “was mad at me, and she’s right at the level of my boobies—her head is—and I said, ‘Don’t be mad, just nestle in my boobies,’” Kugel says, laughing.

If there’s anything serious about The Coathangers, it’s the juxtaposition of their vulgarity and cuteness—that dual intimation and intimidation that they hope changes the way people think about gender roles and what women can and cannot do, or, perhaps, more accurately, what they should and shouldn’t do.

“All women are sometimes vulgar and are sometimes nasty and are sometimes sweet,” Kugel says. “Gender is made up; it’s a social construct that doesn’t mean anything.

“Besides,” she says, “I don’t even think any of the things we say are that vulgar. I’ve heard men say a lot more disgusting things.”
 
The Coathangers play with Strange Boys, Heavy Hawaii and The Anasazis on Monday, July 6, at The Casbah. www.myspace.com/fuckthecoathangers.