So we, Lonesome Hot Dudes were asked to write a guest blog for the super cool loud women. Honoured. Here we go!
We are a five piece band from Vienna and Graz and this is our first fresh 7” release on vinyl out on Cut Surface and kim-pop records – ‘Obey’.
We recorded the two songs within three days in our charming rehearsal space** in Graz, along with another one – ‘No Tears” (which is not on the record but to be found on the last Cut Surface sampler. The next Cut Surface compilation will be out on 29th of August, watch out for it!). Low budget, lo fi – all instruments were recorded at the same time. Only to ‘No Tears’ we added overdubs (feedback guitar) and added a screaming voice afterwards to the part that we use to call the ‘hardcore-part’ (wild, right?).
The singing was recorded extra and as I remember, we supported Reni to get into the singing vibe by making a circle around her, pushing her with dancing and body language.
Guitar amp was a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, Guitar Lina’s baby, a dark red Fender Mustang from the 70s, Eva is using a fretless blue Music Man StringRay bassguitar. Isa’s Saxophone is a Selmer Super Action 80 Series II.
The person recording and mixing was Tom (Thomas Grassegger), a nice guy who is often doing the sound for all kind of punk concerts in Graz. He also made sound for several of our concerts, and out of a sudden he texted us, that he could not get ‘Obey’ out of his head since the last concert and how happy he would be, if we’d let him record the song with us. We found that very sweet and fixed a date.
Dino Spiluttini made the vinyl mastering.
The Cover Artwork for the vinyl was drawn by our drummer Lena*. The drawing is inspired by the photography Artwork Cover of X-Ray Spex‘s Germfree Adolescents. We love them and are obviously influenced by such amazing (Post-) Punks. And we are even using a Saxophone!
One of the two tracks of our record is called ‘Books’ and reveals singer Reni’s thoughts about reading and feminism. Here is the brand new video to the track, shot by Cordula Thym.
Gossip side info: Veza Fernandez who is performing in the video is Lena’s girlfriend. Also she is a choreographer and dancer and Lonesome Hot Dudes Lina and Lena* were dancing (true story) and making music in her dance theater piece ‘when eye becomes mouth’.
The other song is called ‘Obey’, an inner monologue about saying ‘No’, or not saying it, or saying it but not being heard.
Here is the video to the track.
Some scenes are shot in bassist Eva Ursprung’s Atelier House ‘Schaumbad’ (means ‘Bubblebath’), other scenes at the riverside. Our friend Gudrun Becker made the video, we made the choreography by having each of us inventing a move, the others had to go with it, no matter how weird. The shooting was a lot of fun even though the background-story of the film location is sad: despite massive protests of the local community over almost a decade, a power plant is being built out of speculative capitalist reasons. This is destroying the river and its surroundings, as well as air quality and neighbourhood quality in the small city of Graz. Most of the trees you see on the video, have been cut down in the meantime, so this is an ‘historical’ document!
Talking about saying no: in 2016 we were part of a project about exactly this topic. A zine and music compilation on cassette released on Wilhelm show me the major label. A lot of people were involved in this and lots of loud women and cool bands on the tape, contributing with their songs about saying no. Many of the songs were made just for the occasion and were recorded in the same basement** as ‘Obey’. Stream the cassette here! Side A and Side B. And there is also an online version of the zine if you want to browse through, with drawings and words (in German, English and Spanish) and a gorgeous poster by Clara Biller in it.
Wilhelm show me the major Label by the way also released our very first record, a split tape with the Viennese Hip Hop duo EsRAP. A sister and brother with very powerful lyrics in German and Turkish, about (Austrian) politics, racism and sexism.
They are right now raising money for their next album, if you are interested in donating, this is the link to their very original crowdfunding teaser
Ok! it was nice being guest blogging! Thank you very much.
Lena* identifies non-binary, so actually we are not exactly exclusively an ‘all women’- band, as we are often referred to.
**This basement is a feminist punk pearl in Graz – not only that Lonesome Hot Dudes, Just Friends and Lovers, SchrAiraum and Red Gaze are rehearsing there, it is also the place where feminist Jam Sessions are happening every month, for girls*, women* and transgender, regardless of musical experience.
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