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SPANKING CHARLENE
http://www.spankingcharlene.com/
[BIOGRAPHY]
[PHOTOS]
[PRESS]
[TOUR DATES]
[AUDIO]
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BIOGRAPHY
"I was sick of getting excited to go out and see some great live music, only to find some sensitive, acoustic guitar playing girl bearing her soul to the audience and putting me to sleep in the process." - Charlene McPherson, Spanking Charlene
Spanking Charlene combines attitude and ovaries with a sound that includes cocky guitar riffs and catchy hooks with blunt lyrics that can be shockingly humorous as well as serious. Led by Charlene McPherson, a singer with a powerhouse voice, and Mo Goldner, a punk-influenced guitar-player, Spanking Charlene has created a sound that some have described as a cross between The Rolling Stones and The Ramones fronted by a female singer.
Living in New York City has left a definite mark on their music. Lyrically, their songs are not afraid to push beyond where most songs fear to go. I Hate Girls is a female perspective on how catty, competitive and cutthroat women can be to each other, and Pussy Is Pussy has been called the greatest song about misogyny since Under My Thumb. When I'm Skinny is sung from the perspective of a woman who contemplates how much better her life will be when she is skinny, a story inspired by Charlene's real life experience with the music industry.
Formed in September 2005, Spanking Charlene includes bassist Alison Jones and drummer Phil Cimino in addition to McPherson and Goldner. "Dismissed With A Kiss" was recorded and mixed in 12 days with producer Eric "Roscoe" Ambel, Steve Earle guitarist and original Joan Jett and the Blackhearts guitarist as well as a member of the Yayhoos.
"The collaboration between Charlene McPherson and Mo Goldner began with an East Village bar flirtation that turned into a drunken slutty song fest. After that long wild night, a band was born. Lakeside Lounge owner Eric 'Roscoe' Ambel heard that wildness in their first demo and booked them at the legendary East Village venue. Their gritty guitar riffs, and soulful vocals enticed NYC audiences, driving them into the studio to record their first album.
'Dismissed With A Kiss' reveals the heartache of the working class fuck-up. Tales of a dog on Prozac, dreams interrupted by a job, and love gone damn wrong capture the pain of an unwanted existence. Each song vibrates with the angry humor of experience heavily influenced by a bluesy punk sound – the sound of those that have nothing but their dreams and perhaps an unremarkable reproductive organ or two.
No one said it would be easy, but if you spank rock on with Spanking Charlene, it sounds better when you get fired/dumped/and or arrested.
Listen to the music and hum along to the rage."
- Time Out New York
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PHOTOS
Click on a thumbnail to download that hi-res JPEG (suitable for publication):
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TOUR DATES
- 11/2/07 * Lakeside Lounge * Brooklyn, NY
- 12/1/07 * Banjo Jim's * New York, NY
- 1/26/08 * Alan Andrews Tribute Show * The Cutting Room * New York, NY
- 3/1/08 * Goodbye Blue Monday (Bushwick, Bklyn) * Brooklyn, NY
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PRESS
Spanking Charlene
Dismissed With a Kiss
High Bias
By Michael Toland
(Slacker)
I wouldn't think a setting as aggressively urban as New York City would be conducive to making kickass Americana, but Spanking Charlene obviously disagrees. Dismissed With a Kiss is a wonderfully appealing bucket of rocking guitar-driven roots music, where blues, country and good ol ' rock & roll get an infusion of punk energy and downhome soul. Guitarist Mo Goldner spanks (sorry) the plank with taste and fire, and singer Charlene McPherson adds just enough bitter anger to her pretty voice to banish sentimentality forever. "I Hate Girls," "Easy to Be Sad" and "We're All Gonna Die" put attitude next to aptitude in a brash, super-catchy way, while "Behind" strips away the sardonicism for pure heart-on-sleeve emotional punch. Good stuff, regardless of location.
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AUDIO
Click on an audio track below to download a mp3:
Spanking Charlene - Dimissed With A Kiss [2007]
I Hate Girls [mp3] - 6.05 mb
Fidgety [mp3] - 5.09 mb
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