Wednesday, October 9, 1996
MUSIC:
Ready to rock, Penny Dreadfuls to play at UCLA ThursdayBy
Vanessa VanderZanden
Daily Bruin Contributor
Their name refers to cheap horror novels. Yet, playing in a band
can’t prove too gruesome a fate for Penny Dreadfuls. Even on the
toughest days.
"The worst hotel we stayed in was this tiny room in Portland,"
laughs guitarist Melanie Makaiwi. "We always get one room for the
whole band in order to cut costs, so we end up sleeping on the
floor. This time, they’d just shampooed the carpet, which we had to
sleep on, and couldn’t ask for more blankets because then the hotel
would know we had too many people in one room. So, the whole room
smelled like wet dogs the entire night."
Hopefully, the accommodations will be a tad better when the
L.A.-based group plays in Westwood Plaza tomorrow at noon. With a
new album out, the foursome intend to tour their hard-driving,
pseudo-punk material on a three week excursion, stopping in Oregon,
Washington, Idaho, Utah and Nevada. Just getting this far has taken
them five years, all of them laced with wacky nightmares.
"The worst show we ever played was a college music seminar,"
explains lead singer, Anna Chaffee. "It was for stodgy old college
reps. They stuck us between a flamenco act and a magician. We
basically got nothing out of it."
However, the support they receive from each other makes even
these unrewarding experiences worthwhile. Makaiwi and the drummer,
Andrea Sanchez, met their senior year of high school, rehearsing
the following summer for the first time. After acquiring Chaffee
and the bassist,Chimene Gonzalez, Penny Dreadfuls became complete.
Despite attempts to formulate a unique sound, the four find
themselves labeled and categorized due to their gender.
"Five years ago I went out looking to play with girls," says
Makaiwi. "But people compared us to the Go-Go’s and Bangles. Now,
it’s the Cranberries and Hole, people we have nothing to do with at
all. That’s annoying."
It’s even more annoying when most of these people labeling them
work in the music business. One candidate for band manager even
suggested they sit down with a fashion coordinator. And an A &
R representative (Artists and Repertoire) for a record company told
them he didn’t think women should be in rock and roll. Luckily,
Penny Dreadfuls finally met up with Restless Records.
"Restless is a bunch of women and a couple guys," says Makaiwi.
"The women take over."
Here, the musical group can truly express themselves. While
Chaffee writes most of the lyrics based on dreams she’s had, the
other members bring their perspective into their respective parts
until all the creative pieces fit. No one from Restless tries to
force artistic ideas on them, and the record company even let them
design their own album cover.
"We thought about getting a contortionist," says Makaiwi. "We
ended up with a stark thing. We thought from far away (the
contortionist) looked like a chicken ready to roast." Honestly,
though, Makaiwi admits, "We just liked exploiting naked men."
This whimsical attitude extends to their live performances.
Sanchez dons elaborate costumes around Halloween and is currently
looking for a Venus, Goddess of Love outfit. The other members
remain undecided as to who they’ll be. Once they even painted their
bodies before going on stage. Who can say what the Westwood stop
will involve, though the band sure sounds excited.
"People in L.A. clubs seem to have an attitude, maybe because
everyone’s a musician," Makaiwi says. "At colleges, if kids are
gonna stop and watch you, it’s because they like you."
DAVE SNOW
Chiméne Gonzales, Melanie Makaiwi, Andrea Sanchez and Anna
Chaffee of the band Penny Dreadfuls will play on campus
tomorrow.