The Loudmouths

One of the complaints I've heard from some people, usually guys, about female punk bands and female punk singers is they aren't tough enough in the way they sing and play. You'd have been hard-pressed to hear a comment like that about Dulcinea and Beth from The Loudmouths. The typical Loudmouths song was about 2 minutes long, loud, fast, and about sex, drinking or getting in trouble. They played fast fuckin’ balls to the wall raw punk, packed with speed, energy and attitude. Here's a review I wrote of them in 1996 in 10 Things #13:

"Oh yeah, oh fuckin' yeah, this is balls-out-fast-garagey-punk-rock with female vocals. Cross the vocals of the Creamers, a Betty Page look-alike, the sounds of the New Bomb Turks and you got the Loudmouths. This is what punk rock is supposed to be about: loud, raw, power-packed, and snotty, and they don't fuckin' let up."

The Loudmouths formed in 1995 and really burst onto the scene in 1996 with two great singles, "Gone Drinkin'" on New Red Archives and "Gotta Live Fast" on Wound Up Records. That same year New Red Archives released their scorching self-titled full length album, to rave reviews in punk zines around the nation. They later did a split 7" with Seattle's Valentine Killers on Empty Records, a follow-up LP on Reno's Slovenly Records, and had a whole slew of singles and compilation cuts. Grunnenrocks has their full discography here, so I won't bother to put one together. The band split up in 2001, actually right after a tour up to the Northwest. I'm pretty sure these photos are from that show, May of 2001 at the Breakroom. I implore you to track down a copy of their first album, it holds up today as just as fresh and raucous as it was when it came out 12 years ago. Oh, and rollerderby fans, there's a great song on it called "Rockin' at the Rollerderby."