Madison rock duo The Hussy smack fans upside the head with a provocative question on its MySpace page: "Trash/Art?" More importantly, it begs the question of whether music can be both. In their case, it's the kind of art that conjures up scenes of sweaty crowds and basements smeared with beer, piss and vinegar.
In rock 'n' roll, especially garage rock, that's a very good thing. Bands like The Stooges built their careers upon it, while others such as The Hives, The Black Keys and The White Stripes have kept the sound for the most part but classed up the outfits. At first glance, the bluesy, guy-and-girl, guitar-and-drums garage rock of Bobby Wegner and Heather Sawyer may seem a bit like Jack and Meg, but The Hussy is hoping to bring a lot more to this formula. And bring back the grit that made garage so appealing in the first place.
"A lot of beer, even more wine in coffee mugs, and some turkey" were involved in recording their song "I Got Soul," explains Wegner. In true garage fashion, there was a bit of mayhem too thanks to their friends from a fellow Madison garage band.
"Logan Kayne of The Midwest Beat was there in the recording booth with us for most of the recording process," says Wegner. "He can be heard throughout the record singing, chanting, bashing a piano, and sliding a cigarette lighter up and down my guitar neck during noise solos." Oh, and he produced the recording as well.
This session resulted in a song that's heavy and dirty, punkish and pounding, catchy and rocking from start to finish. The band sums it up best as "drums 'n guts" and "stupid-sweet, drunk-thunk rock 'n' roll."
"I Got Soul" -- and the rest of The Hussy's new nine-song EP -- has made a splash since being recorded in September. Tobi Vail of Bikini Kill, who runs the mail-order department at Kill Rock Stars, selected their song "The Snake" as the label's Demo of the Week on October 2. Now Wegner and Sawyer are sending demos to small labels across the country and prepping for a slew of live shows.
An MP3 of the track is available in the related downloads at right. More songs by the group can by listened to on its MySpace page. The Hussy is playing with Vancougar and The Grizzlies at The Frequency on Sunday, November 2, and will hit up Willy Street a few weeks later with a visit to the Wisco on Friday, November 21.
MadTracks highlights and provides MP3s of songs performed by local musicians. All tracks here are provided with permission of the artist. If you are a musician based in the Madison metro area and are interested in sharing your work as a MadTrack, please send a message.
