THE COATHANGERS play Belly Up Feb. 27, 1720 Mar. 2 and Alex’s Bar Mar. 3; photo Chad Kamenshine
Garage-punk trio The Coathangers, headline Burger A-Go-Go making stops at Belly Up Feb. 27, 1720 Mar. 2 and Alex’s Bar Mar. 3. The lineup also includes Death Valley Girls, The Flytraps and Feels.
Whether screaming or singing, The Coathangers continuously come up with catchy songs and lyrics, beginning with their 2007 self-titled debut through their fifth studio album, 2016’s Nosebleed Weekend, not to mention 2017’s EP Parasite. While their live performance pulls out all the stops, at times becoming rowdy and crazy.
Concert Guide Live asked drummer Stephanie Luke about Burger A-Go-Go tours, cracking the Billboard charts, songwriting, among other things.
THE COATHANGERS Parasite EP cover
CONCERT GUIDE LIVE: The Coathangers have been a part of Burger A-Go-Go several times, what is it about this tour that keeps the band coming back? How does it differ from other tours?
THE COATHANGERS: We love Burger Records, and everyone involved in the label and these tours so it’s nice to be a part of the party! It’s different from most tours we do because there’s a gang of bands all on tour together rather than just being on tour with one band. These tours are always a good time!
CGL: What can one expect from this year’s Burger A-Go-Go if they’ve never been before?
TC: Just expect to see a few bands you might not have seen or heard about before along with the bands you’re comin’ to see… Always a really friendly fun audience too, like one big happy.
CGL: Tell us something about one of your most memorable concerts.
TC: We’ve been so lucky to have had so many memorable tours and shows it’s hard to pick just one! Will say that we just got to play a festival in Mexico City and it was amazing! It was outdoors on this beautiful field the weather was perfect and our good buds Death Valley Girls played with us on that one too!
CGL: Considering The Coathangers have been a band for over 10 years, how did it strike you when Nosebleed Weekend landed on the Top New Artist Albums and the Alternative New Artist Album charts?
TC: We were STOKED! We are still “new” to a lot of people out there and even though we’ve been around a while we still were excited to get on those charts.
CGL: Your live performances are very dynamic, energetic and at times a bit manic from an audience perspective, what’s it like from your perspective?
TC: The same! We are up there tryin’ to entertain and connect with the audience but also doin’ the same with each other on stage. The more energy and craziness usually the more fun for us and you.
CGL: What do you like to do prior to going on stage – any routines or rituals?
TC: We do a few stretches, maybe a shot ‘er two, and always a group hug.
CGL: When you first started out, did anyone have a musical background, or did you just gravitate to it?
TC: Julia (Kugel/guitar) had played classical piano and guitar and done choir and I used to play violin and saxophone so we kinda had but more-so we had been around friends in bands throughout high school and college, so I think we were always around it kinda learning how things go via both experiences.
CGL: It’s going on two years since Nosebleed Weekend, are you working on a new body of work?
TC: Oh, hell yes, lots of good stuff to come!!!
CGL: How do you come up with your songs – it seems some bands have a primary songwriter while others get in a room and jam until a seed begins to form – what works for you?
TC: We do both, sometimes one of us brings parts of a song or lyrics, then we work forward on that, other times we just jam around till something pops up.