Fallopian Rhapsody

Written as a group autobiography, this book follows The Lunachicks, a feminist punk band from New York City. It is a coming-of-age story about three young women who built a lasting sisterhood while forcing their way into the punk scene of the 1990s. Without intending to, the group became feminist icons for many of its listeners. The narrative centers on the enduring friendship among its three main voices: Theo Kogan, Sydney Silver and Gina Volpe. The band began in the late 1980s at LaGuardia High School, the school made famous by the film Fame, and signed a record deal with Blast First Records while still teenagers. Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore helped rush them into the studio.

Over roughly thirteen years, the band toured the world many times. Their live shows combined outrageous, hard-edged rebellion that unsettled conservative audiences with a welcome for misfits, queer fans and outsiders. Their costume-driven parodies of pop culture were as loud as their Marshall amplifiers. They shared bills with the Go-Go's, Marilyn Manson, No Doubt, Rancid and The Offspring, played the Reading Festival alongside Nirvana, and performed on the main stage of the Warped Tour twice. Their persistence and their reputation, both built long before the internet, have lasted.

Behind the makeup, wigs and wild outfits, the three women were struggling to grow up under highly unusual circumstances. Onstage they came across as fearless B-movie superheroes, but away from the stage they faced serious difficulties. Depression, addiction and identity crises weighed on them, along with the sexist treatment they encountered in the music industry.

The book includes never-before-seen photographs, illustrations and ephemera from the band's private archive, along with contributions from drummer Chip English, founding member Sindi B. and former bandmate Becky Wreck. It is a candid account of how these city kids drew on their creative bond to get through internal conflict and outside opposition, and of how they encouraged fans to aim high. Readers of Carrie Brownstein's Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl, Kim Gordon's Girl in a Band and Chrissie Hynde's Reckless will find it a natural companion.