The Coathangers interview: Politics, kids at gigs, and that UK tour

Image: The Coathangers

With women’s freedom high on the international debate agenda - from Erdogan’s victory in the Turkish elections, to The Donald signing away pro-choice funding in an Oval Office full of male dinosaurs - a conversation with Meredith Franco, bassist and vocalist of the punk outfit The Coathangers, couldn’t come at a more appropriate time.  

Whilst they formed as something of a joke, their sense of humour is clearly as dark as satire gets. Naming themselves after the world’s most notorious method of self-induced abortion, what their music lacks in blatant political rhetoric their collective title makes up for, landing one in the eye of the conservative right. 

Hence Parasite, their new EP which arrives in June on Suicide Squeeze, being a rather different beast. At once both personal and far-reaching, on one side the idea was born from a rather uncomfortable experience the band shared whilst touring, but flip the record and its lyrics offer a poignant critique of humanity’s current state of play.

A time when trust in leaders has been misplaced, egos win elections, and people have begun believing their own hype. With all that in mind, not to mention a month-long UK tour starting in May, we called the lady in question for a chat. This is what she has to say. 

What’s been happening recently? 

Well, we have a break between US tours - a two week break, but we start again on Friday. It was a two and a half week tour, and before that another two and a half weeks with a break in between, so not that much time off, but we’re used to that. 

And you’re in Atlanta at the moment? How’s life there? 

Yes, I am, the weather is perfect, it’s really nice.

We’ve been listening to the new EP and enjoying that. Your last album was pegged as a more mature sound, is that something you have intentionally looked to continue with this release? 

Well, we had been touring a bunch, and had a few weeks to write, but hadn’t had much time to sit down and actually write things properly, these things came pretty easy really. 

How do you find writing on tour - some artists really relish in it, pen-to-paper all the time, whereas others have difficulty getting any real head space on the road? 

I mean, we might come up with ideas on tour, but usually don’t write the songs on the road really. Maybe we’ll try something in soundcheck, but it's still just an idea at that stage, Julia will come up with a guitar, someone will come up with words, but not usually a full song. We need time away, and to all be together in a room to really get anything down properly.

Parasite has a theme of this false sense of entitlement in leaders, and people getting ideas above their station - which you’ve said is a personal subject as much as having wider parallels to what’s happening in the US at the moment? 

Well, we really did have parasites, but then the words really went along with what’s going on at the moment. But, yeah, on tour we really did have parasites.

Wow, that sounds pretty grim. 

Yeah. 

Care to explain a little more? 

Well, we don’t know how we got them. You know mono - like the flu - we all thought we had that. Then Julia went to the doctors to get a test and she had these parasites, which we also had. There are some vitamin things you can take that get rid of them, but, yeah...

So how bad were your hotels on the tour? 

I think actually it was from eating, maybe a salad or something at a bar. Lettuce, and the water it was washed in. It’s gross.

There are no judgements here. At high school, we once managed to get scabies which was pretty horrible. Especially given your teen years can be quite pressured in terms of not having stuff living in your skin. 

Oh no! No. That’s horrible.

Not our finest hour really. Anyway, back to the record- it’s definitely very fitting for today. Should we bother asking about Donald and the world in general? Seems almost cliched really? 

Yeah it is fitting, and it’s insane. I mean it’s one of those things where we can do it, and people listen, but we never really were a political band - I mean we were but not in music. Then why wouldn’t we say what we feel? Not even in terms of politics, just in general. Not everyone is going to agree, obviously, but it’s our art and our way of letting things out. So why not?

In the UK at the moment there’s a huge conversation about people being incapable of debating with each other - nobody listens to counterpoints. Is that the case in the States? 

Well, I mean, you can believe in whatever you want to believe in. That’s what I believe. Am I going to get mad at someone because their favourite colour isn’t the same as mine? If you voted for whoever you wanted to, that’s fine. Think whatever you want. But here it’s like people aren’t even letting people have their own opinions anymore. I don’t know when that happened.

It’s scary, isn’t it? The more we don’t speak to each other the more distrust grows.

Yeah, and then people are insane, so you never know what they are going to do. 

That’s one way to put it. So you’ve never considered yourselves a political outfit? 

Not really. I didn’t go as I had to work, but Julia and Stephanie, and when Candice was in the band, went to an anti-Bush rally which is where they came up with the idea for the band. So it’s like we are political, but not at the same time. We never wrote songs about it, I don’t like it when people are talking between songs, preaching about stuff. That’s just my personal opinion, but we as a band would never have done that.

But isn't the band's name of The Coathangers a reference to pro-choice and abortion? 

Yeah. I mean it’s about doing what you want really.

This is something that has become a much bigger issue in US politics at the moment, though - funding for women’s health.

Yeah, it’s just like "who are you to tell me what to do with my body?" - Steph was actually at the women’s march.

There’s always been a bit of a philosophy that when times are hard and the outlook bleak, music is at its best. What are your thoughts on that? 

Yeah, I think so. For a little while over here people weren’t really going to shows, I don’t know why. But I think what’s happening has brought people closer together. It’s like, "well at least we have each other so let’s stick together and support each other".

People not going to shows is surprising, as live music is so important these days. 

I know. It was in the fall, I think, and I was talking to a few people who agreed on the same thing. I don’t know what it was. 

From a brand perspective that must have been a little worrying- how to make a living? 

Yeah, definitely. Also just supporting each other really, and having that connection with the audience. 

So you’re coming over to the UK in May, starting in Manchester at Night and Day. When was the last time you were over here? 

It was last year after the album came out. I have a terrible memory so don’t remember exactly when it was - spring maybe, or the beginning of summer.

Are there many differences compared with playing in the US? 

It really seems to depend on where you are, which is the same here - but I think that people enjoy shows more in the UK, I don’t know. It’s hard to explain really.

It’s probably not the easiest question we could ask to be fair. Sorry. 

It really depends on a lot- where it is, time of year... the day of the week. Whether it's after work, the weekend. It’s a hard one.

Bad memory aside, is there anywhere you’re particularly looking forward to hitting when you’re over here, it’s quite a long tour? 

It is, it’s like a month. To be honest, I just love going to the UK. I was writing down the dates this week and realised we’re going to be away for so long, but we have some days off along the way and we’re used to it by now.

Other than the UK, what else have you got coming up this summer? 

When we get back, we have a few days off, and a show in San Francisco. Then we’re off until mid-July which will be nice, before touring again in August for a few weeks I think. We pretty much have everything planned until the end of summer really.

Any festivals in and amongst? 

When we’re in Europe, I don’t know which ones they are from memory, but we’re playing a bunch. Here, I don’t think so. There’s a PBR festival - as in the beer - we’re playing in August I think. No Coachella or anything like that. Not yet, anyway.

What are your thoughts on festivals in general, some people really don’t like them? 

Yeah, I love them. There’s always a lot of people that wouldn’t normally go to a show, or have never seen you before. And over here it’s often all-ages, which is good because we only really usually play in bars.

Does that make it hard given the US drinking age is 21? 

Yeah, we try to do as many all-ages shows as we can. When we’re in Boston this month we’re at a Record Store Day daytime show, which is all-ages. My family is from there, and my little niece is going to be able to go! I am so excited. She’s four. She knows a lot of the words, but would never really be able to see us so it’s amazing. I’m going to get here some of those earphone things.

The Coathangers come to Manchester's Night and Day on Friday 12th May.

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