Fallopian Rhapsody: The Story of the Lunachicks
Written and Narrated By: The Lunachicks, Jeanne Fury
Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
Memories! Ahhh, memories! Come for this reminder of simpler times, tutu and combat boots times!
Just a bit o’ background: I hit Austin, the Music Capital of the World, ooooh saaaay 40 years ago… knowing pretty much squat. I mean, I was as Punk Rock as I could manage coming from a backward little West Texas city where, yeh, some bands came by… more likely Big Sis and I had to hit neighboring Las Cruces, NM for better known bands or ones with international acclaim.
I offer this to say that when “The Lunachicks” hit Austin, I didn’t know m’ bum from m’ elbow, and it was a good friend (Who always took me to the BEST shows) who suggested we go see them at Emo’s. Naturally, knowing she was a grand music aficionado, I said YES! and donned m’ Go-To thrashed out garments.
They were magnificent! And halfway through the show I turned to my friend, and I said: The Singer! She’s AMAZING! Yessss, it was a truly wonderful night, and while ALL the band women were awesome, dude! did Theo rock, or what?! Such presence, such fun music, such clever lyrics!
So now, for Women’s History Month, what better way to dive in than by hitting Fallopian Rhapsody? Huzzah, ya know?
Perpetual outcasts, always on the lookout to serve and shoutout for the Underdogs amongst us, this initial trio (Theo, Gina, and Squid) of friends just kinda sorta fell into being musicians. Adding fellow women along the way to round out their sound, they took on sexism, marginalization, and just danged stupidity.
This audiobook is written in the vein of Texas Flood, the bio I just reviewed about Stevie Ray Vaughan in that it goes back and forth between various members of the band, from beginning, messy middle, all the way to the, not so much disbanding, but a sorta just falling out of love with their band, the touring, the lack of joy that had previously been ever-present. It also follows their trials and tribulations with supporting each other through addiction and drama.
Oh, and Snacking. Plenty of Snacking!
As this audiobook is of the actual women telling their story, bouncing back and forth from mishaps to whacked out escapades, you get the actual feeling of their lives. And you most certainly get their personalities full-force, and as an aside, and I dunno why you’d even be reading this review if you’re even a tiny bit aware of who they are: Those personalities? Well, these are some brutally authentic women which means do NOT be surprised if their language is somewhat profane. Seriously, they don’t give a rat’s patoot what you think, they are complete beings true to themselves. No problem for me as I happen to think the F-word is the most versatile four-letter word out there. Besides which, spewed from their mouths, with all the flanking thoughts and word choices accompanying the frequent profane idea? Totally hiLARious!
Expect booze aplenty, drug addiction which is forthrightly averred and struggled with and eventually overcome, and doooo expect some of the most creative songwriting, some of the most honest lives assessed. Nope, I wasn’t in New York for the fledgling American Punk Scene, and I never hit CBGBs, but I can say that the band I saw in Austin was just a heckuva lotta fun, what with hard driving tempos, in your face drumming, (Luna)chicks strutting in tutus with some of the most comical and fearless makeup ever.
And listening to this audiobook made me trundle over to, nah, not Wikipedia, but dude! I hit Spotify, the one-stop-music library where any and all is up for grabs, bringing immediate listening pleasure, inspiring musically-induced memories of good times, good times…
OH GOOD TIMES!
This was a great reminder that “L7” were not the only women out there, rocking in their own right, and flipping a mighty bird at the Patriarchy!
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