The Tuna Helpers
Encyclopedia
The Tuna Helpers was an all-female American
indie
gothic psychedelic
art
folk rock
band based in Austin, Texas
from 2000–2007, noted for their elaborate puppetry
in their stage shows and rich textures including diverse vocals, strings, trombone, and percussion. Its membership consisted of sisters Adrienne Sneed (lead vocals and guitars) and Bethany Sneed (keyboards, bells, and background vocals), Stacy Meshbane on violin, and Khattie Quinones on drums.
Their music often involves reflections on childhood, from a slightly dark but often comic perspective. Bethany also performs the songs in American Sign Language
, an aspect of their live performances praised by Tucson Weekly
. This element was added at Adrienne's suggestion after seeing Bethany sign Tori Amos
songs at home. At local shows, Mrs. Sneed would serve cakes and host party games.
The TunaHelpers toured the U.S and Canada sharing the stages with such talents as Nina Hagen
, TeamDresch, The Aisler Set, The Dresden Dolls
, Faun Fables
, Lydia Lunch
, The Frogs
, Adam Green
, Lesbians on Ecstasy
, Gretchen Phillips
, Electrelane
, and Bettie Serveert
. The band also performed SXSW showcases 4 years in a row.
By their second album, Meshbane had amically departed and received a special thanks credit, Timb Harris
performing violin, viola, and cello on the second album, though not credited as a full band member. The nautical theme continued with the band members' album credits as Adrienne the Anemone, Bethany the Barracuda, and Khattie the Katfish.
Guest musicians ("Tuna Helper Helpers") on the first album included Nick Smith
"(the nice eel)" on trombone, and Kurtis D. Machler on bass, and the second album featured choral overdubs by Nicole Aurora and string and choral arrangements by Trey Spruance
. Smith also directed the band's music videos.
proclaiming that their name was a trademark infringement
on Tuna Helper
. After consulting with attorneys, Adrienne responded with a flippant reply. She had previously had a restraining order
put against her after taping feces
to the door of an old boyfriend, which became the basis of the eponymous song.
or concept album
, as it has no overarching narrative or continuity; however, as the Chronicle put it, "The Tuna Helpers have crafted their own vague mythology
revolving around tuna and other sea creatures (along with all the double-entendres that may apply), but their treatment of it is too sophisticated to come across as pure schtick. Which isn't to say it's not super-fun." The album also contains a performance of Stephen Foster
's "Old Folks at Home
" including a surrealistic interlude written by the band fraught with food metaphors and imagery from the Easter
story.
Adrienne handed a press kit to Trey Spruance at a SXSW Festival and invited him to an unofficial women's rock showcase. Although both Sneeds were ill at this performance requiring Quinones to emcee, which none of the members were happy with, Spruance loved the show, and a month later e-mailed that they were in the Web of Mimcry
.
The band's second album, I'll Have What She's Having, was released on March 15, 2005. Spruance flew to Austin to record the band, and Adrienne flew to Spruance's home in Santa Cruz for album production. The new label got them into stores throughout North America, Europe, And Australia. Writing of the second album, Anna Breshears of Bitch
describes their live shows as being full of puppetry and stage effects, described Sneed as having "operatic range and precision," but also being capable of "whittl[ing] her voice down to a warble of petulant protestations", and describes Quinones's drumming as "expressive." She contrasts their work with teenage gothic music, describing it as "smarter, prettier and ha[ving] a sense of humor." Dead Earnest called the album "unique, accessible, original, quality and close to brilliance..." and "a rare gem." Anna Maria Stjärnell of Collected Sounds Women in Music said she was "so impressed I'm at loss for words." Matt Wake in The Huntsville Times
described their music as "something akin to nursery rhymes on acid."
, Tori Amos, Throwing Muses
, Siouxie and the Banshees, The Roches
, and Rasputina. Adrienne acknowled Bush as an influence in Indianapolis
's Nuvo Newsweekly
, and cited other influences as P. J. Harvey, Pat Benatar
, and Heart
. In the same interview, she also stated that she appreciated that her audience would sit and listen to her shows without making much noise. Matt Wake of The Huntsville Times called her act Ziggy Stardust by way of The Muppet Show
. Tim Burton
's name was invoked by numerous reviwers for comparison, as well.
, pursuing a solo career (performing both band and non-band songs, as well as "Old Folks at Home") in the New York City
area folk music
and LGBT
communities, as well as creating performance art
in the New York, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. areas. Bethany Sneed is now studying to be a Deaf
-education teacher, while Khattie Quinones and Stacy Meshbane both continue to perform with local bands.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
indie
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
gothic psychedelic
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
art
Art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, with influences from art, avant-garde, and classical music. The first usage of the term, according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, was in 1968. Influenced by the work of The Beatles, most notably their Sgt...
folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
band based in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
from 2000–2007, noted for their elaborate puppetry
Puppetry
Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance which involves the manipulation of puppets. It is very ancient, and is believed to have originated 30,000 years BC. Puppetry takes many forms but they all share the process of animating inanimate performing objects...
in their stage shows and rich textures including diverse vocals, strings, trombone, and percussion. Its membership consisted of sisters Adrienne Sneed (lead vocals and guitars) and Bethany Sneed (keyboards, bells, and background vocals), Stacy Meshbane on violin, and Khattie Quinones on drums.
Their music often involves reflections on childhood, from a slightly dark but often comic perspective. Bethany also performs the songs in American Sign Language
American Sign Language
American Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...
, an aspect of their live performances praised by Tucson Weekly
Tucson Weekly
The Tucson Weekly is an alternative newsweekly that was founded in 1984 by Douglas Biggers and Mark Goehring, and serves the Tucson, Arizona metropolitan area of about 900,000 residents. The paper is a member of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies...
. This element was added at Adrienne's suggestion after seeing Bethany sign Tori Amos
Tori Amos
Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
songs at home. At local shows, Mrs. Sneed would serve cakes and host party games.
The TunaHelpers toured the U.S and Canada sharing the stages with such talents as Nina Hagen
Nina Hagen
Nina Hagen is a German singer and actress.-Early years:Hagen was born as Catharina Hagen in the former East Berlin, East Germany, the daughter of Hans Hagen , a scriptwriter, and Eva-Maria Hagen, an actress and singer...
, TeamDresch, The Aisler Set, The Dresden Dolls
The Dresden Dolls
The Dresden Dolls are an American musical duo from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 2000, the group consists of Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione...
, Faun Fables
Faun Fables
Faun Fables is a band from Oakland, California. Faun Fables is a concept and vehicle for Dawn McCarthy, who was inspired to write the original material while traveling after leaving the New York City music scene in 1997. Faun Fables also covers both 20th century compositions by other song writers...
, Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch is an American singer, poet, writer, and actress whose career was spawned by the New York No Wave scene...
, The Frogs
The Frogs
The Frogs is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed at the Lenaia, one of the Festivals of Dionysus, in 405 BC, and received first place.-Plot:...
, Adam Green
Adam Green (musician)
Adam Green is an American singer-songwriter.Green's off-kilter style has achieved a moderate college radio following in the United States, and enjoys increasing popularity in a number of European countries, particularly Germany.-Career:Green attended Emerson College for one semester in 1998 before...
, Lesbians on Ecstasy
Lesbians on Ecstasy
Lesbians on Ecstasy is an electronic band from Montreal, Quebec.The band toured across Canada and the U.S. with Le Tigre before the release of their first recording.The first album, the self-titled Lesbians on Ecstasy was released on October 26, 2004...
, Gretchen Phillips
Gretchen Phillips
Gretchen Phillips is an American singer-songwriter known for her humorous and topical songs. Phillips has been openly gay throughout her life and her lesbianism has inspired much of her material.- Background :...
, Electrelane
Electrelane
Electrelane are a British all-female indie rock band, formed in Brighton in 1998 by Verity Susman and Emma Gaze. The band comprised Susman, Gaze, Mia Clarke, and Ros Murray. Their music draws from wide range of influences including Neu!, Stereolab, Sonic Youth, and The Velvet Underground...
, and Bettie Serveert
Bettie Serveert
Bettie Serveert are a Dutch indie-rock band. Their name translates to "Bettie Serves", or "Service to Bettie", which is the title of a book written by Dutch tennis player Betty Stöve, who made it to the Wimbledon ladies singles final in 1977.-Genesis:...
. The band also performed SXSW showcases 4 years in a row.
Origins and lineup changes
The band was an outgrowth of Adrienne's desire to expand her solo act, which was originally called Adrienne and the TunaHelpers, and featured Adrienne with two fish puppets, Sushie and the Bad Cheese and Hootie Blow My Fish, who sat in front of homemade instruments. After Bethany joined, the act became Adrienne, Bethany, and the TunaHelpers. The name was shortened upon Quinones's joining. Meshbane, a friend of Adrienne, also joined the band, but stayed with it only about a year.By their second album, Meshbane had amically departed and received a special thanks credit, Timb Harris
Timb Harris
Timb Harris is a violinist, best known for his work with the eclectic Santa Cruz-based band Estradasphere ....
performing violin, viola, and cello on the second album, though not credited as a full band member. The nautical theme continued with the band members' album credits as Adrienne the Anemone, Bethany the Barracuda, and Khattie the Katfish.
Guest musicians ("Tuna Helper Helpers") on the first album included Nick Smith
Nick Smith
Nick Smith may refer to:* Nick Smith , British socialite, designer, author, recording artist, actor and philanthropist* Nick Smith , Labour Member of Parliament for Blaenau Gwent* Nick Smith Nick Smith may refer to:* Nick Smith (milliner) (born 1981), British socialite, designer, author,...
"(the nice eel)" on trombone, and Kurtis D. Machler on bass, and the second album featured choral overdubs by Nicole Aurora and string and choral arrangements by Trey Spruance
Trey Spruance
Preston Lea Spruance III or "Trey Spruance" is an American composer, producer, and musician, perhaps best known as the leader of the multi-genre outfit Secret Chiefs 3 and for his work as guitarist and keyboardist with Mr. Bungle...
. Smith also directed the band's music videos.
Difficulty with the name
Although the band never liked the name, but were unable to come up with something they liked better, on November 4, 2003 the band received an e-mail threat from attorney for General MillsGeneral Mills
General Mills, Inc. is an American Fortune 500 corporation, primarily concerned with food products, which is headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. The company markets many well-known brands, such as Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Colombo, Totinos, Jeno's, Pillsbury, Green...
proclaiming that their name was a trademark infringement
Trademark infringement
Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attaching to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees...
on Tuna Helper
Hamburger Helper
Hamburger Helper is a line of packaged food products primarily consisting of boxed pasta bundled with a packet or packets of powdered sauce/seasonings. The contents of each box are combined with browned ground beef, water and milk to create a complete dish. The product line also features products...
. After consulting with attorneys, Adrienne responded with a flippant reply. She had previously had a restraining order
Restraining order
A restraining order or order of protection is a form of legal injunction that requires a party to do, or to refrain from doing, certain acts. A party that refuses to comply with an order faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
put against her after taping feces
Feces
Feces, faeces, or fæces is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus or cloaca during defecation.-Etymology:...
to the door of an old boyfriend, which became the basis of the eponymous song.
Recordings
Their first album, starring in... The Suspicious Fish, was released in 2002 by Monkeyboy Records. "Vanity Girl" of Citizen Snob found that the music lost little more than Bethany's sign language when stripped away from the stage show. She described it as "akin to watching children play--equal parts innocence, malice, curiosity, fear, and bravado," and said that as much on album as live they would remain one of her favorite bands. Shannon Lavine of The Propagander said "they incorporate current subject matter with old-fashioned folklore" and "Let them play for your two year old on her birthday", while several reviewers noted the prurience of "Bicycle", including The Austin Chronicle. The album is not, as the title may indicate, a rock operaRock opera
A rock opera is a work of rock music that presents a storyline told over multiple parts, songs or sections in the manner of opera. A rock opera differs from a conventional rock album, which usually includes songs that are not unified by a common theme or narrative. More recent developments include...
or concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
, as it has no overarching narrative or continuity; however, as the Chronicle put it, "The Tuna Helpers have crafted their own vague mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
revolving around tuna and other sea creatures (along with all the double-entendres that may apply), but their treatment of it is too sophisticated to come across as pure schtick. Which isn't to say it's not super-fun." The album also contains a performance of Stephen Foster
Stephen Foster
Stephen Collins Foster , known as the "father of American music", was the pre-eminent songwriter in the United States of the 19th century...
's "Old Folks at Home
Old Folks at Home
"Old Folks at Home" is a minstrel song written by Stephen Foster in 1851. It was intended to be performed by the New York blackface troupe Christy's Minstrels. E. P. Christy, the troupe's leader, appears on early printings of the sheet music as the song's creator...
" including a surrealistic interlude written by the band fraught with food metaphors and imagery from the Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
story.
Adrienne handed a press kit to Trey Spruance at a SXSW Festival and invited him to an unofficial women's rock showcase. Although both Sneeds were ill at this performance requiring Quinones to emcee, which none of the members were happy with, Spruance loved the show, and a month later e-mailed that they were in the Web of Mimcry
Mimicry Records
Mimicry Records is an independent record label currently based in San Francisco, California founded by Trey Spruance of Mr. Bungle and Secret Chiefs 3.Bands under Mimicry often feature theological and philosophical themes.-Band lineup:*Secret Chiefs 3...
.
The band's second album, I'll Have What She's Having, was released on March 15, 2005. Spruance flew to Austin to record the band, and Adrienne flew to Spruance's home in Santa Cruz for album production. The new label got them into stores throughout North America, Europe, And Australia. Writing of the second album, Anna Breshears of Bitch
Bitch (magazine)
bitch, whose tagline is feminist response to pop culture, is an independent, quarterly magazine published in Portland, Oregon with more than 50,000 readers. bitch magazine is one branch of the reader-supported non-profit organization bitch media...
describes their live shows as being full of puppetry and stage effects, described Sneed as having "operatic range and precision," but also being capable of "whittl[ing] her voice down to a warble of petulant protestations", and describes Quinones's drumming as "expressive." She contrasts their work with teenage gothic music, describing it as "smarter, prettier and ha[ving] a sense of humor." Dead Earnest called the album "unique, accessible, original, quality and close to brilliance..." and "a rare gem." Anna Maria Stjärnell of Collected Sounds Women in Music said she was "so impressed I'm at loss for words." Matt Wake in The Huntsville Times
The Huntsville Times
The Huntsville Times is the daily morning newspaper published in Huntsville, Alabama, and also serves the surrounding areas of north Alabama's Tennessee Valley region. The Times formerly operated as an afternoon paper, but moved to mornings after The Huntsville News ceased publication...
described their music as "something akin to nursery rhymes on acid."
Reception
Reviewers frequently favorably compared the band with Kate BushKate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
, Tori Amos, Throwing Muses
Throwing Muses
Throwing Muses is an alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Newport, Rhode Island, that toured and recorded extensively until 1997, when its members began concentrating more on other projects. The group was originally fronted by two lead singers, Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly, who both wrote the...
, Siouxie and the Banshees, The Roches
The Roches
The Roches are a female vocal group of three songwriting Irish-American sisters from Park Ridge, New Jersey, known for their "unusual" and "rich" harmonies, quirky lyrics, and casually comedic stage performances.The Roches have been active as performers and recording artists since the mid-1970s,...
, and Rasputina. Adrienne acknowled Bush as an influence in Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
's Nuvo Newsweekly
Nuvo Newsweekly
NUVO is an alternative weekly newspaper and news website serving the Indianapolis, Indiana metropolitan area. Locally owned and operated, it features news, music, film and theatre reviews, and also has sections for classifieds and other advertisements...
, and cited other influences as P. J. Harvey, Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar is an American singer and four-time Grammy winner. She had considerable commercial success particularly in the United States...
, and Heart
Heart (band)
Heart is an American rock band who first found success in Canada. Throughout several lineup changes, the only two members remaining constant are sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. The group rose to fame in the 1970s with their music being influenced by hard rock as well as folk music...
. In the same interview, she also stated that she appreciated that her audience would sit and listen to her shows without making much noise. Matt Wake of The Huntsville Times called her act Ziggy Stardust by way of The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...
. Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
's name was invoked by numerous reviwers for comparison, as well.
Dissolution
The band gave its final concert on February 14, 2007, and Adrienne Anemone, having dropped the article from her stage name, moved to Brooklyn, New YorkBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, pursuing a solo career (performing both band and non-band songs, as well as "Old Folks at Home") in the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
area folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
communities, as well as creating performance art
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
in the New York, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. areas. Bethany Sneed is now studying to be a Deaf
Deaf culture
Deaf culture describes the social beliefs, behaviors, art, literary traditions, history, values and shared institutions of communities that are affected by deafness and which use sign languages as the main means of communication. When used as a cultural label, the word deaf is often written with a...
-education teacher, while Khattie Quinones and Stacy Meshbane both continue to perform with local bands.
starring in... The Suspicious Fish
Monkeyboy Records, 2002- Code
- Restraining Order
- Tuna Stalker
- Christian Girl
- Caterpillar
- Bicycle
- FrankensteinFrankensteinFrankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
- Old Folks at HomeOld Folks at Home"Old Folks at Home" is a minstrel song written by Stephen Foster in 1851. It was intended to be performed by the New York blackface troupe Christy's Minstrels. E. P. Christy, the troupe's leader, appears on early printings of the sheet music as the song's creator...
(Stephen FosterStephen FosterStephen Collins Foster , known as the "father of American music", was the pre-eminent songwriter in the United States of the 19th century...
) (hidden trackHidden trackIn the field of recorded music, a hidden track is a piece of music that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, vinyl record or other recorded medium in such a way as to avoid detection by the casual listener...
) - Ballerina
- Lambs
- Chicken of the Sea
- Evil Queen
- Babies
- Manatee
- Moon Queen
- Wake Up
I'll Have What She's Having
Mimicry Records, 2005- Ready to Begin
- Hold This
- All the Children
- Circus Song
- Blueberry Head
- Oh No
- Wait and See
- Turtle
- The Stars
- Gather Your Children
- Sticks and Stones
- Frying Pan
- Sea Monster
- Halfway
- Askew
- Haloing Moons
External links
- The Tuna Helpers' official site
- TheTunaHelpers on MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- Adrienne Anemone on MySpace
- "Tuna Stalker" on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- "Oh No" on YouTube