Y Pants
Encyclopedia
Y Pants were an all-female No Wave
band from New York City
active from 1979 to 1982. The trio, made up of photographer/musician Barbara Ess (previously of Disband and collaborator with Glenn Branca
both in The Static and Theoretical Girls
), visual artist Virginia Piersol, and filmmaker Gail Vachon, developed a unique sound via their acoustic toy instrumentation of toy piano
, ukulele
and a paper-headed Mickey Mouse
drum kit
, augmented by electric bass guitar
, Casio keyboards and various low-tech effects.
Y Pants' feminist poetics and toy instrumentation made them a hit in Manhattans's art gallery
scene, while their No Wave clout brought them to be regulars at punk rock
venues like CBGB's. In 1980 Glenn Branca recorded their debut 4-song EP for the now legendary 99 Records
, followed by a full-length LP two years later. Lyrically, most of the Y-Pants' material covered the off-kilter aspects of relationships, with explorations into the perils of laundry ("Favorite Sweater"), materialism ("We Have Everything"), patriarchy ("That's The Way Boys Are"), and a reworking of Bertolt Brecht
's "Barbara's Song from Threepenny Opera. Musically they've been compared to their British post-punk
contemporaries The Raincoats
for their overlapping vocal choruses and kitchen-sinkish approach to sound, rhythm and composition.
Y-Pants disbanded shortly after the release of their album, reported reuniting each year on the various band members' birthdays. Barbara Ess remained musically active throughout the 1980s, frequently contributing tracks to Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine
and collaborating with Peggy Ahwesh on 2001's Radio Guitar for the Ecstatic Peace! label.
No Wave
No Wave was a short-lived but influential underground music, film, performance art, video, and contemporary art scene that had its beginnings during the mid-1970s in New York City. The term No Wave is in part satirical word play rejecting the commercial elements of the then-popular New Wave genre...
band from 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...
active from 1979 to 1982. The trio, made up of photographer/musician Barbara Ess (previously of Disband and collaborator with Glenn Branca
Glenn Branca
Glenn Branca is an American avant-garde composer and guitarist known for his use of volume, alternative guitar tunings, repetition, droning, and the harmonic series. In 2008 he was awarded an unrestricted grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.-Beginnings: 1960s and early 1970s:Branca...
both in The Static and Theoretical Girls
Theoretical Girls
Theoretical Girls were a New York No wave band formed by Glenn Branca and Jeff Lohn that existed from 1977 to 1981.-History:Theoretical Girls played only about 20 shows . It released one single which had some attention in England where it sold a few thousand copies...
), visual artist Virginia Piersol, and filmmaker Gail Vachon, developed a unique sound via their acoustic toy instrumentation of toy piano
Toy piano
The toy piano, also known as the kinderklavier , is a small piano-like musical instrument. The present form of the toy piano was invented in Philadelphia by a 17-year-old German immigrant named Albert Schoenhut. He worked as a repairman at Wanamaker's department store, repairing broken glass...
, ukulele
Ukulele
The ukulele, ; from ; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings....
and a paper-headed Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
drum kit
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, augmented by electric bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, Casio keyboards and various low-tech effects.
Y Pants' feminist poetics and toy instrumentation made them a hit in Manhattans's art gallery
Art gallery
An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...
scene, while their No Wave clout brought them to be regulars at punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
venues like CBGB's. In 1980 Glenn Branca recorded their debut 4-song EP for the now legendary 99 Records
99 Records
99 Records was an independent record label active from 1980-1984. 99 was run out of a record store with the same name, located at 99 MacDougal Street in New York City's Greenwich Village, and owned by Ed Bahlman...
, followed by a full-length LP two years later. Lyrically, most of the Y-Pants' material covered the off-kilter aspects of relationships, with explorations into the perils of laundry ("Favorite Sweater"), materialism ("We Have Everything"), patriarchy ("That's The Way Boys Are"), and a reworking of Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
's "Barbara's Song from Threepenny Opera. Musically they've been compared to their British post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
contemporaries The Raincoats
The Raincoats
The Raincoats are a British post-punk band. Ana da Silva and Gina Birch formed the group in 1977 while they were students at Hornsey College of Art, London, England.-Career:...
for their overlapping vocal choruses and kitchen-sinkish approach to sound, rhythm and composition.
Y-Pants disbanded shortly after the release of their album, reported reuniting each year on the various band members' birthdays. Barbara Ess remained musically active throughout the 1980s, frequently contributing tracks to Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine
Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine
Launched from the Lower East Side, Manhattan, in 1983 as a subscription only bimonthly publication, the Tellus cassette series took full advantage of the popular cassette medium to promote cutting-edge downtown music, documenting the New York scene and advancing experimental composers of the time...
and collaborating with Peggy Ahwesh on 2001's Radio Guitar for the Ecstatic Peace! label.
Discography
- 4-song EP (99 Records99 Records99 Records was an independent record label active from 1980-1984. 99 was run out of a record store with the same name, located at 99 MacDougal Street in New York City's Greenwich Village, and owned by Ed Bahlman...
, 1980) - Beat It Down LP (Neutral RecordsNeutral RecordsNeutral Records is an independent record label. Glenn Branca ran the label during the No Wave and post-punk scene in the Lower East Side, New York, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Among their releases were early records by Swans and the first EP by Sonic Youth as well as Confusion is Sex....
, 1982) - "Magnetic Attraction" (song recorded in 1980 and released in 1988 on Tellus Audio Cassette MagazineTellus Audio Cassette MagazineLaunched from the Lower East Side, Manhattan, in 1983 as a subscription only bimonthly publication, the Tellus cassette series took full advantage of the popular cassette medium to promote cutting-edge downtown music, documenting the New York scene and advancing experimental composers of the time...
#21: "Audio By Visual Artists"') - Y Pants CD (Periodic Document, 1998, collects all of the above recordings)