Members of The Muffs, The Pandoras and The Friggs, (Kim Shattuck, Melanie Vammen and Palmyra Delran), have joined together to form Female Supergroup, The Coolies!
Kim Shattuck (frontwoman of The Muffs and longtime bassist of The Pandoras), Melanie Vammen (also of The Pandoras and formerly of The Muffs), and Palmyra Delran (solo artist and creative soul of all-girl group, The Friggs), have joined together to form the ultimate female power pop punk band, The Coolies, with a mission to combat ALS.
We had talked to them about supergroups, their relationship with social media fans versus people that found them through fanzines and their fight against ALS.
Punchland: Hello!
Punchland: How does it feel to be a part of the supergroup club? What is your favorite supergroup?
Melanie: I love it! They’re my favorite badass chicks!
Palmyra: Ooooo I like Traveling Wilburys too! Also, Sonic’s Rendezvous Band. Tinted Windows, too.
Punchland: Why The Coolies?
Kim: It’s funny and I liked it!
Melanie: Doesn’t everyone want to shake their coolie?
Palmyra: It sounds like a fun girl gang band! Hey, hey we’re The Coolies!
Punchland: Since you are an East Coast meets West Coast combo, where do you actually play together? Oklahoma City? That’s halfway between LA and Philly.
Melanie: Coolieville!
Palmyra: It’s a long commute to band practice, but it’s worth it!
Punchland: Can you tell us about the process of recording The Coolies?
Melanie: Kim and I did our recording here in Los Angeles. Palmyra did hers in New York. We would share our ideas with each other and from there we’d keep or try new ideas and see what sounded best. We all work so well together, and it was amazing creating these recordings.
Punchland: How do you influence each other creatively? How does your collaboration work?
Kim: It’s been so easy to collaborate with them because we have no egos to deal with!
Melanie: It’s been amazing! I can’t wait for more!!
Palmyra: I look forward to getting a song demo or set of lyrics from them to add to! We all have the same goal – making music that we love, and have fun collaborating with each other. No rules, no stress!
Punchland: What is your relationship with new fans finding your work through social media and streaming services?
Kim: I like having fans online, and then I will mess with them!
Melanie: I love it! People discover us that may have not known about us or the other bands we’ve played in.
Palmyra: It really opens up the territory… there are no limits with social media. The only downfall is there is so much out there, I wonder how people find what they like.
Punchland: Do you feel like they are different from fans that were introduced by friends or zines back in the day?
Kim: I think it was harder to find bands back then, but the best bands were born back then too! The scenes wrote themselves!
Melanie: No not at all. It’s the same feeling you get from discovering anything new you love.
Punchland: The fact that you guys are donating the proceeds is a really generous and commendable act. Why did you choose to support this cause in particular?
Kim: It severely runs on my dad’s side of the family. It’s time to find a cure now!
Melanie: It’s horrific and no one should have to endure it. Let’s change things and find a cure NOW!
Palmyra: We’ve been involved with fundraising for ALS for a long time and are committed to raising awareness and money for research.
Punchland: Any solid plans for a promotional tour?
Melanie: hmm…
Palmyra: We’re scheming!
Get The Coolies right here!
“July 10, 2019 –Kim Shattuck (frontwoman of The Muffs and longtime bassist of The Pandoras), Melanie Vammen (also of The Pandoras and formerly of The Muffs), and Palmyra Delran (solo artist and creative soul of all-girl group, The Friggs), have joined together to form the ultimate female power pop punk band, The Coolies, with a mission to combat ALS.
The East Coast meets West Coast supergroup will be releasing a six-song benefit EP on Friday, July 19. As a group, The Coolies and their label, Wicked Cool Records, have decided to donate 100% of proceeds from the record sales to support research for The ALS Association, whose mission is to discover treatments and a cure for ALS, and to serve, advocate for, and empower people affected by ALS to live their lives to the fullest.
“When doing this EP, we had in mind giving all proceeds to The ALS Association,” said Kim. “It runs on my dad’s side of the family and it would be amazing to find a cure for my relatives and everybody else who gets it!”
Established in 1985, The ALS Association is the only national non-profit organization fighting ALS on every front. By leading the way in global research, the Association builds hope and enhances quality of life while aggressively searching for new treatments and a cure to put an end to this devasting disease, but more work is needed to conclusively determine what genetics and/or environment factors contribute to developing ALS.
“We are so grateful to The Coolies for putting the same passion and energy that they bring to their music into the fight against ALS,” said Fred Fisher President & CEO of The ALS Association Golden Coast Chapter. “Their compassionate and generous spirt is exactly what we need to find treatments and cures for those living with ALS today, and those who will be diagnosed tomorrow.”
Steven Van Zandt, owner of Wicked Cool Records and host of Little Steven’s Underground Garage on SiriuxXM described The Coolies as a “trashpop, garage girl supergroup! United for a good cause (and cool music!).”
Dennis Mortensen, co-manager of Wicked Cool Records added, “”When the girls approached us about this project, we could see how important it was for them, and knew we had to make it happen.”
The Coolies formed organically when the BFFs got together in Los Angeles recently. “We were chatting, and Kim said, ‘I wish we could all have a band together.’ Palmyra said, ‘Well… And that was it. We were a band!” What’s the first step in becoming a supergroup greater than the sum of your already awesome parts? Not taking yourselves too seriously. Performed in the guise of their Ramones-esque alter egos – Kim is Kimba Coolie, Melanie becomes Melimba Coolie and Palmyra is, you guessed it, Palimba Coolie – the six new original songs zip by in a dizzying 15 minutes of sheer sonic bliss. (PRESS HERE to pre-order the record).
Kim and Melanie assembled their tracks in West Coast studios and shared their work with Palmyra on the East Coast, who recorded her parts at Stevie Van Zandt’s Renegade Studios, NYC with GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer Geoff Sanoff (Fountains of Wayne, Stephen Colbert) who also mixed the EP.
This tremendous trio of troubadours is visually represented with an appropriate level of eye- catching whimsicality in the three-dimensional EP artwork – 3-D glasses included! – designed by longtime Wicked Cool Records art director and illustrator Louis Arzonico.
About The ALS Association Golden West Chapter: Our mission is to discover treatments and cures for ALS, and to serve, advocate for, and empower people affected by ALS to live their lives to the fullest. Our vision is to create a world without ALS. The Golden West Chapter serves people with ALS and their families in 31 counties throughout California and in the state of Hawaii. For more information about The ALS Association Golden West Chapter, please visit us at www.alsagoldenwest.org or email us at [email protected]“
