Grass Widow
w/ F'ke Blood, and Swimsuit
Friday, June 1st, at PJ's Lager House
$7, 9pm
Send an email to motorcityblog@earthlink.net for your chance to win a pair of tickets
“The San Fran phenom Grass Widow,” as the New Yorker dubs this post-punk band, “inspires as its pastoral harmonies float effortlessly over trellises of spindly guitars.” Grass Widow--Hannah Lew (bass, vocals), Raven Mahon (guitar, vocals), and Lillian Maring, (drums, vocals)—write their hypnotic layered melodies collaboratively. Their haunting songs, rich in metaphor and couched in reference and allusion, are mined from the personal narratives of each member. Vocal duties shared equally all around complete the overall sensibility. Grass Widow has no front person, and offers a musical experience not based on celebrity or spectacle. In line with these principles, they have maintained their objective of playing age and gender-inclusive shows since their formation.
Grass Widow formed in 2007 and toured the US the following summer. Their first release came as a S/T LP on San Francisco's Make A Mess Records in 2009, followed by a 12 inch EP on Captured Tracks and their 2nd full-length, Past Time, which came out in 2010 on Kill Rock Stars. The band toured Europe, the UK, and China in 2010, and started their own record label, HLR, that same year. The band has made several of its own music videos, many of which were written and directed by Grass Widow bassist Hannah Lew.
In addition to starting an ongoing collaborative 7-inch series, “Common Chord,” Grass Widow has contributed to a number of compilations, including Under The Covers, Vol. 2, a Nerves compilation put out by Volar Records, as well as a recent compilation of Francoise Hardy covers. They’ve opened for Mike Watt and Sonic Youth, and toured as direct support with the likes of Wild Flag and The Raincoats. They will tour in support of Internal Logic in June of 2012.
In addition to The New Yorker, Grass Widow has been featured in Yeti Magazine, Nylon, ArtForum, and The New York Times, among other publications. In February of 2012 the band appeared in an episode of IFC's Portlandia. The ready-steady build for Grass Widow is representative of their music and overall band aesthetic, and it reaches a new high point on May 22nd with the release of Internal Logic on HLR.