Vivian Girls is an American band based in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York. The only consistent members have been Cassie Ramone and Katy Goodman, on guitar and bass, respectively; the group has had several drummers throughout its history. They took their name from a book by outsider artist

Henry Darger Henry Joseph Darger Jr. (; April 12, 1892 – April 13, 1973) was an American writer, novelist and artist who worked as a hospital custodian in Chicago, Illinois. He has become famous for his posthumously discovered 15,145-page fantasy novel m ...

History

2007–2014

Vivian Girls, named after

magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

(full title: ''The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion''), started in

, NY in March 2007, as the trio of Cassie Ramone (guitar/vocals), Katy "Kickball Katy" Goodman (bass/drums/vocals), and

Frankie Rose Frankie Rose (born 1979) is an American musician and songwriter. She was an original member of Crystal Stilts, Dum Dum Girls, Vivian Girls and Beverly. Career Formerly of bands Vivian Girls and Beverly, Frankie was the drummer for the acts Crys ...

(drums/bass/vocals). While only a band for a short while, they recorded a demo, which included five original songs and a Wipers cover, and began to play locally in

and Katy and Cassie's home state of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. Within the first couple of months, they had already developed a strong local following, supporting acts like

Jay Reatard James Lee Lindsey Jr. (May 1, 1980 – January 13, 2010), known professionally as Jay Reatard, was an American musician from Memphis, Tennessee. He was signed to Matador Records. He released recordings as a solo artist and as a member of the Rea ...

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

, and

the King Khan & BBQ Show The King Khan & BBQ Show is a Canadian garage rock duo from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, who mix doo-wop and punk. The band is composed of former Spaceshits bandmates Mark Sultan and Blacksnake, alias King Khan. Mark Sultan, under the pseudonym ...

, as well as finding kindred spirits in other local bands, like Cause Co-Motion!,

Crystal Stilts Crystal Stilts is an American post-punk band from Brooklyn, New York City, United States, though their founding members, Brad Hargett and JB Townsend, were originally from Florida. History Crystal Stilts was formed in 2003 by Brad Hargett and JB ...

, and Woods, with whom they shared many bills and helped develop a local scene, to which the band is still very much connected. In March 2008, they released the "Wild Eyes" single on the Plays With Dolls label. With very little promotion and distribution, the single became an underground indie hit, as it charted on many college radio playlists and garnered positive reviews on the internet. Recorded in the same session, their debut self-titled LP was released by the Mauled by Tigers label, whose initial pressing of the LP sold out in ten days. During this time, the group signed with In the Red Records, who released a new single in August 2008. In the Red re-released ''Vivian Girls'' on LP and CD formats in October 2008. In July 2008, the band underwent a lineup change, with new drummer Ali Koehler replacing Frankie Rose. The band then went on an extensive tour that saw them visit the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Puerto Rico in two months. Their second album, ''

Everything Goes Wrong is a 1960 in film, 1960 Cinema of Japan, Japanese Sun Tribe film directed by Seijun Suzuki and starring Tamio Kawachi and Yoshiko Yatsu in her film debut. The story follows Jirō, a rebellious high schooler, in his Sadomasochism, sadomasochistic ...

'', was released by In the Red in September 2009. In May 2010, Fiona Campbell replaced Ali Koehler, becoming Vivian Girls' third drummer. With Campbell, they toured their third album, ''Share the Joy'', to Europe, UK, Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, and the US. The band also featured on the track "Worse to Come" on noise pop band

Male Bonding In ethology and social science, male bonding or male friendship is the formation of close personal relationships, and patterns of friendship or cooperation between males. In the context of human relationships, male bonding is used to describe ...

's debut album '' Nothing Hurts''. Vivian Girls' third album, '' Share the Joy'', was released in spring 2011 by Polyvinyl Record Co. In January 2014, the band announced they were breaking up, with two last shows at The Church on York in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and

Death by Audio Death By Audio was a warehouse space on the first floor of an industrial building in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. The warehouse took its name from the boutique effects pedal company, Death By Audio, based in the space. Th ...

. They reunited briefly in October 2015 to play two songs at bassist Katy Goodman's wedding.

2019–present

On July 17, 2019, Cassie Ramone, Katy Goodman, and Ali Koehler announced the band's reformation, alongside a new full-length album, ''Memory'', to be released in September. It was recorded in 2018 with producer Rob Barbato. On August 14, 2019, a music video for the song "Something to Do", directed by Jason Lester, was released. On September 10, 2019, a music video for the song "Sludge", directed by Alex Ross Perry, was released.

Side projects

In 2010, Katy Goodman formed All Saints Day, a side project with

Cat Power Charlyn Marie "Chan" Marshall ( ; born January 21, 1972), better known by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and model. Cat Power was originally the name of her first band, but has become her stage name as a ...

's Gregg Foreman; the band has digitally released one self-titled EP. Her solo project,

La Sera La Sera is an American indie rock band formed by Katy Goodman, the bassist for Vivian Girls, in 2010. They have released four albums and toured internationally. History La Sera, whose name means "the evening" in Italian, started in 2010, with Goo ...

, also formed in 2010, has released four albums. In 2013, she collaborated with Springtime Carnivore's

Greta Morgan Greta Morgan Salpeter (born February 12, 1988), better known as Greta Morgan, is an American singer-songwriter and musician based in Los Angeles, CA. Her career began in 2005 as singer/pianist of the Chicago-based band The Hush Sound. She later ...

as Books of Love, recording the science fiction-themed love song "Space Time". Goodman and Morgan collaborated again in 2016, releasing the punk covers album ''Take It, It's Yours''. Cassie Ramone has a side project, The Babies, formed in 2009, with Woods bassist

Kevin Morby Kevin Robert Morby (born April 2, 1988) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. A former member of Woods and the Babies, Morby has released seven solo studio albums: ''Harlem River'' (2013), '' Still Life'' (2014), ''Singing Saw'' (20 ...

. The Babies released two studio albums in 2011 and 2012. During The Babies' hiatus, Ramone embarked on a solo career, releasing her debut album, ''The Time Has Come'', in 2014. She released an album of Christmas music, ''Christmas in Reno'', in 2015. Fiona Campbell is from New Zealand and previously played there in a band called The Coolies. She also played in Coasting, with guitarist Madison Farmer, and in

Ian Svenonius Ian F Svenonius is an American musician and singer of various Washington, D.C.-based punk bands including Nation of Ulysses, the Make-Up, Weird War, XYZ, Escape-ism, and Chain and the Gang. Between his numerous projects, Svenonius has release ...

' band Chain & The Gang; Campbell was also a co-owner of the now-defunct M'Lady's Records label. She has also worked as a talent booker and promoter, and as a tour manager for bands like

Hinds Hinds may refer to: Deer, especially does *Deer People with the surname Hinds: *Hinds (surname) In places: * Hinds, New Zealand, a small town * Hinds County, Mississippi, a US county *Hinds Lake, a lake in Minnesota *Hinds River, a river that flo ...

Mitski Mitski Miyawaki (born Mitsuki Laycock; September 27, 1990), known professionally by the mononym Mitski, is a Japanese-born American singer-songwriter. Mitski self-released her first two albums, '' Lush'' (2012) and '' Retired from Sad, New Caree ...

, and Shamir. She currently plays in the New Zealand band Guardian Singles, formed in 2015. Ali Koehler was the touring drummer for

Best Coast Best Coast is an American rock duo formed in Los Angeles, California in 2009. The band consists of songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Bethany Cosentino and guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Bobb Bruno. Cosentino, a former child actress, began ...

from 2010 to 2011. In 2013, she formed the band Upset, which has released three albums. Frankie Rose was formerly the drummer for

and

Dum Dum Girls Dum Dum Girls was an American rock band, formed in 2008. It began as the bedroom recording project of singer and songwriter Dee Dee (née Kristin Gundred). She is currently based in Los Angeles. The name is a double homage to the Vaselines' al ...

, and was an original member of the band Beverly. She released her first self-titled solo album as Frankie Rose and the Outs in 2010; under her own name, she has released four albums.

Band members

* Ali Koehler (2008–2010, 2011–2014, 2019–present) * Cassie Ramone (2007–2014, 2019–present) * Katy "Kickball Katy" Goodman (2007–2014, 2019–present) ;Past members * Fiona Campbell (2010–2011) *

(2007–2008)

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

Compilation appearances

*''Live at

KEXP KEXP-FM (90.3 MHz) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Seattle, Washington, United States, specializing in alternative and indie rock programmed by its disc jockeys for the Seattle metropolitan area. The station is owned by the no ...

Vol.5'' - "I Can't Stay" (2009)
Methodist Leisure Inc.
freebie funcore punk compilatio

- "Snack Attack" (Hardcore Mix) (2009,

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

) *''The World's Lousy With Ideas: Vol. 8'' - "Lake House" (2009, Almost Ready Records) *''Rough Trade Shops: Indiepop 09'' - "Moped Girls" (

Cooperative Music IASCooperative, formerly Cooperative Music, often referred to as Co-Op, is a group of indie labels based in the UK but that have offices around the world, owned by IAS Through their partner labels IASCooperative work with artists such as iama ...

, 2009) *''We Were So Turned On: A Tribute to

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

'' (disc 1) - "John, I'm Only Dancing" (David Bowie cover) (2010,

Manimal Vinyl Manimal Vinyl is a Los Angeles-based record label founded in 2006 by film/TV producer, composer and former fashion editor Paul Gebser-Beahan. History The label was started out of Beahan's living room in late 2006 in the historical Hancock Park ...

)

References

External links

* *
Vivian Girls
at Polyvinyl Record Co. {{Authority control Musical groups from Brooklyn All-female bands Dream pop musical groups Indie rock musical groups from New York (state) Musical groups established in 2007 Musical groups disestablished in 2014 Noise pop musical groups In the Red artists Polyvinyl Record Co. artists