Frenchy and the Punk are a Euro-American Acoustic Alternative

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad music genre, genre of Punk Music, punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde s ...

cabaret duo based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. They were listed in the top 25 duos in May 2012 by Yahoo Music Blog's List of the Day. Punk guitarist

Scott Helland Scott Helland is an American alternative rock musician, acoustic guitarist, bassist and songwriter. A founding member of the groups Deep Wound, Outpatients, and Frenchy and the Punk. He also performs instrumental music as Guitarmy of One. Helland ...

, originally from the bands Deep Wound and Outpatients, formed Frenchy and the Punk with singer Samantha Stephenson in 2005. The group was originally called ''The Gypsy Nomads''. They adopted their nickname ''Frenchy and the Punk'' prior to their first European tour in 2011.Block, Jordan: "Sepiachord Interview", http://www.sepiachord.com/index/interview-frenchy-and-the-punk/ 2013

Sound and style

Their sound has "elements of cabaret, gypsy and rock" on par with

The Dresden Dolls The Dresden Dolls are an American musical duo from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 2000, the group consists of Amanda Palmer (lead vocals and piano; additional: keyboards, harmonica, ukulele) and Brian Viglione (drums and backing vocals; addi ...

and

Gogol Bordello Gogol Bordello is an American punk rock band from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, formed in 1999 by musicians from all over the world and known for theatrical stage shows and persistent touring. Much of the band's sound is inspired by Ro ...

and Stephenson's vocal style has drawn comparisons to

Siouxsie Sioux Susan Janet Ballion (born 27 May 1957), known professionally as Siouxsie Sioux, is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. She was the lead singer of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees (1976–1996). They released 11 ...

from Siouxsie and the Banshees. Guitarist Scott Helland is known for creating a

wall of sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session ...

onstage and has been "using looping guitar techniques since the 90s" Another facet to Frenchy and the Punk's sound is their drum instrumentals that mix a

Taiko are a broad range of Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various Japanese drums called and to the form of ensemble drumming ...

-esque feel with a Carnival of Rio intensity.

French connection

Stephenson was born in Lyon, France and her autobiographical song "Yes! I’m French" offers the witty line "When those jokers served up freedom fries / I saw Lady Liberty rolling her eyes." They released the all French CD Eternal Summer in 2008 with Samantha "crooning sultry, original French pop tunes in a classy cabaret fashion."

Punk connection

Guitarist

was a founding member of the legendary Massachusetts

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...

bands

Deep Wound Deep Wound was an American hardcore punk band formed in 1982 in Westfield, Massachusetts. They released one self-titled 7" and contributed two songs to the compilation LP, '' Bands That Could Be God'', both of which are sought after by fans and re ...

with

J Mascis Joseph Donald Mascis Jr. ( ; born December 10, 1965), better known as J Mascis, is an American musician who is the singer, guitarist and main songwriter for the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. He has also released several albums as a solo art ...

and Lou Barlow and

Outpatients A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other health care ...

in the early eighties. He was also a member of the NYC Hardcore bands School of Violence and Darkside NYC in the nineties. He began releasing solo instrumental records in 1996 and started the all instrumental spy noir, surf themed project Guitarmy of One which has released 2 albums in the late 2000s.

2014 and beyond

In 2014, after the release of their 4th full length album Bonjour Batfrog, Frenchy and the Punk performed at Scotland's prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Fest. In 2016, they performed in England, Canada and across the US. In 2019 they performed in West Africa in Grand Lahou, Ivory Coast. The duo has been touring year-round since 2005. In January 2019 they released a video for the song ''Lanky Bell Bottoms'' from their forth-coming album ''Hooray Beret''. The 10 song album was released in April 2019 with 3 music videos for the songs 'Sing', 'Wah', 'Lanky Bell Bottoms' and 2 lyric videos for 'Monsters' and 'Fastball'.

Discography

Albums

Featured in compilations

*"Blood in the Sky Steampunk Compilation CD" (2012-Frenchy and the Punk) *"The Artifice Club Audio Companion" CD (2013-Frenchy and the Punk)

References

External links

Official Frenchy and the Punk website
{{Authority control Steampunk Steampunk music American musical duos Rock music duos