Thursday, November 18, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Whiskey Bitch: Naked motivation

Whiskey Bitch is compelled to rawk--and disrobe

By Mike Prevatt

Wendy "Sparkle Plenty" Gadzuk seems to be as misunderstood as her band, Tucson, Ariz., rawk quintet Whiskey Bitch. The longtime guitarist/vocalist cut her teeth fronting the 440s--which ended its six-year run at the Confederacy of Scum weekend in Las Vegas last year--and is now playing axe and doing backing vocals for Whiskey Bitch. And in neither band has she ever been the stereotypical chick singer, or playing in a stereotypical chick rock band.

"When I was in the 440s, people assumed I was the singer," says Gadzuk. "I was like, yeah, I'm the singer, but I was also the guitarist and the person who booked the tour. Not that there's anything wrong with being the singer, but because it was assumed that was my job because I was a female, it would get a little annoying at times. Now, I tell people I'm in a band called Whiskey Bitch and they're like, oh, is it all girls? I'm like, no, just me and a couple of dancers."

There's not a whole lot of ambiguity to Whiskey Bitch. The band, which started last year and has already made its presence felt in Tucson, plays straight-up, punk-flavored bar rock influenced by the likes of Aerosmith, Nashville Pussy and the Ramones. Known mostly for its live performances, it plays up the naughty grandeur associated with AC/DC, while teetering on the brink of booze-fueled collapse a la the New York Dolls.

"Our live shows always border on being out of control, but we always hold it together," says Gadzuk. "I don't know if it's dynamic tension or what you'd call it, but there's always this feeling everyone will come unplugged and we'll trip over each other. There's seven of us onstage--we don't play big stages--so it's a lot to keep under control."

Whiskey Bitch prides itself on its work ethic as much as it does its debauchery. In its year-long existence, the band has already penetrated much of the Tucson music scene, cut an EP, written enough songs for an upcoming full-length--the act is seeking independent labels for distribution--and toured the Southwest. But it was tough to get started. Gadzuk and singer/ex-husband Tony Pickup--both originally from Philadelphia--had sought out local musicians for the 440s, which took a while. By the time Whiskey Bitch was formed--filled out by members of former local act Fisty--the musicians were ready to play out beyond Tucson, a city not known for its motivation.

"There's definitely an attitude they call the `mañana' syndrome--a lazy, slacker attitude, which was always frustrating, especially for me and Tony, coming from the East Coast and just wanting to get things done," says Gadzuk. "That was really hard for us when we first got here and tried to start a band. With Whiskey Bitch, we always had higher aspirations, but then a lot of the bands do. We want to get out here. We want to play Tucson, but not just Tucson. We want to write good songs, play great shows and go places with it."

And get naked. While the band's music has its fans, its appeal is also rooted in its encouragement of spontaneous nudity, be it from the band itself or audience members. Apparently, the ante has not found a ceiling quite yet.

"Our last show was one of the craziest shows [we've had]," says Gadzuk. "There's this club we play, this dive corner bar, but it was one of those shows where we play every song we know and do two sets, and during the second set [the band] took off their shirts, and I was like, fuck it, I've never seen them with all their shirts off, so I took off my shirt, too, and then everybody in the crowd started taking off their shirts--guys and girls alike.

"Occasionally we'll do a giveaway of free shots of whiskey or a copy of our CD if someone takes off their pants," adds Gadzuk. "Of course, it's always the fat, ugly guy up front."