Whiskey Bitches

Hopefully we had you at whiskey. Or bitches. Or cookies. Lady-led Brooklyn trio Whiskey Bitches definitely know how to turn your head, and in their first, ounce-sized video, the band throws back with a verve, matching the fun of a night out with a live-style video of their literally sweet, upbeat pop-punk number.

By the end of “Cookies” you’ll be humming along and hitting replay, in part just to watch again as lead singer Madge tosses her bright purple curls while the band slurps down shots, gleefully head-bangs, and smiles big.

Whiskey Bitches officially release their new EP, Never Enough, on August 20 with a release show at Don Pedro’s in Brooklyn. Like “Cookies”, Never Enough relies on momentum and simplicity, hitting high points in its party tunes but dipping a tentative toe into more touch-and-go melodrama. Until the release, you can listen to Never Enough on their website.

This weekend, we encourage you to eat your cookies and take the band’s advice to “drink whiskey fuck bitches.” - Impose Magazine

Some of my favorite ass-kickers, the inimitable Whiskey Bitches, are playing all over the place during CMJ, thank God. Or Satan or Ra or whoever. Hailing all the way from the magical land of Brooklyn, this band does not even think for a second about messing around. They’ve got two killer EPs with standouts like the booming Lunachicks-esque “Disaster” and the anthemic tribute to lower-than-you-thought bank statements “Money Gone Drinking.” They were good enough to answer our questions before the music marathon next week, read Kate, Madge, and Eli’s answers below.

Name of your band?

Whiskey Bitches

Where are you right now?

Bed Stuy/Bushwick/In bed naked playing guitar

What records are you obsessed with right now?

Madge: AM - Arctic Monkeys, 1000 forms of fear - Sia, If You Wait - London Grammar, Black Ocean EP - Highly Suspect, Smite - The Dirty Nil.

KB: Suck My Shirt - The Coathangers, Drenge - Drenge, Of Course You Do - Slothrust, AM - Arctic Monkeys, I’m Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams - Diarrhea Planet

ELI: Deep Fantasy - White Lung, Lost in a Dream - War on Drugs, Lazaretto - Jack White

If you started a cult, what would you name it?

Madge: Cultalicious

Favorite place to go in NYC?

Madge: Practice space, Nighthawk

KB: We spend far too much time at Cain’s Tavern and Alaska (bars in Bushwick). Shea Stadium is one of my favorites for shows, lots of sweat and dancing…

Drunk food of choice?

KB: Taco truck, because it satisfies all of Madge’s food allergies and makes me and Eli happy.

Madge: TACO TACO TACO chips

Go-to karaoke song?

Madge: Joan Jett anything just too easy but always awesome.

KB: Oh man… I try not to get involved. Eli didn’t answer this one, but I’ll call him out, he’s great at everything from Metallica to Oasis.

If you could hear Michael McDonald sing any song, what would it be?

KB: Money Gone Drinking

Madge: Remix to Ignition

Favorite airport?

KB: Seattle-Tacoma’s pretty cool. I flew in to meet my friends on tour, so I was in a pretty good mood.

Madge: Charles de Gaulle - PARIS PARIS PARIS

What’s the second record you ever bought?

Eli: Nevermind.

KB: Americana - The Offspring. That played on repeat for a while.

Madge: Oh fuck I have no idea… second record… uh… I remember going to FYE with my friend and picking out three CDs every week.

First instrument?

KB & Madge: Piano.

Eli: Guitar.

Favorite t-shirt?

Madge: A boy that I truly adored gave me his London Calling T-shirt for my 16th birthday and I still have it and it’s barely holding together, but it’s one of the best gifts I’ve ever gotten.

KB: The black one with the most holes in it.

Favorite piece of equipment?

Madge: Oh goodness that’s really tough… Right now I’m obsessed with the new 88 weighted keys keyboard I got off of my friend Laura from Hawt Mess. I’m a classical pianist by training and I haven’t owned a piano of any kind in something like 6 years, so it’s pretty exciting to play again all the time.

KB: My bass, she’s my first and only. Plus, I got her a sparkly black pick guard, so she looks like a bad ass.

Eli: I have a soft spot for good tambourines.

Have you ever stolen anything?

Madge: I admit to nothing!

KB: I’m definitely in possession of a few articles of clothing that don’t belong to me, but that’s not really stealing… is it?

Eli: I plead the fifth.

What’s the best party you’ve ever been to?

KB: We threw a party for Madge’s bday last year and a bunch of our friends played. That turned into a pretty silly night.

Madge: My 20th birthday party was sick everyone i loved showed up and we had a huge party at our friend’s 151 Kent apartment with bands playing and jungle juice galore. Lots of drinking on the roof when you could still see the whole city and there wasn’t such a massive growth of high rises on the waterfront.

KB: Madge likes birthdays…

Dream collab?

Madge: Oh man… I have a ton… Missy Elliot, Dave Grohl is an obvious one, but man I’d just die to do a record with him producing, Trent Reznor because that man is genius, Josh Homme, Butch Vig (Wrote a paper on him in college once big fan), SO MANY OTHER PEOPLE…I just love working with people, we’re about to go into the studio to record with Dan from The Death Set and I’m super stoked for that!

KB: Can we hang out with Beyonce?

———————

You can catch Whiskey Bitches at the Delancey on Wednesday afternoon, Thursday the 23rd at Cake Shop, Saturday at the Paper Box, and more! - doNYC

After waiting all week to catch an electric set by the Whiskey Bitches, they certainly didn’t disappoint with hard hitting and short numbers in the classic punk style I love so much. Led by Madge on the guitar/vocals and with hammering bass lines from Kate Black, percussionist Eli Lopez easily filled the groove with precise and laser like drumming. Their 40 minute set flew by way too quick and will be catching this up-and-coming group again soon. Live video here of them singing about having all their money used up by going to get drunk. - Pancakes + Whiskey

The female Brooklyn punk rock trio known as Whiskey Bitches will remind you why you like punk rock so much: their drunken party rock and heavy guitar riffs pack a punch that will knock you to the floor. The trio, composed of Kate Black, Madge & Laura J. are set to headline Bar Matchless in Brooklyn on 1/11 with The Mystic Underground, The Johnny Pumps and Girls Love Cigarettes. Listen to their song “Money Gone Drinking” below via Bandcamp! For a band that likes to keep it simple, they sure have a knack for songwriting. – Michael Haskoor - Deli Magazine

On a rainy, chilly, dismal Saturday night, I’m sitting with Kate and Madge at Isle of Skye in Williamsburg working on our second round of scotches. I had met them briefly when they played our CMJ showcase a week earlier.

“That was our first acoustic attempt.” Guitarist/singer Madge says with a laugh. “We’d never even played our songs acoustic before. Although we had a blast and it was a great excuse for Kate to buy an acoustic bass”.

I wanted to become a little more familiar with the band since they’ll be playing the Pancakes & Whiskey show on my birthday in a week. We had planned on hanging out at the bar and talking shop, but quickly found ourselves talking about how disappointing the establishment was thus far- the bartender seemed to be blasting the music about thirty decibels too loud and every time a good song came on (The Stooges, Arctic Monkeys, Beatles) he’d decide to skip the song for a less favorable tune amongst the group.

Formed in 2012, Whiskey Bitches base their punk rock sound from the rock music they grew up listening to and still love. One think to know right off the bat with these girls is that they’re the real deal, out until 3am most nights of the week dancing to their favorite bands or leaving their mark at their favorite bars, drinking an abundance of whiskey and not taking any shit from anyone alone the way.

“I don’t leave home without this bad boy.” Says Madge as she whips out a nice sized knife from her pocket.

“Can I tell my favorite story?” she asked laughing with Kate, who automatically knew what she was referring to. “This is my Very Proud of Kate story. She’s way more conservative than I am, but we’re at a bar one night seeing Sunshine Gun Club and you know how there’s always that one person in the middle of the fucking mosh pit, right in front of the stage who refuses to move and doesn’t want anyone to touch them? There was this one asshole right in the front that just keeps giving dirty, annoyed looks over her shoulder. So Kate’s jumping around and apparently splashes some of her beer on this chick. This girl turns around and takes Kate’s beer and throws it at her face! (Laughs) She gives me a look like ‘Madge did you just see that?’ I took one step forward and before I can do anything Kate just slaps the girls beer into her face! That girl was so pissed she throws the rest of it at me and tries to hit me. I’ve never been so proud of Kate in my life.”

Whiskey bitches may sound and act like a punk band on stage (and off). While that may be true musically, there’re more meaning and more pop hooks behind their songs than just traditional punk rock with this band.

“You know what our genre is?” Madge declared. “It’s Kate, Madge, whiskey, pop, beats up a girl at a bar and makes out with boys, boozy brunches, boozy bitches. How about not giving a FUCK about anything except getting what you want out of life.”

“Basically the story of our lives” laughs Kate.

We spent the next hour talking fun dive bars, Madge’s intense stage fright (which she’s learned how to handle pretty well), and our favorite venues to catch a show. Theirs is Shea Stadium, with the hopes of one day getting onto the stage to perform at Bowery Ballroom. We could only stay at Isle of Skye for so long before we wanted to blow our brains out so we bundled up and made our way to Turkey’s Nest for some of their house specialty margaritas. There of course we had to talk about our favorite albums from growing up, from Blink 182, to Foo Fighters, to Madge seeing Paramore when they were a new band and telling everyone they were about to blow up. There’s a lot of love for pop music in this band, you can hear it songs of there like ‘Cookies’ and ‘Money Gone Drinking’ with riffs and choruses that kids can sing and hum along to.

“I think when our audience starts to define itself and it’s not going to be many people my age, I can see it being a bit younger, like teenagers and kids in high school. This is totally the kind of band I would’ve LOVED to have seen and been in back when I was in high school.”

You can tell that these two really have a deep love and appreciation for rock music. So it was no surprise that once we headed to Brooklyn Bazaar to catch the So So Glos headline that after the obligatory stop at the bar for some bourbon, that these girls were right up front by the stage the entire night. After a run-in with a good friend of mine out on the smoking patio and a few hits of the good stuff, I was on the level along with the pretty packed house there to see the Glos.

Any show night in Brooklyn isn’t complete without an end of the night trip to The Levee. Alas, all the whiskey built up throughout the night had taken its toll on me, forcing me to wave the white flag after just a few sips of my PBR and only a couple handfuls of cheesepuffs. Spending a night out with the Whiskey Bitches had proved to chew me up and spit me out. I was ready for the friendly confines of my bed when Madge asked me what her game plan for the night should be, since she’s got to be up by 6am, party all night or at least try to get a few hours of sleep.

Yup, these girls live up to their band name perfectly. Earlier in the night we talked about how in another universe their name would be the Giggly Bitches instead. Spending all night out to drink whiskey and see a great band when you’ve got work at 6am seems to earn these girls their stripes as one of Brooklyn’s most badass bands. I wonder what a night out when them is like when they don’t have to wake up by 5am.

Be sure to catch the Whiskey Bitches at Brooklyn Night Bazaar this Saturday (11-15-14)! - Pancakes + Whiskey

Calling Brooklyn their stomping grounds, Whiskey Bitches are Emily Madge (vocals and guitar), Kate Black (bass) and various awesome friends on the drums including Laura Jordan, Lora-Faye and Alicia Angeles. When I first pushed play on their song “Money Gone Drinking” I thought of Bikini Kill and oddly enough, Fidlar’s Cheap Beer. Bikini Kill because the attitude felt the same at first though deeper in, Whiskey Bitches feels more hardcore. And why did I think of Fidlar?? I guess because both songs “Cheap Beer” and “Money Gone Drinking” feel like punk odes to lost weekends. Sonically, Whiskey Bitches ode beats Fidlar’s to a bloody pulp. The girls just sound so fucking bad ass. Madge spits out the words with a bitchy flair and the shifty drum breaks are killer. So kick back, open a brew in the safe confines of your abode, crank up your computer speakers or headphones and push play.
-
Robb Donker - American Pancake

I like bands that make me smile. At several points during the Whiskey Bitches set at Radio Bushwick last weekend I found myself grinning at the band’s infectious punk party anthems. The band is a relatively new trio that are making a quick splash locally. They won the Deli Magazine’s year end poll in December and have been gigging out a lot lately with a bunch of shows to come — we saw them again at Cake Shop on Thursday. And Whiskey Bitches have done all this with just two recorded tracks available as an EP on Bandcamp. We’re streaming “Funemployed” below, but the set included a bunch of new songs which the band will be recording in the next few weeks. Expect to hear a lot about Whiskey Bitches on this site and others, they’re going places.

I recorded this set with the Sennheiser cards mounted in front of the stage and mixed with a board feed. We’re a little concerned that the high ceilings caused a little boominess in this recording, but overall its a excellent list. Enjoy! - NYC Taper

a rainy, chilly, dismal Saturday night, I’m sitting with Kate and Madge at Isle of Skye in Williamsburg working on our second round of scotches. I had met them briefly when they played our CMJ showcase a week earlier.

“That was our first acoustic attempt.” Guitarist/singer Madge says with a laugh. “We’d never even played our songs acoustic before. Although we had a blast and it was a great excuse for Kate to buy an acoustic bass”.



I wanted to become a little more familiar with the band since they’ll be playing the Pancakes & Whiskey show on my birthday in a week. We had planned on hanging out at the bar and talking shop, but quickly found ourselves talking about how disappointing the establishment was thus far- the bartender seemed to be blasting the music about thirty decibels too loud and every time a good song came on (The Stooges, Arctic Monkeys, Beatles) he’d decide to skip the song for a less favorable tune amongst the group.

Formed in 2012, Whiskey Bitches base their punk rock sound from the rock music they grew up listening to and still love. One think to know right off the bat with these girls is that they’re the real deal, out until 3am most nights of the week dancing to their favorite bands or leaving their mark at their favorite bars, drinking an abundance of whiskey and not taking any shit from anyone alone the way.

“I don’t leave home without this bad boy.” Says Madge as she whips out a nice sized knife from her pocket.

“Can I tell my favorite story?” she asked laughing with Kate, who automatically knew what she was referring to. “This is my Very Proud of Kate story. She’s way more conservative than I am, but we’re at a bar one night seeing Sunshine Gun Club and you know how there’s always that one person in the middle of the fucking mosh pit, right in front of the stage who refuses to move and doesn’t want anyone to touch them? There was this one asshole right in the front that just keeps giving dirty, annoyed looks over her shoulder. So Kate’s jumping around and apparently splashes some of her beer on this chick. This girl turns around and takes Kate’s beer and throws it at her face! (Laughs) She gives me a look like ‘Madge did you just see that?’ I took one step forward and before I can do anything Kate just slaps the girls beer into her face! That girl was so pissed she throws the rest of it at me and tries to hit me. I’ve never been so proud of Kate in my life.”

Whiskey bitches may sound and act like a punk band on stage (and off). While that may be true musically, there’re more meaning and more pop hooks behind their songs than just traditional punk rock with this band.

“You know what our genre is?” Madge declared. “It’s Kate, Madge, whiskey, pop, beats up a girl at a bar and makes out with boys, boozy brunches, boozy bitches. How about not giving a FUCK about anything except getting what you want out of life.”

“Basically the story of our lives” laughs Kate.

We spent the next hour talking fun dive bars, Madge’s intense stage fright (which she’s learned how to handle pretty well), and our favorite venues to catch a show. Theirs is Shea Stadium, with the hopes of one day getting onto the stage to perform at Bowery Ballroom. We could only stay at Isle of Skye for so long before we wanted to blow our brains out so we bundled up and made our way to Turkey’s Nest for some of their house specialty margaritas. There of course we had to talk about our favorite albums from growing up, from Blink 182, to Foo Fighters, to Madge seeing Paramore when they were a new band and telling everyone they were about to blow up. There’s a lot of love for pop music in this band, you can hear it songs of there like ‘Cookies’ and ‘Money Gone Drinking’ with riffs and choruses that kids can sing and hum along to.

“I think when our audience starts to define itself and it’s not going to be many people my age, I can see it being a bit younger, like teenagers and kids in high school. This is totally the kind of band I would’ve LOVED to have seen and been in back when I was in high school.”

You can tell that these two really have a deep love and appreciation for rock music. So it was no surprise that once we headed to Brooklyn Bazaar to catch the So So Glos headline that after the obligatory stop at the bar for some bourbon, that these girls were right up front by the stage the entire night. After a run-in with a good friend of mine out on the smoking patio and a few hits of the good stuff, I was on the level along with the pretty packed house there to see the Glos.

Any show night in Brooklyn isn’t complete without an end of the night trip to The Levee. Alas, all the whiskey built up throughout the night had taken its toll on me, forcing me to wave the white flag after just a few sips of my PBR and only a couple handfuls of cheesepuffs. Spending a night out with the Whiskey Bitches had proved to chew me up and spit me out. I was ready for the friendly confines of my bed when Madge asked me what her game plan for the night should be, since she’s got to be up by 6am, party all night or at least try to get a few hours of sleep.

Yup, these girls live up to their band name perfectly. Earlier in the night we talked about how in another universe their name would be the Giggly Bitches instead. Spending all night out to drink whiskey and see a great band when you’ve got work at 6am seems to earn these girls their stripes as one of Brooklyn’s most badass bands. I wonder what a night out when them is like when they don’t have to wake up by 5am. - Pancakes and Whiskey