Vivian Girls

Vivian Girls are an American band from Brooklyn, New York. The only consistent members have been Cassie Ramone and Katy Goodman, on guitar and bass respectively, whereas the group had several drummers throughout its history. They took their name from a book by Henry Darger.[1][2]

For other uses, see Vivian Girls (disambiguation).
Vivian Girls
Vivian Girls at The Market Hotel, Brooklyn, 2008
Background information
OriginBrooklyn, New York, United States
GenresIndie rock, dream pop, noise pop, lo-fi
Years active2007–2014
2019–present
LabelsPolyvinyl, In the Red
Associated actsLa Sera, The Babies, Upset
Websiteviviangirls.net
MembersCassie Ramone
"Kickball Katy" Goodman
Ali Koehler
Past membersFiona Campbell
Frankie Rose

History

2007–2014

Vivian Girls, named after the magnum opus of outsider author artist Henry Darger (titled 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 Brooklyn, NY in March 2007 as the trio of Cassie Ramone (guitar/vocals); Katy "Kickball Katy" Goodman[3] (bass/drums/vocals); and Frankie Rose (drums/bass/vocals).[4] 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 Brooklyn and Katy and Cassie's home state of New Jersey.[1] Within the first couple of months they had already developed a strong local following, supporting acts like Jay Reatard, Sonic Youth and the King Khan & BBQ Show as well as finding kindred spirits in other locals like Cause Co-Motion!, Crystal Stilts, and Woods, with whom they’ve shared many bills and helped develop a local scene. The band is still very much connected to their home scene.[5]

In March 2008 they released the "Wild Eyes" single on the Plays With Dolls label.[6] 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.[7] 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.[2] During this time, the group signed with In The Red Records who released a new single in August 2008.[8] In The Red re-released the Mauled by Tigers record on LP and CD formats in October 2008.[9]

In July 2008 the band underwent a lineup change with new drummer Ali Koehler replacing Frankie Rose.[10] The band then went on an extensive tour that saw them visit the U.S., UK, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Puerto Rico in two months.[11]

Their second album, Everything Goes Wrong was released by In The Red in September 2009. [12] In May 2010 Fiona Campbell of Coasting replaced Ali Koehler becoming Vivian Girls third drummer. With her they have toured with their third album "Share The Joy" to Europe, UK, Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, and the US. Fiona is native to New Zealand and previously played there in a band called The Coolies.

Katy Goodman formed a side project with Cat Power's Gregg Foreman named All Saints Day, and the band has digitally released one self-titled EP. She now has a solo project La Sera. Cassie Ramone has a side project called The Babies with Woods bassist Kevin Morby. They have released two studio albums in 2011 and 2012. Fiona Campbell also plays in Coasting and Chain & The Gang, and is co-owner of M'Lady's Records.

The band also featured on the track 'Worse to Come' on noise pop band Male Bonding's debut album Nothing Hurts.

Vivian Girls' third album Share the Joy was released in spring 2011 by Polyvinyl Record Co..[13]

In January 2014, the band announced they were breaking up, featuring two last shows at The Church on York in Los Angeles, and Death by Audio in Brooklyn.[14][15] They reunited in October 2015 to play two songs at bassist "Kickball" Katy Goodman's wedding.[16]

2019–present

On July 17, 2019, Cassie Ramone, Katy Goodman, and Ali Koehler announced the band's reformation alongside a new full-length album called Memory to be released in September.[17] It was recorded in 2018 with producer Rob Barbato.[18] On August 14, 2019, a music video for the song 'Something To Do', directed by Jason Lester, was released.[19] On September 10, 2019, a music video for the song 'Sludge', directed by Alex Ross Perry, was released.

Band members
Past members

Discography

Albums
Year Album information Chart positions
Billboard 200 Top Heat
[20]
2008 Vivian Girls
  • 1st studio album
  • Released: September 30, 2008
  • Label: Mauled by Tigers/In The Red
 — 44
2009 Everything Goes Wrong
  • 2nd studio album
  • Released: September 8, 2009
  • Label: In The Red
 — —
2011 Share the Joy
  • 3rd studio album
  • Released: April 11, 2011
  • Label: Polyvinyl Records Co.
 — —
2019 Memory
  • 4th studio album
  • Released: September 20, 2019
  • Label: Polyvinyl Records Co.
 — —

EPs
Date Title Format Details
2008 Live on the Radio (WFMU 9/1/2008) CD 150 Hand-Numbered Copies
2009 Live on the Radio (WFMU 9/1/2008) LP 1000

Singles
Date Single Backed with Record label Format Other details
2008 Wild Eyes My Baby Wants Me Dead Plays With Dolls / Wild World 7" single 4000 copies
2008 Tell the World I Believe in Nothing & Damaged Woodsist 7" single 3,000 copies
2008 I Can't Stay Blind Spot (The Daisy Chain cover) In the Red 7" single 2,000 copies
2008 Surfin Away & Second Date Girl Don't Tell Me (Brian Wilson) Wild World 7" single 1000 copies
2009 Moped Girls Death For Us 7" single 1500 copies
2010 My Love Will Follow Me He's Gone (The Chantels cover) Wild World 7" single 2000 copies
2011 I Heard You Say I Won't Be Long Polyvinyl 7" single RSD 2000 copies

Compilation appearances
  • Live at KEXP Vol.5 - "I Can't Stay" (2009)
  • Methodist Leisure Inc. freebie funcore punk compilation Short Attention Span - "Snack Attack (Hardcore Mix)" (2009, Methodist)
  • The World's Lousy with Ideas: Vol. 8 - "Lake House" (2009, Almost Ready Records)
  • Rough Trade Shops: Indiepop 09 - "Moped Girls" (Cooperative Music, 2009)
  • We Were So Turned On: A Tribute to David Bowie (disc 1) - "John, I'm Only Dancing" (David Bowie cover) (2010, Manimal Vinyl)

References
  1. "The Agit Reader • Feature: Vivian Girls". Agitreader.com. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
  2. Archived August 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Sweaty Hands: Brickbreaker « The FADER". Thefader.com. 2010-02-01. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
  4. "Vivian Girls | Gratis muziek, tourneedata, foto's, video's". Myspace.com. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
  5. Hughes, Josiah. "The Rise and Rise of Vivian Girls", Exclaim!, September 2009.
  6. "SMASHIN' TRANSISTORS: VIVIAN GIRLS "Wild Eyes" and "Tell The World" 7inches". Smashintransistors.blogspot.com. 2008-06-27. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
  7. "Vivian Girls". Gorilla Vs. Bear. 2008-06-03. Archived from the original on 2012-07-24. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
  8. "gorillavsbear.net: new vivian girls :: "i can't stay"". Gorillavsbear.blogspot.com. 2008-07-14. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
  9. Archived August 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  10. "Vivian Girls at Silent Barn + Dan Friel at Dead Herring | Scene and Heard Photos". Impose Magazine. 2008-08-07. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
  11. May, Hana (2009-05-04). "Vivian Girls: Cool Dude Attitude". hearty magazine. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
  12. Amy Granzin, Vivian Girls: Vivian Girls Archived 2008-11-08 at the Wayback Machine, Pitchfork Media, October 3, 2008. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  13. "Vivian Girls Sign to Polyvinyl | News". Pitchfork. 2010-09-16. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
  14. "Vivian Girls Break Up". Pitchfork. 2014-01-22. Retrieved 2014-01-22.
  15. "Vivian Girls Announce Breakup and Farewell Shows". SPIN. 2014-01-22. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  16. "Photo". Facebook. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  17. Exposito, Suzy (23 July 2019). "The Vivian Girls Come Out Swinging". Rolling Stone.
  18. Rettig, James (17 July 2019). "Vivian Girls Announce Reunion Album Memory: Hear "Sick"". Stereogum.
  19. Exposito, Suzy (14 August 2019). "See Vivian Girls Run Wild in New "Something to Do" Video". Rolling Stone.
  20. "Vivian Girls - Vivian Girls | Awards". AllMusic. 2008-09-30. Retrieved 2015-12-12.

Further reading
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