In this edition of “You Should Know,” we’re checking out an all-female Florida punk band fronted by twin sisters Nina (guitar/vocals) and Susana Chapin (bass/vocals) and drummer Vanessa Brewster. Wet Nurse has only been around since 2010, but these ladies have wasted little time in taking their highly energetic show on the road.
Check Them Out
Sunday night at Quarter’s Rock ‘N Roll Palace with Jetty Boys and Dads at 9 p.m.
What’s The Big Deal?
Things have been happening very fast for this trio of punk rockers. Formed just two years ago, Wet Nurse has recently dropped its debut LP Daily Whatever and waged a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund a tour of the band’s home state last month. The road warriors are currently broadening their horizons with a month-long tour that will take them throughout the South, Midwest and Atlantic coast.
Though the kitsch of the twin-sister, all-female punk operation is generally the headline-grabber for the band, Wet Nurse has made its mark through a combination of relentless self-promotion (spearheaded by Brewster, who moonlights as the band’s manager) and hooky, fun-loving punk.
How’s The Latest Album?
Released right before the band hit the open road in late August, the debut effort Daily Whatever is a raucous, danceable mix of punk energy, pop sensibility and ’60s beach party ease. The songs tend to clock in at the requisite punk length of two minutes or so, making for a brief but enjoyable experience that almost demands you listen through again.
An element that does stick out and bode well for the Wet Nurse live set is the effortless and natural balance between the Chapin sisters’ vocal harmonies. The two obviously began singing together well before Wet Nurse came to fruition. The album is being released in two formats: a 12-inch vinyl released by Astro Girl Records from Italy and a cassette released by Arizona-based Protagonist Music.
What People Are Saying
“Daily Whatever evokes experiences…I imagined kids from Carissa’s Wierd or Bikini Kill having before they took off: late summer nights spent biking to, and then cramming inside, some sketchy dilapidated house on the edge of town, drinking piss-warm beer swiped from a gas station, bobbing and bouncing and sweating with friends as punk bands broke strings and drumsticks and eardrums and ribs.”
– Shae Krispinsky, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay
Audio
Listen to Wet Nurse’s entire debut album here.
Updated: Kevin Kosterman talks to Wet Nurse.
As a young band, Wet Nurse seems to be covering a lot of ground in a hurry (both literally and figuratively). Why do you think you’ve had such early success?
Nina: I think it’s because we really put ourselves out there , we love what we’re doing and hope that others will too.
Vanessa: Yeah, we play the shows that we would want to see as fans and write songs that are fun to play and listen to. I think people are drawn to that.
Who were some of the band’s key influences coming up, and how have you channeled those influences to create your own unique sound?
Nina: Definitely the riot grrrl sound (Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney, etc) with early punk stuff like the Ramones, Buzzcocks, Descendents. We try to incorporate aspects of all the bands we listen to and love but put our own spin on it.
You have done a great job of using modern methods to crowd-source funds to support the band, yet you’re releasing your new album on vinyl and cassette. How do you balance all of the new tools and technology available to modern musicians with the old-school punk DIY aesthetic?
Vanessa: Our fans and friends are our biggest asset and the Internet allows us to reach out to them directly. They can see that their support is legitimately helping us to do what we love and in return we get to provide them with something tangible and worthwhile like a record or tape. Most kids end up listening to songs on their phones or iPods so all our stuff is easily available in digital form too. But for those who are into having something physical to hold and look at and read the lyrics from, we have that available. We do have some awesome record labels – Astro Girl Records put out the vinyl and Protagonist Music put out the cassette – but in terms of the typical “getting signed” idea of success I think that crowd funding is basically taking the place of that. Now we’re only accountable to the people that really support us instead of a number cruncher somewhere. Pretty cool.
This is your first tour of this length. How are you holding up, and how has the reality of touring compared to what you thought it would be like?
Nina: It’s actually going better than what we anticipated. We’ve met really awesome people everywhere we go and to our surprise, lots of people come out and have a really good time.
Vanessa: First tour of this length and first shows outside of Florida! The response has been so amazing and the bands and people we’ve met so far have been great. We’ve also been able to keep our drives short so we can spend time with the locals and get to check out good food and pretty sights. Such tourists we are!
What can people expect to see if they come out to a Wet Nurse show?
Nina: A sweaty, singy-songy good time!
