Band Of The Week #291 - Winona Fighter
This week's Band of the Week is rising Nashville punks Winona Fighter - who have just released their debut album 'My Apologies To The Chief'.
Based in Nashville, Winona Fighter—frontwoman and multi-instrumentalist Coco Kinnon, lead guitarist Dan Fuson and bassist/producer Austin Luther — formed after Coco moved there from Boston, and made a strong impression with their 2022 debut EP, Father Figure. Recorded by Austin at his home studio (“I call it Studio A,” he smiles. “A for Austin”), MY APOLOGIES TO THE CHEF is a wonderfully raw and cohesive reflection on life today that bottles the spirited and cathartic energy of the band’s live shows, as well as the angst and anxiety of being alive.
They took a moment to talk to us about how the album came together.
Hey there Winona Fighter, how are you? So your album is out now – how does it feel to have it out there?.
Hi! Never better. Stoked to be chatting today! It is and it feels like such a relief to finally have it out there. We’ve always released things independently so having any actual roll out plan and surrounding press is very very new to us all. We worked so hard on the record and are so excited it’s finally released for all our fans and new listeners to come to hear.
It is called ‘MY APOLOGIES TO THE CHEF’ – what is the meaning behind that?
It’s something I (Coco) started saying in the studio whenever I would flub a drum part. A way to control my anger I guess haha. From there the whole band caught on and it just became a part of our daily lingo. Just a weird play off of “my compliments to the chef”. When it came time to name the record it garnered a whole new meaning. I thought of myself as a kid, always wanting to be a professional musician. Then I thought of my parents who had struggled and worked their asses off to build a life for themselves from not a whole lot. They are the chefs and i’m apologizing for taking this wild life path. I think we all feel this way. Luckily, we all have extremely supportive folks but i’m sure your kid saying “I want to be a punk musician” doesn't come without a little shock.
Where was it recorded? Any behind the scenes stories you are willing to share with us?
We started recording it in a tiny guest bedroom that Austin fitted out as a studio. Live drums and all. We would actually put the amps in the bedroom closet to record them, kind of like a control room vs live room situation. Haha. Sometimes we even put the drums in the living room to try different sounds. Literally $50 dollar mics and a dream. We did about half the record that way. Then we decided to move halfway through and rented a house with a garage. That garage became Austin’s ‘STUDIO A’ and we finished the rest of the songs. Note to anyone self recording, producing, and mixing a debut record…. Maybe spend a few months in the new space working out kinks before you start. Getting to know the space while recording was the biggest challenge.
What are the key influences behind the album?
We really wanted to keep the DIY spirit alive. The songs are so raw and authentic we wanted it to come through in the actual sound of the record as well. Keeping it real is our biggest priority. Aside from that we wanted it to reflect our live show appropriately. Relaying the energy that is put into our show into the record was a pretty easy feat. For starters we don't use tracks or anything so we already had the main pieces to the puzzle: Dan, Austin, and myself. From there it’s about adding just enough… If it can't be done or played live, just the 3 of us and our touring drummer, it doesn't go on the record. For drum and guitar tones we used bands like Turnstile, Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, Weezer, and at one point Limp Bizkit as references. As far as the sound overall… it’s influenced by wanting to make punk music an enjoyable thing for all music lovers.
If the album could be a soundtrack to any film – which one and why?
Hmmm- something early 2000’s. We always get told we should be on the next Tony Hawk Pro Skater if one were to ever be released. But that's a video game.. Honestly the first thing that comes to mind are American Pie and Superbad. Those satirical coming of age comedies always had the best alternative soundtracks. I think Winona Fighter would fit in perfectly. Otherwise we just watched Dinner In America… if you’ve seen it then this one kind of speaks for itself. If you HAVEN’T seen it, please do. It’s one of my favorite films I've seen in a while. Dan would probably say SPIDERMAN or THE AVENGERS just so he could be part of the franchise. Biggest Spidey fan i’ve ever met.
Do you have a favourite lyric on the album? If so, which one and why?
“Dollars turn to pennies. Pennies don’t pay bills. My hair’s done up in matts, i’ll break my back like no one ever will.”. The come up to be a “successful” musician is a tough one… it’s uncomfortable. It will be exhausting and you will be broke for a very long time but it’s all worth it. From day one we made a promise to one another that we will be the hardest working band out there no matter what. We will never be late to things, never not know what’s going on, and never give up. We will be respectful, have good heads on our shoulders, and continue to be thankful that we get to do this even on the toughest days. We get to do this. What a privilege. A privilege money or perfectly brushed out hair can't buy.
Now the album is out there – what next for you?
We hope this albums success allows us to start creating the next one as soon as possible. We hope it allows us to keep touring as much as possible and playing festivals. We are headed out on a headline tour as we speak. What’s next is to keep working harder than the next band and seeing where th universe and fans take us.
