Black Pussy at Sneaky Dee’s

May 27 2014 – Black Pussy’s 2014 show at the Hard Luck Bar was one of the best heavy psychedelic rock shows of the year. They followed that up with a show on May 14th at Sneaky Dee’s that will go down as one of the best (and loudest) shows of 2015. Black Pussy’s sound is spacey, heavy, desert rock, reminiscent of Kyuss with a splash of Cream and Syd Barrett vocals. Black Pussy would have been right at home in the late 60s and early 70s psychedelia. It was a good sized, appreciative crowd and for a late Thursday night show that ended around 1:30am.

Before going any further, you need some musical accompaniment, click play below and turn up your speakers. Magic Mustache is the title track of their new album released in February. It’s 7 minutes of psychedelic wah-drenched goodness. (last song, track 10)

If you want to hear more, and you should, here’s the link to the whole album on bandcamp: https://blackpussy.bandcamp.com/album/magic-mustache. You’ll want to check out the whole album but must hear selections are For The Sake of Argument, Butterfly and Lion’s Breath.

Black Pussy is led by guitarist, vocalist, primary writer and producer Dustin Hill. He’s joined by Ryan McIntire on guitar, Dean Carroll on drums, Aaron Poplin on bass and Chief O’Dell organ and synths. The band is based in Portland, Oregon but don’t go there looking for them. Hill includes the hashtag #ontourforever in most of his tweets.

Magic Mustache is the followup to their 2012 debut On Blonde where Hill, who started out as a drummer, wrote and performed most of the music.

OK, I guess we have to talk about the name. It’s been getting a lot of attention lately. Maybe it’s a case of the times we live in, the Twitter age, where everyone gets offended about everything and wants to fix society one outrage at a time. It’s a rock band’s name, that’s all it is. The word “Pussy” isn’t new to band names, Nashville Pussy and Pussy Riot come quickly to mind and they’re ok, but somehow Black Pussy is offensive. In the 70’s, 80’s or 90’s, it might have been “rude”, now it’s “offensive”. If you don’t like them, don’t listen to them. ISIS is committing genocidal atrocities on a daily basis. Aren’t there more important issues to worry about? A recent column in the Huffington Post claimed “The band’s name is inherently violent because it evokes and desensitizes the stories, circumstances and actions of people that view us as less than human.” Frankly, I think she owes the band an apology. Their name is inherently violent? Really? Come on. The writer, Sara Haile-Mariam, by the way is a talented musician in her own right (in a very different genre, a bluesy soul) and worth checking out, but she’s making way too much about their name.

The band had to cancel a gig in Raleigh when threats of violence became too serious to hold the show. That was an unfortunate loss for their fans in Raleigh. They tour a lot but it was nearly a full year since their last stop in Toronto. It’s a big country so they may not be back for a while.

Statement from Black Pussy:

Black Pussy is fully supportive and respectful of every opinion in the growing conversation regarding their name, and welcomes fans of every race, gender, creed, sexual orientation and preference of intoxicant to join the party. With that said, it is with deep regret that we must announce that there have been serious threats of violence and vandalism against the promoter, the staff, and the venue of The Pour House in Raleigh, North Carolina, and out of respect for the venue and the safety of everyone involved, the March 25th show has been cancelled.

We live in a country where it is absolutely imperative that every voice is heard and everyone is encouraged to not only speak their minds but also fully exercise their right to protest what they believe is wrong. However, it is VERY important to recognize the grave irony of a situation where those protesting nothing more than the contentious name of a band that has never stood for anything but positivity and love are the very same people threatening physical harm to others and their property. The band is taking this very seriously. Stay safe out there and make sure you’re spreading nothing but love. – Black Pussy.

There’s actually a petition to get the band to change their name. These things have a tendency to backfire on the protesters. Being “notorious” is what kick started The Rolling Stones, The Doors and Howard Stern. There’s no such thing as bad publicity and I’m sure every time articles are published in Huffington Post and petitions are started online, the band is sitting back and thanking them and hoping beyond hope that their protests go viral. Who knows, maybe someday if some critical mass of complaints somehow has been reached, they will change their name to some other shade of Pussy. I doubt it, but maybe then my T-shirt would become a collector’s item.

Peterborough metal band Mokomakei was also on the bill.They are a highly recommended band to catch live.