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The Soviettes

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The Soviettes
The Soviettes playing a reunion show in 2010. Left to right: Susy, Danny, Annie, Sturgeon.
The Soviettes playing a reunion show in 2010. Left to right: Susy, Danny, Annie, Sturgeon.
Background information
OriginMinneapolis, Minnesota, United States
GenresPunk rock, pop punk[1]
Years active2001–2006, 2010-2011
LabelsAdeline, Fat Wreck Chords, Dirtnap, Crustacean, Pop Riot
MembersAnnie "Sparrows" Holoien
Susy Sharp
Maren "Sturgeon" Macosko
Danny Henry
Past membersMikey "Erg" Yannich
Lane Pederson
WebsiteThe Soviettes on Facebook

The Soviettes were a punk rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, founded in 2001. The group is composed of Annie "Sparrows" Holoien (guitar), Maren "Sturgeon" Macosko (guitar), Susy Sharp (bass guitar), and Danny Henry (drums), all of whom share singing and songwriting duties.

History

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Annie, originally from Fargo, North Dakota, met Sturgeon when she moved to Minneapolis in 1995. They started writing songs in 2001 and were joined by Susy shortly afterward with Lane Pederson on drums. The name originates from when Annie was serving coffee at a previous job, a customer offered "your band should be called The Soviettes" instead of a tip.[3] The band recorded their first EP, T.C.C.P., the same year. Soon Annie asked Danny to play with them permanently.[4]

In 2003, The Soviettes released the first LP entitled LP on Adeline Records of Oakland, California.

In 2004, the band released their second LP entitled LP II, again on Adeline Records. The band was then noticed by Fat Wreck Chords in San Francisco, California and was shortly after signed with the label. The band released the song "Paranoia! Cha-Cha-Cha" for the compilation album Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1.

On June 28, 2005, the band's third LP entitled LP III was released on Fat Wreck Chords.

The members of The Soviettes had an association with the Minnesota RollerGirls with the single "Roller Girls" about the organization with backing vocals from some of the girls.[5]

They toured the United States extensively. Their final tour was a 50 state tour at the end of 2005 with Fat Wreck label-mates Against Me!, the Epoxies, and Smoke or Fire.

Breakup

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In 2006 the band went on hiatus indefinitely. "I don't know why we broke up," said Danny Henry in 2007, "It was pretty natural. Bands are relationships, they're just more complicated because it's a four-way deal."[6]

Since The Soviettes' hiatus, Annie and Danny have continued playing music together as the punk rock duo The Awesome Snakes and later in Green/Blue. Sturgeon played in The Gateway District with Carrie (who also played with Sturgeon in The Salteens), as well as Nate from Banner Pilot and Brad from Dear Landlord (both of whom also played in Rivethead), and later formed Partial Traces also with Brad and Nate. Annie also performs with Bermuda Squares and the God Damn Doo Wop Band, and sometimes performs with Sturgeon in Partial Traces.

In 2019, the online magazine Consequence named the Soviettes No. 93 on its list of the best 100 pop-punk bands of all time.[7]

Reunions

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The band reunited in 2010 for some shows. The first was on March 18, 2010 at Eclipse Records in St. Paul, MN. Next was March 19, 2010 at the Turf Club in St. Paul, MN. Both shows were record release shows for their Rarities album, released for free on Red Sound Records.[8][9]

They also played at the Soda Bar in San Diego, CA on Sept 4th, 2010 as part of "Awesome Fest 4".[10]

On October 29, 2010 the band played at The Atlantic in Gainesville, FL as part of "Fest 9".

The band played 2 more shows in 2010, one at the Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis, MN on 11/12/2010 and another at Reggie's Rock Club, Chicago, IL on 11/13/2010, the latter opening for The Methadones on their final show.

The band was scheduled to participate in "Weasel Fest", supporting Screeching Weasel at Reggie's Rock Club, Chicago, IL on 05/29/2011 but dropped off the bill following Ben Weasel's behavior at SXSW 2011.[11] They did play at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis on 05/27/2011.

The band also played a live show at San Francisco's Bottom of the Hill Club on August 31, 2011.

Members

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ANNIE plays guitar
STURGEON plays guitar
DANNY plays drums
SUSY plays bass
everybody sings

The Soviettes, LP II liner notes (2004)[12]

Current members

  • Annie Sparrows - guitar, vocals
  • Susy Sharp - bass, vocals
  • Maren "Sturgeon" Macosko - guitar, vocals
  • Danny Henry - drums, vocals

Past members

Discography

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Albums

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Title Release date Notes Label
LP 17 June 2003 Rereleased on vinyl in 2005 by Crustacean Records. Adeline
LP II 13 April 2004 Vinyl released by Learning Curve Records later that year. Adeline
LP III 28 June 2005 220 albums released on pink vinyl. Fat Wreck Chords
Rarities 16 March 2010 A collection of b-sides and rarities Red Sound Records

EPs and singles

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Title Release date Notes Label
T.C.C.P. 11 May 2002 Released as a 7" vinyl only. Pop Riot
"Alright" 12 October 2004 B-side: "Plus One" Dirtnap
"Roller Girls" 23 August 2005 B-side: "Say So" Fat Wreck Chords

Splits

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Title Release date Notes Label
The Soviettes/Valentines EP 5 November 2002 Pop Riot
The Havenot's/The Soviettes 2003 As both a four track vinyl distributed in the US and a six
track CD released only in Japan on Star Jets Records 		Nice & Neat

Compilations

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Title Release date Soviettes Tracks Label
No Hold Back... All Attack!!! 2002 Twin Cities Sound Havoc Records and Distribution
Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1 04/20/2004 ¡Paranoia! Cha-Cha-Cha Fat Wreck Chords
Protect: A Benefit for ... 10/18/2005 Middle of the Night Fat Wreck Chords
21st Century Power Pop Riot 06/06/2006 Goodbye to You (vocal by Annie) Red Scare Industries

Reception

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  • "The Minneapolis quartet make songs that are loud, raw and clock in at under 2 minutes. They punch you in the gut and make you feel happy for the pain." (Rod Harmon, Sarasota Herald-Tribune)[14]
  • "Every song on LP III is under three minutes long and recalls the upbeat antics of the Ramones and, more recently, the Donnas." (Jessica Grose, SPIN)[15]
  • "The Soviettes are an instant party, and the second they hit the stage you've received your invitation. You can't help but get caught up in their immediate infectious energy." (Jason White, Thrasher)[16]

References

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  1. ^ Silver, Kate (October 9, 2006). "Pretty in Pinko - Smashing the state of punk rock with Minneapolis' Soviettes". Seattle Weekly. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  2. ^ Jensen, Christopher Matthew (Apr 2, 2008). "France Has the Bomb, but no leader". Retrieved 2010-11-23.
  3. ^ "The Soviettes". Retrieved 2007-10-20.
  4. ^ Marsh, Steve (September 18, 2002). "The Revolution Will Be Illustrated". City Pages. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011.
  5. ^ "Vinyl". Minnesota Rollergirls Online Store. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
  6. ^ Scholtes, Peter S. (September 19, 2007). "The Curse". City Pages. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011.
  7. ^ "The 100 Best Pop Punk Bands". Consequence. June 5, 2019. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  8. ^ "The Soviettes reunite for rarities album and show - Minneapolis / St. Paul Music - Gimme Noise". Archived from the original on 2010-11-10. Retrieved 2010-11-09.
  9. ^ "Red Sound Records - Free Music For The People". Retrieved 2010-11-09.
  10. ^ "San Diego Punk - Awesome Fest Schedule". Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2010-11-09.
  11. ^ Yancey, Byrne (March 21, 2011). "The Soviettes, Chinese Telephones, Teenage Bottlerocket drop from Weasel Fest". Punknews.org. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
  12. ^ LP II (booklet). The Soviettes. Oakland, CA: Adeline Records. 2004. p. 6. AR032.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ^ Green, Loren (Dec 22, 2012). "Interviews: The Soviettes (Fest 11)". Scene Point Blank. Retrieved Oct 6, 2014.
  14. ^ Harmon, Rod (August 6, 2004). "Soviettes tear down punk wall". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  15. ^ Grose, Jessica (July 5, 2005). "Artist of the Day - the Soviettes". SPIN. Archived from the original on May 10, 2007. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  16. ^ White, Jason (August 1, 2004). "The Soviettes". Thrasher. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
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