news – chickfactor zine

August 28, 2023August 29, 2023

New Connie Lovatt album Coconut Mirror out in September

The cover features a drawing by Connie’s sister Jennifer Lovatt

In September 1993, Connie Lovatt and Fontaine Toups played together at a chickfactor party at Acme in NYC under the name Containe. When I heard them play, I immediately offered to put out a 7-inch single and our label Enchanté was born (not to be confused with an electronic label in Paris). That pivotal moment resulted in close friendships, two Containe albums, three The Pacific Ocean releases and a partnership that continues to this day.

Now, 30 years later, we are so proud to announce the release of Connie’s first solo project, Coconut Mirror. She wrote all the songs and brought together an amazing group of contributors, and it will be released Sept. 27, 2023. Lovatt grew up in St. Thomas and has lived in New York and Los Angeles. She previously made music with Containe, the Pacific Ocean, Alkaline, and Smog.

Connie Lovatt in Carrboro, NC, 2023; photo: Gail O’Hara

Coconut Mirror is a family record and a love letter/life guide to her daughter—full of carefully constructed songs about drownings, cockfights, the ocean, happiness, drug dealers, poverty, heartache and love—written over the past decade or more in Silver Lake/Los Feliz and Wellington. Because of time and space and COVID, the musicians who play on the album recorded their own parts and sent them in to Connie, who worked with Joe Wohlmuth on crafting her solo singer-songwriter debut into a beautiful whole with some of the music world’s most sparkling gems playing on it.

“Everyone that I’ve loved is in this record. Everyone that matters—women, men, they’re all in there somewhere … I wanted to show my daughter that I could still make something after giving birth. I wanted to make a record with acoustic guitar where I’m telling my daughter all the stories that mattered to me.” — Connie Lovatt

Connie Lovatt
Coconut Mirror
(chickfactor’s Enchanté Records 007; US)
CD and digital out September 27, 2023

Track listing:
Gull
Kid
Heart
Basin
Snow
Lines
Broke
Honest
Sisters
Sleep
Zodiac

All songs written by Connie Lovatt (BMI) copyright 2023

Connie Lovatt (acoustic guitar, vocals, backing vocals, tambourine)
James McNew (bass)
Jim White (drums)
Phoebe Gittins (piano on “Broke,” “Gull,” “Heart,” “Honest,” “Kid,” “Snow,” “Zodiac”)
Max Tepper (synthesizer on “Heart,” “Honest,” “Snow,” “Sleep,” “Zodiac”)
Rebecca Cole (keyboards on “Basin,” “Broke,” “Sisters,” “Snow”)
Che Chen (lead guitar on “Sleep,” “Snow,” “Lines”)
Lucy LaForge (backing vocals, harmonica on “Sisters”)
Bill Callahan (vocals on “Kid”)
James Baluyut (pedal steel on “Sisters”)
Hartley Nandan (screaming on “Sleep”)

Produced by Connie Lovatt
Recorded by the artists and Joe Wohlmuth
Engineered and mixed by Joe Wohlmuth
Mastered by Jeff Lipton and Maria Rice at Peerless Mastering, Boston, MA

Cover drawing by Jennifer Lovatt
Special effects by Adam Woodward
Layout artist Jennifer Sbragia

Learn more about Connie’s previous bands here:
Containe Oral History
The Pacific Ocean Oral History

Listen to Coconut Mirror and other releases here. The album will be out Sept. 27 on select digital platforms and CD (via Bandcamp).

Connie in Carrboro, NC, 2023. Photo: Gail O’Hara

July 24, 2022September 26, 2022

CF30 London: Oct. 28-30

CHICKFACTOR 30
chickfactor fanzine was founded 30 years ago by Pam Berry & Gail O’Hara (in DC/NY) and we are incredibly excited to celebrate with you on October 28 & 29 at the Lexington and October 30 (afternoon) at the Betsey Trotwood. Cannot wait to see everyone and see these wonderful bands play! (Our 30th-anniversary issue is out now too and 5/6 of these bands are in it.) Presented in cahoots with the Hangover Lounge folks.

Fri. October 28:
Sacred Paws
Artsick
Rachel Love
Get tickets

Sat. October 29:
The Umbrellas
Birdie
Seablite
Get tickets

Sun. October 30: Daytime event (Noon to 4!)
Hangover Lounge at the Betsey Trotwood
The Catenary Wires
& Special Guests
Get tickets

—

Fri. Oct. 29: Doors 7pm, show 7:30

Sacred Paws (from Glasgow!) have a natural inclination not to take things too seriously. You can hear it all the way through a conversation with its two members, guitarist Rachel Aggs and drummer Eilidh Rodgers, punctuated by rolls of giggles and thoughtful pauses, and you can hear it in the light touch they bring to their music, a jangly blend of indie pop full of fizzing world rhythms and bright horns. Shimmering guitar riffs dance between snappy beats and swooning melodies that will have crowds committing to far more than a simple head-bob. “I think we’d get bored if it was too slow,” Eilidh says. “We’d never want to play something live that people couldn’t dance to. It would feel really strange to us. It’s kind of the whole point.” Joining them at this show will be Jack Mellin on guitar and Moema Meade on bass!

Artsick
London debut! Artsick is an indiepop band from Oakland/Seaside, California, consisting of Christina Riley (Burnt Palms/Boyracer) on guitar and vocals, Mario Hernandez (Kids On A Crime Spree, Ciao Bella) on drums and Donna McKean (Lunchbox/Hard Left) on bass. They formed in 2018 and released a 7-inch single, followed by their debut album Fingers Crossed, on Slumberland Records.

Rachel Love
Rachel was guitarist and singer in the seminal 70/80s band Dolly Mixture who were signed to Paul Weller’s Respond label and championed by The Undertones & John Peel. She was the singer in the band Spelt and has released her first solo album, Picture in Mind, in 2021. Also half of the Light Music Company.

—

Sat. Oct. 29: Doors 7 p.m., show 7:30

The Umbrellas
London debut! “The Umbrellas are one of the most exciting bands to come from the indiepop underground in ages. Bursting out of the SF Bay Area’s fertile indie scene, The Umbrellas come correct with a sound that fits snugly into a long line of classic pop, from The Byrds to Orange Juice, The Pastels, Comet Gain, Veronica Falls and Belle & Sebastian, along with a noticeable garage-pop/Paisley Underground flavor that is a hallmark of San Francisco’s best bands. Their self-titled 2021 debut album dazzled with a dozen perfect pop tunes, charming the indiepop faithful but also winning fans outside the scene, leading to sold-out tours with bands as disparate as Ceremony and Destroy Boys.” (—Mike Schulman) New Releases – ‘Write it in the Sky’ 7″ released via Slumberland, Meritorio, Tear Jerk, and Fastcut records.

Birdie
Debsey Wykes (Dolly Mixture, Saint Etienne) and Paul Kelly (East Village, Saint Etienne) decided to form a group together while they were members of SAINT ETIENNE’s backing band in 1994. For two years, Debsey (backing singer) and Paul (guitar) toured Europe, Japan, America and played most of the major European festivals until SAINT ETIENNE took a break and BIRDIE was born. For this show, it will be: Debsey (bass and vocal); Paul (guitar and vocal); Jon (drums); Patrick (guitar or piano) and possibly Sean (piano)!

Seablite
London debut! Seablite is a four-piece pop band from San Francisco inspired by 80s/90s indie and shoegaze. In June 2019, Seablite’s LP debut, Grass Stains and Novocaine was released by Emotional Response, garnering domestic and international praise. They’ve since released a 10″ EP, High-Rise Mannequins (2020) and most recently their new single, Breadcrumbs c/w Ink Bleeds (2022). Seablite are back in the studio recording their sophomore LP and looking forward to what the upcoming year will bring.

—

Sun. October 30: CF30/Hangover Lounge at the Betsey Trotwood

The Catenary Wires
& Special guests
& Hangover Lounge DJs

Formed by Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey (of Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, Marine Research and so many more!), Catenary Wires also feature Fay Hallam, Andy Lewis and Ian Button. Today will be Amelia and Rob as a duo. Their Birling Gap LP released June 2021 on Skep Wax and Shelflife (USA). Super early show! Noon to 4pm event. The show is technically sold out but we hope to be able to release more tickets.

July 24, 2022September 26, 2022

CF30 New York: Oct. 6 and 8

chickfactor fanzine was founded 30 years ago by Pam Berry & Gail O’Hara (in DC/NY) and we are celebrating by having some parties in New York! We are so excited to have a friend-reunion and see all these rad bands play!

October 6 at the Frying Pan
The Aluminum Group
Jim Ruiz Set
Dump
Girl Scout Handbook
+ DJs Stephin Merritt & Gaylord Fields
Vegan options in the restaurant, nautical photo ops and portraits and other fun stuff!
Get tickets

October 8 at Union Pool
Seablite
Artsick
Jeanines
Gary Olson
Get tickets

Thurs. Oct. 6:

The Aluminum Group
are the brothers John and Frank Navin of Chicago and Detroit, who recently released a wonderful new album. John says of this event: “Our performance is very audience interactive. We start with a brief demonstration and teach attendees how to make paper laurel necklaces, then we sing 5 new songs. Show a new short film by Frankie. Then sing sing 5 more songs from the new record, then encore with a new unreleased song from our next record, called ‘Punch The Lights Out Of This Crazy World.’”

Jim Ruiz Set
Led by the Legendary Jim Ruiz (guitar, vocals), the set also features Emily Ruiz (drums, vocals), Mike Crabtree (lead guitar) and Charlotte Crabtree (bass, vocals). The Twin Cities outfit has been playing CF events since the olden days and never ever disappoints.

Dump
Brooklyn’s James McNew is the force of nature behind Dump, which was interviewed in Chickfactor 8 back in 1994. Some of you may have heard of his other band, Condo Fucks. We are pretty sure that he will be playing solo tonight and that this is the only Dump show happening anywhere in 2022.

Girl Scout Handbook
Girl Scout Handbook was formed by Brooklyn high school student Beatrix Madell, an avid musician and music fan. The band is technically 5 people, Madell, another guitar player, a drummer, a trumpet player, and a keyboard player. They will be doing a set of covers for tonight’s show!

—

Sat. Oct. 8:

Seablite is a four-piece pop band from San Francisco inspired by 80s/90s indie and shoegaze. In June 2019, Seablite’s LP debut, Grass Stains and Novocaine was released by Emotional Response, garnering domestic and international praise. They’ve since released a 10″ EP, High-Rise Mannequins (2020) and most recently their new single, Breadcrumbs c/w Ink Bleeds (2022). Seablite are back in the studio recording their sophomore LP and looking forward to what the upcoming year will bring. East Coast/NYC debut!

Artsick is an indiepop band from Oakland/Seaside, California, consisting of Christina Riley (Burnt Palms/Boyracer) on guitar and vocals, Mario Hernandez (Kids On A Crime Spree, Ciao Bella) on drums and Donna McKean (Lunchbox/Hard Left) on bass. They formed in 2018 and released a 7” inch single, followed by their debut album “Fingers Crossed,” on Slumberland Records. East Coast/NYC debut!

Jeanines specialize in ultra-short bursts of energetic but melancholy minor-key pop. With influences that run deep into the most crucial tributaries of DIY pop — Messthethics, the Television Personalities, Marine Girls, early Pastels, Dolly Mixture — they’ve crafted a style that is as individual as it is just plain pleasurable. Alicia Jeanine’s pure, unaffected voice muses wistfully on the illusions of time, while My Teenage Stride/Mick Trouble mastermind Jed Smith’s frantic Motown-esque drumming and inventive bass playing provide a thrilling rhythmic foundation.

Gary Olson
OG Brooklynite Gary Olson is best known as the leader and founding member of The Ladybug Transistor, but he made a wonderful solo record in 2020 as well, and has collaborated with many bands including the Aislers Set. He also runs a famous studio in Brooklyn called Marlborough Farms, and will be playing as a duo tonight.

March 31, 2021March 31, 2021

Enchanté!

We are super-excited to announce that our catalog will be on Bandcamp starting Friday, April 2. Enchanté Records released five records from 1994 to 2002 and they are all up there (with a few songs missing from the comp). Plus, we are going to eventually find the CDs and make those available too. (No Spotify, no Amazon, just Bandcamp, the most artist-friendly platform!). We will also be releasing new music in the coming months and years. Check the site on Friday for more information!

1. Containe, I Want It All (Enchanté 1, 1994)

2. Containe, Only Cowards Walk Like Cowards (Enchanté 2, 1996)

3. The Pacific Ocean, Birds Don’t Think They’re Flying (Enchanté 3, 1997)

4. The Pacific Ocean, Less Than the Needle, More Than the Shotgun (Enchanté 4, 2000)

5. Various Artists, All’s Fair in Love and chickfactor: cf mixtape 1 (Enchanté 5, 2002)

August 9, 2019October 14, 2019

Rest in peace, DCB.

August 31, 2013September 27, 2016

paul kelly films book & poster!

beautiful collection of writing about paul kelly’s films and poster available for you collector nerds!

Edited by S.S. Sandhu, Nothing’s Too Good For The Common People: The Films of Paul Kelly is a very limited-edition Risograph book—published by Texte und Töne in collaboration with the Colloquium for Unpopular Culture—to mark the first ever retrospective of Kelly’s work, held in association with chickfactor magazine, in New York, June 2013. The book was designed by Rob Carmichael, SEEN and was printed by Keegan Cooke at Circadian Press.

Contributors include: Jon Dale, Travis Elborough, Alistair Fitchett, Dan Fox, Joe Kerr, Stephin Merritt, Jude Rogers, Sukhdev Sandhu, Peter Terzian.

The book comes with a free poster and a postcard-pack of all five of Paul Kelly’s films. Ten random copies of the book will also come with signed (by Kelly and Debsey Wykes) copies of Birdie’s out-of-print Folk Singer 7-inch single.

Initial copies of the book and poster have been signed by Kelly. Price: $30 (inc. postage).

Additionally, for $35 (inc. postage): all of the above, plus—sent separately sent in a cardboard tube—a signed print of the event poster.

The print is also available for sale separately for $10 (inc. postage).

PURCHASE VIA PAYPAL
Buy Book ($30) incl. poster and postcards
Buy Book and Event Print ($35) incl. poster and postcards
Buy Event Print Only ($10)

February 19, 2013September 27, 2016

molly drake.

squirrel thing records, the same label that brought the world the amazing connie converse recordings, has finally given the molly drake music a u.s. release. yes, she was nick drake’s mom and clearly had an influence on him! recorded in the 1950s at the drake family home and restored by nick drake’s engineer john wood, these 19 tracks will be available on cd and digital download. The CD package has a letterpress sleeve, 16-page booklet with photos and bio by nick’s sister gabrielle.

January 24, 2013September 27, 2016

we like withered hand.

I listened to a lot of withered hand in november while I was staying at the berry jones house in southeast london. we wish we could have scoured the record shops for these when we were there, but some were sold out long ago. if we were in london this weekend, we would go see dan willson (who is withered hand) DJ at this thing on 26 jan. if we were there on 16 february, we would go to this hangover lounge thing at the union chapel where withered hand will be playing with cf cofounder/black tambourine lady/my dear friend pam berry: it’s in the daytime, it is free and it’s going to sound ace. what excuse could you possibly have to not be there? anyway, I don’t really have any birthday coming up soon but if you see any of these platters in the charity shop for cheap, pick me up one, okay? cheers mate. wh is also on the excellent fence label, whose co-owner kenny king creosote is interviewed in the new cf.

December 31, 2012April 20, 2017

chickfactor 17!

chickfactor had a pretty stellar 2012! We set up 12 events, 11 of them were pretty stellar live shows and/or sold-out festivals. Gail published her first photo book, had a photo show in Portland, and we published our 17th issue on paper, featuring Grass Widow, Sharon Van Etten, Bill Callahan, Black Tambourine, Caitlin Moran, Corin Tucker Band, Fence Records, Frankie Rose, Joe Boyd, Joe Pernice, King Creosote, Liam Hayes / Plush, Maira Kalman, Rachel Blumberg, Tae Won Yu; tons of silly polls & smart, funny reviews! Bonne 2013!

Stores selling chickfactor 17:
Other Music (NYC)
Beacon Sound (Portland OR)
Reading Frenzy (Portland OR)
Powells (Portland OR)
What Cheer? (Providence RI)
Needles & Pens (SF)
End of an Ear (Austin)
Quimbys (Chicago)
Atomic Books (Baltimore)
Skylight Books (Los Angeles)
Criminal Records (Atlanta)
Grimey’s (Nashville)
Landlocked (Bloomington IN)

We will also be sending some to Monorail in Glasgow very soon.

And you can always buy it here in our shop. We also have a few posters and coasters left from the London & Brooklyn shows.

Stores interested in selling it can send me a message on effbk or email me.

October 10, 2012September 30, 2016

dump reissues!

basically chickfactor has been into dump ever since we heard it and we have no idea why the rest of the world has been lazily ignoring it since its early ’90s brilliant genius recordings. now FINALLY some label has gotten the good sense to reissue some dump! at last! for chrissakes, what is wrong with the indie labels in the u.s. — um, matador, hello? if enchanté had the dosh, we’d have started the feeding frenzy way back in the day. instead we just forced james to play at our chickfactor parties.

earlier this year we saw the release of a new dump 12″ single called “nyc tonight,” try not to let the fact that it is a g.g. allin cover put you off! now chickfactor has the exclusive international news scoop that morr music of germany has the excellent wherewithal to reissue these first two dump albums that you see pictured here: I can hear music & superpowerless! according to james mcnew (also of yo la tengo, a band you may have heard of), these two will be available on vinyl (for the first time), CD and digital, with new artwork and lots of extra bells and whistles and bonus tracks! dump even had to consult chickfactor to find out the dates of all their shows from the olden days because apparently chickfactor is the only one who remembers (or wrote down this kind of thing). so there you go! there is no release date yet but we will surely be the first to have the scoop so check back with us. and hopefully all the other dump recorded work will be available soon on vinyl too!

here’s some way old fun stuff james wrote for chickfactor: brazil food diary. lambchop interview. and a mini interview here.