Piss Kitti: Nobody’s Going To Take It From Me
When Tom Robinson, BBC presenter, frontman of The Tom Robinson Band, and voice of the countercultural anthem ‘Glad to Be Gay’ describes you as “transgressive Liverpool gender outlaws”, you’re doing something right. When Amyl and the Sniffers ask you to support them on their UK tour… ditto. When Dream Wife and Black Lips do the same, surely success is on the horizon?
But, when we get together to speak at the start of an unseasonably cold December, Piss Kitti aren’t thinking of success. No. They’re looking forward to the release of their double A-side, ‘Leather Forever / I’m Jammed’, and a headline show with support from Lambrini Girls in Liverpool’s Kazimier Stockroom. This is how the band think, in small bites. Throughout our chat, they don’t reveal any lofty ambitions, big dreams, or high hopes. They’re focussed on the little things, the graft. Being in a small-ish regional punk band, as they are, comes with a lot of graft… There’s gear to lug here and there, merch which needs ordering in, tracks which need writing and recording, and finances which need organising. There are interviews to court and venues that need booking. Singles need to be sent out to DJs and music journalists. It never stops: not til a track hits the big time, and the media comes to you.
Piss Kitti started as a garage punk band writing fast, provocative tracks. Lately, they’ve transitioned to a melodic style of songwriting which synthesises influences from outside punk and orbits more the themes of love and romance – though it’s more often the rocky side of love they engage with, than the smushy-mushy stuff. “At the start, it was always, let’s be a bit more extreme, more out there. It’s toned down a bit now,” says drummer, Daniel. “Like how we act and dress, you sort of think about it more at the start: yeah, let’s look this way, try and be shocking and post things [online] that are out there and crazy. Now it’s more reserved. It’s toned down a little bit… We’ve finally found our feet.” Esme is listening. They sing for the band, and is key to shaping the band’s feminist outlook, the thing that made Tom Robinson call them ‘gender outlaws’. “I think, like, because we were all into punk music… it was naturally gonna go that way. We did sound like every other punk band at first. But now we’ve found our style within punk,” they say.
““We deffo bonded over being fans of Nirvana. But people, with our newer songs, are comparing us to Sonic Youth and The Pixies””
Listening to the band, it is certain that they are distinct from other punk bands operating now, in that their style of song is more melodic and harmonic. Unlike some punk bands, it’s possible to hum these songs walking down the street. Possibly, this is due to the band’s various influences, who extend beyond the punk genre and inspire the band to borrow new aspects to feature in their tracks. Blondie are one such band I recognise as having inspired the band, Nirvana too. “We’re connected through the weirdness of Nirvana’s weirder songs,” Daniel admits. “Most of our lyrics are weird and a bit crude, and fun at the same time, which is what they [Nirvana] was doing.” Esme chimes in. “We deffo bonded over being fans of Nirvana. But people, with our newer songs, are comparing us to Sonic Youth and The Pixies.”
These newer songs have also opened the band to experience their live performances differently. Whereas their older songs, such as ‘Girls in I-D’, require a certain level of energy throughout, ‘I’m Jammed’, which is more harmonic – a sort of Morrissey-esque melody twisting the lyrics’ effect – alters the pace of the tracks somewhat. Now the band can afford to take it slower on stage, which permits elements of the track to be more explosive. In their newer songs, the band are able to lead into their guitar solos with more oomph, or inflect a particular emphasis on one lyric over another. “Playing these songs live, they’re so different to how they sound on the track,” Daniel says. “They’re so much quicker… I go at hundred miles an hour cause of the adrenaline. They’re fun to play.” Esme agrees. “It’s so exciting, seeing people dancing. Makes the gig a million times better.” “And people copy each other. If a couple of people are dancing then everybody dances.”
Image: Jim Taylor
Recently, the band have received an education in live performance. Having come off a recent stint supporting Amyl and the Sniffers, they’ve learnt from one of the best punk outfits working today. “Seeing them [Amyl], makes you act crazier on stage,” Daniel says. “They’re crazy on stage, they look mad, they look cool… But it’s so well executed. That’s what made us realise, that’s what you need to be on stage. Your playing has to be perfect. After playing with them once, we were on that next level, playing much better, much tighter. You’ve got to be really on the ball.” To which Esme adds, “It was a big confidence builder because, at the end of the day, punk music isn’t popular. But it’s so exciting to see them smashing it. To be playing gigs with them, or even just see them succeeding is really fun for us.”
At the core of Piss Kitti too is a feminist, queer message. The band was formed out of a desire to foster inclusivity and promote diverse representation within the punk scene and broader music industry. Since forming, Esme says, this has gotten better. People feel empowered now to express themselves however they wish, and put a middle finger up to anybody telling them otherwise. “The more you see yourself represented, the more you think, if they can do it, I can do it…” Esme says. “Back when we started, we didn’t have a massive amount of money, we didn’t have a relative who runs a record label… We were all just working. I hope we’ve contributed to the punk scene.”
But being in a band comes at a cost. Nowadays, nepotism crowds the music industry so that bands, who are without the resources Esme mentions, are at a disadvantage compared to those whose parents have built recording studios in their annexe. Throw in a cost of living crisis, which means lots of bands have had to go back to work, working long hours which eats into recording time, and saps the creativity from a person, and the situation looks almost dire. As Esme says, “it’s just increasingly hard to juggle everything. Harry, our guitarist, has been working two jobs, and now he works full-time. So do I. It’s hard to prioritise things. But you’ve got to. You’ve just got to say, I enjoy this, and nobody’s going to take it from me.”
““We’ve got spreadsheets. We do the accounts every month””
Taking this stance, however, might require doing things which are not very “punk.” Accountability of finances, for one. And there is definitely no smashing-up gear. “We’re careful with our money,” Esme admits. “We never used to be, whatever we got paid for a gig we’d just piss it up the wall. But we’re more careful now.” Danny jumps in, sheepishly. “We’ve got spreadsheets. We do the accounts every month.” Esme laughs. “Not very punk!”
Are they the first punk band with a spreadsheet? Possibly. Though I once heard a rumour The Stooges kept their expense receipts kept in a pelican briefcase beneath Iggy’s Mother’s bed. Whatever the truth, this sort of responsibility communicates another essential fact about Piss Kitti: their caution reveals an all-encompassing passion for music, which makes the band fiercely protective of their position in the music industry. They want to hold their spot and keep their freedom to create. If this requires making spreadsheets, so be it.
So as 2023 gets truly underway, the band are coming out punching. The cost of living crisis is still ongoing, but with a spreadsheet and a good melody line, they’ll take it in their stride. As their double A-side gets released next month, who knows what might happen. Perhaps they’ll soon get enough money to be truly punk, and smash their guitars to bits at each gig.
Listen to Piss Kitti’s latest single ‘I’m Jammed’ here!
Main Image: Jim Taylor
