Riot grrrl-inspired, Chicana-punk band Fea tackles the issues we’re often told to skirt at the holiday dinner table: racism, sexism, politics and religion.
The tunes by the four-piece San Antonio group are straight-up and in your face, as any good rebellious punk rock song should be.
Before joining Fea in 2014, lead singer Letty Martinez was hungry to start an all-female punk band. She wanted to pay tribute to the riot grrrl movement and musical genre, which emerged in the early ’90s when young feminists in the Pacific Northwest got together to talk about the sexism prevalent in the punk scene. Popular riot grrrl bands included Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney, Le Tigre, Bratmobile and Heavens to Betsy.
“When I learned about that music and listened to it, it made so much sense to me,” Martinez said. “The attitude, the rebellion, it spoke to me. I listen to lots of genres, but I couldn’t find a better type of music to express myself with.”
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She posted a Craigslist ad looking for fellow musicians, and the women in Fea reached out. Two of the band members were well-versed in creating a successful rock band. Drummer Phanie Diaz and bassist Jenn Alva, friends since junior high, founded indie rock trio Girl in a Coma in 2006, and went on to open for Frank Black, The Pogues, Tegan and Sara, Social Distortion and others. Rock star Joan Jett saw them perform early on at the Knitting Factory in New York City and signed the group to her Blackheart Records.
Girl in a Coma has disbanded, but Fea lives on. The band will perform Monday at Lulu’s Upstairs in Manitou Springs.
It’s always been important for Martinez to make music with women.
“I had a lot of guy friends, but there was lot of misogyny,” she said. “There was a lot of stuff I wanted to talk about, and it would only make sense to do it with a group of girls who also know what I’m going through, what it’s like to be a woman.”
The band has garnered its fair share of attention for its music and lyrical content. Three years ago, NPR named the band’s bilingual 2016 song, “Mujer Moderna,” on its list of “200 Greatest Songs by 21st Century Women+.” The song railed against sexual harassment and assault.
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“Fea masters the riot grrrl sound and message,” said Colorado Public Radio’s Bruce Trujillo. “The band members speak out against rape culture and machismo in both English and Spanish, all over an audio assault that would make Chicana punk legend Alice Bag proud.”
The group’s 2016 eponymous debut album contained the single “No Hablo Español,” which the Village Voice ranked as one of the year’s best protest songs. The album also caught the attention of famed rock musician Iggy Pop, who told Rolling Stone: “I like Fea, out of San Antone — a girl band, pretty raunchy, extreme packaging and all that, and that’s a good punk band.”
Bag, a Latina punk rocker in the ’80s, produced their second album, 2019’s “No Novelties.” It’s flush with provocative material.
“Feminism, the patriarchy, our bodies, the way we think about our bodies, our relationships with each other,” Martinez said.
“I have a song about being on my period. We poke fun that when somebody’s on their period they’re a monster. I made that a reality throughout the song — I turn into monster and tell you to run for it. It’s got humor behind it.”
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