Formed in San Francisco in 1982, Frightwig has produced several songs criticizing patriarchal norms. In an interview with SFGate, D’Bruzzi stated that the band's name came from a slang word that was popular at the time, which meant, "a woman who has been out drinking cocktails, and she started out looking pretty good. Then it’s just the end of the night. Her tights are ripped, her lipstick’s smeared. Mascara’s down the face, and she’s still tipsy." Frightwig has released cult-favorite albums including Cat Farm Faboo (Subterranean Records 1984), Faster, Frightwig, Kill! Kill! (Caroline Records 1986), and the EP Phone Sexy (Boner Records 1988). Frightwig has had different lineups, including the addition of
Eric Drew Feldman (
Captain Beefheart, Snakefinger,
Frank Black, Pere Ubu,
PJ Harvey, Knife & Fork), in 2012. Throughout the 1980s, Frightwig toured America, Canada, and Europe, and opened for
Butthole Surfers and
Redd Kross. On May 4, 2017, band member Cecilia Kuhn died of cancer. Her bandmates honored her wishes that Frightwig would not disband. In 2023, Mitchell, d’Bruzzi, Feldman, Sevrin returned with a new album, released on Label 51 Recordings. A collection of 11 songs (four of which were previously released) recorded with Kuhn on drums, vocals, and accordion and produced by Eric Drew Feldman. == Legacy ==