Chopper tarts

>> Estrogen rules with Frisco's Fabulous Disaster

by LORRAINE CARPENTER

A heavily tattooed leg, frilly white socks, shiny black Mary Janes and a cherry-red guitar pedal. That's the cover of Put Out or Get Out, the debut album by San Francisco's all-girl, all-punk Fabulous Disaster, and the imagery matches the attitude. Drawing inspiration from the Go-Go's (the last chart-topping, all-girl rock band), Laura Litter (vocals), Mr. Nancy (bass), Sally Gess (drums) and Lynda Mandolyn (guitar, vocals) took their case to the lady-run Pink & Black label and its punk prestige mothership Fat Wreck Chords. The official line is that they were discovered by NOFX's Fat Mike, who agreed to produce their album after getting a late-night ride home on Gess's chopper.

"That's the legendary story, it's true in a sense," jokes Mandolyn, on the line from the depths of the Prairies. "But what really happened is he and Erin, his wife, heard the CD and accosted us at one of our shows. They loved it, and the rest is history."

Judging from hints dropped in all their interviews, Fab D's history is steeped in drugging, drinking and driving, but the gender issue typically overshadows the debauchery. With all-female line-ups still a rarity in punk, the media attention is not unwarranted or unwanted, but being regarded as a novelty can be a pain for chicks who just wanna rock.

"What changes people's minds is when they see us live," says Mandolyn. "They see girls goin' up there they don't know what to expect. I always get comments like, 'Usually, I don't listen to female bands, blah blah blah,' but when they see our energy they love it."

Playing off gender politics is nothing new for Mandolyn, formerly of Detroit's Inside Out, the all-girl hard rock band noted for being the first female act to play East Germany after the wall came down. Fab D's first taste of real success, coincidentally, was on a recent European tour where the ladies were swarmed on the street by fans singing their songs.

"They love punk over there! Music and the arts are totally supported by the governments in Europe, and they always take really good care of the bands. That's something you don't see in the States."

With the Real McKenzies, Bazooko and Darkest of the Hillside Thickets at Foufounes Électriques on Monday, Oct. 29, 8pm, $7