BATTLE PUSSY WANTS YOU TO KNOW THEY ARE NOT CUTE Battle Pussy outside 7th Circle, a community run music venue in Denver. | Photo by Jeff LaGreca Editor’s Note: The following story is based on interviews with members of the band Battle Pussy. To protect the privacy and reputations of the artists involved, stage names have been used throughout this article, and some identifying details have been altered. BAND MEMBERS Sledge, Shredz, The Juice, and Da Beet perform in masks and balaclavas when JOSHUA ABEYTA DENVER VOICE MUSIC REPORTER they rip the stage around town, including at the most recent No Kings rally in March, which drew more than 10,000 protesters to the Denver event. When asked about their demands, the group was unequivocal: “Human rights. Just be a freaking human and take care of your fellow humans.” The band is committed to protest music and has long since given up trying to please everyone. “In 2016, we tried to appeal to everybody in the punk scene. We knew that we, as women, had to make a strong impact, but we also wanted to appeal. And as we’ve learned, as women, appealing to the patriarchy has just always been a lost cause. We really struggled with this idea of who we were and how serious we really were, and we were serious as a heart attack,” said Sledge, front-woman, lead vocalist, and guitarist. Sledge met bassist and backing vocalist The Juice, when Sledge moved to Denver around 2014 and started a zombie escape room. The Juice was hired as one of the zombies, and the two became fast friends, quickly forming Battle Pussy as a political punk band to push back on President Donald Trump’s administration that was about to take power in 2016. “It was crystal clear. We went to bed that night and my kids were worried. This was the first election that they were old enough to kind of follow along and ask questions,” the Juice said. “I literally thought there’s no way that this would happen, and waking up in the morning and [my daughter’s] crying because she was scared. I’m like, I have to do something about this. So when [Sledge] created Battle Pussy, I had no second thought. I have to do something for a better country and a better future for my kids. I can’t just silently be upset.” Within a year, they played their first to believe it’s happening or because it’s easier to pretend it isn’t happening, but it very much is, and it’s affecting people every day.” Battle Pussy channeled that anger into their debut album show at Mutiny Information Cafe, an institution in the Denver music scene. At first, they relied on comedy, theater, and wild stage antics to get people’s attention. Their performances were also intended to lift the spirits of people facing an existential crisis brought on by the first Trump term. “We were so serious. But we played games at our shows. We had two dudes that would wear Speedos wearing Trump masks. They would have people jump rope. We would have cake-eating contests. We would have ‘make up your friend like Trump with feathers and orange paint’. We did a lot of stuff to kind of get our point across, but also kinda try to lift the spirits of everybody around us. This time around, it’s like no jokes,” Sledge said. When Trump mounted a comeback in 2024, the group rethought their strategy. “We changed our aesthetic by either wearing pretty severe black makeup across our faces, like a banishment of ourselves, or our ski masks to also just kind of conceal who we were, just knowing that everything’s a little heightened now anyway. But to kinda give a more, we’re not cute [vibe]. We’re pretty demented, and we’re mad. You know? It’s like, we’re pissed off.” Sledge said. “Serious things are happening to people every day now, and this is what was expected. They told us they were gonna do this. So, we’re just trying to make it serious for everyone,” Drummer Da Beet said. I think there’s still a lot of people that are in denial of the truth of what’s happening, either because they don’t want “Revolution,” a 10-song offering that includes the eponymous track Revolution, as well as Water is Life, Trumpty Dumpty, Vote and Joy Stealer. Released in 2017, the songs evoke melodic punk bands like Bikini Kill and Bad Cop/Bad Cop, or malefronted groups like Propaghandi and Bad Religion. The songs are a clear call to action and incorporate classic protest chants, such as the familiar cadence of “No Trump, No KKK, No Fascist USA.” The band put a new spin on another classic with Tweety Tweet, a punk homage to “Rockin’ Robin,” restyled to poke fun at Trump’s relationship with the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) in a style that could have come from a lost collaboration between Sublime and Gwen Stefani. The theatrical prowess and playfulness of the group shine through on the record. On stage, the band is all business, but their activism goes beyond their live performances. In the community, all four members are creative arts educators. Sledge, The Juice, and Da Beet all teach music to kids and adults through a local nonprofit. Shredz, the guitarist and newest member, runs her own children’s theater company. Shredz said, “A lot of what I do is building community and just having a space for kids. I’m very kid-focused, you know, my life and in my work is like, creating good humans, building self-confidence, building trust, and building teamwork through that.” Whether inspiring this generation or educating the next, Battle Pussy is a punk band on the rise, and their members are using every tool available to enact positive change in their communities. You can see them perform on July 11th at FemmeFest at EastFax Tap. DENVER VOICE COLUMN 7
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