penelope's news

Jan 13, 2024
Wow, what a half year! We played many memorable west coast shows including Mosswood Meltdown, our first time in Vancouver in 40+ years, sold out Lodge Room show in LA, and finally playing the glorious Fox Theater in Oakland (with Bad Religion!) Then we hopped the pond to Japan and did 9 crazy intense shows in the punk liveclubs and met a slew of great people. Just last week we had two love-fests with Kid Congo and the Pink Monkee Birds, and Frightwig at San Francisco's gorgeous Great American Music Hall and in San Jose at the Ritz. So many dear friends! Also jumping on stage with the Linda Linda's soldout Regency Ballroom was a highlight for sure.
Looking forward to playing on the continent this April/May! Tickets are available now!

June 19, 2023
Thanks for coming to the 3 fun shows in May, people of the Bay and Punk Rock Bowling. We saw many friends in Vegas and had a chance to visit the Punk Rock Museum with a huge wall photo of the band and a sweet pic of Penelope by Jenny Lens.
Many more shows coming up soon including (finally) a tour in Japan! Get tix before they sell out.

Dec 5, 2022
The holidays are approaching and we have solutions to your gift conundrums. Tickets to see us at the Orpheum in LA with X! Dec 16th.- which is the eve of Penelope's birthday! or
Any of our music, shirts or posters.

Sept 12th 2022
We survived our East coast /UK /EU tour and had some very fun times and shows. Favorite opening bands included Rev. Beat-Man in Hamburg; Adrats in Dresden; Roxies in Berlin; Nervous Triggers in NY and NJ. Being on the panel of Women in Punk at Rebellion Fest was also fun and enlightening. Our best shows were in Philly, Hamburg and Berlin, but I always enjoy playing acoustic songs with Greg and Joel. Check out all the bands playing with us this month for our west coast tour. I'm especially excited about Elvez and his Tribute to the Screamers at the LA and San Diego shows!

Feb 17th 2022
Penelope has been making art!
Most of my pandemic artwork has been posted on Instagram where two ink drawings/collages are on auction through 2/19.

Earlier paintings are for sale on my art website. Commissions are possible, too.

July 4th, 2021
Wow... it's been a minute. Avengers have their first show in 18 months - Stern Grove Festival on July 25th with X!
Free but reservations are required.

Feb 7, 2020
Two norCal Avengers shows coming up with TSOL
Collectors bundles for your sweetheart!

Sept 13, 2019
Avengers across America Tour is right around the corner. Seriously, we're playing 30 cities, so check if one of them is driving distance to you.

June 28, 2019
The benefits for Jimmy were wonderful and we raised over $15K for his son Waylon with ticket sales, and his gofundme page.
Upcoming shows are multiplying so get on our email list!
In between Avengers shows Penelope will be playing as a trio at festivals in Italy, Blackpool, and with Sean Wheeler (Throw Rag) at the Ivy Room, Fri. Aug. 30th.

May 17, 2019
So many shows to announce! And new shirts.
First our Bay area Ivy Room Avengers set with D. Furious and Hector P. is sold out... But tickets are still available for same line-up in LA for Jimmy's Memorial/benefit on May 26th at the Echoplex
Annoucing another SF show with our classic line-up of Joel and Luis on June 30 at the Bottom of the Hill.

In July we've go Zurich, Bergamo, Montreal, New York, New Haven, Glasgow, Rebellion Fest, and London.

Further down the road there a huge tour with Stiff Little Fingers all across the US. yeah, right?

April 25, 2019
We have a bunch of shows to announce. Not the least of which are two special Avengers shows with Danny Furious on drums
and Hector Penalosa on bass, celebrating the Life of Jimmy Wilsey.
May 24th at the Ivy Room, Albany with the VKTMS and Drama. SOLD OUT
And the following Sunday in Los Angeles. May 26th at the
Echoplex with the Dils and Alleycats! plus many special guests
All ages and doors at 5:pm - music 6-9
This show will benefit Jimmy's surviving son. We'll have some remembrances of Jimmy and slides there too.

Mar 22 2019
RIP Jimmy Wilsey.
We're raising money for an Education Fund for Jimmy's son Waylon.
First, a Go Fund Me Page set up by his family.
Please give what you can.
And we're organizing a benefit show in LA for May 26th.
But we can tell you this... Danny Furious is flying in from Sweden to play two Avengers shows with Penelope and Greg and Hector Penelosa of the Zeros! It's going to be amazing. We'll have a very special (Red) rocking guest band! If you're in SF don't miss our warm-up show at everyone's new favorite: the Ivy Room. This will sell out so get your tickets!

Jan 19th 2019
Brokenhearted, but the music lives on. The last month has been a steady bombardment of talented friends passing away. RIP Jimmy aka James Calvin Wilsey, George Westcot a talented photographer who shot many of my record covers and this photo. Also Tom Guido and Lorna Doom.
Please come and hear us play songs for those gone and for those still standing.
Sunday, Jan 20th - Penelope Houston w/ the Flesh Eaters
The Independent SF
Feb 8th - Avengers with Mudhoney The Independent SF
Sat. Feb 9th -Avengers with Mudhoney The Ritz San Jose
Sun. Feb 10th - Avengers w/ Alice Bag! The Alleycats Alex's Bar - Long Beach

Dec. 27th 2018
Terrible news: Our original bass player Jimmy Wilsey died on Christmas Eve. He was our Avengers bass brother & a self-made guitar stylist "The King of Slow" who created the haunting sound Chris Isaak's songs are known for. Along w/ his sonic undertow, he was known for his kindness, sly smile, & razor wit. RIP.

Sept 27th 2018
Second show added for the Ivy Room. Thurs Oct 18 and Fri Oct 19th.
Pick up your tickets because this could sell out!
Here's a sweet review of the Avengers at Riot Fest from the Chicago Reader. And a clip of We Are The One live under the hottest conditions ever. Glad we made it through that set alive!
The new Superior Viaduct pressing of the Pink Album sounds better than ever because of they moved to a more excellent pressing plant.

August 17th 2018
Announcing an Avengers Bay Area show! The Ivy Room, Albany CA
This place is not huge so you'd better get tix!
Check out these new interviews with Penelope: RIYL podcast with Brian Heater.
A mini doc about Penelope and the SF Punk Archive!

July 13th, 2018
Summer shows are coming together for the Avengers.
9/13 * Providence, RI Riotous Outburst Fest. @ Alchemy
9/14 * Brooklyn, NY @ El Cortez
TBA Chicago, Riot Fest!
and here's a sweet little interview that Riot Fest posted.

Feb 27th, 2018
Now celebrating the 40-year anniversary of The Bird in Seattle! Yes, Penelope will be on stage at the Crocodile with the Enemy and other friends this Saturday. Not on the west coast? Buy original Penelope Houston oil paintings!
Check out details of upcoming shows.

June 17th, 2017
Celebrating 40 years since the Avengers first show! We've got prizes- the 40 years Bundle comprised of 3 vinyl singles, one Pink Album CD, one Avengers T-shirt, 3 pins and a download of 31 Avengers tracks.
$75 value for $40. OK
Will also be available at my upcoming acoustic shows.

Feb. 10th, 2017
April is going to be a busy month...
Starting with the April Fools Day Joel-palooza! The Avengers play to celebrate his birthday along with his other bands, Pansy Division and the Plus Ones reformed! And Dr Frank of MTX.
Also Penelope is having her first gallery show!
The Accused, April 7-31 Opening reception April 7th 8pm, at La Luz de Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles. Preview out her paintings for this show at penelopehouston.com. Beyond that, check here for announcements of other music and art related shows in April...

Oct 19, 2016
One last Avengers show this year and it's right here in SF. We proud to play at the SFMOMA Bruce Conner exhibition.
It's a perfect trifeca of opportunity: All Ages, early show, Costumes! Halloween weekend should be like this.

May 30, 2016
Look out this summer for a Punker Party at the KnockOut on Mission St. where I'll be spinning some rare vinyl with DJ Paul and another famous (yet unannounced) punk personality. Check out the PH shop and girlshop as I've be cleaning them up and making sure the pages work. Also don't miss the
Get the full Avengers/Penelope discography: 25% off... 5 decades of music-making in one click. Digital discography of 12 records, 148 tracks, 116 songs, 39 years!

March 8, 2016
Avengers Spring. We'll be playing a couple east coast shows April 8th NY at the Grand Victory. April 9th in DC for the Damaged City Fest. Hope to see you there!

Nov. 27th, 2015
More record release parties for your consideration!
The Avengers will be playing SoCal to celebrate the vinyl re-release of the Pink Album on Superior Viaduct. Order the vinyl here or get a signed copy at one of the shows.
12/3 Casbah/San Diego. 12/4 Bootleg Theater/LA. 12/5 Observatory/Santa Ana. All ticket info and line-upscan be found here.

July 17, 2015
Announcing the re-release of the Pink Album this August on Superior Viaduct. With liner-notes from Byron Coley.
We'll have them on our NYC/UK/Euro tour and at our hometown shows.It's going to be a hot, loud, sweaty summer -
share with your friends in New York City, the UK , Germany and San Francisco

April 22, 2015
They Avengers are doing some touring this year:
Headlining Chicago's Hozac Fest May 16th
and dates in August in NYC/UK/Europe. Check out the shows page!
Also Pen and Greg willplay the Eddie Jennings Benefit in SF.

Dec. 13th 2014
My Big Birthday Sale! is starting today and will continue through Jesus's birthday.
Everything 20% to 25% off. Also downloads on sale $7 to $8 per album.
This sale come once a year!
And there's one last chance to hoist a beer while sitting ten feet from where I am singing at the Makeout Room's Holiday Craptacular...
a fund raiser for local food banks.

Nov. 22 2014
Ever wonder about how artists get paid when their songs are listened to on Pandora, Youtube and other listen-on-demand streaming sites? Me too... here's an interesting article in The East Bay Express called The Tyranny of Free. I do get paid for downloads via my website, iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby and others, but streaming seems to pay miniscule amounts. So if you want to support musicians, buy or download from their own sites! Thanks.

Oct 31st 2014
A flurry of shows coming up:
Murder Ballads, The Space Lady, Avengers schooling the kids at Gilman, Dangerhouse Nite in Hollywood, and Crepes!
You'll find it all here with ticket links and gory details: The shows page!
Maybe get on my email-list.
For up to the nano-second news you can follow me on Face Book and like the Avengers page & Penelope page. Umm...
There's also Twitter for heaven's sake.
Hope to see you in the flesh or somewhere in the synchronicitous void.

May 21st 2014
I have your whole Memorial Day Weekend sorted:

You could see us play three times in 72 hours for $45! (airfare, hotels, meals, gratuities, alcoholic beverages, bowling shoes, and ground transportation not included)
This Friday is our first time playing the lovely Chapel in SF. Opening are Oakland's own Kicker and California (ex-Jawbreaker/Green Day) plus our friends from Stranded will spin some of their choice vinyl. Hey, they have craft cocktails AND it's all ages. Then zip down to San Jose and catch us at the Blank Club on Sat. - also with Kicker. Then, if your ready for a bit more travel you can head south to the Observatory in Santa Ana (that's near LA, people) with Canada's Propagandhi and Toys That Kill - another all ages show.
Anyone who comes to all three shows gets to have a drink with Penelope!

Mar 27th 2014
Oops, I've been remiss in my duty...
First I should announce we'll be playing a few Cali shows in May. Check our shows page or get on the emaillist. The Britsih mag Uncut put the Pink Album in their 50 Greatest Punk Albums listed by release date. A new European documentary called "San Francisco: La bande son d'une ville" is up on ARTE. "The American in Me" at 42:10 and "On Market Street" at 45:05. Lots of interviews (me, Jello Biafra, Greil, Selvin, etc) Check out the French and German versions!

Oct 29 2013
New t-shirts are here and they are lovely fine jersey cotton - handscreened in Oakland by our friends at forthrite printing. Just in time for our two Day of the Dead shows in LA and Oakland this weekend. I slipped a bonus live track onto my album download of On Market Street so you can hear a bit of the KPFA radio show I did with the Honeybadgers. If you buy (or have already bought) the album from me just write and I'll send you a free download of the song.

June 12
Playing some fun shows with the Honey Badgers soon, including an instore performance/signing for Ruby Ray's punk photo book with X's John Doe! That's June 30th at Stranded. Also performing at City Lights, Pegasus Books, and the SF Homecoming in Sept. Join our email list for maximum up-to-date-ness!

May 27
A crazy thing happened on the way to Minneapolis... New Pink Album designed t-shirts arrived the evening before I left. They were way too dark so I made an emergency bleach-bath and hand bleached each shirt to bring out the design. They looked very cool and there's only a few left... check them out here!
Also There are only a few of the magenta vinyl Pink Albums left. Don't miss out on those.
And announcing the new Ruby Ray photo book of West Coast Punk. Beautiful and it comes with a 16 band CD. Intro by Jon Savage. Release date is June 25th.

May 1 2013
One year anniversary since my album On Market Street came out and I'm having a May sale on the beautiful digipak version - only $10 including shipping. What are you waiting for? If you want it on 180 gram German vinyl, there are just a few left.
***
Also I have limited colored vinyl Avengers pink LPs but I'll be taking the rest of those with me to Minneapolis when the Avengers headline the Girls Got Rhythm Fest on Fri May 10! So order or be damned.

Jan 25 2013
Twenty Thousand spins!
Downloads and streaming of nearly all Penelope and Avengers albums are available on penelope.net, including rare out-of-print releases. So far, over 20000 tracks have been listened to! To celebrate we're offering you 20% off all downloads. Just enter discount code "twenty13" on check-out. This offer ends on Feb 14th.
Don't miss these three Penelope & the HoneyBadgers performances in San Francisco:
Friday Jan 25 St Cyprian's
with Cass McCombs and author Nick Flynn. 7PM. We're playing early!
Monday Jan 28 Roxie Theater
with Jello Biafra and more for Strike Debt.
Wednesday Jan 30 City Lights Books
Pussy Riot book release with Debora Iyall, Michelle Tea and more.

Dec 31 2012
Happy New Year to all! 2012 has been a landmark year with the release of 2 albums, 2 Euro tours, 2 US tours and a reunion with original drummer Danny Furious. To celebrate we're offering you these exciting fan exclusives.
Be the first on your block to own a limited pressing of the classic Pink Album on180 gram vinyl in transparent magenta with smoke trails. I'm calling it "Chernobyl Sunset." It's also included in the new vinyl bundles shown here. Supplies are limited (less that 400 pressed) and you won't find them in most stores.
And announcing an exclusive sale on CDs for fans only. From now until Jan 7th you can grab On Market Street for just $10 plus shipping.

Nov 29 2012
It's been a busy Fall with school (SFSU - my last semester whoo-hoo!) and helping with the opening of the very cool vinyl record shop Stranded in Oakland. The Avengers played a very fun Halloween party in Cleveland for WCSB and Chicago & Brooklyn as well. Collectors take note: a box of 1999's The Avengers Died For Your Sins was uncovered in a Lookout Records storage space as they were closing up shop forever. And -- announcing a special limited pressing of the Pink album in a few days.
Stay in touch Get on our email list.

Sept 6 2012
Wow -- Paris, Helsinki, Rome, Amsterdam, Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna... the Avengers had multiple great times in Europe. Thanks to all who came and the clubs and bookers! We have a few more shows this year in the US and we'll announce them soon. In the meantime don't miss the special Bottom of the Hill show Sept 16th with a special set featuring our original drummer Danny Furious (visiting from Sweden!) and Craig "Neg Trend" Grey on bass. I'm running out of colored vinyl Avengers singles.

June 3rd 2012
Shows and Avengers Bundles ...Just finished a whirlwind tour of the West to celebrate the release of the Pink album. Thanks to all the get people who came out to see us and who gave us beds and couches! There are just a few of the sets of colored 7"s available and we're offering them in bundles of vinyl goodness. There are nice 180 gram Penelope LPs too in some nice fan bundles as well.

May 9th 2012
At long last the Avengers Pink album is here! Order yours today. The 2 CD set (31 songs) comes with liner notes by Greil Marcus and V.Vale as well as an extensive 24 page booklet of rare photos and flyers. The 180 gram LP (14 songs) comes with a 24x12 inch poster. Also Avengers 7" singles are out on Superior Viaduct. The limited edition for Record Store Day on colored vinyl is all but gone. A new pressing on black vinyl is available!

April 11 2012
Bundles are here! You can get my new LP+CD bundled with other cool and rare stuff. Exclusively offered to my email-list friends first, so get yourself listed. Lot's of interviews and radio lately. Check out all the excitement and links to the interviews on my FB page.

March 12 2012
More tour dates coming together. Check here for the latest. Art related news: I just shipped off some prints and collages from 1977 to Denver's Gildar Gallery which is part of the city-wide show called Search and Destroy (opening on Mar 23rd) Which includes Bruce Connor and Ruby Ray. In May I'll be interviewed by curator Steven Wolf as part of their lecture series at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver. Closer to home is an exhibit of my recent prints at the SF Public Library which will be up through April 19th.
Put a Librarian On It!

February 25th 2012
Finally a pirate ship arrived and my CDs were delivered in excellent condition. The record release party will be March 29 on Market Street's own Cafe du Nord. Until then I will be making some interesting bundles to my mailing list friends so please sign up for these rare offers. Oh! I started to tweet (some years behind the curve aren't I?) So follow me!

February 11th 2012
So... Those three Avengers shows were super fun. Playing with X was a blast, too. Lot's of links to pics and reviews here. We'd like to do more of that!
News on my album release... The German LP and CD are in the stores in Europe and I'm selling the beautiful from my site to your US address. (Canadians write for shipping costs...) My US CD is delayed by the manufacturer but can be
pre-ordered with a free download. The record release party will be March 29th at Cafe du Nord and I'll be touring Europe in April /May. You can find out more on my Facebook page and by joining my email list!

January 5th 2012
Happy New Year! Check out my new bio by Joe Findlaw.
Now you can preview and preorder the digital version of my record as well as the CD (in a fully compostable digi-pak) and LP (180 gram vinyl from Germany). There's really only a very few left of the handwritten hand made cards so don't delay! Avengers news: the show with X and the DKs at LA MOCA is now open to ticket sales by the public $50. It will probably sell out too.

December 28th 2011
Thanks to my biggest fans pre-orders are pouring in but there's still a chance of being one of the first 100 orders and getting a nifty hand-made-handwritten card from me. Get your order in today. I've put up two songs to preview -- "You Reel Me In" featuring Pat Johnson's amazing guitar work, and the moving title track with a ghostly Melotron part by Jeffrey Wood. Have a listen!

December 17th 2011
Hooray! my new album, On Market Street is ready to preorder! It will be shipped in Jan 2012. And the first 100 orders will get a handwritten note from me, so get yours right away. In the US it is released on Devoted Ruins and distributed by City Hall, but you know you can always get it directly from the artist...Thanks! It's also coming out on a 180-gram vinyl LP from Glitterhouse in Germany. If you live in the US/Canada you can order that from me as well. I'll be announcing tours in Europe for both Penelope Band and the Avengers soon.

July 11 2011
Working on my site - trying to clean things up and continuing to upload more albums for your listening (and downloading) pleasure. New Avengers shows listed too. Keep checking back for more music and news on my upcoming album!

June 28 2011
Finally have a way for people to hear my music on my site (and download it directly from me) via Bandcamp. I'm loading the out-of-print recordings first, starting with the Return to Sender albums and then I'll get to my more recent stuff. The files are high quality AIFF so it's taking a long time - so look for new songs up there as the I work my magic.

May 19th 2011
Wow, my semester is finally over and now I really must get this album out. The search for a good label continues, but Plan B is always waiting in the wings. Sorry that it's taking so long... but it will be worth the wait. I'm thinking of putting a little sampling of songs up so people can get hooked. Thanks for your patience...

Feb 19th 2011
On Market Street is the name of my new album (unless I choose a different one) Pre-ordering has not started yet since I'm looking for labels to put it out in various parts of the world. But I imagine it will be out in the Spring. It features the talents of Pat Johnson, Michael Papenburg, Dawn Richardson, Alec Palao, Steven Strauss, with Danny Eisenberg – Hammond B-3 and Wurlitzer, Jeffrey Wood – Mellotron, and a fine string quartet led by Julian Smedley.
Jeffrey also produces and Adam Muños mixed it!
Here are the songs:
1. All the Way
2. Missouri Lounge
3. You Reel Me in
4. On Market Street
5. Scrap
6. Come Back to the Fountain
7. Winter Coats
8. Dead Girl
9. Meet Me in France
10. If You’re Willing
11. USSA (bonus track on CD)

November 2010
My new album is well on it's way to being done! Hooray! I'm going to put a up page soon for people who want to pre-order or help fund the recording. Other news: The Avengers have filed a big fat lawsuit against a certain record label. More on that soon. (actually I think all these Federal Court records are public knowledge and you can google it) we found time to play a few super fun shows (yeah, Montreal!) and a punk fest in LA. School winds on and on and on and on... but I'm painting!

2010 and May already!
The site has just recovered from a nasty malware attack and after many calls to my host network, it's got a clean bill of health, and Google has cleared up their warnings.
Why have I not posted? Busy, busy, busy with a few non-music related things... school, yes I'm a university student now... moving all my money away for the corporate slimebanks... planning to record a new PH album this summer... and more soon-to-be-divulged activities. You may have noticed that the "Pink Album" appeared on iTunes and Amazon. Not for long. And remember, if you want your hard-earned money to ever reach the band, buy it directly from us.

July 31st 2009 Hi peoples,
International Birdboys Day is August 2nd.
You should change all your plans for this Sunday afternoon and come down to the Bottom of the Hill for a special show.
I'm going to be playing Birdboys songs with Steven Strauss, Mel Peppas, Kurt Stevenson, Josef Brinckmann and Fede Gil Sola!
Yes it's a reunion of sorts. Early, and all ages (dispite contrary info on the BOH website). Doors are at noon, show at 1.
Also reuniting are the wonderful Spot 1019!
Tickets are available for the Avengers west coast tour and other PH band shows which are coming up soon.
If you can't make it this Sunday just spin your copy of Birdboys at approximately 2:pm and use finger puppets to re-enact the performance you'll be missing.
Penelope and the Birdboys
Aug 2, Sunday BBQ 1PM show at Bottom of the Hill
1233 17th St SF CA 415-621-4455 tix $8/10 all ages
A semi-reunion show with SPOT 1019 and YARDSALE
more...Penelope and Loutish band
Sept 14, Monday 8PM Cafe du Nord
2170 Market St SF CA tix $15 age 21+
supporting MONKS OF DOOM

August 22nd 2008, I'm planning a Music in Schools Benefit
(and Instrument Recycling)
with my solo band (including Jeffrey Luck Lucas on cello!) and Colin Gilmore Hosted by Café du Nord, San Francisco on Monday Sept 8th, 2008
Please help spread the word on this benefit. Thanks!
If you can't make it to the show..
Buy a CD now to benefit Music in Schools.

August 2nd 2008 Had the funnest times at both of the shows. PH and band at the Great American Music Hall playing with Stan Ridgeway was one of my best sounding shows. If anyone made a recording or video I would love to hear/see that. Here's a few little reviews from a Stan fan and a DJ
As for the Pioneers of Punk at the Fillmore show last Sat... The Avengers rocked very hard. Our temporary drummer, Cary Lascala was amazing and the sound was great. Thanks Krist for the use of your killer bass rig. It was good to see the members of Negative Trend, The Mutants and Flipper again. Some rare footage from Target Video was the icing on the cake.
Now you can see our first song "We Are the One" on youtube
and read a review with many pics (click on "Additional Photos")
And here a pic of me onstage jamming with Flipper on Sex Bomb.... oh wait I'm just up there stealing the last Guiness from Bruce's private onstage cooler!

July 10th 2008, RIP Bruce Conner. Just heard the sad news that Bruce passed away on July 7th at his home. He was 74. All the more reason to see the exhibit outlined below. It's up until August 3rd and also includes some classic flyers from the period and displays of original copies of Search and Destroy magazine. Which you can still buy for your collection...'"Living the punk life, 1976-1979." Incendiary interviews, passionate photographs, art brutal. Corrosive minimalist documentation of the only youth rebellion of the seventies. Crammed with information and inspiration. The real thing, not some doddering sensational rehash.'
2 SF shows coming up... PH on 7/17 and Avengers on 7/26

June 5th 2008, Hi folks, Be sure to check out the Bruce Conner/Mabuhay exhibit at the Berkeley Art Museum this month. It features 53 pics of The Avengers, Negative Trend, UXA, F-Word, Sleepers, The Mutants, the audience members and more.
In conjunction with the exhibit, four nights of films will play throughout June.
I'll be at tonight's showing of "Louder, Faster, Shorter" a 1978 documentary of the Miner's Benefit with the Avengers, Dils, Mutants, Sleepers, and UXA; "Deaf Punk" a very rare look at the scene at the Deaf Club circa 1978; and "Blank Generation" about early CBGB's shows with footage of Talking Heads, the Ramones, Television, Patti Smith etc. It all starts at 8:30 PM and the theater is at 2575 Bancroft Way, Berkeley CA, between College and Telegraph.
Those of you who are too far to come to the showing can still see Louder Faster Shorter by ordering the DVD online from me here:

May 28, 2008 Don't miss this show: SF Punk Pioneers... get your tickets early.Last time we played with Flipper and the Mutants at the Fillmore it sold out and everyone was begging me for tickets. This time you've got plenty of warning, but tickets will be announced to the public in a few days...Better get your's now. This looks like the only Avengers show this summer. Ticketmaster.com LiveNation.com Fillmore Box Office
PIONEERS OF PUNK San Francisco Bay Area
FLIPPER/THE AVENGERS/THE MUTANTS/NEGATIVE TREND
TARGET VIDEO 77 (They haven't announced what they will show yet, but we know they have footage of Cramps at Napa, the Mutants at the School for the Deaf, Crime at San Quentin prison, Avengers, Dils, Dead Kennedys, Germs, Circle Jerks, Weirdos, Black Flag, Flipper, Diamanda Galas, X, Survival Research Labs (S.R.L/Mark Pauline) Gun Club, Screamers, Bad Brains, Dead Kennedys, Bauhaus and more)
SATURDAY JULY 26TH 2008 at THE FILLMORE SAN FRANCISCO

Feb. 28 2008 Jimmy, Danny, Greg, Brad... Jonathan: Where are they now?
Being the caretaker of the Avengers sites, I realize that there's lots of info on me and not much on the other early Avengers. To remedy that I've dug up a few links for the curious:

Chubby Cleaver: Original bassist, Jimmy Wilsey, who went on to create the guitar sound that launched Chris Isaak's career, has a brand new solo album, El Dorado. He lives in LA, has one adorable tyke, Waylon, and makes lonesome Western instrumental tracks. See his myspace site for details.

Gerg Scars: Original (and current) guitarist, Greg Ingraham, lives in SF has 2 talented kids and when not on tour with me, plays with the Hi Nobles

Brad Kunt: Brad Kent (guitarist 1979) recently resurfaced and is living in Vancouver and starting a new band: Smoke'n'Fire. Look for their Myspace link in our Top friends section.

Danny Furious: (Founding member) After 1979, he went on to drum with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and Jorma Kaukonen. He lives in Sweden, has 2 kids and is known as a vegetarian chef in Stockholm. He's still furious and told his story in gory and subjective detail online.
No Myspace page that I know of, but here's some recent pics...

Jonathan Postal (bassist for our first 6 shows) went on to front SF power pop band The Readymades, and is now a professional photographer living in Memphis. His site has lots of info and this funny pic of the band.

Feb 17th 2008 Happy Saint Constabilis Day and Happy birthday Fred Frith (59) and Billie Joe Armstong (36). I did a very fun show at the de Young Museum a few days ago. About a thousand people were there looking at art (Gilbert and George) and listening to these songs: Hole, Soul Redeemer, Dead Girl, Missouri Lounge (My new song that name drops the home of the Wed Night Open Mic by Paul Pot) If You're Willing, You Reel Me In, Pale Green Girl, Paint It Black, Corpus Christi, and The American in Me. All kinds of small children --incuding Barbara Lui's who wore their underwear on the outside -- not to mention older folk's --Jean Caffeine's parents stayed all the way through sound check -- library workers and crusty punks; thrilled to the sounds of Jello's voice and my semi-righteous band, Lout, with Pat Johnson, Ned Dougherty, and Dave Leonard. Eventually lavish praise was slathered about. Keep an eye out for more PH/Lout gigs as the Avengers are on a little hiatus (see below).
Also check out the vinyl and cassettes I've dug up!

Dec 14th 2007 The US tour was fast and fun. My favorite shows were in Austin and New York. Look for my first ever interview with Ratso (a sock puppet) on Chic-a-go-go. And look for Greilian mention in the 01/08 issue of Interview Magazine. Other news... Luis is opening a store in Brooklyn called Urban Rustic. Go on down there and get yourself a Santanoni sandwich and a fresh squeezed Saranac.
Here's the really big news...next Monday is my birthday! And it is a big one. So, send those greetings my way and play some Penelope and Avengers song on the 17th! We're starting the year out with an all ages show at Gilman in January and an all ages PH show in Feb... And, oh yeah...Tis the season to support your fave independent musicians so shop here and I'll sign it for ya!

Oct 5th 2007 Here's the word on presidential politics and Avengers lyrics from writer Falling James in this week's LA Weekly. "The Avengers, Pansy Division at Spaceland. Great moments in presidential speeches rewritten: “Ask not what you can do for your country/What’s your country been doing to you?” as the Avengers’ Penelope Houston railed back in 1979 on the Steve Jones–produced “The American in Me,” an anthemic look at the first Kennedy assassination that still raises chills today. “It’s the American in me that makes me watch the blood running out of the bullet hole in his head... It’s the American in me that says it’s an honor to die in a war that’s just a politician’s lie.” What a shame that we don’t live in wartime or an era when politicians are routinely deceitful — otherwise you could argue that the Avengers, one of the earliest and most thrilling San Francisco punk bands and a direct influence on an entire generation of riot grrls, are still relevant today. After the Avengers broke up, Houston worked for a spell with Magazine’s Howard Devoto, then morphed into a contrastingly laid-back folk-pop persona before reuniting her old band a few years ago with original guitarist Greg Ingraham. They’re backed by drummer Luis Illades and bassist Joel Reader, who’ll do double duty with the reconstituted queercore parodists Pansy Division.
I've finally got the flyers up if you want to post them!

Sept 18th 2007 Mmm... a ridiculous amount of time has gone by since my last news bit. But lots is happening. We're going on an-almost-all-ages tour of the Ol' US of A in a few weeks and hope to see you face to face. I expect the October (Punk) issue of SPIN Magazine is gonna have pictures of myself and Jimmy Wilsey along with members of X, The Germs, Dils, Slits and Weirdos and a free-for-all style interview we all did with Jack Rabid. Some nice old and new pics up on the myspace page. Also check out this cool webpage run by Alice Bag, which coincidentally features an recent interview with yours truly. Also see my somewhat cleaned up webstore... new FAQ and there really is going to be a whole new site someday.

April 15th 2007 Just had the funnest time on Pirate Cat Radio, the lovely local pirate station. DJ Drinks with Tony had me DJ-ing and I dug out some old 45s to spin... Pink Section, Inflatable Boy Clams, Mutants, Student Nurse. There will be a podcast of the show up on their site for 6 weeks so check it out! click on the "Drinks with Tony" april 14 show in the Podcast list (I don't start until a quarter of the way into the show). And come see the Avengers play next week!

April 5th 2007 Secret show tomorrow in the East Bay! I'll be dusting off the autoharp and tearing some hearts up. Don't miss it. Finally I've got a downloads page on on my website. Not streaming (someday I'll figure that out... there really is a new website being developed) but songs you can buy. Thanks to everyone who's bought CDs, LPs and Tees from this site. That's what keeps it up here in the www.

Mar 14, 2007. Ahhh... home from a fun but long Avengers tour. Rome was the best! There are some clips up on You Tube made with cell phones or... here's my favorite one from Stuttgart. There's also some up there from the Pearl Jam concert where Greg and I joined them for The American in Me. Who knows how long any of that will be up there. Other news, a couple of local shows coming up. And I brought back some tour tees in new designs and they come in Girlie sizes for the ladies! Both of these designs are from my art school days. I also made the teeshirt page a bit easier to maneuver. Check 'em.

Jan 23, 2007 New Avengers European Tour. Starting in a couple weeks. We'll play just one show in NYC on the way over the big pond. It's at the Bowery Ballroom, so please come see us and help spread the word. Look for some big news posted on our return and a new website in April!

July 27 2006, New All Ages show announced! Hi folks, Last week was pretty crazy for me. Sang "The American In Me" 3 times; breaking personal records in the hottest, biggest crowd, and best local gig catagories. On Sunday, I went with Avengers guitarist Greg to see Sonic Youth and Pearl Jam (who had been covering the song live in 2004-5) My friend Liz works for them and got us into the sold out shows. When we were invited to meet the band, they asked us if we wanted to perform the song with them in front of their 7000 rabid PJ fans. "uh yeah what key do you do it in?" "In G"... Just one whole step down, which was easy for me, but Greg had to refigure his chords and solo after playing in "A" for the last 27 years! He pulled it off though and it was a blast. In case anyone was there and wondering what my self-made pink duct-tape wristband said... it was "Fuck Bush"
On Friday we did another show at Cafe du Nord and it must be our 5th or 6th time playing there. Love that club. After a set by the amazing Mon Cousin Belge we jumped up and blasted through our best(since reforming) local set ever. All fun. Thanks to everyone who came out.
Saturday was more challenging... an outdoor festival in Modesto with temps at 112. But the "indie" stage at this big overly guarded and under attended 6-stage X-Fest was interestingly booked (Numbers, David Bazan from Pedro The Lion, Micha P Hinson, etc.) by Mike from Devil In the Woods. And the vast majority of beer-guzzled X-ers were off somewhere else watching Vanilla Ice, Tone Loc or the Marshall Tucker Band. Street level temperatures were measured by paramedics at 124 degrees, but when we played at 9:PM I sure it was down to 100 or so. I was not so worried about heat stroke, as whether the yahoos stumbling by our little audience would catch a lyric and come round to beat me up after the set. We rocked suprisingly hard anyway and "White N*gger" was dedicated to Vanilla "Fuck Osama and his mamma --Here's to our troops, they got the ganga--show us yer tits" Ice.
Off to LA and San Diego tomorrow for some cooler weather. Please check these websites for updated info... and spread the word!

July 6 2006, 2 more PH albums are available for download from iTunes. Newly posted is a video of us playing in Hamburg in February on the Avengers Myspace page. Some Av shows coming together, with interesting support bands... on July 21st in SF we'll play with the bizarrly amusing Mon Cousin Belge and the wildly debauched Jonny Lives. The next day we will hit the streets of Modesto to share a stage with Numbers, Micah P. Hinson and Pedro the Lion frontman David Bazan. That's part of the X-Fest which also sports (on various other stages) Vanilla Ice and the Marshall Tucker Band! Yikes. SoCal the following weekend, and in August some shows for the under-21 crowd... stay in touch.

June 1 2006 Summer is acomin' and maybe, if you're lucky, the Avengers will be playing in a large American city near you! Keep your eye on the shows page for updates. NoCal and SoCal in late July and the East coast and Chitown in September. The good news is that I don't have vocal nodes... (phew!) So we plan to hit the Continent again next Spring. I'm working on new penelope songs and hope to play some next Wed at the Rickshaw Stop in SF. Hope you'll make it. Check out the new PH section on iTunes for all your downloadable PH needs... such as downloads of the out-of-print albums Cut You and Tongue.

May 10 2006 My, how time flies. Lots has happened in the last few months. The Avengers had a smashing Euro tour where we stayed and played in squats and youth centers and 4-star hotels and great standing-room-only rock clubs. It was friendly and freezing cold and I lost the upper end of my voice for a few shows, but we plowed on with the intrepid Ales of Nomads of Prague, a great touring company. I was amazed at how many of the opening bands had female punk singers who have recorded Avengers covers (4 or 5) and even more startled by how many of them (3!) actually played our songs in their opening sets!!! We plan to go back again once our bones have thawed out. The highlights were Rome, Berlin and Hamburg. I promise to get some fotos up in the next... month. Until then, check these out from Rome. While we were gone all my friends and people who would later stopme in store parking lots, got to see me and Pat play "If You're Willing" on the Josh Kornbluth Show. Which you can view online if you have Real Player. I've been resting the voxbox since returning excpt for the sold-out "Fab Mab Reunion" at the Fillmore w/ the Mutants, Avengers, Flipper and The DKs sans Jello (which in my book is not the best idea) It was a very fun night for everyone involved. On to the future... some Penelope appearances and Avengers shows in NoCal, SoCal and the East coast.

Jan 27th 2006 We're getting ready for the Avengers first ever European Tour. Most dates are up but a few in the uK are still being set up. Thanks to Mutti's Booking and Bryan. Please let all your eurotrash friend know of out shows. We promise to be amazing! While we're away you can catch me and Pat Johnson playing a new song live on the Josh Kornbluth Show on KQED. It'll be on Feb 20th at 7:30 PM. I do a little interview with the very smart, large-headed Josh and Dirk Dirksen expounds on punk history as well. The latest in must-haves for my super-collectors is a limited edition, hand-printed letter-press broadside of the lyrics to The American in Me. Signed, of course!

Dec 16th 2005. Well well well. The year's flown by. Tomorrow is my birthday, so go to my webstore and buy me something (and then keep it) I've been doing a lot of shows with my musical colaborator, Pat Johnson to celebrate the U.S. release of his CD October Moon and have I another coming up in Jan. Also, Thunderbirds ARE GO for an Avengers tour in Europe so please check all the shows and tell your friends! Last week I played a new song live on the Josh Kornbluth Show on KQED. It will air sometime in Feb, 2006. I've been keeping an infrequent blog on the Myspace page with some poems on it now. There is my Penelope page and my Avengers page with some new live recordings. Join up for more fun!

Sept 28th 2005, OK Avengers have gotten a last minute show in Silverlake (Los Angeles) at the Echo!!! 18 and over. Please spread the word.

Sept 24th 2005, Sorry, I've been out of the newsroom for a while. It's been quiet around here and I'm writing songs. Check the shows page for last minute changes in upcoming spots. It looks like the SoCal Wasted Fest has been cancelled due to business difficulties. But the Avengers are trying to get a show in LA on Oct 8th to replace it. Join our email list to get updates. I will be playing with my band Lout! Sept 30th in Berkeley. The very talented Mike Theriaeu and sean smith will open the show. Here's a recent Penelope interview from online zine Here and There.

May 3, 2005 It looks like the Avengers will be taking a break for most of the summer after this next round of shows. Joel and Luis will be playing shows across America to support their upcoming Plus Ones CD out early July. Look for them! Penelope will be working on a new solo album and will be playing new material with Pat Johnson and crew around California (look for her at the Mission Creek Music Festival) So this may be your last chance for an Avengers fix: The Avengers play Cafe du Nord, on Friday the 13th of May w/ Harold Ray Live In Concert! and special guests Baby Jail. This could sell out, so get your tix now online. Then we'll rock the UK playing The Underworld in London May 21, and the bloated punk festival called Wasted in Morecombe @ 6:PM on May 22.On a more literary note: I had so much fun (and butterflies stomach) at the reading for JT Leroy's novella Howard's End, that I'm doing it again. Don't miss me and others, including the mega-talented Sean San Jose, and a showing of Cherry Hood's original illustrations for the book. It's free and all ages. Sat. May 7th 7:00 - 11:00 @Varnish Fine Art Gallery 77 Natoma street between 1st and 2nd St. and Mission and Howard.

Jan 27th 2005 We raised $2400 at the door of the benefit (see below) for Nancy Kravitz! And a feverishly good time was had by all. In other recent fund raising feats, Penelope gave a Vivienne Westwood Seditionaries shirt from early Avengers times to the People For The American Way fundraising auction which sold for $800! If you're in Germany check out this one hour radio special on Penelope, Friday Jan 28th at 19:00 on Radio RSG. If you live in the Bay Area see Penelope read Thursday, Feb. 3rd 6:PM from J.T. Leroy's new novella "Harold's End"details here. The reading preceeds the SF debut of the film "The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things" which opens the SF Independent Film Fest.

Jan 20th 2005 We had a great time doing the Avengers UK tour and playing with The Damned, who brought us Absinthe backstage, which led to my singing along during an encore of "Smash it Up" and giving Captain Sensible (in his schoolgirl frock) a righteous spanking during his guitar solo! If you're across the pond and missed it, we will probably be going back over in May for Morcombe. I did bring back Some UK Avengers tees and have 2 designs in GIRLIE Tees!! So all you girls and friends of girls, check out the new swag. Tonight we play a benefit to help cover the medical bills of Mr Nancy Kravitz, a fab SF girl drummer who's supported the scene and like many artists and musicians in the US, has no health care.

Nov 24th 2004 Don't let Thanksgiving turn you into a turkey-stuffed TV watching zombie! The Avengers are going to the UK to play 5 shows. But before we go... our last US show this year will be: Friday, Nov 26th 9:PM $12 The Cafe du Nord, Buy tix online. It's all ages!! The Avengers w/ Von Iva (hot rock band of four hot girls!) The Horribles ( two girls and one guy playing punk rock and roll from LA) Not to say girls are better... but this line up features the talents of 7 girls! Avengers UK dates: Dec 8th and Dec 9th supporting The Damned. Dec 10th and Dec 11th we headline two shows and Dec 12th London "Wasted X-Mas" at The Astoria w/ The Damned, Sham 69, UK Subs, Chelsea, 999 + more. But with only about 3 girls out of 40 musicians

Oct 30th 2004. We are back from Europe and had a great time there. Many wonderful shows starting with a performance in Bonn at the Harmonie. and ending 19 days and 19 shows later in Salzburg. Some more live photos here. We brought back some brand new Pale Green Girl Tour T-shirts and posters. Back in time to VOTE! And starting to think about the Avengers shows coming up in November (26th at Cafe du Nord in SF) and maybe 5 in the UK. Check out the new Pat Johnson CD Famous Butterflies available from my webstore, featuring ex-Byrd Gene Parsons, Mike Therieau and me!

Oct 4th 2004. Tomorrow we fly to europe to play 19 shows...wheeee!
I'm taking Pat Johnson, Mike Therieau, Ned Doherty and Dave Leonard and we'll be playing long sets in clubs with great sound systems to people who speak German and Croatian. Thom and Greg Moore will sing too! Nicky Cacavas will drive. Please help us spread the word, by emailing all your friends on the civilized side of the Atlantic. Other news is the release of Pat Johnson's latest recordings (2 of which I'm singing on) featuring ex-Byrd Gene Parsons, Mike Therieau, and more. These 4 new songs are the centerpiece of "Famous Butterflies," an eleven song collection of unreleased studio and live material. Really beautiful. I mean it, and not because I'm on it! Get your copy now, so he can eat while we're on tour. Also the Moore Brothers are opening for us on the complete Euro tour. Their lovely new album "Now Is The Time For Love" is out on Plain Recordings and in stores now. While we ride the van around the Continent my best friend will be filling your CD orders, so be patient. Thanks for all you support and make sure to register now and vote on Nov 2. I'm not going to be around to nag you.
xxx love you, penelope

Oct 1, 2004. Wow. What fun playing in Portland and Seattle with the Avengers last weekend. Portland's big punk club, Sabala's, was the site of maybe our best show with this line up. The band rocked like banshees and the audience went insane. Amazing. The next day we drove to Seattle to play a benefit for "No Vote Left Behind" which is a voter drive with the intent of getting Kerry in and Bush out of office. Here's a few words from each musician involved, about why they played, from Seattle's best weekly rag The Stranger. There was also this review in the Seattle PI. We also got a tingle when we heard that Pearl Jam had played "The American in Me" to a sold out crowd the night before!

Sept 17th, 2004. Today I'm having my first real DJ experience. You can hear it streamed on KUSF TODAY from 3-4:pm Pacific Time. My playlist will include unreleased material from people like The Moore Brothers, Pat Johnson, The Plus Ones, Thistle, and timely songs from Mekons, Bart Davenport, Hard Place, did I mention the Avengers? other PH faves and music from some of the bands playing with us on 9/19. So tune in, stream in, and come to Valencia Street Fair on Sunday.

August 30th 2004, We had a blast playing SoCal again. Next Avengers shows are Sept 24+25 in Portland and Seattle. For my Penelope/Pat Johnson band (the Crankies?) we are reheasing a new drummer; Dave Leonard, for our 19-show European tour. We'll do a couple of warm-up shows in the Bay Area (Sept 9th and 19th) before heading out in early Oct. It's mostly Germany with a few Austrian, Swiss, and Croatian shows for good measure. Please spread the word about us if you've got friends abroad or up North.

July 25th 2004, We've been having a great time playing the scAvengers shows. A few more are scheduled for 2004; some all ages shows in SoCal (including the Sunset Junction Street Fair with a great line-up) and 2 in the PNW and maybe a couple in London at the end of the year. If you miss the punk shows, don't miss out on the new Avengers Tees. I will be doing a European Tour in October with my "solo" band, the Crankies or whatever we're called. And the Moore Bros. will be along for the ride. It's going to like psycho summer camp! Look for some SF warm-up shows before then. (Sept. 19th Valencia Street Fair!)

June 16th 2004, scAvengers shows are coming to SoCal! Don't miss them. The American in Me CD got a great review in Pop Matters.

May 19th 2004, Important news for all Avengers fans: I'm re-uniting with Avengers guitarist, Greg Ingraham(AKA Gerg Scars) and we will tear up a full set set of Avengers tunes at 924 Gilman St, Berkeley CA on Fri. May 28th. Filling in on bass and drums are Joel Reader and Luis Illades (of the Plus Ones.) This will be the first of a handful of Cali shows, and celebrates the release of the new Avengers CD The American in Me on DBKWorks. The name we are playing under is the scAvengers, so don't miss out! Get on our email list or check the shows page frequently.

May 9th Happy Mother's Day!
Pale Green Girl in the Real Life Top Ten of Greil Marcus.
There are lot's of chances to see and hear me this week, May 10-15:
Catch me talking and spinning on KPFA 94.1 FM, Monday night at Midnight on PVC's show. Tuesday night starting around 8:50 PM, I'll be performing live with Pat Johnson and Ned Doherty on KALX 90.7 FM. The most fun could be our
East Bay CD release party!! Sat. May 15th, at the Starry Plough,
If you've never been to the Plough, you've missed out. It's a friendly neighborhood pub with a good choice of beers, ciders, and nicely priced pizza and fish and chips. The sound has been steadily improving over the years. We'll start at 11:00, but come early to catch the amazing Moore Bros and Mike V.
If you can't make the live events, you can keep up with my online presence. Derk Richardson wrote this very nice and indepth piece on the SFGate with MPEGs, JPegs and a dozen links:
Call your local good radio station and ask to hear some Penelope/Avengers.
Finally, Pat and I will be playing a benefit at Dylan's for their Nicaraguan School Project on May 22nd.
Find out more on that and the latest scAvengers show .

April 25th 2004, I know it took a long time coming, but now that The Pale Green Girl CD is out, it's causing a bit of a commotion... All Music Guide gave it a 4 star rating.
Greil Marcus, the peerless cultural historian, after hearing my song "Pale Green Girl" on KALX, emailed me and said "it's the best recording you've made since the Avengers, and as punk as anything you've ever done--the slowness, the shock at the end when the song reveals its true punk heart, or cracks its whip. And that guitar solo--just a few notes, making you lean forward, wondering what's being said. Wow."
And Derk Richardson has made our up-coming show the Chronicle's ePick this week.
So please come see my band & pick up a copy at the SF CD Release Party!
USA Today writer, Ken Barnes, calls "The Pale Green Girl" his new favorite.
Even before it's official release, the new Avengers CD was #4 on Portland radio station KBOO.

April 13th 2004, Here are the promised audience-eye-view photos of my moment with Mission of Burma. A groovy review of my covers CD Snapshot just came out in the latest issue of Venuszine. And the new Avengers CD is not officially out yet, but already #4 on KBOO Radio in Portland!
Ever wanted to know what my new songs are about? Here are some clues.

April Fools Day 2004, OK seriously, I can now send out all the copies of my two new CDs, The Pale Green Girl and the Avengers The American in Me to all who pre-ordered them. Thank you! And although they won't be in stores until April 20th, you can buy them here. And on sale! We'll also be selling them at the CD release parties in SF and the East Bay. But why wait?

March 24th 2004, A fun time was had by all at SXSW. We played 4 shows and I was asked to sing "The American in Me" with Mission of Burma! Hopefully I'll have some photos to post soon. I've posted the new press releases about my CD Pale Green Girl and the new Avengers CD which are offered at a special two-fer sale saving you $5. Did you know that 2 of my earlier CDs are available from CDBaby? They are included in their 3-fer $15 sale. What a deal! But it takes some serious browsing to find them.

March 13th 2004, We're on our way to Austin for SXSW. We'll be playing 4 shows, three with our new band and one acoustic show with Pat Johnson. Most of them are free so if you're going to be there, please come by and say hello. My two new CDs will be available at my shows, or you can pre-order them online. (One is the Penelope CD and the other an Avengers CD.) They will ship on April 1st.

Feb 21st, 2004, Pat Johnson and I have put together a great new band. Don't miss our historic debut on Feb 28th @ Starry Plough in Berkeley. It features myself and Pat, Mike Theriau on guitar (Mover, Dave Gleason's Wasted Days) Ned Doherty on bass (Mushroom) and John Hofer on drums (Persephone's Bees, Downy Mildew).
Our first San Francisco show will be at The Make Out Room, March 3rd and we're going to the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, TX, as well.
CD news! I have a new shipment of my import-only CD karmal apple so anyone that needs one of those can get it now. Two new CDs due out April 20th on DBKWorks. I let you know as soon as I have copies available!

Happy New Year! Thanks to all my friends and fans for their continued support (especially to the one who is giving my a new i-mac!)
Pat and I played a fun set at the MakeOut Room and will likely play there again soon. Our next show is at Cafe du Nord in SF on Jan 11th, 2004. Texans can see us this year @ SXSW (March 18-21, 2004) and we hope to play around the Southwest on a short tour that month. Info to come. If you're not on my email-list, please join for all the latest news. And when you email me please write a clear message in the subject line, because I get alot of penis enlarging spam that just says "Hi."

NOV. 27TH 2003, Another new disc! The new Avengers white vinyl LP Zero Hour from Italy's Get Back label. This wild live recording is from our third-to-last Avengers show in 1979. Recorded at the Old Waldorf, San Francisco, it's a vast improvement over a terrible sounding bootleg of this show on CD that came out some 10 years ago. Includes four songs that have never had an official release and some knockout photography by Ruby Ray. The package include a card innersleeve with more pictures and liner notes. Plus it's on high-grade white Italian vinyl. If you don't have a turntable, most these tracks will be included on a CD coming out in Mar/April, 2004. But the LP is frame-able! ...and only $9.99. Get it for your Avenger fanatic!

Oct. 30rd 2003, It's here! The new 5 song EP Snap Shot from Flare Records. Read a review at All Music Guide. Order your copy (free shipping until Nov 2nd!)online or buy it from me in person at one of these CD release shows! Also available at Mod Lang in Berkeley, and Amoeba in SF and Berkeley.

Sept 27th 2003, Coming soon! The Nov. 1st release of my new 5 song CD EP, Snap Shot, from Flare Records, with cover versions of songs by Pentangle, Colin Blunstone, The Band, Shocking Blue and the Flying Machine. Featuring the Maydays, Willow Willow and the Moore Brothers. Pre-order your copy now or buy it from me in person at one of these two new shows! And look for my interview and punk photo in the new Fall 2003 issue of the ever-hip Venus Magazine at cool newsstands and in stores everywhere.

Sept. 7 2003, If you are desperate for the Avengers album on CD or my other out of print CDs, check out my new offering on my Gotta have it! page.
Can you stand one hour and 23 minutes of a REAL AUDIO interview about the Avengers between me and that outrageous Canadian radio personality Nardwuar.

July 16th 2003, Today, my performance with Pat Johnson at the Howard Dean Celebration is reviewed in Greil Marcus' Real Life Rock Top Ten. Already, I'm getting emails from conspiracy theorists! Mr. Marcus likes "The American in Me" and "Scum", 2 of my most popular songs. See how all my fans voted on their favorites at the new survey results page.

July 9, 2003, It's here!!! My new "Best of" CD on Warners Germany. eighteen stories down It's in store all across Europe, but everyone else had better by it from me! 18 tracks for just $13.99.

June 29th, 2003, What a week! On Monday evening Pat Johnson and I played "The American in Me" and "Scum" at a big (1000+) celebration of Howard Dean's running for Democratic Presidential candidate. It was about the strangest gig I've ever done. You can see a movie of it online at Lisa Rein's site. I do feel strongly about getting Bush out of the White House, and beating him in 2004 seems like the only legal way to do it. After my supporting Dean with my performance, I also have supported Dennis Kucinich with my MoveOn Straw Poll vote. I would be happy to vote for either of them next November.
Read an article about (and flirt with) my co-songwriter Pat Johnson.
Only one more day to choose your favorite songs and win! See below.

June 11, 2003, What would you put on a "best of Penelope" album?
We want to know what your favorite Penelope Houston songs are.
You could win a free CD of "eighteen stories down" Penelope's new 18 track "taster" album on WEA Records with 5 unreleased tracks. Just fill out the survey for a chance to win. Three winners names will be drawn on June 30, 2003 to receive the CD. If you'd like to tell us what your favorite songs are without entering the contest, you can email us.

May 30, 2003,
To celebrate the magazine, floating holiday (See below) I'm having a sale. 2 CDS plus a copy of the new issue for $30. Free shipping in the US.
Information on my new German release coming soon...

May 12th 2003,
Hey! I'm a Published Poet. The super cool occasional journal floating holiday has included one of my poems (ER) in their second issue. It is packed with art, fiction, poems, short stories and has a beautiful hand printed cover. I'm offering them at the cover price of $9.00 with free shipping in the US. Order yours here.

April 6th 2003,
Did you know I occasionally make art? Two of my prints were hung at SXSW as part of "The Rawk Show" March 6 - April 5, 2003. Presented by Tinderbox13 "The Rawk Show", was an exhibition of original artwork and photography by women in music at Gallery Lombardi in Austin, Texas. It included works from Nina Hagen, Exene Cervenka, ex-members of Hole, Lords of Acid, Bis, Rasputina, Atari Teenage Riot, and many more talented girl rockers.
The online gallery is still available for your perusal.
Those 2 prints have sold, but anyone interested in buying another one should contact me. They are linocuts portraits of myself and the late great Tomata du Plenty.

March 30 2003,
On the War Front: Having gone to many peace marchs in the last few months I have found faith in my fellow humans in the midst of these idiotic and brutal times. Please do whatever you can to help end the war. For ideas on peaceful actions go to move on.org. Here is my latest offering; a poem which I wrote last week after visiting San Francisco's new Asian Art Museum located in the (vastly rebuilt) old Main Library, where I worked for many years.
"On visiting the New Asian"

On the Music front: I'm working out a new project with WEA Germany. To be announced soon!

December 17th 2002,
Well, I think I played zero shows last year! Anyway, I'll be hitting the boards with Pat Johnson on
Thurs. Jan 9th, 2003, @ Starry Plough
with the talented Bart Davenport; Willow,willow; and Tippy Canoe. We play last at 10:45 or so. 6$ at the door.

Newly pressed UKEBOX Christmas CDRs and in!
These are great! Click here to read more.

October 19th 2002,
Wow, It's been a long time since I've worked on the site... My newest album is done and I'm trying to find some nice labels to put it out in the US and Europe.
I've added 2 new CDS to the Girl Store: My Best Yesterdays by Jill Olson and Feminist Sweepstakes by Le Tigre featuring Kathleen Hanna. I'm also getting striaght A's for all my college courses! Please send me a note and join my email list.

April 5, 2002,
The Loud Family site has a new MP3 up of "Corpus Christi" performed solo by Scott Miller at the Bottom of the Hill, SF. Hear it.

March 31st, 2002,
Happy Spring! I've been chosen as April's featured Artist of the Month on the website Best Female Musicians.com and there you'll find a glowing review of Loners, Stoners and Prison Brides and many pages on other groovy girl bands.
Thanks to everyone who ordered their Collectors Sets. They are all sold out!

Click here to see more news from the past.