“I
find it hard to articulate... I find it hard to pronounce these
words”
Take Liz Phair's cocksure
sexual self awareness, give it a garage punk beat, filter it through
the experiences of a young Chicana growing up in Denver, before being
abruptly uprooted to Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mx...... mold it into
unruly three minute discourses on alienation, displacement and the
never ending war against misogyny (in this case the machismo culture
that infects Mexican society) and you have Teresa Suarez, aka Teri
Gender Bender, the clever, sensual and mesmerizing musician behind Le
Butcherettes. She's a unique musical bi-product of clashing cultures,
who rages against the machine with rancor and honesty. Teresa sings
in her native language... English, though she's equally proficient in
Spanish. Her unmistakably American vocals, give away her extensive
musical influences.
The Tapatio whirlwind
wields a guitar like a cleaver.... all down strokes and slashing
riffs (Teri asked her father to buy her a guitar at 10 years old
after she had dreams about playing the guitar) On stage she demands
your attention. Seeking to satisfy her need to feed your soul,
punishing her instruments.... smashing her keyboard, then tossing it
aside like an inattentive boyfriend. The uninitiated are taken aback.
The divide between her and the audience melts away, Teri stage dives
backwards into their midst, arms outstretched. She begs for
punishment and finds only admiration, love and an occasional call to
“show us your titties” Teri builds to a raging orgasmic climax.
The fans eat it up. It's a mental health balancing act not seen since
sullied Mexican pop diva Gloria Trevi was titillating the masses.
"There's
so many demons I have inside — they're little gods," she said
as she mimed the act of holding a baby when asked about her
songwriting approach. "There's a god of evil, the god of good,
the god of sex, the god of lust. With music, I tap into those god
demons. It's therapy" Los
Angeles Times, Todd Martens
Born in Denver to an
Hispano American father and Mexican mother, Teri's life changed
dramatically when her father died of a heart attack and her mother
decided to move back to Mexico. “They considered me
different, like a weirdo, because my Spanish was not Tapatío; I had
an accent. They called me gringa (slang for American) I felt
alienated.” You can only smash so many boys in the
face with a lunch tray, Tori quickly learned to channel her seething
rage into other outlets such as music. Formed in 2007, Le
Butcherettes gained notoriety using visual elements such as meat, pig
heads, and blood. “It was a metaphor of the people’s perception
of women as pieces of meat, when in reality, they’re the pigs”
Teresa's intense demeanor isn't for the faint of heart and eventually
it led to tension with her drummers starting with Auryn Jolene, who
formed one half of the original Guadalajara duo.
Distressingly, their
differing views on radical feminism led to Auryn treating Teresa in
an abusive manner. At one point Auryn went so far as to declare to
the Mexican media that the band was over.... all of which came as a
surprise to Teri, who had no intention of putting Le Butcherettes on
hiatus. Teresa may have languished in Guadalajara had it not been for
a chance encounter with Omar Rodriguez-López (originally from El
Paso, Tx., of At the Drive-In and Mars Volta fame) Omar just happened
to be present at a dive club in Guadalajara where Le Butcherettes
were one of five acts playing. Just before the proceedings were to
get underway, there was a power outage. The bands scheduled to
preform opted not to play with one exception.
With bullhorn in hand,
Teri Gender Bender literally dragged her drummer onstage. Le
Butcherettes played a complete acoustic set. This caught Omar's
attention, who was drawn in by the Teresa's "dedication to the
spirit of the moment." Rodríguez-López, wasted little time
signing Le Butcherettes to his own label. This first break brought
about a series of changes. Lia Braswell, blonde and lanky, a drummer
from Southern California (she also plays with Gothic Tropic) replaced
Auryn Jolene. Lia fit in well, but eventually it was a bit much (Lia
admits having been "frightened," when Teri would suddenly
start urinating on stage. Onstage their chemistry was captivating, a
bit like The White Stripes if Meg White had fronted the band and
played guitar with Jack White behind the drum set.
Next up was Normandi
Heuxdaflo. A rather odd fellow, Normandi performs in what resembles a
luchador mask made from a leatherhead era football helmet. (Teri
claims the mask represents men oppressed by feminism) Heuxdalfo was
brought in on a temporary basis after Auryn's departure, but he
quickly made himself at home. Teresa explained in an interview how he
came to see himself as not just a permanent member of the band (which
he wasn't) but also as its front man. While their relationship was
contentious, on stage they clicked like clockwork. Normandi's beefy
beat propelling the band at break neck speed. After the sessions for
the “Sin Sin Sin” album, the palpable strain took its toll and
Normandi was sent packing. The split, same as with Auryn Jolene was
not amicable to say the least.
Following the band's discovery by Omar
Rodriguez-Lopez and their signing to Nadie Sound. Le Butcherettes
relocated... first to San Diego and then to Los Angeles, Teri's
current home base (her mother left Guadalajara and now lives in El
Paso, Tx.) Teri then teamed up with bass player Jonathan Hischke and
drummer Gabe Serbian for a series of concert dates, though she's
currently backed by drummer Chris Common and bassist-guitarist,
Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez, Omar's younger brother. He is best known as
the keyboardist and percussionist of The Mars Volta and the drummer
for Zechs Marquise. Bosnian Rainbows, a collaboration between Omar
and Teri resulted in a well received album release in 2013 and a
subsequent tour.
“And while the
band's fame is of the cult variety, Le Butcherettes has a host of
influential fans, including Garbage's Shirley Manson and Henry
Rollins of Black Flag notoriety. Rollins, a master of rock intensity
himself, praises, Suarez's "powerful intellect" and
compares her stage presence to that of Iggy Pop. "She's
something," he said. "She's a star. It's like a great
character in a movie. You want to know what happens when the movie is
over. You want to know the rest of the story with her." Los
Angeles Times, Todd Martens
Le Butcherettes' discography is a mixed
bag of rage fueled, garage punk inspired rock and self indulgent
oddities, combined with Teri's brand of modern feminism... all
presented with a decidedly American slant. One thing is for sure,
Teresa Suarez has shown a growing maturity and sophistication both
emotionally and in her music. This could be the result of Teri
finally finding her rightful place in this world. From my own
experiences, living between two cultures and two languages has its
rewards and pitfalls or as many folks caught in that predicament will
attest to: You're neither here nor there. Too gringo for the Mexicans
and too Mexican for the gringos. Seeing how Teri is hard wired,
nothing comes easy, not for her nor her fans. But, don't be afraid
homies, dive right in, she won't hurt you.
“Kiss & Kill” ep. recorded in
2008, released for download on Bandcamp in 2015 is the only
recording available from the Guadalajara period when Le Butcherettes was a duo
consisting of Teri Gender Bender and Auryn Jolen. “Sin
Sin Sin” was the band's first fully realized album, recorded after
Teri joined forces with Rodriguez-Lopez Productions. It's also the
only recording featuring Normandi Heuxdalfo. “Cry is for the Flies”
released in 2014 is another Rodriguez-Lopez Production, features Lia
Braswell on drums, Henry Rollins spoken word on “Moment of Guilt”
and Shirley Manson (Garbage) vocals on “Shame, You're All I've Got”
“Chaos as Usual” is a split ep w/The Melvins released on the
Amphetamine Reptile label in 2015 and last but not least “A Raw
Youth” produced by Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and featuring Chris
Commons, Jamie Aaron Aux, Iggy Pop, John Frusciante, Deantoni
Parks(Mars Volta) and Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez, is Le Butcherettes
latest release.
