Our occasional series “Secret History” features profiles of classic D.C. albums as a way of looking back at the District’s contributions to music over time. This entry takes a look back at Tuscadero’s stellar debut LP, “The Pink Album” (Teenbeat, 1994 / Elektra, 1996).
Tuscadero were one of D.C’s most shamelessly grin-inducing groups, specializing in stupid-smart major-chord bangers and hopelessly catchy guitar pop confections. Nicking their name from Suzi Quatro’s lovable delinquent Happy Days character, Leather Tuscadero, the quartet (guitarists/vocalists Melissa Farris and Margaret McCartney, bassist Phil Satlof, and drummer Jack Hornady) trafficked in a sound steeped in pop culture references and snarky sexuality, drenched in razor-sharp hooks and a yen for the girl-group vibe. Part of the area’s venerable Teenbeat roster before moving to major label Elektra, Tuscadero were a crucial fixture on the District’s Clinton-era musical landscape.
Tuscadero’s style and approach grew from a number of disparate influences. “I personally listened to the Breeders, Black Sabbath, Matthew Sweet, Luna, and yes, Bread,” Hornady told DCist. “I get a lot of grief about that. When we were on tour I listened to Bread so much that Phil Satlof took it upon himself to toss my Bread tape out the window while I was napping in the back of the van. He later fessed up when I couldn’t find it. I’m sure it’s still sitting there in some field in Iowa.”
“We had pretty disparate musical tastes, which led to a good deal more cassette-tossing-out-of-van-windows than just Jack’s Best of Bread,” recalled Farris. “We all fell in love at some point with an old record we bought on tour called Countrypolitan, and used to play it in the van and sing along like an off-tune Partridge Family. Margaret and I both had a fondness for the Hair soundtrack, and there was a brief period where we had the soundtrack for a ’70s Bollywood spy flick called Johny Mera Naam on constant repeat.”
“I loved Unrest and Air Miami and Versus,” said Satlof. “In the van we would play Pavement, Isaac Hayes, some British punk stuff like X-Ray Spex and Wire and Joy Division. Meat Puppets, Jefferson Airplane, and Love were big for us, too. And Dylan, especially Desire. We were living with parts of Chisel and Velocity Girl on Irving Street [in Mount Pleasant], so we would hear them… a lot.”
Regardless of any outside influences or preferences, the Tuscadero sound ultimately boiled down to a handful of key elements, according to Farris: “Cheap, poorly tuned instruments, a dearth of earplugs, a fair number of shitty ex-boyfriends, and a combination of naivete and hubris.”
