Coathangers going to Bishop

The band first came together as a joke, but after learning how to write and play music properly, punk group the Coathangers turned music into a full-fledged career.

The group will perform at midnight Saturday in the Bishop with a $10 admission. Attendees must be at least 18 years old.

Originally from Atlanta, Meredith Franco, Julia Kugel and Stephanie Luke created the band in order to hang out and play at parties. They had little knowledge of how to play instruments.

But as time went on, they began to take their craft more seriously and started playing more personal material. This evolved into their current punk-rock sound they now have.

“We take it seriously in the fact that playing has become our lives for eight years now, and it’s the only thing we ever want to pursue,” Franco said. “However, we still try to have fun and keep in mind that it’s just rock ’n’ roll we are doing.”

Franco plays bass. Kugel plays guitar. Luke plays drums and all three members sing.

The group will perform material from all four of its albums: “The Coathangers,”
“Scramble,” “Larceny & Old Lace” and “Suck My Shirt,” which was released in March.

According to the Bishop’s website, the title of the album refers to an incident involving the salvaging of spilled tequila during the recording session for the album.

The Coathangers were booked to play at the Bishop because of being presented by the Spirit of ’68 Promotions. Mackenzie Blake, an intern for Spirit of ‘68 Promotions, said the group members were primarily booked because of their diversity.

“Spirit of ’68 aims to bring a diverse lineup to Bloomington, regardless of genre or how far away they are,” Blake said. “Essentially they bring awesome diversity to the Bloomington music scene.”

The Coathangers have toured North America and Europe multiple times and performed alongside bands such as the Black Lips, Deerhunter, Nobunny and Growlers.

The group described its music as punk, rock ’n’ roll mixed with magic and rage.
“Inspiration for our music comes from everywhere and everything, whether it be someone we know or something one of us experienced,” Kugel said. “Sometimes our music is just a collaboration of words and thoughts that really mean nothing.”

This will be the band’s second visit to Bloomington, having previously performed at the Bishop in 2011.

“It’s always been a dream to come back,” Kugel said. “Kids like to have a good time, and as a band we want to play all over the U.S.A. It doesn’t matter if we are in Bloomington or LA.”