"Good musician" and "Freshman" go together about as often as champagne and TV dinners, but Ragady Anne, a Palo Alto based band, is abnormal in many ways, four good freshman musicians is just the start. Ragady Anne surprised most Battle of the Bands attendees with their dynamic genre-bending performance. Ragady Anne features funny, sarcastic lyrics backed by strong guitar and a good rhythm section. Their hard work and numerous practice sessions have resulted in a really tight performance.
"We've received alot of support from other bands, our parents, and possibly a radio station. I'm glad people understand our music," said Brett Anderson.
The all freshman, all girl band, is composed of Brett Anderson (vocals), Torry Castellano (drums), Maya Ford (bass), and Allison Robertson (guitar). A quick thumbnail sketch of the band's personalities: Anderson loves Mike Patton and pudding, Castellano has really long hair and is a big David Lynch fan, Ford is furtive and uses vocab words, and Robertson doesn't answer her telephone. The band has helped foster a friendship between the girls.
Their performance Saturday Nov. 6 ('93) at Battle of the Bands was delayed by an unexplained bass amp power failure. Other antics include Ford yelling "Fuck you!" and spitting blood on the audience, someone asking for Anderson to take off her shirt, and the best mosh pit of the night.
Anne's lyrics span the subject spectrum with songs about Elvis, breakfast cereals, feminism, and valley girls. The lyrics usually praise or criticize cult topics from the skewed viewpoint of a messed up person. This adds variety to their songs.
"They should change the lyrics from "Valley Girl" to "Paly Girl," said John Howell, referring to the similarities between the valley girl described in the song and female Paly students.
The girls have been playing together for about five months, and all learned their instrument for this band, except Robertson, who knew a little about guitar playing previously.
"In terms of talent, no one really excels beyond other members. We have progressed as a group," says Ford.
Although no dates are set for future performances, expect to see more of Ragady Anne when they get their curfew raised.
