Pulsallama was an all-woman,

no wave No wave was an avant-garde music genre and visual art scene that emerged in the late 1970s in Downtown New York City. The term was a pun based on the rejection of commercial new wave music. Reacting against punk rock's recycling of rock and r ...

band from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. Described as "13 girls fighting over a

cowbell A cowbell (or cow bell) is a bell (instrument), bell worn around the neck of free-roaming livestock so herders can keep track of an animal via the sound of the bell when the animal is grazing out of view in hilly landscapes or vast plains. ...

," the

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

group was primarily a percussion ensemble with two bass guitars and several vocalists. The band was formed in early 1981 from the Ladies Auxiliary of the Lower East Side, a

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

group that had its beginnings at Club 57.

Ann Magnuson Ann Magnuson is an American actress, performance artist, and nightclub performer. She was described by ''The New York Times'' in 1990 as "An endearing theatrical chameleon who has as many characters at her fingertips as Lily Tomlin does". A f ...

Wendy Wild Wendy Wild (born Wendy Andreiev, August 31, 1956 – October 26, 1996) was an American singer, musician, and artist who in the 1980s was a well-known presence in New York's downtown music and performance scenes. Career Growing up in Northp ...

, and

April Palmieri April Palmieri is an American photographer and musician who performed with a 12-piece all-woman percussion band, Pulsallama. During the early 1980s, the band played at such venues as the Mudd Club, the Pyramid, Danceteria, and Club 57 (nightclub), ...

were among the members of the band. Pulsallama toured the United Kingdom and the U.S. East Coast, opening for

The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

during their ''

Combat Rock ''Combat Rock'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Clash, released on 14 May 1982 through CBS Records. In the United Kingdom, the album charted at number 2, spending 23 weeks in the UK charts and peaked at number 7 in the U ...

'' tour. The video for Pulsallama's 1982 song "The Devil Lives in my Husband's Body" was in rotation on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

. Pulsallama released two singles with

Y Records Y Records was a British independent record label set up in 1980 by Dick O'Dell in the United Kingdom, and distributed by Rough Trade. History Artists included the Slits, Shriekback and a number of groups that were associated with the Bristol i ...

, one in 1982 and one in 1983. Their sole full-length album was never released and they played their last show in July 1983. A seven-song self-titled EP, originally recorded for a French radio broadcast, was released in 2020.

History

Origins

Pulsallama emerged from the

downtown scene Downtown music is a subdivision of American music, closely related to experimental music, which developed in downtown Manhattan in the 1960s. History The scene the term describes began in 1960, when Yoko Ono, one of the early Fluxus artists, o ...

of New York City's

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

in the early 1980s at Club 57, a cabaret and event space situated in the basement of the Holy Cross Polish National Church. Club manager

and other women from the East Village had formed a

group called the Ladies Auxiliary of the Lower East Side, a twisted version of a women's club that hosted theme nights at the venue, including a

debutante ball A debutante, also spelled débutante ( ; from , ), or deb is a young woman of aristocratic or upper-class family background who has reached maturity and is presented to society at a formal "debut" ( , ; ) or possibly debutante ball. Original ...

, a Stay Free Mini Prom, Ladies Wrestling, and Reggae Miniature Golf. Pulsallama first performed as a 17-piece pagan percussion ensemble in April 1981, during a Rites of Spring Fertility Bacchanal hosted by the Ladies Auxiliary. The name Pulsallama, coined by Magnuson, was a portmanteau of Pulse-Matic, a brand of blender, and

llama The llama (; or ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with ...

, the band's unofficial mascot. Dressed in 1950s

cocktail dress A cocktail dress is a dress suitable at semi-formal occasions, sometimes called cocktail parties, usually in the late afternoon, and usually with accessories. After World War I, the idea of the "working woman" became popular. After 1929, it w ...

es, the all-woman band used unusual props and instruments such as kitchen utensils and garbage. Pulsallama's initial lineup included founder

, and

. Drummer and vocalist Jean Caffeine, who had played with San Francisco punk band The Urge, was one of the few women to have previous experience in a band. Other members of the group were vocalist Kimberly Davis, bassist Lori "Bubbles" Montana, bassist and percussionist Stacey Elkin, Dany Johnson, Katy K, Diana Lillig, Charlotte Slivka, Min Thometz, and Andé Whyland.

Mark Kramer Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

, who would later go on to form the band Bongwater with Magnuson, mixed sound for the band. Pulsallama's performance was well received. They went on to perform at parties and played a show at a rock club that was positively reviewed by ''

New York Rocker ''New York Rocker'' was a punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 19 ...

'' magazine and ''

SoHo Weekly News The ''SoHo Weekly News'' (SWN) was a weekly alternative newspaper founded by music publicist Michael Goldstein and published in New York City from 1973 to 1982. Positioned as a competitor to ''The Village Voice'', it struggled financially. T ...

''. They had shows at both the

Mudd Club The Mudd Club was a nightclub located at 77 White Street in the TriBeCa neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It operated from 1978 to 1983 as a venue for post punk underground music and no wave counterculture events. It was opened ...

and

Danceteria Danceteria was a nightclub that operated in New York City from May 1980 until 1986 and in the Hamptons until 1995. The club operated in various locations over the years, a total of three in New York City and four in the Hamptons. The most famous l ...

. Dee Pop of the

Bush Tetras Bush Tetras are an American post-punk No Wave band from New York City, formed in 1979. They are best known for the 1980 song "Too Many Creeps", which exemplified the band's sound of "jagged rhythms, slicing guitars, and sniping vocals".

described Pulsallama's early shows as "13 girls fighting over a

First single

After drummer Jean Caffeine met the manager for

The Pop Group The Pop Group are an English rock band formed in Bristol in 1977 by vocalist Mark Stewart, guitarist John Waddington, bassist Simon Underwood, guitarist/saxophonist Gareth Sager, and drummer Bruce Smith. Their work in the late 1970s crossed ...

at a show, he offered to cut an album for the group on the British independent label

. Pulsallama recorded a 12-inch single, "Ungawa, Pt. II (Way Out Guiana)" with the B-side "The Devil Lives in My Husband's Body", that was released in 1982. It received positive reviews and airplay on alternative and

campus radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...

stations. Pulsallama lost several members in the months following their debut, including Charlotte Slivka, Diana Lillig, and Katy K. Following the release of the single, Andé Whyland, Dany Johnson, and Ann Magnuson also left the group. Bassist Lori Montana was later replaced by Judy Streng.

Tours

Following the success of their first single, Pulsallama were invited to tour the United Kingdom where they played a show with

Public Image Limited In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

. They also recorded a "Yuletide single" with Y Records labelmates

Pigbag Pigbag were a British post-punk band, best known for their instrumentals, active between 1980 and 1983. Origin and formation Pigbag were formed in Cheltenham in late 1980 by Chris Hamlin, a fashion student at Cheltenham Art College. Hamlin ...

. They were noticed by guitarist Mick Jones of

, who arranged for Pulsallama to open for the British band in 1982 during the United States leg of their upcoming ''

'' tour. They opened for The Clash at shows on the East Coast of the United States, including one at

Asbury Park Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 15,188, a dec ...

. Pulsallama member Min Thometz recalled that "audience members were throwing beer and coins at us but by the second night, they were kind of rooting for us."

Second single, EP, and unreleased album

In 1983 Pulsallama released a second single through Y Records, "Oui-Oui (A Canadian in Paris)" with the B-side "Pulsallama on the Rag". Pulsallama, now with seven members, recorded a full-length album at Blank Studios with

Mark Kamins Mark Kamins (April 11, 1950 – February 14, 2013) was an American record producer, remixer, and disc jockey famous for his role in the New York club scene. He is best known for helping launch the career of singer Madonna by bringing her to Sir ...

. As Y Records was having financial difficulties, Pulsallama's studio bill went unpaid, and they were unable to pay $15,000 to recover the master tapes from the studio. The album was never released. Frustration with their booking agents and management led the group to disband and Pulsallama put on their final show in July 1983. In July 2020, the band released a self-titled seven-song EP through Modern Harmonic records. The album was recorded live in 1983 in a New York studio for a French radio broadcast.

Music, reception and legacy

Pulsallama was conceived as an anti-band and a response to the male domination of rock. Their music has been called percussive-heavy, polyrhythmic, crude, and shrieking. They were compared to

Bananarama Bananarama is an English pop group formed in London in 1980. The group, originally a trio, consisted of friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when ...

and called a "more chaotic, shambolic, New Yorkier version of Rip, Rig and Panic." According to bandmember Magnuson, Pulsallama were a parody of the English band

Bow Wow Wow Bow Wow Wow are an English New wave music, new wave band, created by manager Malcolm McLaren in 1980. McLaren recruited members of Adam and the Ants to form the band with then 13-year-old Annabella Lwin on lead vocals. They released their deb ...

in particular as well as the 1980s trend in

new wave music New wave is a music genre that encompasses pop music, pop-oriented styles from the 1970s through the 1980s. It is considered a lighter and more melodic "broadening of Punk subculture, punk culture". It was originally used as a catch-all fo ...

of appropriating Burundi beats and tribal rhythms. They were known for their "primal, yet glamorous absurdity" and cacophonous stage antics. Rose Rouse, in ''

Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

'' magazine in 1982, wrote that "Pulsallama satirize and pulverize. They satirize girl talk, the American way of life, and the rock 'n' roll myth ...and then pulverize the glossy girl image." Pulsallama's song "The Devil Lives in my Husband's Body" was called a "post-new wave social satire" and an "art-damaged ode to suburban disturbance." The narrative, describing a husband with

Tourette's syndrome Tourette syndrome (TS), or simply Tourette's, is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in childhood or adolescence. It is characterized by multiple movement (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) tic. Common tics are blinki ...

who howls and barks nightly in his basement, satirized a story from ''True Romance'' magazine. A music video for the song, made with Paul Dougherty, was in early rotation on

. Pulsallama were part of the 2017 exhibition ''Club 57: Film, Performance, and Art in the East Village, 1978–1983'' at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

Danny Brown Daniel Dewan Sewell (born March 16, 1981), better known as Danny Brown, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. He was described by MTV in 2011 as "one of rap's most unique figures in recent memory". After amassing ...

song "Dance in the Water" from the 2016 album '' Atrocity Exhibition'' contains elements from Pulsallama's "Ungawa Part II (Way Out Guyana)".

Discography

Singles

*"Ungawa Pt.II (Way Out Guiana) / The Devil Lives In My Husband's Body" (1982) *"Oui-Oui (A Canadian In Paris) / Pulsallama on the Rag" (1983)

EP

*''Pulsallama'' (2020)

References

External links

Pulsallama
at Discogs
Interview with bandmembers April Palimeri and Kimberly Davis
on ''Videowave'', June 12, 1982
April Palmieri's Pulsallama archivePulsallama performing in 1981
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pulsallama American post-punk music groups Musical groups from New York City Musical groups established in 1981 Musical groups disestablished in 1983 No wave groups Percussion ensembles