Nashville Pussy, with the Cows and W. Breakneck, Sapphire Supper CLub, April 13, 1998
Spring has sprung in Athens, Ga., where Nashville Pussy bassist Corey Parks is feeling the effects of the humidity. "It's a tad sticky, a tad sticky," she says. That description could apply to Nashville Pussy's searing, sweaty concerts, which the 6-foot-3-inch Parks dubs the Nashville Pussy Rock & Roll Circus. "Fifty-five minutes of wanking, sweat, fire, sex and titties and good ol' fuckin' rock & roll," declares Parks.
The hard-working, hard-rocking band, which also includes guitarists Ruyter Suys and Blaine Cartwright and drummer Jeremy Thompson, are touring with their Amphetamine Reptile labelmates, the Cows. Their latest release, "Let Them Eat Pussy," is a hip-shaking, classic-rock comet played at a hardcore pace. "I was brought up in a hippie household. I was into Led Zeppelin, everything that punk rock rebelled against," says Parks. "Our tempo is speeded up, thus maybe people call us a punk-rock band, but we're all about '70s arena rock like Aerosmith, KISS, AC/DC, Motorhead."
With a schedule of relentless touring and a set list that includes select covers such as Black Oak Arkansas' "Hot Rod," Nashville Pussy are professors of the history of hard rock. Parks champions the positive aspects of a diverse range of influences and chastises narrow-minded music fans. "Can't folks just listen to anything that cooks?" she asks. "A Nashville Pussy crowd draws a mix of bikers, sluts, hardcore kids and, like, metallers who've been takin' bong hits and listening to Slayer in their closet. We listen to anything that cooks."
Parks cut her teeth listening to the Ramones and AC/DC, but it was a lyric from Ted Nugent's "Wang Dang Sweet Poontang" that inspired the band's name. Like Nugent, Parks is adamant about the importance of the guitar's place in the pantheon of rock. "The guitar is the definitive instrument of rock & roll," she says. "There aren't many hard-rock bands out there anymore. That's a good suit for us, man. We look good in that suit. And we're still trying things on."
