Rock'n'Roll Girls How three young ladies became Boston's next big thing by Mick Emmett There's nothing quite like teenage angst and alienation to fuel a rock and roll dream. Many a musician first strummed a guitar, plucked a bass or whacked a drum after hundreds of listens to their favorite bands' CDs in their darkened bedroom--far from the taunts, teasing and dirty looks.

The members of Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Mudhoney come immediately to mind, but the list is endless. In a few years, that list could expand even further if three young rockers from Massachusetts have their way.

Formed a year ago after a Mudhoney gig in Boston, The Fuzzy Pinks are a band short on experience, but big on personality. And they can play.

During a tough high school tenure where guitarist Audrey Coyle, her cousin and bass player Lulu Neville and singer (and sometimes guitarist) Rachel Jacobs had no one but themselves and their favorite bands to rely on, the girls turned their focus to music. "Pearl Jam and Mudhoney were the only things I could go home to," said Audrey. "They were my friends. They inspired me to play music; to pick up a guitar."

Thus begat the girls' first band, Muddy in 1994. Playing primarily punk music the band recorded a demo (with a different singer and drummer than the present lineup) and began to hone their musical chops.

What followed soon thereafter was, according to the girls, "that fateful October" when they toured the northeast with their favorite band of all-time---Mudhoney. Starting in Northampton, MA and winding it's way through Boston, New York and Philadelphia, among other places, the tour became a sort of family gathering for the future Fuzzy Pinks. Not lacking in confidence or pluck, the girls introduced themselves ("We just did it, " recalls Rachel.) and became friends with the band.

According to Audrey, "They adopted us. They're like our uncles in a sort of musical family." Getting to know Mudhoney was also the point where music became the focus of the girls' future.

"We were just so inspired," said Rachel. "They just rocked and knew how to have a good time. And they weren't too wrapped up in the business end of it. That was when I realized, 'We have to be in a band now!'"

Meeting the famous rockers didn't stop (or start for that matter) with the Mudhoney boys. Since they were 13, the three founding Fuzzys have met their share of alterna-rock heros. But one in particular has been, and continues to be, a major influence in their musical career--Chad Smith, drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Chad took the girls under his wing, and with help from his suburban Detroit childhood friend Jon Cohan (drummer for the local band, The Tarbox Ramblers), helped them record and produce their first demo as The Fuzzy Pinks this past summer at Fort Apache studios in Cambridge.

The three songs from the session will be put out on early next year on an EP entitled "Honey-dipped Babycakes"--the named coming from a catcall screamed out by a drunken tailgater at the 1999 WBCN River Rave. Their first single, "X Don't Care," should be available in December.

The Pinks' music is a mixture of raw, gritty guitar lines with an often moody bass undertow. The vocals are at times haunting, at times laced with attitude. Their influences can be heard throughout, from Mudhoney to L7 to Sleater-Kinney and numerous others. Plus Rachel lets loose with a hair-raising scream at the end of, "X Don't Care" that's right out of the Courtney Love vocal style manual.

Hanging out with grunge gods. Recording at Fort Apache. Pictures in the Boston Globe and Boston Herald the same day. In studio appearances on WBCN. Getting production, recording and drum support from a Chili Pepper. Is this what the Fuzzy Pinks expected before any of them even reached their twenties? "It's so overwhelming because it's all happened so fast," said Audrey. "It's stuff we never thought we'd be doing after only three songs."

"Believe me, we're unbelievably grateful for everything that's happened, " added Rachel.

"Back in high school everyone always told us, 'You can't do this, it's not that easy'".

The band, which now includes recently hired drummer, Amy Biz, is also surprisingly grounded for a group of teenagers. When asked what they wanted to get out of the band/rock and roll experience, they replied, almost in unison: "To be to someone else what those bands that got us through high school were to us."

And adds Rachel, "To have kids listen to our music and think, 'If they did it, so can I.'"

It's still a little early in The Fuzzy Pinks' career to make any judgments about future success, but it's safe to say they're off to a good start. Just one word of advice though, if you ever meet The Fuzzy Pinks: be prepared to listen for a long time if you ask them about Mudhoney.