penelope houston - ProfilesArchive

About Me

Punk Folkie Popstar Penelope Houston has been called alot of things. In the New York Trouser Press Record Guide, Ira Robbins proclaimed her, at 19, as "...the archetypal indomitable rock'n'roll woman, her strength and aggression are what elevates these tracks from energetic but typical punk to remarkable personal statements... the Avengers (her first band) were a major national asset." In The Unknown Legends Of Rock And Roll, she's marked as "the soul-sister to Nick Drake and Sandy Denny." The All Music Guide states that she "helped pioneer the melodic-yet-hard-hitting alternative rock... mined by such performers as Liz Phair and Aimee Mann."Born in Los Angeles and raised in Seattle, Penelope Houston has spent her life surrounded by music. In 1977, opting for a career of a different nature, Houston headed south to attend San Francisco's Art Institute. In a short time, the teenage student found herself at a point where art, culture and music collided - as the lead singer and songwriter for The Avengers, a foursome that critic Greil Marcus described as "San Francisco's best punk band - in their moments, they were, you knew, better than any other band playing that night anywhere in the world."

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 7/7/2004
Band Website: penelope.net
Band Members: Penelope is honored to have many great musicians playing in her bands and on her recordings currently:
Pat Johnson - guitar, keyboards, vox
Mike Therieau - guitar, vox
Ned Doherty - bass
John Hofer - drums
Dave Leonard - drums

and previously:
Steven Strauss bass and vox
Mel Peppas - mandolin and guitar
Eliot Nemzer - guitar
Kevin Mummey - drums and percussion
Katharine Chase - bass and vox
Dawn Ricardson - drums
Michael Pappenberg - guitar
Chuck Prophet - guitar
Stephanie Finch - keyboards
Tim Mooney - drums
Steve Bowman - drums
Marc Capelle - horns and keys
Ralph Carney - horns
Beth Custer - clarinet
Julian Smedley - violin and viola
Jane Weidlen - vox and guitar
Charlotte Caffey - vox and guitar
Jeffrey Wood - organ
Kevin Donahue - accordian and piano
Eric Lefcowitz - guitar and vox
Avengers circa 2006! ----
Joel Reader - bass and vox
Luis Illades - drums
Greg Ingraham - guitar And 1977-1979----
Danny Furious - drums and vox
Jimmy Wilsey - bass and vox
Greg Ingraham - guitar
Brad Kent - guitar in 1979
Influences: mushrooms, lynda barry, slipping in between the moments, dark chocolate, leonard cohen, mom, the ones whose lives I saved, DeVoteD-ruins, incredible string band, heartbreak, seriously faded people, nabakov, patti smith, john singer sargent, seattle winters, the taste of socca, violent femmes, the crack in everything, dragon, traveling to foreign shores, the stone-eaters of cleveland, luis gabriel illades...
Sounds Like: falling up and getting down again
Record Label: DBK Works
Type of Label: None

My Blog

de Young and de restless

Well, well, well, this is a perfect show for all you early-to-bedders. The show will be over by 8:45pm. And it's free! And it's all ages, so you can bring those babies.And as a bonus for the Gilbert a...
Posted by penelope houston on Fri, 15 Feb 2008 12:05:00 PST

Interview on Alice Bag’s site

Here's recent interview I did with Alice on her excellent Women in Punk site that focuses on the Los Angeles area women of the late 70's. http://www.alicebag.com/womeninlapunk.html Don't forget to che...
Posted by penelope houston on Mon, 17 Sep 2007 03:47:00 PST

SFWeekly says...

Here's a show-preview in the SFWeekly. cheers, PH Come in, HoustonBy Hiya Swanhuyser The Pale Green Girl is underrated, like most of Penelope Houston's work. The most recent record of the Avengers' s...
Posted by penelope houston on Mon, 04 Jun 2007 03:16:00 PST

back in the USSA

Phew... survived another tour. It was fun and a bit exhausting too. But this time I managed to keep my voice, so that was a big improvement over last year in Europe.I brought back a bunch of tour Tees...
Posted by penelope houston on Sat, 10 Mar 2007 03:12:00 PST

Penelope on TV circa 1989?

My friend Dog used to have a crazed variety show on some public access cable channel in the late 80's. it's pretty hilarious and you can catch a glimpse of my fab thift-store wardrobe while I played t...
Posted by penelope houston on Fri, 29 Sep 2006 09:25:00 PST

who's got a staple gun?

Dear friends,When's the last time you went flyering? Yep, taping outlaw flyers up on a pole outside some record store or cafe. Maybe you never have, but it's time to hit the streets and put your stapl...
Posted by penelope houston on Sat, 12 Aug 2006 07:44:00 PST

American in Me x 3

Hi folks,Last week was pretty crazy for me. Sang "The American In Me" 3 times; breaking personal records in the hottest, biggest crowd, and best local gig catagories.On Sunday, I went with Avengers gu...
Posted by penelope houston on Fri, 28 Jul 2006 05:45:00 PST

Brand new! Avengers video up on Myspace...

Me and the boys rocking "We Are the One" in Hamburg a few months ago.Check it out at:http://www.myspace.com/avengers Also check our shows page. 4 Cali Avengers shows coming up in July.Get yer tix befo...
Posted by penelope houston on Tue, 20 Jun 2006 04:50:00 PST

R.I.P. Victor Ratto 1955-2006

Victor Ratto has passed from our world into our hearts and memories. He was a great person. A great husband to Linda, and a great father and grandfather. I miss him already. He was my manager during m...
Posted by penelope houston on Thu, 15 Jun 2006 03:20:00 PST

Penelope sightings and Avenger news

Hi Folks I'm going to be appearing at a few local benefits, readings and shows in the next month. Please check them out and RE-POST if you would.Thanks for spreading the word.Hope to see you theres!xx...
Posted by penelope houston on Wed, 10 May 2006 01:01:00 PST