YOUTUBE: Automaticans "Audrey"

If ever there was a hard recording to find - it's this one. Only appearing on a limited split 7" single with Team Dresch in 2000, it took me ages to track down a copy of this song in any format anywhere, but I persisted and finally recently came across an mp3 of it somewhere online. The wait was worth it - another gem from the pen of singer Tamala Poljak, formerly of L.A. based queercore indie pop band Longstocking.

Automaticans were an L.A. "supergroup" of sorts. Singer/guitarist Poljak had performed in the previously mentioned Longstocking (as well as Oiler and Fleabag to name a few); Guitarist/vocalist Patricia was also in the band Patsy and bassist Toast performed in The Ray-O-Vacs, The Neptunas and The Paper Tulips as well as booking bands at legendary downtown L.A. rock dive Al's Bar. Sadly, "Audrey" was the only official release from the band, as the band seemingly dissipated shortly after it's release in 2000. Half of the band (Poljak and drummer Scottie) would go on to perform with another supergroup The Infinite X's which also featured members of Team Dresch and The Little Deaths. The Infinite X's released an excellent self-titled debut album in 2002 on Chainsaw Records.

Fun fact: The subject of the song "Audrey" is reported to be none other than Audrey Marrs, former lead singer of the Olympia based band Mocket and now Academy Award nominated producer of the film No End in Sight, a documentary about the American occupation of Iraq. On January 22, 2008, No End in Sight was named by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as one of 5 films nominated for a prize in the "Best Documentary Feature" category. As of December 2007, the film had grossed $1.4 million, and had been released on DVD. Wow - who knew? (Gotta love wikipedia.) Go Audrey - and congratulations! Automaticans: Tamala - Born In A Barn (Guitar, Vocals) Patricia - Born In Brazil (Guitar, Vocals) Toast - Born To Lose (Bass) Scottie - Born Free (Drums) Much of the imagery in this here clip is from the old Automaticans website, which is no longer up, but was retrieved after an extensive search via the Wayback Machine at Archive.org.