Penelope Houston
Encyclopedia
Penelope Houston is an American singer-songwriter
best known as the singer for the San Francisco-based punk rock
band The Avengers
. She was raised in Seattle. In the mid-1970s she attended Fairhaven College
in Bellingham
, Washington
. In 1977, Houston moved to San Francisco, attended the San Francisco Art Institute
and shortly thereafter became the lead singer and songwriter for the Avengers. That band released only one album, their eponymous debut in 1983. The album is now out of print, although two retrospective collections are available.
Following the group's demise in 1979, Houston moved first to Los Angeles
to work in film and video with The Screamers
and director Rene Daalder
, then to England where she collaborated with Howard Devoto
on his post-Magazine projects. In the mid-1980s, she returned to San Francisco and helped originate the West Coast neo-folk movement. In 1986, she was featured alongside Tomata du Plenty
of The Screamers
in the punk rock musical Population: 1
, which was released on DVD in October 2008. By 1996 she had toured Europe extensively, signed with WEA Germany (Warner Brothers) and earned numerous awards with the dozen albums, which blended influences of punk, folk, rock, blues and Americana into her dark unique acoustic sound.
Her first full-length album was Birdboys which came out in 1987. Her most recent album is 2004's The Pale Green Girl.
Shortly after the release of Pale Green Girl, Houston and original guitarist Greg Ingraham recreated the Avengers, adding bassist Joel Reader (formerly of The Mr. T Experience
, and The Plus Ones) and drummer Luis Illades (of Pansy Division
, formerly also of The Plus Ones) to round out the lineup. Since the spring of 2004 she has toured the U.S. and Europe with this lineup. She continues to play her solo material, mainly in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
best known as the singer for the San Francisco-based punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band The Avengers
The Avengers (band)
The Avengers are an American punk rock band formed in 1977 in San Francisco, California. Penelope Houston, who has also been a folk musician, is their singer.-Original history:...
. She was raised in Seattle. In the mid-1970s she attended Fairhaven College
Fairhaven College
Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies is an interdisciplinary liberal arts college at Western Washington University. Instead of completing the general education requirements at Western, students take interdisciplinary classes at Fairhaven which aim to cover the same breadth and depth of...
in Bellingham
Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the twelfth-largest city in the state. Situated on Bellingham Bay, Bellingham is protected by Lummi Island, Portage Island, and the Lummi Peninsula, and opens onto the Strait of Georgia...
, Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. In 1977, Houston moved to San Francisco, attended the San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute is a school of higher education in contemporary art with the main campus in the Russian Hill district of San Francisco, California. Its graduate center is in the Dogpatch neighborhood. The private, non-profit institution is accredited by WASC and is a member of the...
and shortly thereafter became the lead singer and songwriter for the Avengers. That band released only one album, their eponymous debut in 1983. The album is now out of print, although two retrospective collections are available.
Following the group's demise in 1979, Houston moved first to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to work in film and video with The Screamers
The Screamers
The Screamers were a punk rock group active in the Los Angeles, California area in the late 1970s. The Screamers were pioneers of a genre now known as "synthpunk," and can also be classified as art punk....
and director Rene Daalder
Rene Daalder
Rene Daalder is a Dutch writer and director. He lives in Los Angeles...
, then to England where she collaborated with Howard Devoto
Howard Devoto
Howard Devoto is an English rock and roll singer-songwriter, who began his career as the frontman for the punk band Buzzcocks, but then left to form Magazine, one of the first post-punk bands...
on his post-Magazine projects. In the mid-1980s, she returned to San Francisco and helped originate the West Coast neo-folk movement. In 1986, she was featured alongside Tomata du Plenty
Tomata du Plenty
David Xavier Harrigan, aka Tomata du Plenty the singer of the late 1970s Los Angeles synthpunk band The Screamers. He was also founder of Seattle's counterculture troupe Ze Whiz Kidz...
of The Screamers
The Screamers
The Screamers were a punk rock group active in the Los Angeles, California area in the late 1970s. The Screamers were pioneers of a genre now known as "synthpunk," and can also be classified as art punk....
in the punk rock musical Population: 1
Population: 1
Population: 1 is a 1986 punk rock musical film written and directed by Rene Daalder.The film stars Tomata du Plenty of the Screamers as a defense contractor who somehow becomes the sole survivor of a nuclear holocaust. In his solitude, he traces the history of U.S...
, which was released on DVD in October 2008. By 1996 she had toured Europe extensively, signed with WEA Germany (Warner Brothers) and earned numerous awards with the dozen albums, which blended influences of punk, folk, rock, blues and Americana into her dark unique acoustic sound.
Her first full-length album was Birdboys which came out in 1987. Her most recent album is 2004's The Pale Green Girl.
Shortly after the release of Pale Green Girl, Houston and original guitarist Greg Ingraham recreated the Avengers, adding bassist Joel Reader (formerly of The Mr. T Experience
The Mr. T Experience
The Mr. T Experience is an American punk rock band formed in 1985 in Berkeley, California and currently recording for Lookout! Records. They have released ten full-length albums along with numerous EPs and singles and have toured internationally...
, and The Plus Ones) and drummer Luis Illades (of Pansy Division
Pansy Division
Pansy Division is an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California in 1991. Featuring primarily gay musicians and focusing mostly on gay-related themes, Pansy Division is one of the more melodic-oriented bands to emerge from the "queercore" movement that began in the 1980s.-Early...
, formerly also of The Plus Ones) to round out the lineup. Since the spring of 2004 she has toured the U.S. and Europe with this lineup. She continues to play her solo material, mainly in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Discography
| Title | Year | Notes | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birdboys | 1988 | Acoustic album | Subterranean Records |
| On Borrowed Time | 1990 | live album | id Records |
| 500 Lucky Pieces | 1991 | Limited release of 500 copies | id Records |
| The Whole World | 1993 | Heyday Records | |
| Silk Purse | 1993 | Limited release | Return to Sender |
| Karmal Apple | 1994 | Normal Records | |
| Crazy Baby | 1994 | Limited release | Return to Sender |
| Cut You | 1996 | WEA Records | |
| Tongue | 1998 | WEA Records | |
| Once In A Blue Moon | 2000 | Compilation/demos | penelope.net records |
| Loners, Stoners, and Prison Brides | 2001 | Live album | Return To Sender |
| Eighteen Stories Down | 2003 | Best Of | WEA Records |
| The Pale Green Girl | 2004 | DBKWorks |