Cincinnati, Ohio
Wussy are a four-piece rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio fronted by ex-Ass Ponys frontman Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker. The two began performing together in 2001 as a result of Cleaver’s stage fright when asked to perform a brief run of solo shows. The duo’s first show was largely unplanned and still went without incident, so they agreed to continue and expand. Mark Messerly joined in 2002 as bassist and utility man, and Dawn Burman joined on drums shortly thereafter. The four-piece released three full-length albums and one EP on their native Cincinnati’s Shake It! Records. Their work has met with critical praise from Rolling Stone and SPIN, both of which gave the band’s second and third albums four stars each, in addition to favorable reviews from Village Voice, NPR, Washington Post, Uncut, and many other press outlets. The “Dean of American Critics” Robert Christgau placed the band’s first two albums (Funeral Dress and Left for Dead) on his Best of the Decade list, and their third album (Wussy) ranked tenth in his best of 2009 Dean’s List. Burman left the band in early 2009 and was replaced by veteran Cincinnati drummer Joe Klug. The re-vamped lineup toured the Eastern U.S. throughout 2009 and recorded two vinyl-only singles. The first is a split single on Karate Body Records with Louisville’s The Fervor, released in 2009. The second (a cover of Dusty Springfield’s “Breakfast in Bed”) is an upcoming part of Shake It Records’ newest series – Dangerous Highway, A Tribute to the Songs of Eddie Hinton. The band is touring the US in 2010 and releasing a fourth full-length.
Chuck Clever - guitar, vocals
Lisa Walker - guitar, vocals
Mark Messerly - bass, accordion, xylophone
Joe Klug - drums
Formerly:
Dawn Burman - drums