The Ettes are mad as hell, and they’re not going to take it anymore

By Jennifer Kelly
Published: September 22nd, 2009 | 12:00am

The Ettes’ latest album, Do You Want Power (Take Root), starts in a massive way: bassist Jem Cohen thundering an aggressively huge riff, drummer Poni Silver answering in thudding thunder, singer Coco Hames wailing about blood and skin fragments under the fingernails. The song, “Red In Tooth and Claw,” is one of a number of gore-themed, balls-out rockers on the Ettes’ third full-length.

“There is kind of a lot of violence,” admits Hames. “There was a lot of frustration and there’s a lot of wanting to lash out and…” she giggles, “cause people physical harm. We all feel that way sometimes, but it’s kind of alarming to see it delineated in these 12 or 13 songs.”

That frustration comes from all kinds of sources — from watching other bands vault ahead to giving up on the comforts of home to dealing with sexist expectations for a two-thirds female band. “Sometimes people are interested in your work, and sometimes, they throw that chick thing in your face,” says Hames. “I guess you try to achieve a balance between getting used to it and trying to change it. All we can do is our best work. You know, we have to try and be patient with people and maybe change their minds through hard work. We try not to yell at people. Try not to get into too many fist fights.”

The Ettes, who are now based in Nashville, had been living out of suitcases for most of the late ‘00s, shuttling between New York, L.A., and London, sleeping on couches, and trying to make a go of their garage-rocking band. Their first two records were self-financed. They saved the money to hire Liam Watson at ToeRag Studios to record both Shake the Dust (Sympathy For the Record Industry) and Look At Life Again Soon (Take Root). But lately, they’ve turned to stateside talent. After a tour with the Black Keys, Dan Auerbach produced the single “No Home.” And in 2009, garage godfather Greg Cartwright came to Nashville to shepherd the Ettes’ newest effort.

“Greg is a classic songwriter,” says Hames. “His influences are strictly ‘50s and ‘60s pop music — the 45s that I stole from my mom.” Cartwright’s knowledge of old-style pop gave him insight into song structure and arrangement, Hames notes, allowing him to rethink the songs they’d written at sound checks and the off-hours of tours. In addition to reworking existing material, Cartwright and Cohen co-wrote the song, “I Can Be Your Love (But I Can’t Be Your Baby),” in the studio, and Cartwright added guitar to many of the tracks.

“Greg was just very non-stop about writing. The guitar was glued to him,” she recalls, “We’d just be sitting there talking, and he’d start playing and say, ‘What about this?’ and it would be exactly what we should do. It was really exhausting and really awesome.”

The resulting album is far more polished and pop-friendly than earlier Ettes’ efforts and, alongside its hard-rocking anthems (“Red In Tooth and Claw,” “Walk Out That Door”) includes some soft, countrified acoustic ballads. “That’s what I used to do before the Ettes,” says Hames, commenting on the pretty interludes. “A lot of our songs start as acoustic guitar songs, and then become more rock.”

With the new songs on tape, the Ettes headed out to Europe in the spring with another Nashville band, Kings Of Leon. “They’re enormous. We had no idea. We do these shows, and there are like 6,000 people,” says Hames. Hames knew that the Kings were big when her mom called her. “She said, ‘You know that band you’re touring with? They’re on Good Morning America.’”

In the fall, the Ettes will be heading out on another tour — this time with Juliette & the Licks — and prepping a song for Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut, Whip It. Will more time on the road lead to more frustration and harder-rocking songs? Hames shrugs it off. “I’m a Taurus. I like to cook. I like my own stuff,” she says. “But you just have to remember that you get to have all these cool experiences — and your friends get to have their own bed every night.”

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