Thunderpussy helping to make Everett a live music destination

EVERETT — Thunderpussy, one of Seattle’s hottest bands, is coming back to town.

In fact, if guitarist Whitney Petty has her way, Everett can expect a couple of annual appearances by the band.

At the invitation of Everett Music Initiative, the female rock ‘n’ roll quartet — Petty, bassist Leah Julius, singer Molly Sides and drummer Ruby Dunphy — will perform Saturday evening at the Everett Yacht Club.

“Our desire is to support Ryan Crowther, EMI and the music scene up there,” Petty said during a phone call from Seattle. “We enjoyed performing at the Fisherman’s Village Music Festival in March. Ryan is part of a group of people working to make it cool to go to Everett. He has good taste and has his ear to the ground.”

When Petty, now 32, and her bandmates initially told friends that Thunderpussy would support Crowther’s goals to make Everett a destination for live music, they got some negative comments.

“Everybody was like, ‘That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.’ But the reality is that tons of musicians live in the Everett area and lots of people can barely afford to make it in Seattle,” Petty said. “Everett is beautiful and has a lot going for it.”

Frequently quizzed about the name of her band, Petty laughed this time.

“We never set out to make waves or shock anyone with the name. In fact, it was just funny and almost shocking to us at first,” she said. “However, the name does what it needs to do out in the world. Everett’s Fauna Shade has a cool name, other bands have crazy names and then… there’s Thunderpussy. That’s the point. We want people to talk about it.”

After thinking a moment, Petty added, “Just tell your readers that our name is based on the titles of two James Bond movies.”

Would that be “Thunderball” and “Octopussy”?

“Yeah,” she said, laughing. “James Bond is sexy and provocative. He embodies what we want to be.”

Asked if Thunderpussy is a feminist band, Petty was a bit circumspect.

“Once again, obviously we are making choices, such as not having any men in the band,” Petty said. “But it’s not really intended to make a statement. On the other hand, we are proud to be loud-mouthed, alpha females who are willing to step up and show young women that it’s OK to be yourself, to be sexy, to take charge. We’re pretty happy to assume that mantle. I guess we are feminists by default.”

And what are people going to hear at the show on Saturday?

“We love all kinds of music, but we are a 100 percent rock ‘n’ roll band in the classic sense. We love ‘70s rock ‘n’ roll music, with that edge of glam and an over-the-top theatrical element. We always just wanted to get back to Ziggy Stardust.”

Petty and her bandmates are excited to perform at the Everett Yacht Club.

“We are going to play our brand of yacht rock. But folks should come out to the show just to see our nautical outfits, with an emphasis on the naughty, of course.”

The band

Whitney Petty grew up in Atlanta, where she started playing guitar at age 15. She made her way to Seattle to work as a ship deckhand, but after a few years got back into music.

An Idaho native, Molly Sides, the front woman and primary performance artist, earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in dance at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle.

Drummer Ruby Dunphy, a Chicago native, also went to Cornish, where she studied jazz percussion.

Leah Julius, the bassist, was born in Ohio, but grew up on Bainbridge Island.

More at www.thunderpussyusa.com.

Summerzover

The EMI concert featuring Thunderpussy, Naked Giants, Kevin Murphy of Moondoggies and Derek Johnston of Fauna Shade begins at about 8 p.m. Sept. 16 at the Everett Yacht Club, 404 14th St., Everett. Ages 21 and older. Tickets, $15, at bit.ly/2vDXHKn.

Upper Left Beerfest

1 to 8 p.m. Sept. 16, noon to 6 p.m. Sept. 17, on Hoyt Avenue, Everett. EMI has scheduled the live music, including Cataldo, Kingdom Boogie Band, Zoolab, Steel Beans, Belgian Fog, Black Ferns, Moon Darling, Johnny Lee Ledford. Tickets, $25, at upperleftbeerfest.com.