ALL GIRL SUMMER FUN BAND: bio

Bio

As Portland pop quartet, the All Girl Summer Fun Band proclaim in their aptly-titled, "Theme Song": "They're nothing big / But they're nothing small / Just four best friends that you'd like to call / With Kathy, Kim, Arirak, and Jen / When you hear their songs / You'll want to hear them again."

The group includes Kathy Foster (drums, bass, vocals) and Jen Sbragia (guitar, vocals) and New Mexico transplants Kim Baxter (guitar, keyboards, drums, vocals) and Ari Douangpanya (bass, drums, vocals). Baxter played in The Young Astronauts, Cherry Ice Cream Smile and One Two; Sbragia with Pretty Face, Kissing Book, and the Softies, a duo with Tiger Trap's vocalist Rose Melberg; and Foster with Haelah, Hutch and Kathy, Subpop's The Thermals, and one-woman band, Butterfly Transformation Service. The foursome came into being after a Softies show in Portland in 1998, when Baxter approached Sbragia with a tape of her music. She liked what she heard, and Baxter introduced her to a couple of like-minded souls: Foster and Douangpanya. That summer, Baxter asked if they would like to play music together. The answer was an enthusiastic, unequivocal yes. She described the potential results as being that of an "all girl summer fun band" and the name stuck.

Although Baxter and Sbragia write most of their sweet - sometimes spicy - material, everyone contributes by coming up with their own unique parts. Their first single was a four-song release on Portland's Magic Marker, issued on pink vinyl and featuring a cartoon-likeness of the band by Sbragia. Next came a split with Japanese band Photo Jenny on Little Red Wagon. They then contributed songs to Happy Happy Birthday to Me Vol. 2 and Japanese Magazine Beikoku Ongaku's compilation. Their first full-length, a self-titled effort on Olympia's K, was released in February of 2002. On it, they zip through 13 catchy, candy-coated numbers about crushes, long-distance relationships, and broken hearts. In addition to a review by Greil Marcus in Interview Magazine, the record won raves from numerous publications, including The Village Voice and The London Times.

Over the years, the band has played with a number of other independent artists, including Dub Narcotic Sound System, C.O.C.O, Mates of State, the Would Be Goods, Modest Mouse, the Shins, and Japan's Puffy Ami Yumi. Upon the release of their first long-player, they traveled around the Northwest before heading down to California in March. In November of 2002, they went into the studio (Type Foundry in Portland, OR) to begin work on their next record. Resulting in the 14 song power packed punch "2", to be released April 22, 2003.

In addition to small tours and recording, the All Girl Summer Fun Band has been involved with Portland's non-profit Rock and Roll Camp for Girls (a day camp for female musicians from 8-18) and contributed the song, "It's There," to the camp's 2002 self-titled compilation CD. Baxter also designs a line of handbags under the name Kissycake (www.kissycake.com), while Foster designs T-shirts and stationery as Daydream Factory (www.daydreamfactory.com).

*Adapted from Kathleen Fennessy's (kcfennessy@msn.com) bio of the AGSFB in the All Music Guide.

Artist's Website:http://www.agsfb.com/