Talk:The Waitresses

Biography by Steve Huey

To most new wave fans, the Waitresses are a fondly remembered part of the ‘80s one-hit wonder pantheon, even in spite of the fact that that one hit was a cult phenomenon that didn't even reach the Top 40. Yet "I Know What Boys Like" was the sort of daring, instantly memorable pop nugget that epitomized the era — all cool detachment, subversive wit, and an irresistibly off-kilter dance groove. Lead singer Patty Donahue's dry, cheeky attitude supplied a not inconsiderable sex appeal, but even if she was the band's focal point, their true voice was guitarist and founder Chris Butler. Butler was responsible for the vast majority of their material, and often wrote from a distinctly female point of view, tailoring his work to fit Donahue's personality. Most critics and fans felt the band had more to offer than just "I Know What Boys Like," but intraband tension during the recording of their second LP led to their premature implosion.Chris Butler and Patty Donahue were both living in Akron, Ohio when the Waitresses were conceived, and had been involved in the Akron/Cleveland-area music scene that spawned the likes of Devo, Pere Ubu, and the Dead Boys. Butler had attended Kent State University and participated in the notorious 1970 anti-war demonstration where protesters were shot by the National Guard (an event that also galvanized the future members of Devo into formulating their worldview). Butler kicked around the local music scene for several years before forming the dadaist avant-new wave band Tin Huey, which drew inspiration from Captain Beefheart and the freewheeling jazz-rock of Frank Zappa and the Soft Machine. Tin Huey released one album, Contents Dislodged During Shipment, on Warner Brothers in 1979.In the meantime, Butler had written and recorded "I Know What Boys Like" in 1977. He performed every instrument on the track, and recruited friend Patty Donahue to handle the vocals; under the name Patty Darling, Donahue also sang on another track called "Astronettes," which Butler credited to the “fake band" the Waitresses, taking the name from a favorite T-shirt of Butler's friend. One Waitresses single appeared on the tiny local Clone label, though it featured only Butler on vocals and instruments. Some of these early tracks later turned up on Stiff Records' The Akron Compilation and on Clone's two Bowling Balls From Hell samplers.Following Tin Huey's dissolution, Butler settled in New York City, where he took "I Know What Boys Like" to an A&R rep he knew. It ended up landing him a deal with Island/Polygram affiliate Ze Records, upon which point he set about forming a real band as quickly as possible (the then-nonexistent group was not, as he told the label, back in Ohio). He sent word to Donahue, and she agreed to join him; in the meantime, he formed the first Waitresses lineup thanks in part to connections with former Tin Huey sax player Ralph Carney. That initial lineup featured Donahue, Butler, free-jazz saxophonist Mars Williams (who'd been working as Anthony Braxton's copyist), onetime Television drummer Billy Ficca, keyboardist and Akron expat Dan Klayman, bassist Dave Hofstra, and backing singer Ariel Warner, a friend of Donahue's.The Waitresses made their live debut on New Year's Eve of 1980-81, and spent the next year or so honing their chemistry and building a following. They contributed the track "Christmas Wrapping" to a Ze Records holiday release in 1981 while completing their debut LP, 1982's Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful?. A case of stage (or, more accurately, studio) fright led to Warner's exit from the band during the recording sessions, while bassist Hofstra left after its completion to focus on acoustic jazz, and was replaced by Tracy Wormworth. Released as a single in early 1982, "I Know What Boys Like" was a cult sensation in both the U.S. and U.K., although it climbed no higher than #62 in America (it did, however, make the Top Ten in Australia). It also earned the band an invitation to perform the title theme to the sitcom Square Pegs, starring a young Sarah Jessica Parker. "Square Pegs" appeared on the stopgap EP I Could Rule the World If I Could Only Get the Parts, which was named after a re-recorded Tin Huey track and also compiled "Christmas Wrapping" (which was later covered by, of all groups, the Spice Girls). In the middle of sessions for their second album, tensions between band members reached a boiling point, and Donahue wound up exiting the group for a short period. In the meantime, Butler attempted to replace her with Holly & the Italians singer Holly Beth Vincent, but the transplant didn't take, and Donahue soon returned to the fold. The resulting LP, Bruiseology, was released in 1983 to a comparatively muted response; many found it less cohesive than its predecessor, unsurprising given the more difficult circumstances surrounding its creation. Donahue left once again, and the rest of the group crumbled; Butler threw in the towel by year's end, and the Waitresses effectively ceased to exist. Donahue went on to become an A&R rep, while Butler became a producer, and later returned to his more avant-garde roots via his solo work in the ‘90s. Lung cancer claimed Donahue's life on December 9, 1996; she was only 40 years old. The following year, King Biscuit Flower Hour issued one of the band's live shows on CD.

USA new wave group formed in Cleveland OH by Chris Butler, guitar (ex-Tin Huey, 15-16-75, the Stereos): confederates were drummer Billy Ficca (ex- Television), vocalist Patty Donahue, bassist Tracy Wormworth (ex-Gwen McCrae band), Daniel Klayman on keyboards, Mars Williams, sax (ex-Fred Frith, Gong; see also Hal Russell). Appearance on The Akron Compilation '78 on Stiff led to some fame; when they moved to NYC their zany new wave material attracted Ze Records, who released Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful '81, Butler writing songs for Donahue. "I Know What Boys Like' was a cult hit in UK, went top 10 in Australia; "Christmas Wrapping' (from Ze's A Christmas Record) made no. 45 UK '82, but despite exposure on TV series Square Pegs failed to click at home. Bruiseology '83 flopped; Donahue was replaced by Holly Beth Vincent (ex-Holly and the Italians, UK-based new wave band); by the time Butler left only Ficca was left of the original group, doing Butler's songs.

-unsigned comment by User:Bwood, signed by Hyacinth (talk) 00:55, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

I created this new userbox

The WaitressesThis user could rule the world if they could only get the parts.

The code is:

{{User:Grundle2600/userboxes/The Waitresses}}

Grundle2600 (talk) 18:15, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

"No Guilt"

That song seemed to receive a fair amount of play on new wave radio, maybe could be mentioned... AnonMoos (talk) 14:58, 21 April 2010 (UTC)

"Holly Beth Vincent"

THe article says that Holly Beth Vincent fronted the Waitresses in 1984. SFAIK, this is incorrect. She joined them briefly in 1983 (not 84), but never actually performed. She was slated to do perform with them at Columbia University, but never made it on stage (she disappeared between soundcheck and the performance after multiple arguments within the band). After this, the Waitresses imploded per the chronlogy here. I don't have a source for this, except that I was in the band that opened that night for the Waitresses and witnessed the events (we performed and waited around for hours and then waited for the Waitresses). It got written up in a couple of music papers at the time, and I think the NY Post as well.

Psychlist (talk) 17:52, 10 March 2011 (UTC)

Subject-verb agreement

In American English, band names that are plural in form take a plural verb. Please refer to the following resources for verification and further explanation and examples: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] Piriczki (talk) 14:14, 31 January 2012 (UTC)

I don't think this is universally accepted. For instance, in your citation [11] it states:

"When a noun names the title of something or is a word being used as a word, it is singular whether the word takes a singular form or not.

Faces is the name of the new restaurant downtown.

Okies, which most people regard as a disparaging word, was first used to describe the residents of Oklahoma during the 1930s.

Chelmsley Brothers is the best moving company in town.

Postcards is my favorite novel.

The term Okies was used to describe the residents of Oklahoma during the 1930s. (In this sentence, the word Okies is actually an appositive for the singular subject, "term.")"

Not that this is really a big deal, more a personnel preference. I know treating the name as a plural sounds better. Wkharrisjr (talk) 14:28, 31 January 2012 (UTC)

Sourced expansion

I was doing a bit of general copyediting on this article. One thing led to another, and 3 hours later I'd dug up a fistful of sources and expanded some of the material based on those sources. Since I ran way over my allowable time for Wikipedia editing, I added some of the yet-unused sources to a "Further reading" section, where I suspect most if not all of the remaining unsourced statements in the article may be found. Anyone care to jump in and finish this? ~ Jeff Q (talk) 06:09, 25 October 2012 (UTC)