Aubrey Debauchery stomps stage with brand-new Puke Boots

Originally published March 12, 2008 in The Orion.
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In the world of Aubrey Debauchery and The Puke Boots, there are two types of people - those who wear wallet chains and those who do not.

Aubrey Debauchery and The Puke Boots is one of the friendliest bands in Chico, and anyone who has met the band knows it holds people who wear wallet chains in high regard.

Drummer Casey Schmidt and upright bassist Adrian Hammons already sport wallet chains, but vocalist and guitarist Aubrey Debauchery and lap steel guitarist Marc Anderson hope to debut theirs at the band's CD release and tour kick-off show Friday at 1078 Gallery.

The fixation with wallet chains reflects the strong bond between members and goofy inside jokes.

The band's music is extremely personal, and band members keep some things to themselves, including the meaning of The Puke Boots.

"You gotta either be a Puke Boot or banging a Puke Boot to know what a Puke Boot is," Anderson said.

The title of the band's upcoming release, "He's a Damn Good Liar," expresses the band's attitude toward its music.

"I'm too blunt and honest," Debauchery said.

She is not afraid of being completely open with her emotions, she said.

In the song "Aces" Debauchery opens with "Well I'm sharp as a switchblade. I'm as mean as a bull, and your girlfriend don't mean shit to me." Later in the song she says, "I could give that man all he wants, and all I'd need in return is love."

Her voice is confident and sultry while the instrumentation is fused with folk twang, making each song moody and alluring.

Debauchery's band members admire her confidence, Schmidt said.

Tino Marrufo, who played drums on the album and will be a guest musician at the show Friday, appreciates a woman who writes about things many are afraid to talk about.

"There's nothing wrong with a woman saying, 'I wanna take your pants off,'" Marrufo said.

Debauchery wrote most of the songs during the summer while she took a break from Chico and spent two months living with friends in Richland, Wash., she said.

"I was writing songs and playing a lot of video games," Debauchery said.

The band started recording in January at the Chico High School studio, she said. Her dad, Ron Pope, is a multimedia teacher at the school.

Debauchery has recorded at the school before, but this is the first time she has been accompanied by a full band, she said.

Aubrey Debauchery and The Puke Boots has been a work in progress, strategically brought together by Debauchery, she said. Aubrey Debauchery has been a well-known name in Chico for many years, but the full band is something new.

Debauchery is a Chico native and has been playing in bands since the beginning of this decade, she said. She was a member of Stars Upon Thars but started playing solo shows in 2004.

The music remained quiet with folk and country undertones, she said.

In 2006 Anderson began to play shows with her, she said. During the last year they met Hammons and Schmidt.

Hammons and Schmidt were already involved in musical projects, but Debauchery wanted them to join her endeavors, she said. Hammons started playing with Debauchery in November. Schmidt was recruited this year.

"We secretly wanted Casey in our band but didn't know how to ask him," Debauchery said.

The way the band was formed may seem devious, but it is common for Chico musicians to be inspired to play in more than one band, she said.

Rene Stephens, 1078 Gallery music director and board member, has been around the Chico music scene since 1997 and has witnessed different music collaborations, she said.

"Chico as a whole is pretty incestuous," Stephens said. "The music scene is like a deserted island where you marry your sister and then you divorce her after two kids and marry your brother."

Stephens has seen Debauchery grow as a musician since the days she played shows at the now-defunct Fulcrum Records.

"She is always in really good bands and not just the 'girl' in the band, but a vital contribution," Stephens said.

After the Chico show, Aubrey Debauchery and The Puke Boots will tour California, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. The tour will end March 30 in Chico.

Debauchery is excited to tour because many people have not seen her with a full band, she said. In preparation, band members are saving money for gas and Top Ramen, they said. The only thing they are worried about is having to resort to paying for motels. However, they hope friends will help out with a place to sleep.

"We'll find floors," Debauchery said.