Star Fucking Hipsters

Star Fucking Hipsters

Star Fucking Hipsters are a New York punk group active from 2005 to the present. Their line-up includes Ara Babajian, Yula Beeri, Nico de Gaillo, Frank Piegaro, Mikey Erg, Kill-C, “dirty” James McDowell, Stza and Jamie Toulon.

Formation and early development

The project begins in 2004 around Stza and then-current Leftöver Crack drummer Brandon Chevalier-Kolling, who start planning a new band for the following year. The idea is for a loosely connected group with a rotating cast of punk friends and dual male and female vocals. A first new song, later titled “Look Who’s Talking Now!”, is written during this period.

Chevalier-Kolling’s death in late 2004 interrupts the original plan. After a one-off performance in New York’s Tompkins Square Park the following summer, the project remains inactive for a time.

Line-up changes and recording

The band returns in early 2006 after a Leftöver Crack split release and a tour with Citizen Fish. Original Leftöver Crack drummer Ara Babajian joins, alongside guitarist Frank Piegaro, and the group begins recording new material. Some of these songs are later diverted to Leftöver Crack for the Deadline split release with Citizen Fish.

By early 2007 the band has built up a larger set of songs and records at Artic Shelf studios in Queens, New York. Nico de Gaillo then joins as the long-sought female vocalist, and Yula Beeri adds bass, bringing the group to five members. The band’s material grows to twelve and a half tracks during this period of writing and recording.

Collaborators and release history

The recordings are later worked on with Fat Mike of NOFX, who helps finish the vocals and refine the material at his San Francisco studio. This work appears on Until We’re Dead, released on Fat Wreck Chords.

Style and context

The group is identified with punk, and is associated in the wider punk scene with ska-punk and skacore. Several members also have links to other acts, including Leftöver Crack, The Slackers, The Degenerics, Ensign, Fanshen, Another Dying Democracy, The Randalls, Casa De Chihuahua, Nanuchka and Ex-The World/Inferno Friendship Society.