Sounds Local: Father daughter punk duo release first album: Rocking Puppies will celebrate ‘Civilized Show-Off’ this Saturday at Hawks & Reed

“Civilized Show-Off” is the first album from the Rocking Puppies, aka 9-year-old Pema Crigler and her dad, Michael Crigler.

“Civilized Show-Off” is the first album from the Rocking Puppies, aka 9-year-old Pema Crigler and her dad, Michael Crigler. CONTRIBUTED

Since the Rocking Puppies are all about fun, they are going all out to celebrate the release of their first record, “Civilized Show-Off,” with a special show at Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in Greenfield on Saturday, Oct. 5, at 2 p.m.

Since the Rocking Puppies are all about fun, they are going all out to celebrate the release of their first record, “Civilized Show-Off,” with a special show at Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in Greenfield on Saturday, Oct. 5, at 2 p.m. CONTRIBUTED

By SHERYL HUNTER

For the Recorder

Published: 10-02-2024 2:41 PM

Playing in a punk band with your dad is rather unusual — even more so if you are only 9 years old. But for Pema Crigler, the lead singer of the Greenfield-based punk band Rocking Puppies, it’s not only a normal thing to do, it’s a lot of fun.

Pema and her dad, Michael Crigler, who plays guitar, began their musical journey during the COVID lockdown, driven by a simple desire to have fun. Pema would come up with song lyrics and Michael, a self-described aging skate punker, would add some guitar parts.

They discovered that they enjoyed rocking out together and the songs turned out to be pretty good. They eventually started playing out at places like First Night in Northampton, Peskeompskut Park in Turners Falls, and other areas. And now they have released their first record, “Civilized Show-Off.”

Since the Rocking Puppies are all about fun, they are going all out to celebrate the record’s release with a special show at Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in Greenfield on Saturday, Oct. 5, at 2 p.m. To make a good time even better, they are bringing along guest bands Battlemode and Shiprock & Anchordog. There will also be ice cream, puppets, and more. The best part is that the show is free for kids under 12.

While Pema has proven to be a natural front-person who can dance and shout better than singers twice her age, Michael is an experienced musician who has played in various bands and is currently a member of the local band Power Trousers.

Michael and Pema are a dynamic duo who will get the crowds moving when they play their tunes from “Civilized Show-Off,” which was recorded at the 1357 Recording studio in Greenfield. Marc Seedorf, a musician who has worked with many other musicians on the local music scene, produced, recorded, mixed, and played bass on the record. Monte Arnstam played drums.

Pema found recording to be a different experience from performing live. “I lost my voice, and I was tired — but it was super fun,” she said.

“There were a lot of takes,” added Michael. “But I think what was great is that Puma got to be a big part of the process and got to see the different stages of putting down the tracks, adding harmonies, and such.”

Pema did learn a lot and she liked working with Seedorf. “He’s a kid in a grown up body like my dad,” Pema said. Seedorf and Arnstam will back the Rocking Puppies at this show.

The nine tracks on the album are raw yet catchy, and you’ll find yourself loudly singing along to lines like “We’ll eat all the candy!” from “Sugar Rush” or “Can you hear it stomp,” from “T-Rex,” a song where Pema gets a real vocal workout against her dad’s frenetic guitar work.

The songs take on other subjects that are close to Pema, like “Cuddles the Cat,” “Ice Cream,” and “Clumsy Crow.”

Like all good punk songs, the tunes are short, fast, and feature lots of shouting (Pema is a first-rate screamer), blazing guitar and loud drums. Pema’s endorsement of the album sums it all up best: “If you like eating candy and getting crazy while riding a T-Rex, then you are going to love this album!”

Pema was involved in all phases of the album’s production, and the album’s title came about when she called her dad “a civilized showoff” because he was eating banana bread with a knife and fork. “It was such a fun statement we new it would be great for a punk album,” said Michael.

The artwork was inspired by a photo of Pema’s toys strewn around. Michael, who works as a creative director, sent the photo to an artist he knew in Berlin who created the colorful cover.

Pema and Michel are excited about the show and doing all they can to make it an excellent time for everyone.

“There will be puppets from Bella’s Bartok and another surprise that I won’t tell — and I have a megaphone!” said Pema about the show.

“Ice Cream Alley will be there and they will be passing out cones,” added Michael. “Nice Shaved Ice from Turners Falls is also going to be there. We wrote songs about both of these places.” (Nice. Snack Parlor is the first venue the Rocking Puppies ever performed at.)

Nice Shaved Ice has even created a special flavor of shaved ice for the event called ”Pema’s Dream,” which is coconut and bubblegum flavor, inspired by the line “bubblegum and coconut cream iced to perfection” from a song off the album called “Nice Shaved Ice.”

And we can’t forget the guest bands. ”Battlemode is an amazing kind of chiptune electro-pop three-piece, and they are really fun,” said Michael. “Shiprock and Anchordog have been around forever. They write kids songs and play really joyous music. They have this comic book series that goes along with their songs.”

What do Pema’s classmates think about her being in a band?

“My school is a private school called the Center School, and in my opinion, it’s the greatest school in the world,” she said. “Every Friday we have a thing called ‘All School’, where the whole school gathers together and we make announcements. So I announced our show and about our radio performance.”

The radio performance she referred to occurred last week when the Rocking Puppies were interviewed and performed on the morning show on WRSI 93.9 the River in Northampton. Pema’s entire class listened to the interview when it aired.

“After the interview they called me a minor celebrity,” she proudly said. “That’s going to be the name of our next album,” Michael added with a laugh. And there will be another album.

The band is headed to the studio in October to record three new songs, one about gummy bears, that will probably be released as singles. They have an opening slot scheduled for local band Cloudbelly at the Iron Horse in Northampton on Nov. 2 and have been confirmed to perform again at First Night Northampton. They will also appear on Lou and Adele Barlow’s Raw Impressions podcast in late October.

Pema is also busy taking piano lessons and learning the ukulele, and her godfather Asher Putnam, the leader singer of Bella’s Bartok, is teaching her bass.

This is one busy band, but now their focus is on this upcoming show which they promise will be a full-on, face-melting, mind-blowing event for all ages, so don’t miss out!

Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Advance tickets at hawksandreed.com.

Sheryl Hunter is a freelance writer who resides in Easthampton. Her work has appeared in various regional and national publications. She can be reached at soundslocal@yahoo.com.