{{Short description|Canadian indie rock band}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = FemBots | image = | caption = | origin = Toronto, Ontario, Canada | genre = Indie rock | years_active = {{Start date|1998}}–2010 | label = Paper Bag (2003–2008)<br/>weewerk | website = {{URL|fembots.net}} (defunct) | current_members = Dave MacKinnon<br />Brian Poirier<br />Nathan Lawr<br />Iner Souster | past_members = }}
'''FemBots''' are a Canadian indie rock band from Toronto formed in 1998. FemBots are known for their unique sound of combining instrumental everyday items, junk instruments, and traditional instruments in their music.
==Background== The band's core members, Dave MacKinnon and Brian Poirier, were members of the early 1990s alternative rock band Dig Circus alongside Mark Hansen, James Julien and Dave Dreveny.<ref>"Folky Canadian rockers Dig Circus get their thrills working without a net". ''Toronto Star'', July 21, 1994.</ref> That band released three albums independently, but broke up in the mid-1990s before achieving any mainstream success. They subsequently joined with Ron Hawkins of The Lowest of the Low to form the band Hummer for a one-album project in 1997 before launching Fembots.
==History== The Fembots were performing in Toronto by 1998. Their live show included analogue tape loops and prerecorded sound clips.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20000202220304/http://chartattack.com/road/reviews/1999/19990307-fembots.html "Live Reviews: THE FEMBOTS March 6, 1999 Ted's Wrecking Yard, Toronto, ON"]}}. ''Chart Attack'', review by Howard Druckman</ref>
Fembots' first album, ''Mucho Cuidado''<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lindsay |first1=Cam |title=Fembots Mucho Cuidado, August 2004 |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/fembots-mucho_cuidado |website=exclaim.ca |publisher=Exclaim! |access-date=2021-10-11}}</ref> introduced their distinctive style of music with toys and power tools as instruments in their songs.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20011109094022/http://chartattack.com/damn/2001/11/0701.cfm "The Fembots Deconstruct Teddy Ruxpin"]}}. ''Chart Attack'', November 07, 2001</ref>
''Small Town Murder Scene'', released in 2003, sounded more commercial than their debut, but was also praised by critics.<ref>{{cite web |last1=LeMay |first1=Matt |title=Fembots, Small Town Murder Scene |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/3293-small-town-murder-scene/ |website=pitchfork.com |publisher=Pitchfork |access-date=2021-10-11}}</ref> In support of this album, FemBots toured with The Weakerthans and Arcade Fire.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fembots Concert History |url=https://www.concertarchives.org/bands/fembots |website=concertarchives.org |publisher=Concert Archives |access-date=2021-10-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Barclay |first1=Michael |title=Cuff the Duke / Fembots Underground, Hamilton ON - January 11 2003 |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/cuff_duke_fembots-underground_hamilton_on_-_january |website=exclaim.ca |publisher=Exclaim@ |access-date=2021-10-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Weakerthans / Fembots / The Awards live in Quebec City (2003) |url=https://www.punknews.org/review/2410/the-weakerthans-fembots-the-awards-live-in-quebec-city |website=punknews.org |date=4 November 2003 |access-date=2021-10-11}}</ref> The director Malcolm Ingram used five songs from ''Small Town Murder Scene'' in his 2006 documentary ''Small Town Gay Bar''.
For ''The City'', their third album recorded in the spring of 2005, Mackinnon and Poirier collaborated with Krista Muir, Lawrence Nichols and drummers Mark Hansen and Nathan Lawr, frontman for the Minotaurs (who would join Fembots for their next album). ''The City'' moved the FemBots sound in a new direction, as they used more traditional instruments, while maintaining the distinctive emotion and creativity found in their previous albums. ''The City'' signifies their experiences in their hometown, Toronto, the good and the bad–"Demolition Waltz", for example, is about the loss of neighbourhoods. ''The City'' was extremely well received by critics.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Liss |first1=Sarah |title=Review, Fembots The City, Dec 2005 |url=https://nowtoronto.com/fembots |website=nowtoronto.com |publisher=Now Magazine |access-date=2021-10-11 |archive-date=2021-10-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027190108/https://nowtoronto.com/fembots |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Kennedy |first1=Brendan |title=FemBots release gem of an album, Oct 2005 |url=https://www.queensjournal.ca/story/2005-10-18/arts/fembots-release-gem-album/ |website=queensjournal.ca |publisher=The Queen's University Journal |access-date=2021-10-11 |archive-date=2021-10-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029173831/https://www.queensjournal.ca/story/2005-10-18/arts/fembots-release-gem-album/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
While making their 2008 album, ''Calling Out'', FemBots contributed two songs to the 2007 film ''The Tracey Fragments'', a soundtrack done by Canadian supergroup Broken Social Scene.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Tracey Fragments Sountracks |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0801526/soundtrack |website=imdb.com |publisher=IMDB |access-date=2021-10-11}}</ref> The band's music was also the soundtrack for the 2007 Ed Gass-Donnelly film ''This Beautiful City''.<ref>{{cite web |title=This Beautiful City (2007) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0886535/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_ql_cl |website=imdb.com |publisher=IMDB |access-date=2021-10-11}}</ref>
''Calling Out'' signified a big change for the band, as they moved from Paper Bag Records, their record label for their first three studio albums,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wilson |first1=Carl |title=Indie artists have a new (Paper) Bag, Oct 2003 |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/indie-artists-have-a-new-paper-bag/article772781/ |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=2 October 2003 |publisher=The Globe & Mail |access-date=2021-10-11}}</ref> to weewerk records.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fembots |url=https://weewerk.com/fembots/ |website=weewerk.com |publisher=Weewerk |access-date=2021-10-11}}</ref> The initial idea for the album was to make it using solely junkstruments, aided by the expertise of their new member, Iner Souster. However, junkstruments could not sustain an entire album and they were used as rhythm tracks. Souster and Lawr also contributed to the songwriting process, a first for Mackinnon and Poirier. The album was released on September 16, 2008, and they toured Canada to promote it.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Nay |first1=Rob |title=Fembots Calling Out, Sept 2008 |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/fembots-calling_out |website=exclaim.ca |publisher=Exclaim! |access-date=2021-10-11}}</ref>
Although never formally breaking up, FemBots became inactive following that album; members spent the next several years as touring session musicians with The Weakerthans.<ref>{{cite web |last1=White |first1=Adam |title=The Rolling Tundra Revue returns, 2009 |url=https://www.punknews.org/article/31655/tours-the-rolling-tundra-revue-returns |website=punknews.org |date=17 December 2008 |access-date=2021-10-11}}</ref> On February 11, 2010, they played a "reunion" show at the Wavelength 500 Festival. (Wavelength Music Arts Projects) <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wavelengthtoronto.com/?q=node/2732|title=WAVELENGTH 500 / 10th Anniversary Festival — Night 2|date=|publisher=|last1=|first1=|work={{!}}wavelengthtoronto.com|accessdate=16 March 2012}}</ref> Iner Souster joined the band Detroit Time Machine and opened an art gallery in Toronto.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hatfield |first1=Erin |title=Junkstruments meet music for Queen West Art Crawl, Sept 2011 |url=https://www.toronto.com/news-story/68649-junkstruments-meet-music-for-queen-west-art-crawl/ |website=toronto.com |date=16 September 2011 |access-date=2021-10-11}}</ref> Nathan Lawr remains with the Minotaurs.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nathan Lawr |url=http://auteurresearch.com/artists/nathan-lawr/ |website=auteurresearch.com |publisher=Auteur Research |access-date=2021-10-11 |archive-date=2021-10-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011080759/http://auteurresearch.com/artists/nathan-lawr/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The Fembots music is used in the 2009 film ''Jackpot'',<ref>{{cite web |title=Jackpot (II) (2009) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1439555/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_ql_cl |website=imdb.com |publisher=IMDB |access-date=2021-10-11}}</ref> and is the soundtrack for the true-crime documentary series ''Farm Crime'' (2018–2023).<ref>{{cite web |title=Farm Crime Credits |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9279688/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_cl_sm |website=imdb.com |publisher=IMDB |access-date=2021-10-11}}</ref>
==Members== *Brian Poirier – vocals, guitar, bass *Dave Mackinnon – vocals, guitar, piano *Iner Souster – junkstruments *Nathan Lawr – drums
==Discography== ===Studio albums=== * 2000: ''Mucho Cuidado'' * 2003: ''Small Town Murder Scene'' * 2005: ''The City'' * 2008: ''Calling Out'' * 2022: ''Transfigurations''
===Soundtracks===
* 2006: ''Small Town Gay Bar'' * 2007: ''The Tracey Fragments'' * 2007: ''This Beautiful City'' * 2009: ''Jackpot'' * 2018–2023: ''Farm Crime''
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5fO8bsDeYo/ "Count Down Our Days" video] *(weewerk) records staff. 2008. FemBots. "[http://www.weewerk.com/]"
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fembots}} Category:Musical groups established in 1998 Category:Musical groups from Toronto Category:Canadian indie rock groups Category:Paper Bag Records artists Category:1998 establishments in Ontario