# Y Pants

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{{Short description|American all-female no wave band}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Y Pants
| image           =File:Y_Pants_poster_for_TR3_performance_in_1979.jpg
| caption         =1979 Y Pants poster for [Tier 3](/source/Tier_3_(nightclub)) performance
| image_size      =
| alias           =
| origin          = New York City, U.S.
| genre           = [No wave](/source/No_wave), [art rock](/source/art_rock), [post-punk](/source/post-punk), [noise music](/source/noise_music)
| years_active    = 1979–1982
| label           = [99 Records](/source/99_Records), [Neutral Records](/source/Neutral_Records)
| website         =
| members         =
| past_members    = Barbara Ess<br/>Virginia Piersol<br/>Gail Vachon
}}

'''Y Pants''' were an American all-female [no wave](/source/no_wave) band from [New York City](/source/New_York_City) active from 1979 to 1982.<ref>Masters, Marc. ''No Wave''. London: Black Dog Publishing, 2007, p. 203</ref> The trio, made up of photographer/musician [Barbara Ess](/source/Barbara_Ess), visual artist Virginia Piersol (aka Virge Piersol), and filmmaker Gail Vachon, developed a unique sound via their acoustic toy instrumentation of [toy piano](/source/toy_piano), [ukulele](/source/ukulele) and a paper-headed [Mickey Mouse](/source/Mickey_Mouse) [drum kit](/source/drum_kit), augmented by electric bass guitar, [Casio keyboard](/source/Casio_keyboard)s and various low-tech effects.<ref name=Dusted>{{cite web|last=Water|first=Seth|title=Dusted Reviews: Y Pants|url=http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/3819|publisher=Dusted Magazine|access-date=January 23, 2011}}</ref>

Y Pants' feminist poetics and toy instrumentation made them a hit in [Manhattans](/source/Manhattans)'s [art gallery](/source/art_gallery) scene, while their No Wave clout brought them to be regulars at [punk rock](/source/punk_rock) venues like [CBGB's](/source/CBGB's). In 1980, [Glenn Branca](/source/Glenn_Branca) recorded their debut 4-song EP for [99 Records](/source/99_Records), followed by an LP two years later.<ref>Masters, Marc. ''No Wave''. London: Black Dog Publishing, 2007, p. 203</ref> Lyrically, most of the Y-Pants' material covered the off-kilter aspects of relationships, with explorations into the perils of laundry ("Favorite Sweater"), materialism ("We Have Everything"), patriarchy ("That's The Way Boys Are"), and a reworking of [Bertolt Brecht](/source/Bertolt_Brecht)'s "Barbara's Song" from ''[Threepenny Opera](/source/The_Threepenny_Opera)''. Musically they have been compared to their British [post-punk](/source/post-punk) contemporaries [The Raincoats](/source/The_Raincoats) for their overlapping vocal choruses and kitchen-sinkish approach to sound, rhythm and composition.

Novelist and critic [Lynne Tillman](/source/Lynne_Tillman) wrote the lyrics for the band's song "Obvious."<ref name="Dusted"/>

Y-Pants disbanded shortly after the release of their album, reportedly reuniting each year on the various band members' birthdays.<ref name=CD>{{cite book|last=Ess|first=Barbara|title=Y Pants CD Liner Notes|year=1998|publisher=Periodic Document}}</ref> Barbara Ess remained musically active throughout the 1980s, frequently contributing tracks to ''[Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine](/source/Tellus_Audio_Cassette_Magazine)'' and collaborating with Peggy Ahwesh on 2001's ''Radio Guitar'' for the [Ecstatic Peace!](/source/Ecstatic_Peace!) label.

==Discography==
* "Little Music EP" ([99 Records](/source/99_Records), 1980)
* ''Beat It Down'' LP ([Neutral Records](/source/Neutral_Records), 1982)
* "Magnetic Attraction" (song recorded in 1980 and released in 1988 on ''[Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine](/source/Tellus_Audio_Cassette_Magazine)'' No. 21: "Audio By Visual Artists"')
* ''Y Pants'' CD (Periodic Document, 1998, collects all of the above recordings)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links==
*[http://ubumexico.centro.org.mx/sound/artist_tellus/Tellus-21-Artists_27_y.mp3 Y Pants – "Magnetic Attraction", 1980, Gail Vachon: ukulele; Barbara Ess: bass; Verge Piersol. drums, Vocals: all. (3:11)]{{Dead link|date=December 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} on [Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine](/source/Tellus_Audio_Cassette_Magazine)

Category:No wave groups
Category:All-female punk bands
Category:American art rock groups
Category:American post-punk music groups
Category:Female musical trios

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Y Pants](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y_Pants) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y_Pants?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.