Têtes Noires

Têtes Noires
Left to right, Holt, Alexander, Kayon, Frucci, Bartell and Gage backstage at First Avenue. Photo by Catherine Settanni.
Background information
Origin	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Genres	Rock, alternative rock, punk rock, folk rock
Years active	1982—1998
Labels	Rapunzel, Rounder
Past members	Polly Alexander Cynthia Bartell Angela Frucci Camille Gage Jennifer Holt Renée Kayon Chris Little

Têtes Noires was the first all-female rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, best known for their "casually mocking" feminist lyrics and for three- and sometimes up to six-part vocal harmonies. Founded by former Miss South Dakota Jennifer Holt, they gave concerts from 1983 until about 1987, and recorded three albums which received positive reviews nationally. As Susan Borey wrote for Spin, the name means "black heads" in French, which they used to describe their hair color (like birds and not a complexion problem).

Holt (vocals, violin) formed the band in 1982, as a one-time performance art project. (Vixen, the first all female rock band in the Twin Cities, formed in Saint Paul a year or two earlier.) Acceptance and critical acclaim made them a sextet. Along with Holt were: Polly Alexander (guitar), Cynthia Bartell (bass, vocals), Angela Frucci (piano, keyboards), Camille Gage (vocals, keyboards), and Renée Kayon (percussion, vocals).

They used a 1950s drum machine named "Barbie" until their third album when drummer Chris Little joined. Gage, Holt, and Kayon did lead vocals. Gage and Holt were the primary songwriters. As they explained to a writer for Spin, the band was a self-managed collective: Holt and Gage did public relations, Alexander did the finances, Bartell did record distribution and promotion, Kayon took care of graphics, and Frucci drove their truck.

Gage said about their first show in 1983 at the Pride Festival in Loring Park, "What we were doing was very unusual. The music was unusual. What was frustrating is that you reach a point where you want people to listen to the music and get past the novelty aspect and pay attention, which I think people do relatively quickly".