# Frenchy and the Punk

Frenchy and the Punk are an American acoustic alternative post-punk cabaret duo based in New York City. They were listed in the top 25 duos in May 2012 by Yahoo Music Blog's List of the Day. Punk guitarist Scott Helland, originally from the bands Deep Wound and Outpatients, formed Frenchy and the Punk with singer Samantha Stephenson in 2005. The group was originally called The Gypsy Nomads. They adopted their nickname Frenchy and the Punk prior to their first European tour in 2011.

## Sound and style

Their sound has "elements of post-punk and dark folk”

## French connection

Stephenson was born in Lyon, France and her autobiographical song "Yes! I’m French" offers the witty line "When those jokers served up freedom fries / I saw Lady Liberty rolling her eyes." They released the all French CD Eternal Summer in 2008 with Samantha "crooning sultry, original French pop tunes in a classy cabaret fashion."

## Punk connection

Guitarist Scott Helland was a founding member of the legendary Massachusetts hardcore punk bands Deep Wound with J Mascis and Lou Barlow and Outpatients in the early eighties. He was also a member of the NYC Hardcore bands School of Violence and Darkside NYC in the nineties. He began releasing solo instrumental records in 1996 and started the all instrumental spy noir, surf themed project Guitarmy of One which has released 2 albums in the late 2000s.

## 2014 and beyond

In 2014, after the release of their 4th full length album Bonjour Batfrog, Frenchy and the Punk performed at Scotland's prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Fest.
In 2016, they performed in England, Canada and across the US. In 2019 they performed in West Africa in Grand Lahou, Ivory Coast. The duo has been touring year-round since 2005.
In January 2019 they released a video for the song Lanky Bell Bottoms from their forth-coming album Hooray Beret. The 10 song album was released in April 2019 with 3 music videos for the songs 'Sing', 'Wah', 'Lanky Bell Bottoms' and 2 lyric videos for 'Monsters' and 'Fastball'.

## Discography

See also Scott Helland

### Albums

| Year | Title | Name | Label |
| 2007 | Thread & Stone | The Gypsy Nomads | Exotic Aquatic Recordings |
| 2008 | Eternal Summer | The Gypsy Nomads | Exotic Aquatic Recordings |
| 2008 | At the Carnivale Eclectique | The Gypsy Nomads | Exotic Aquatic Recordings |
| 2010 | Happy Madness | Frenchy and the Punk | EA Recordings |
| 2011 | Live at Bube's Brewery DVD | Frenchy and the Punk | EA Recordings |
| 2012 | Hey Hey Cabaret | Frenchy and the Punk | EA Recordings |
| 2013 | Elephant Uproar | Frenchy and the Punk | EA Recordings |
| 2014 | Cartwheels EP | Frenchy and the Punk | EA Recordings |
| 2014 | Bonjour Batfrog | Frenchy and the Punk | EA Recordings |
| 2016 | Batfrog Tracks Lyric & Photo Book | Frenchy and the Punk | Paris Punk Press |
| 2019 | Hooray Beret | Frenchy and the Punk | EA Recordings |
| 2020 | The Storm is Call for Rebuilding (Single) | Frenchy and the Punk | EA Recordings |
| 2021 | Hanging on the Telephone (Cover) | Frenchy and the Punk | EA Recordings |
| 2022 | Zen Ghost | Frenchy and the Punk | EA Recordings |
| 2023 | Cities in Dust (Cover) | Frenchy and the Punk | EA Recordings |
| 2024 | Midnight Garden | Frenchy and the Punk | EA Recordings |

### Featured in compilations

* "Blood in the Sky Steampunk Compilation CD" (2012-Frenchy and the Punk)
* "The Artifice Club Audio Companion" CD (2013-Frenchy and the Punk)