Lippies, The

The Lippies were a Grand Rapids based feminist pop-punk band formed in 2014, fronted by vocalist Tonia Broucek and signed to Red Scare Industries. The band had a feminist message at its forefront.

> "*When we first started, the only objective was to get Tonia's message out. We didn't have any clue beyond that. It was fun. She's pulling out some hardcore feminist themes and getting people to think about things in a way they may not have before. It's fun to see people dancing and singing along at shows and it's like 'you're singing along to a message, we got ya.'*"
> ― Lawrence Kole[[source]]
>
>

Associated artists include Bet on Rats and The Quirk.

## The Lippies - EP (2014)

In hindsight, Broucek felt the EP was a little less cohesive than the full-length album: "I enjoyed writing the first EP, but those were the only songs we had at the time," she said. "so we had to throw them on the record even though they might not have flowed well."

### "The Lippies - EP" Track List

1. "Drop Off"
2. "302"
3. "Beat it Into Me"
4. "Thelma and Louise"
5. "Sidewalk Talk"
6. "Take a Ride in My Hot Air Balloon"

## The Lippies (2016)

The Lippies entered Cold War Studios to record their first full-length album in 2015.

"The Lippies" was nominated for *Album of the Year* and *Best Rock or Pop Album* at the WYCE Jammies XVII awards in 2016, but lost to Vox Vidorra's "Promise Land" (album of the year) and The Crane Wives' "Coyote Stories." The Lippies also played the Jammies XVII awards ceremony.

### "The Lippies" Track List

1. "As We Fall"
2. "302"
3. "Walking on Fences"
4. "Hot Air Balloon"
5. "Basic Boy"
6. Fuck the Customer"
7. "Friend Zone"
8. "Beat it Into Me"
9. "We Can't Go"
10. "Garbage Man"
11. "It Boils"
12. "Sleeping"

## Members

* Tonia Bugg
* Taylor Schupe
* Lawrence Kole
* David Sparks

## Breakup

The Lippies disbanded in 2016.

> "*Hey everyone, this is Tonia talking right now. It is with a heavy heart- one full of love, gratitude, and an ever developing sense of self- awareness that I make this announcement: I have decided to pull the plug on The Lippies. This band was started to help me get things off my chest. I needed a healthy outlet for my feelings and was lucky enough to fall into a group of awesome people who were willing to help me simply by doing what they love to do- by writing and playing music. The stars truly aligned for us, catapulting us to a level of success that I never imagined reaching in such a short amount of time. Don’t get me wrong, we put in some fucking work. Kole doubled as our bassist and basically band manager/booking agent for the majority of our time together while steering us away from mistakes that young bands typically make. Taylor pumps out more ideas for amazing songs than he knows what to do with. David has gone far out of his comfort zone to keep us in time during shows and on time to shows. I sang until my vocal chords ached and put everything I had into our shows until my body broke. For the past year and a half, this band has kept me on my toes. I never knew what was coming next. New experience after new experience helped me learn something about myself and what I needed to be and stay happy. I’ve always known that at some point I might have to say “when” if we landed in a situation that no longer felt right. When asked about our future as a band, because we’ve never had a real plan, the answer has always been that we will continue until it no longer feels right. And guys, it no longer feels right to me. The Lippies was therapy. I don’t believe I was meant to follow the career path I was heading down (at least not now, and not at such a quick pace) but I am so fucking grateful that I tried it out, and we tried it together. None of us are done with music, not by a long shot. But what I do know now, as we’ve gotten to know each other, is that we may want different things and that is okay. I will never get over how unbelievably well we worked together during our time as a band and how special that is. I want to apologize to anyone who was looking forward to seeing us in the future and I know that I am letting some people down with this announcement. I know that Red Scare has put in a lot of work to get us out there and I am sorry that my timing and my instincts are incredibly inconvenient right now. I know that us dropping an entire tour means a lot of work for multiple people and I will always feel bad for that. I know it is unprofessional, but I tried my best. I suppose I’m not cut out to be a professional musician at the moment. And I do just mean me, not Kole, Taylor or David. Just me. I haven’t always taken the best care of myself (as many of you know) but it’s time for me to move on from all of that, and from this band. Health comes first!*
>
>
> Thank you everyone for everything.*"*
>
>
>
> ― Tonia Broucek[[source]]
>
>

## Sources

http://www.mlive.com/onthetown/index.ssf/2015/08/post\_191.html