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Super Babes stick to duo sound on EP

For a band on a roll, what better place to have a EP release party than at a skating rink?

The Super Babes, featuring Bridget Reckless on guitar and vocals and Ann Rock on drums and vocals, will celebrate its six-song debut, “We Are The Super Babes,” with a show Saturday at Youngstown Skate in Boardman.

“We strive to be unique and stand out, and we wanted our release party to be something we would enjoy to celebrate all the work we did,” Reckless said. “We wanted to offer people something more than just standing around drinking at the bar.”

“We’ve got that ’70s rock vibe and wanted to do something retro,” Rock added. “I truly believe we’re taking our own path, not taking the beaten path.”

Reckless and Rock first met about four years ago on a compilation album project that fell apart. Reckless was impressed by Rock’s talent and organizational skills and asked her about collaborating. Rock already was thinking Reckless would be perfect for her idea of a five-women rock band called The Super Babes.

The Super Babes concept went from a Runaways-like band to a Black Keys-style duo when they had trouble finding three other women with the same level of desire and dedication.

“Now we’ve got a ton of men, women, dogs, cats who want to play with us,” Rock said.

The first two tracks on the EP — “Crushing Hard,” a two-minute burst of punk-fueled desire, and “One and Done,” a straight-ahead rocker that starts with a primal drum riff — were the first two songs they wrote. The tracks reveal the collaborative process between the two. “One and Done” was a Reckless song with more of a singer-songwriter vibe until Rock added those drums.

“My brain doesn’t work that way,” Reckless said. “I don’t hear drums when I write. We refer to those as our song babies. That’s when we knew we were keeping this as a duo.”

They also wanted to stay true to that duo approach in the studio. The Super Babes recorded with Gary Rhamy at Peppermint Recording Studio, doing the vocals, drums and guitar live in the studio with minimal overdubs. Rock said she doesn’t like it when stripped-down bands fill their records with studio flourishes that sound nothing like the live band.

“What you hear is what you get,” Rock said. “It’s really raw, organic, natural.”

With the exception of some lyrics on the final track, “Lies and Lullabies,” Reckless and Rock are responsible for all of the writing, singing and playing on the six tracks.

“We designed the CD cover, we sat with Gary while he mixed it. We had our hands in everything,” Rock said.

The duo is willing to relinquish some control. They’re hoping to attract management and a booking agent with the recording.

They’ve already attracted radio airplay on The Summit in Akron, which simulcasts on 90.7 FM in Struthers. Reckless said program director Brad Savage reached out after seeing the pair perform at Federal Frenzy, and the station has been playing “Say It and Say.”

“They’ve been so supportive,” Rock said. “To get in the door that way and not have to submit something … it’s a great accomplishment for us.”

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