Winona Fighter Releases Debut Album 'My Apologies To The Chef'

The wait is over for MY APOLOGIES TO THE CHEF, the highly anticipated debut album from rising punk act Winona Fighter. “It’s crazy that our debut LP ‘My Apologies To The Chef’ is officially released. We cannot even put into words how excited and proud we are,” shares front woman and multi-instrumentalist Coco Kinnon. “Our amazing label Rise Records allowed us to take our DIY approach to the recording of the album. The process was a dream scenario. It was just me and Dan and Austin in our home studio from pre-production to sending it off for mastering.”

She continues: “I couldn’t think of a better introduction of the band. 14 hard hitting tracks, straight from a guest bedroom or garage. It’s raw. It’s got grit. It’s got emotion. It’s three punks obsessed with music making tunes for people obsessed with music. It’s our love letter to the punk-rock genre. We hope fans old and new love it as much as we do. To finish this off we’d like to thank our ENTIRE team for believing in us and helping us create something so special. All we ever said when we were grinding with no one on our side was ‘we just need ONE person to believe in us’ and now we have all of you... so thank you for allowing us to create, play, and live our dream.”

About latest single “TALK” she adds: “‘TALK’ is about feeling like your name is always in someone’s mouth. The more limelight we get the more we are susceptible to trolls, insecure people, and even artists that want to undercut you by spreading nonsense. It’s the wild f*cking west out here and we’ve dealt with it all. We had no idea how to put this into a music video. Our friends at We’re All Gonna Die had a killer concept- an unrealistic version of myself, doing the things tabloids have a field day with. Fights, getting kicked out of a bar, breaking the rules, all while dolled up like a zombie. This music video felt like a parody bio-pic. ‘TALK’ is genuinely one of our favorite songs on the record. We are stoked that it's finally out in the world with the rest of ‘MY APOLOGIES TO THE CHEF’.”

Featuring previous singles “R U FAMOUS” “ATTENTION”, “Swear To God That I’m (FINE)”, and “I’M IN THE MARKET TO PLEASE NO ONE”, MY APOLOGIES TO THE CHEF has recently garnered attention from Consequence, Brooklyn Vegan, UPROXX, New Noise Magazine, The Noise / Ones To Watch, Alternative Press, and more. The band has also been featured on Spotify's Marrow, New Noise, and All New Punk playlists, as well as Apple Music’s Rise and Grind, Negative Space, and Rise Above. 

Last night Winona Fighter kicked off their headlining Yes, Chef Tour with a hometown album release show in Nashville at The Blue Room. The first leg of the tour will continue through March 7, with the recently announced second leg picking up this summer from July 7- July 20. Tickets for the first leg are on-sale now and available at winonafighter.com, with general on sale for leg two beginning February 21st at 10am local time.

About Winona Fighter

Based in Nashville, Winona Fighter—frontwoman and multi-instrumentalist Coco Kinnon, lead guitarist Dan Fuson and bassist/producer Austin Luther — formed after Coco moved there from Boston, and made a strong impression with their 2022 debut EP, Father Figure. Three of its songs—"Subaru”, “You Look Like A Drunk Phoebe Bridgers” and “Wlbrn St Tvrn”—were re-recorded for MY APOLOGIES TO THE CHEF, the band’s debut album, but their power and potency is in no way diminished. In fact, the rage and frustration that courses through them, and which also infuses the band’s energetic and compelling live shows, feels even more visceral, pointed and necessary than before, something that carries over into the other songs too.

“I feel like we’re taught to suppress our anger,” Coco says, “whether it’s to do with what’s going on in the world or in our lives. And that’s so lame. Why are we so okay with people being sad and anxious, and not okay with people having an outlet to be angry? That just blows my mind. I think if more people were able to be angry, maybe everyone would be a little happier.”

Recorded by Austin at his home studio (“I call it Studio A,” he smiles. “A for Austin”), MY APOLOGIES TO THE CHEF is a wonderfully raw and cohesive reflection on life today that bottles the spirited and cathartic energy of the band’s live shows, as well as the angst and anxiety of being alive. The tone is set immediately with “JUMPERCABLES”, a catchy indie-punk anthem that’s fun and fiery in equal measure, before “You Look Like A Drunk Phoebe Bridgers” and “Subaru” soar with the band’s trademark catchy hooks and choruses. Elsewhere, “Swimmer’s Ear” balances tender aggression and self-deprecation, “Johnny’s Dead” is a heart-wrenching tale about substance abuse, and “Swear To God That I’m (FINE)” is an explosion of defiant self-affirmation. One of the angrier songs on the album, “R U FAMOUS,” is a blast of powerfully bitter vitriol tempered by humor, intelligence, and nuance.

That balance is something also present in the snarky catchiness of “I Think You Should Leave” and throughout the blistering urgency of “I’M IN THE MARKET TO PLEASE NO ONE”, a song about dating abuse inspired by a letter Coco wrote for a therapy session. The idea was to write it, get all her feelings out and then destroy it, but for some reason she kept it. When she stumbled across it sometime later, the band were already gaining ground and the idea for the song was born.

“I found it at a time where people were starting to really listen to our music,” she remembers. “There were a lot of young women coming to our shows and a lot of dads being like, ‘Oh my God, my daughter would love you guys.’ So it felt like the right time to use my voice to sing about something pretty serious. When I showed it to Austin we thought it could maybe motivate people who had been—or still are—in the situation I was in to speak up and speak out and try to get their power back. Originally, I wrote it for me but feel now like it’s a song for other people. And there’ll be these big ass grown dudes in the audience scream-singing it, so I think it means a lot to more than just the young women I had intended it to be for.”

Despite the strength in these songs’ delivery, underlying them all is a raw vulnerability. It’s the band’s ability to overcome that, and the adversity that inspired it in the first place, that makes this album truly special. That comes across nowhere more strongly than on the album finale, “DON’T WALLOW”. Originally written about the band flyering to promote “Johnny’s Dead” outside a festival they weren’t actually playing, the song turns a negative and embarrassing experience into a source of positive inspiration.

“It was very humbling,” says Coco, “and a little embarrassing to stand outside of a music festival you could be playing and handing out flyers, but we want this so bad. You should be uncomfortable all the time during this process. That’s how a lot of our career has felt up until this point and I think it’s going to continue to feel that way. If you’re comfortable, you’re not doing enough.”

Upcoming Tour Dates:

2/14 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade – Hell (Emo Nite)

2/18 – Austin, TX @ 3Ten at ACL Live

2/19 – Dallas, TX @ Three Links

2/21 – Tempe, AZ @ Innings Festival **

2/22 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues – Voodoo Room

2/23 – Anaheim, CA @ Chain Reaction

2/25 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo

2/26 – Berkeley, CA @ Cornerstone

2/28 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios

3/1 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern

3/3 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge

3/5 – Denver, CO @ Larimer/Marquis

3/7 – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown – Encore Room

5/19 – Manchester, UK @ Deaf Institute – The Lodge

5/20 – Southampton, UK @ Heartbreakers

5/24 – Hatfield, UK @ Slamdunk – South **

5/25 – Leeds, UK @ Slamdunk – North **

5/31 – Bethlehem, PA @ Wind Creek Event Center #

6/1 – Buffalo, NY @ Outer Harbor Live at Terminal B

6/3 – New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall

6/5 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre Portland

6/28 – Oro Station, ON @ All Your Friends Fest **

7/8 – Raleigh, NC @ Kings

7/9 – Washington, D.C. @ DC9

7/10 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge

7/11 – Boston, MA @ Crystal Ballroom

7/12 – Philadelphia, PA @ Foundry

7/15 – Columbus, OH @ Rumba Café

7/16 – Hamtramck, MI @ Sanctuary

7/17 – Chicago, IL @ Subterranean

7/18 – Milwaukee, WI @ Vivarium

7/19 – Winona, MN @ No Name Bar

7/20 – St. Paul, MN @ Minnesota Yacht Club Festival **

** - Festival Date

# - show supporting Simple Plan

Photo Credit: Lindsey Byrnes

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