Mannequin Pussy's Marisa 'Missy' Dubice on being unapologetic
With their righteous live shows, Mannequin Pussy create a space for people to experiment with being who they are. But this simple act of self-acceptance is becoming increasingly rebellious, as Marisa 'Missy' Dubice explains
“It was important to honour the true rebels and renegades who came before us, who were so much braver than they should have been for that time.”
Marisa 'Missy' Dubice, founding member of full-throttle rockers Mannequin Pussy, is explaining the sigificance of featuring a certain Irish vocalist within their Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney performance earlier this year. “We made the photo of Sinéad O’Connor ripping up Pope [John Paul II on SNL in 1992] the image on the drumhead. She was vilified for speaking out about abuse and turned into an outcast as an artist, for saying many of the same things that we are saying as artists today. The only difference is time.”
It’s been over a decade since Dubice formed the band alongside OG guitarist Thanasi Paul, who joined forces as part of Colorado’s underground punk scene. A few years prior, Dubice was diagnosed with a rare form of soft-tissue cancer at just 15 years old. Wrestling with her own mortality and wanting to “be the bad girl”, she was desperate to rack up as many experiences as this lifetime would allow. “Why not take the risk?” she insists. “It's so fucked, but the same week that I was diagnosed with cancer, I tried my first cigarette.”
Out in the normative state of Colorado, Dubice admits finding like-minded folk felt like a momentous breakthrough for her. “Making those friendships was one of the most life-changing things that had ever happened to me. I had searched for so long for people who were creatively driven, rather than capitalist driven.” But in 2021, a couple of years after the band released Patience, Paul shared he would be leaving the band “to begin a new chapter of his life”.
Other bands might’ve faltered at losing a founding member but the departure opened up even more possibilities for the band, completed by Colins “Bear” Regisford (bass) and Kaleen Reading (drums). “There was never a doubt in my mind that this would continue,” she confesses, still surrounded by cardboard boxes, having moved to the West Coast earlier this year. “It gave us a big opportunity to expand the group, our creative dynamics, in ways that would ultimately be inspiring for us.”
Expanding the group meant welcoming long-time friend Maxine Steen on lead guitar, with whom Dubice already performed in alt-pop side-project Rosie Thorne. For the remaining three group members, this new arrival felt like the stars aligning. “In the same way that there was never a question in my mind that we would continue to do this, there was never a question in my mind who I would want to be part of the collective,” Dubice says. Steen brought her fretboard finesse but also a strong line in synths, opening up 2024’s I Got Heaven into further pop realms. But while the record might journey through the map sonically and stylistically, fierce explosions like OK? OK! OK? OK! keeps their true blue hardcore credentials in check.
This genre-agnostic appreciation could also be propelled by producer John Congleton, famed for his credits with fellow rock and roll rulebreakers St. Vincent and Sleater-Kinney. “He's someone who understands the full breadth of human emotion and the way that he approaches music is from this very sacred place,” says Dubice. For someone who has looked death in the face, this higher purpose resonates with Mannequin Pussy’s decade-long adventure so far. “We've always just really sought to represent the multitudes of what it means to be alive.”
The Philadelphia-formed outfit have always defied conventions. From a ferocious debut that rattled through ten songs in under 20 minutes with numbers like Clit Eastwood and Meatslave in the mix, to evolving from two childhood pals in the Colorado punk scene into an international touring outfit. For Dubice, being open-minded is the key to expanding into unexpected realms. “When you're unapologetic about what you believe and the type of person you want to be, it’s a natural way to weed out the squares and the non-believers. By truly being ourselves, it allows people into that space to experiment with being who they are.”
Living in an increasingly divided country like America, the band is well aware of the price of such acceptance. As the US government continues to test its legal boundaries, left-thinking creatives are feeling a conflict of rights and representation. For Dubice, that means bridging the divide with their “loud and beautiful rock music”. “America is going to become heavily isolated from the rest of the world in the years to come in ways that we've never seen before,” she shares vehemently. “As an individual and as an American, I want to be part of the world, because I love the world, and we've been so privileged to see it with our own eyes.”
Mannequin Pussy play QMU, Glasgow, 19 May
I Got Heaven is out now via Epitaph Records