Hilken Mancini is a US female singer, songwriter, musician, author, co-founder of Punk Rock Aerobics, and Girls Rock Campaign Boston. She has been a member of the bands Fuzzy, The Count Me Outs, Shepherdess, The Monsieurs and Band of Their Own.
Hilken formed the rock band Fuzzy, with Christine Toppin and Winston Braman in 1992. Fuzzy was signed by Atlantic Records for whom they released two albums. Their 1994 debut, Fuzzy, attracted attention thanks to its lead singleFlashlight. The video for Flashlight was directed by Jesse Peretz. In August 2016, Rolling Stone named Flashlight as one of top 50 songs of the 1990s. Two years later, Fuzzy released Electric Juices. Fuzzy supported Electric Juices by touring with Juliana Hatfield, Belly, Buffalo Tom, Velocity Girl and The Posies. In the months following the tour, Fuzzy was dropped by Atlantic Records. David Ryan left to attend grad school and was replaced by Nate Darden in 1997. In 1999 Fuzzy released their final album, Hurray For Everything on the independent Catapult label.
Punk Rock Aerobics
In 2001, Mancini and Maura Jasper founded Punk Rock Aerobics , a DIY exercise program providing an alternative for those disenchanted with rigid body-image based gym culture. The pair ran exercise classes in rock clubs, employing “rock star” DJs such as J Mascis and Mike Watt to spin punk records for each session. In 2004, Da Capo Press published their exercise book, Punk Rock Aerobics.
2000s
From 2001 through 2005, Mancini played guitar for The Count Me Outs, fronted by Mark Perretta with Winston Braman on bass and Mike Savage on drums. Hilken contributed the story Biker Babe to That Takes Ovaries published by Three Rivers Press in 2002. As Fuzzy went on hiatus, Mancini co-produced and released an album on Kimchee Records in 2005 with bassist/vocalist Chris Colbourn of Buffalo Tom called Hilken Mancini And Chris Colbourn with Winston Braman on bass, drummer Mike Savage from Fudge and Cherry 2000, and guest guitar work by J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. In 2006, Mancini formed Shepherdess, again with Savage on drums and Braman on bass, adding Emily Arkin on violin. Shepherdess, their eponymous debut album was self-released in 2007. By 2008, Savage and Braman moved on and were replaced by Alison Murray on drums with Arkin playing baritone guitar
After volunteering to run Punk Rock Aerobics sessions at Girls Rock Camp in Portland, Oregon from 2007 to 2009, Hilken founded Girls Rock Campaign Boston with Nora Allen-Wiles and Mary Lou Lord in 2010 with seed money from Cambridge-based rock entrepreneur Billy Ruane. Girls Rock Campaign Boston is a member of the Girls Rock Camp Alliance, a foundation created to empower girls to believe in themselves by providing a supportive community that fosters self-expression, confidence, and collaboration through musical education and performance.
2010s
In 2012, Mancini formed “The Monsieurs”, a garage punk band, with Andy Macbain and drummer Erin King. The Monsieurs have released two full-length albums and several singles on the Slovenly label. On July 21, 2018, The Monsieurs were asked to open for the Foo Fighters at Boston's Fenway Park. Hilken also works as a back-up vocalist, doing sessions with Tanya Donelly, Juliana Hatfield, Buffalo Tom, and several projects with David Derby. In 2015, Mancini was asked to join “A Band of their Own”, an ad hoc group of women musicians including Kay Hanley, Belly’s Tanya Donelly and Gail Greenwood, Jen Trynin, Magen Tracy, Jenny Dee and Hilken’s bandmate in Fuzzy, Chris Toppin. BOTO performs at Theo and Paul Epstein’s “Hot Stove, Cool Music” for the benefit of the Foundation to Be Named Later in both Boston and Chicago. Hilken is married to songwriter-musician Andy Macbain and continues as Program Director of Girls Rock Campaign Boston, guitarist in The Monsieurs, and as the drummer for Andy California. She is also the proprietor of 40 South Street, a Jamaica Plain Mass. vintage clothing boutique.
