Anarcho pirate punks lay waste to Wellington with a ship load of she-shanties.

Formed in 1999, the Carnys were a fiercely political and creative force in Wellington’s fourth-wave punk scene. Centering anarcho-feminist politics in a lineup that distinctively included a violin, they described their sound as “pirate punk”. The band’s lyrics were unafraid to tackle social issues head-on, with the Carnys active in the social issues, protests, fundraisers, and community actions that shaped Wellington’s DIY scene in the early 2000s.

The band began while Sian, Sammy, and Lisa White were still students at Wellington High School, and hanging out at the Kensington Street punk flat in central Te Aro. The early lineup featured Sian on guitar, Lisa on bass, Sammy on violin, Kitty on drums, Amelia on lead vocals, and Adam Cohen on guitar.

The Carny’s first recording, “Mr Macho,” was cut at Erskine College, a former Catholic convent (fitting for an anarcho-feminist band) that had been turned into an art school and studios. Mr Macho was included on the Gowned & Bagged, a compilation of Wellington youth music, produced by Nathan Judge of local hardcore punk band School of Meat.

Carnys made their live debut at Punkfest 2000, held at the Scottish Pipe Band Hall in upper Hanson Street. By 2001, the Carnys lineup had solidified: Sammy Vulture (violin), Jana Java (drums), Lisa Lucifer (bass/lead vocals) and Sian Sabotage (guitar/vocals). Based out of the Eva Street punk flat known as The Frying Pan, the Carnys became a fixture in the activist punk scene playing gigs championing women’s rights, animal liberation and anti-capitalism.

The Carnys released their self-titled debut album on March 22, 2003 with a gig at Underground Arts alongside Bonus Donor, School of Meat, The Shambolics and If I Had A Gun. They also shared bills with international acts Atom and His Package (USA) and Vicious Irene (Sweden), and played DIY festivals including Greenspikes, Punkfest, and Unityfest.

A 2003 tour with Wellington punk legends Flesh D-Vice and old mates School of Meat took them down the South Island releasing “Live… and into the Gutter”, a 22-track live album, along the way. Later that year Carnys threw their weight behind the anti-bypass movement, opposing the motorway project that threatened their beloved Te Aro community, contributing the anthem “Bypass, My Ass” to the Stop The Bypass compilation and playing a number of fundraisers.

Carnys continued to perform through 2004, appearing at May Day celebrations and more anti-bypass events as demolition loomed. Their final show came at Punkfest 2004, as a last minute edition to the lineup, and with that the Carnys pirate ship sailed off into the sunset. Lisa became a member of crust punk band Poodles the following year and after moving to Australia joined a similar crust band, Walrora, who returned to Wellington in 2008 for a return appearance at Punkfest.

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Origin	Wellington High School
Genre	pirate punk
Years Active	2000 – 2004
Labels	NAY Records
Associated Acts	Liva Queens, Padded Cell, Awkward Death Poodles
Past Members	Sian (guitar, vocals) Lisa (bass, vocals) Sammy (violin) Jana (drums) Amelia (vocals) Kitty (drums) Adam (guitar)

Releases

Title	Date	Label	Type	Format
Gowned & Bagged	2001		compilation	CD
Carnys	2003, March 22	NAY Records	album	CD
Live And Into The Gutter	2003, May		live compilation	CD
Stop The Bypass	2004, August		compilation	CD
Pick Of The Litter vol.2	2005		compilation	CD