The Red Aunts were an all-female punk band that formed in 1991 in Long Beach, California, when Terri Wahl (guitar / vocals) recruited friends Kerry Davis (guitar / vocals), Debi Martini (bass / vocals), and Lesley Ishino (drums). Their brand of unfiltered music is toxic, taking a sharp claw to every riot grrrl cliché it can shred.  After five albums, several years of touring and a huge fanbase, they called it quits in 1998. The ladies recently decided it was time to wake people up and save the music with their unique form of rock. Come Up for a Closer Look is their “Greatest Hits” compilation, a gatefold-sleeve double-album complete with killer art and photos, plus liner notes by Red Aunts fan Sasha Frere-Jones.  “The Red Aunts are nothing to mess with ... wonderfully reckless rock.” —L.A. Times

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“Martini’s bandmates Terri Wahl, Kerry Davis, and Lesley Ishino confirmed the news of Debi Martini’s death, referring to her death as “sudden and unexpected.” They continued, “She was our rock goddess and our anchor and we will always treasure our time together and all that we accomplished. ... We are devastated. We love you Debi.”

“Red Aunts got started in 1991 when Wahl recruited her friends Martini, Davis, and Ishino. Their first practice was in Martini’s garage. “Nobody really had a background in music, so chords and letters didn’t have much meaning as our own language,” Martini said.

“Their first two albums—1993’s Drag and 1994’s Bad Motherfucken 40 O-Z—were released on the indie label Sympathy for the Record Industry. Their final three albums were all released by Epitaph: 1995’s #1 Chicken, 1996’s Saltbox, and 1998’s Ghetto Blaster. The band broke up in 1998. In 2014, a greatest hits compilation of their work called Come Up For a Closer Look was released on In the Red. Red Aunts reunited in 2016 and played a string of shows.” Pitchfork January 2020.