The Surfrajettes — An Introduction
I’m not really a fan of Surf music; probably 90 — 95% of my music collection is Rock with a little bit of Blues and Rap thrown in. I do, however, like The Surfrajettes, a Surf band from Toronto. I first encountered the ‘jettes from a post on Reddit which linked to a video of their cover of Toxic by Britney Spears, a song that I’d never heard before (I know exactly one Britney Spears song — ….Baby One More Time). Despite not knowing the song, I was drawn to the Surfrajettes for some reason, I guess their overall sound (it’s all about the reverb) and their retro look. Since then I’ve been kind of obsessed with the band and decided to pull all the info I have on them together in one place.
Group Members
I believe the band were originally formed in 2015 and they’ve been through a few line up changes over the years with the core members being Shermy Freeman and Nicole Damoff.
Mark I Lineup
Shermy Freeman — Guitar
Nicole Damoff — Guitar
Amber Rutschmann — Drums
Linda ???? — Bass
Mark II Lineup
Shermy Freeman — Guitar
Nicole Damoff — Guitar
Amber Rutschmann — Drums
Sarah Butler — Bass
Mark III Lineup
Shermy Freeman — Guitar
Nicole Damoff — Guitar
Anna Liebel — Drums
Sarah Butler — Bass
Mark IV Lineup
Shermy Freeman — Guitar
Nicole Damoff — Guitar
Dani Nash — Drums
Sarah Butler — Bass
Mark V Lineup
Shermy Freeman — Guitar
Nicole Damoff — Guitar
Annie Lillis — Drums
Sarah Butler — Bass
In September 2017, Amber Rutschmann announced on Instagram (here) that she and Linda were retiring from the band but it looks like Amber was still playing with the ‘jettes after Sarah Butler had replaced Linda on bass (i.e. the Mark II lineup). There are also some videos on YouTube of live performances that show Amber and Sarah playing in the same lineup and a couple of videos from a performance in late 2017 (I think) that has yet another drummer. I’ve got no idea who this third drummer is, presumably a stand in until Anna joined the group although I think the unknown drummer was actually pretty good!
Official Releases
There have been several official releases by The Surfrajettes on vinyl, CD and digital. Some of the earlier releases have been re-issued on different coloured vinyl.
The Surfrajettes (EP)
Release Date: September 2017
Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl (reissued in 2021 and 2023) — 2021 reissue was on blue vinyl, 2023 reissue was on hot pink vinyl.
Label: Hi-Tide Recordings
Catalogue Number: HT-008
Tracks: Cha Cha Heels; Mrs. Moto; Undercover Secretary
Personnel: Shermy Freeman, Nicole Damoff, Amber Rutschmann, Sarah Butler
NOTE: The original release of the EP in 2017 was digital and CD only; there was no vinyl edition released in 2017. The only vinyl copies of the EP are reissues from 2021 and 2023.
Party Line (Single)
Release Date: June 2018 (first pressing), 2019 (second pressing), 2020 (third pressing), 2023 (fourth pressing)
Format: Digital, Vinyl — 2018 original release was on translucent blue vinyl, 2019 release was on opaque white vinyl, 2020 release was on opaque pink vinyl and 2023 release was on cool blue vinyl.
Label: Hi-Tide Recordings
Catalogue Number: HT-015
Tracks: Party Line (original composition); Toxic (cover)
Personnel: Shermy Freeman, Nicole Damoff, Anna Liebel, Sarah Butler
Hale’iwa Hustle (Single)
Release Date: 2020 (first pressing), 2021 (second pressing), 2023 (third pressing)
Format: Vinyl — 2020 original release is on yellow vinyl, 2021 re-release was on green vinyl and limited to 1,000 copies, 2023 release was on hibiscus red vinyl.
Label: Hi-Tide Recordings
Catalogue Number: HT-050
Tracks: Hale’Iwa Hustle (original composition); Banzai Pipeline (cover)
Personnel: Shermy Freeman, Nicole Damoff, Anna Liebel, Sarah Butler
Couch Surfing (Single)
Release Date: November 2021
Format: Digital
Label: Hi-Tide Recordings
Catalogue Number: N/A
Tracks: Couch Surfing (original composition)
Personnel: Shermy Freeman, Nicole Damoff, Dani Nash, Sarah Butler
Roller Fink (Album)
Release Date: April 2022
Format: CD and Vinyl
Label: Hi-Tide Recordings
Catalogue Number: HT-077
Personnel: Shermy Freeman, Nicole Damoff, Dani Nash, Sarah Butler
The vinyl version was available in two different limited editions:
Candy Floss — exclusive to the Hi-Tide Recordings web store; was also available from the web store as an autographed copy.
Berry Slushie — exclusive to the Surfrajettes tour.
El Condor Pasa (Single)
Release Date: 14 September 2022
Format: Digital
Label: Hi-Tide Recordings
Catalogue Number: N/A
Tracks: El Condor Pasa
Personnel: Shermy Freeman, Nicole Damoff, Sam Maloney, Sarah Butler
Banshee Bop (Single)
Release Date: 7th October 2022
Format: Digital
Label: Hi-Tide Recordings
Catalogue Number: N/A
Tracks: Banshee Bop
Personnel: Shermy Freeman, Nicole Damoff, Sam Maloney, Sarah Butler
Marshmallow March / All I Want For Christmas Is You (Single)
Release Date: 2022
Format: Vinyl — green / marshmallow splatter
Label: Hi-Tide Recordings
Catalogue Number: HT-089
Tracks: Marshmallow March, All I Want For Christmas Is You
Personnel: Shermy Freeman, Nicole Damoff, Sam Maloney, Sarah Butler
Easy as Pie (Album)
Release Date: 4th October 2024
Format: CD and Vinyl
Label: Hi-Tide Recordings
Catalogue Number: HT-125
Tracks: <TBC>
Personnel: Shermy Freeman, Nicole Damoff, Annie Lillis, Sarah Butler
The vinyl version will be available in three different editions (or flavours!):
Blueberry (blue vinyl) — exclusive to the Hi-Tide Records web store and limited to 1,000 copies; also available from the web store as an autographed copy.
Lemon Meringue (yellow vinyl) — exclusive to the Surfrajettes tour for those lucky enough to see them live.
Key Lime (green vinyl) — retail exclusive, not sure where this one will be available.
YouTube Videos
In addition to the official YouTube channel for the band, there are quite a few audience recordings of them playing over the years. Of course, the audio and visual quality of these videos isn’t always the best but they’re a good way of hearing more of the ‘jettes music.
I’ve put together a playlist on YouTube featuring all the videos I’ve been able to track down and I’ve tried to put them into vaguely chronological order; my playlist is here.
My personal favourites are:
Cha Cha Heels — Mark II lineup
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida / Sunshine Of Your Love — Mark II lineup with the ‘unknown’ third drummer
Jingle Bells — Mark III lineup (I listen to this at least once a week, regardless of what time of year it is!)
Party Line — Mark III lineup
2 More Songs Live — Mark III lineup (I love seeing Sarah have a boogie to her bass line in the second of these songs which I think is a cover of ‘Penetration’ by The Pyramids)
Social Media
I guess it’s pretty easy to find this info but here are the official social media links for The Surfrajettes.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube Channel
Bandcamp
Activity During Coronavirus Pandemic
Obviously the lockdowns triggered by the pandemic meant that there was limited activity by the band during 2020 and 2021 which is a real shame as I felt like they were becoming more confident (as they should, they are great!) in their performances in 2019. I particularly like their performance at Tiki Oasis 2019, it felt like they had turned their performance up a notch.
In the absence of live performances, the band posted several videos to YouTube during 2020–2021 under the banner of ‘Couch Surfing With The Surfrajettes’ where they gave updates about the band, rig run downs, etc. These videos mainly featured Shermy and Nicole but the December 2020 Christmas video also featured Sarah (forced to stand outside to play!) and a quick update from Anna with a new family member.
Summary
So there you have it, a quick overview of The Surfrajettes. As I said at the start, I’m not a big fan of Surf music but I like The Surfrajettes; I really like them! I think they’re great musicians (Sarah is my fave), I like their retro look, I like their original songs and I like the way they ‘surfify’ classic rock songs. Fingers crossed that 2022 sees lots of live performances from the band that get posted to YouTube for those of us unable to attend in person.
Story Updates
13th July 2019
Original story published.
30th October 2021
Updated to include details of additional official releases and to place the list of my favourite videos in chronological order and add details of the lineup for each of the videos. Added a section on the band’s activity during the Coronavirus Pandemic.
6th November 2021
Updated to include details of a new digital release (‘Couch Surfing’), release date and title for the upcoming album and details of the new lineup (the Mark IV lineup).
14th July 2024
Updated to include details of the new lineup (the Mark V lineup), include details of additional singles, the Roller Fink album and the upcoming “Easy as Pie” album due for release on 4th October 2024.
