Preview: Rising punk group Winona Fighter to open for Simple Plan, We The Kings in Buffalo debut
By Chloe Kowalyk
(Above: Winona Fighter. Photo by Lindsey Byrnes).
Pop-punk and high-energy alternative jams are taking over Buffalo this summer.
For a show kicking off the warmer months in the Queen City, Simple Plan performs live with special guests We The Kings and Winona Fighter at Outer Harbor Live at Terminal B on June 1.
The show has been gaining significant attention from local music lovers, as many recognize Simple Plan as the group who sang the theme song for “What’s New Scooby Doo” as well as other major hits such as “I’m Just a Kid” and “Welcome to My Life.”
In addition, We The Kings represent a paragon of emo punk adolescence for many, with “Check Yes, Juliet” an anthem for that phase that was never really just a phase.
But Winona Fighter, the show’s opener, may serve as an unfamiliar, yet rising group featured in the lineup.
Winona Fighter is a three-piece American punk group based in Nashville, Tenn., with Coco Kinnon on lead vocals and guitar, Dan Fuson on lead guitar and Austin Luther on bass.
Luther also serves as the band’s producer and recorded their recently released debut album “MY APOLOGIES TO THE CHEF” in his home studio. The group is currently on “The Yes, Chef Tour,” named after their new album.
Winona Fighter officially began with all current members in 2021, although Fuson and Kinnon met after they both answered a Craigslist ad for another band. Later on, Kinnon met Luther in 2018, and they began working on songs that would become Winona Fighter projects.
The band ended up in Nashville, as it is a highly music-centric city.
Originally, the group was going by Kinnon’s name, “Coco,” which served as a temporary filler while the band decided on an official name.
“I’m a very private person, so I never really liked going by my name, and it just didn’t fit the bills we were playing. It would be freaking death slam, and then, like, it’d be ‘Coco,’” Kinnon said.
Luther had always liked names that related to pop culture, such as “The Dandy Warhols.” After he and Kinnon were discussing names one night, he wondered if anyone had ever done any names involving actress Winona Ryder.
Kinnon admitted that she didn’t like the name at first, but later warmed up to it.
She said, “[Winona Fighter] describes us so well, because it’s like, the perfect balance of masculine and feminine, and it’s sweet, but tough.”
Kinnon herself grew up in New England, getting her start in the Boston punk scene playing drums for various bands. She was interested in bands like Nirvana and Foo Fighters, and found a sense of community in the punk scene.
“I mean, I was 12-years-old and playing in bars with adults and sneaking into clubs, [but] the community was so supportive, and everyone was doing it for the love of it,” Kinnon said. “Everyone was going to their blue collar job in the morning, and then going and playing at night, and then doing it all over again.”
Playing thrash punk and joining the scene is what inspired Kinnon to create her own project. “I was like, ‘How do I expand that [sound] a little bit?’ ‘How do I make it accessible to people who just really like good music and like catchy music and energetic shows.’”
Kinnon’s passion for ’80s and ’90s grunge alternative, Fuson’s love for ’80s and ’90s metal guitar and Luther’s early 2000s alternative influences fused to create the sound of Winona Fighter.
“It came from this concept of, like, I love punk music. I want everyone to also love it, and it’s great,” Kinnon said.
She added, “Well, it’s not a Winona fighter song until Dan’s guitar is on it, Austin’s basslines and production are on it or my vocal inflections are on it. So it’s very cool. We all bring a little a little bit of our own personal taste to the table.”
Although Kinnon’s roots are in drumming, she performs lead vocals (as well as playing guitar) for Winona Fighter. After loving the energy she had behind the drum kit, Kinnon wondered what it would be like to be at the front of the band.
“Behind the kit, you command a crowd where you just have people’s attention. But when you’re up there and you’re talking to people and engaging in people, it’s such a different feeling,” she said.
After deciding to “Dave Grohl it” and jump into lead vocals, Kinnon found the experience to be “addicting.”
“I was like, ‘Oh, I love this.’ Because I can sing [the] songs I write, I can have the same amount of energy and then I can play drums [in the] studio. So it’s kind of like the best of both worlds for me.”
That’s exactly what Kinnon did. She performs the vocals both recorded and live for Winona Fighter, and also performed the drums in studio for their recorded music.
However, for the upcoming show in Buffalo and on their tour, the group is collaborating with drummer Steve Mascarello to perform in live sets.
For Winona Fighter, touring has been an overall positive experience so far.
“Dan and Austin are my best friends, and it’s like to be able to experience new cities with them every night and you know, and there are lows — it’s not all highs — but to experience these highs with them is such a special thing,” Kinnon said. “Just seeing, feeling it all happen in real time has been really special, playing these sold out rooms, and it’s like everyone knows the words.”
The group is currently on its second leg of the tour. Kinnon said the first leg was “mind-shattering.”
“I’m really excited to get back out there and play these cities that we have played,” she said. “But that’s the thing. The first leg, we hadn’t headlined any of these cities or played most of these cities, and now it’s like, I think at least 30% of the cities on the second leg, we’ve been to and played before. I’m excited to go back and see how we’ve grown in those areas.”
The June 1 show at Outer Harbor at Terminal B is Winona Fighter’s first time playing in Buffalo.
Kinnon said the group is excited to take on the Queen City. “That’s one of those shows where we’re like, ‘oh, we just can’t believe how we just feel so fortunate for these opportunities.’ We’ve heard nothing but kind things about both of the bands (Simple Plan and We The Kings) and [we’re] just really honored that they wanted us to join them for the run.”
They are also performing with Simple Plan and Losers Club at College Street Music Hall in New Haven, Conn., on June 3.
So how did Winona Fighter land their run with Simple Plan?
Simple Plan’s agent reached out to Winona Fighter’s agent to let the band know that Simple Plan wanted Winona Fighter to join them, as the two are also doing a similar festival together. These shows lead up to that festival, “All Your Friends Fest,” in late June.
“It’s always so bizarre thinking about that, like, oh my god, this band, this legacy band, wants us,” Kinnon said.
For the upcoming Buffalo show specifically, Kinnon said new Winona Fighter show attendees can expect their set to be “very sweaty. It’s a lot of energy, but it’s a lot of fun.”
Kinnon thinks the group tends to take a lot of people by surprise as they bring high, powerful energy to the table.
“It’s a pure punk rock show. We don’t use click tracks, or backing tracks or anything. It’s just us up there with our instruments completely,” she said. “I think we bring this authentic punk energy into the mix, and I think it does really set the tone for the show.”
Winona Fighter will be playing their newest music at the show, as every song in the set will be from their new record.
Kinnon wants people in Buffalo and Western New York who are coming to the show to give Winona Fighter a chance, and come for their opening set. “I think we definitely surprise a lot of people. And I think people anticipate one thing, and it is that thing, but then it’s so much more than that,” she said.
As a group, she said Winona Fighter has been crafting the environment it creates at live shows to be a separate space from the outside world.
“We’re just trying to create a space that’s like, no bullshit. Forget about what’s going on in the world for a clear your mind session. It’s like we’re all experiencing this life at the same time, and we’re all experiencing the ebbs and flows of it, and there’s so much horrible s**t going on,” Kinnon said. “And I think music can be, even aggressive music, like ours, such a joyful thing and such a stress relieving thing. … It’s a time to let it all out and just enjoy.”
For the past several weeks, Winona Fighter has been off the road and in the studio. Kinnon hinted at some new material that will be releasing this year.
You can purchase tickets to see Winona Fighter live with Simple Plan and We The Kings here.
You can check out Winona Fighter at the links below:
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