Madhouse live, 1986

Strange Boutique rose out of the ashes of the Washington harDCore scene with a unique sense of song-writing, crossing barriers and breaking new ground in post-punk/alternative music. As the best kept secret of the 80's and early 90's, Strange Boutique created their very own eclectic brand of powerful, guitar-driven ethereal pop, with a touch of world music influence and a mystical imagination.

Monica Richards and drummer Daniel Ingram had formed the band Madhouse in 1983, and throughout its four-year history, had transformed from straight punk-rock into a strange melodic power mix, due to the Mick Carne-esque talents of their third bassist, virtuoso Franz Kellner, and the metal wall-of-noise brilliance of guitarist Fred Smith, who joined the band in 1986 after leaving Beefeater.

"By '86 or so, Madhouse was a band that didn't fit any genre of the time, a weird blend of metal, punk, dark rock, opera, reggae, anything else we would come up with... It was theatrical and bizarre, and changed with every new song. Unfortunately, we were floundering, with no real style to call our own. I had lost my voice that year, and after months of therapy and training, I was playing with my 'new voice' and going up and down the octaves experimenting wildly, and on stage, I was wearing costumes and masks. I think more than anything, we were doing our best to grow out of the punk scene, but didn't which direction we wanted to choose. (Some people have cassettes of that stuff...!!!) Franz left, more out of frustration than anything, and then we went on hiatus." - Monica Richards

"After realizing that Beefeater was not destined to become the insane take over the world fuckers I wanted them to be (Actually due to that we fucking couldn't stand each other on the road), I finally agreed to join Monica's band "Madhouse" at the time. Around this time as well Me & Monica were working at a retail store in Georgetown so her & Danny were slowly but surely influencing me with killer new shit like the Cocteau Twins, Xymox, Punishment of Luxury - Or Punilux for your hardcore U. K. fuckers, The Chameleons, etc, etc., So by now I was to the dismay of all that is Punk Rock & Metal going for an acoustic electric guitar, now my signature trademark, purchasing pedal boards by the shitload until I could finally find a system that was right for my playing at the time, and I even beefed up Beefeater's back up strat cause after the first 20 shows or so with Madhouse it seemed that the old Fender Plexiglass girl was starting to crack up ( And for those that knew that guitar I mean that literally!) After hearing " Persephone " by the Cocteau Twins my musical life took a complete direction to to all that was dark & ethereal . But with only 1 exception, It had to be fuckin' cool. For example, Christian Death's "Cavity First Communion " is fucking awesome whereas "Terror Couple Kill Colonel" by one of the fucking leaders of Goth, Bauhaus is utter filler garbage........Okay now you know I love 99.6% of their shit but come on! The ultimate key to becoming a goth guitar god, A.) Acoustic - electric 12 string guitar. B.) Any incredible electric guitar that will stay in tune no matter what the fuck you do to it. C.) A pedal board or an array of effects that will let you pull up at any given time distortion, flange, 1, 2, or up to 95 delays at a time. So there, my secret's out! Rock on Dudes & Dudettes." - Fred "Freak" Smith

Early Strange Boutique promo kit cover

In 1987, Madhouse sold their name to a jazz ensemble who was on a major label. With the addition of new bassist Steve Willett (formerly of Baltimore new wave act Eubie Hayve), and an entire repertoire of new songs written by new line-up, Strange Boutique was officially born. Monica Richards found her vocal nitch, and Steve Willett provided a solid backbone to Fred's guitar antics. SB had its own style: "a swirling, soaring guitar, ethereal vocals, and a pulsating rhythm section... aural heaven."

The band's first EP, Easter Island was released in the Spring of 1989, showcasing Monica's new voice and the band's diverse musical talents.

"Strange Boutique weaves their tunes of magic, personal doom, and nightlife: all themes intertwine and give their debut EP a ghostly glow." - CMJ New Music report - 1989

Strange Boutique set out to tour around the East Coast in support of the EP, and due to the distinct looks and on-stage energy of each bandmember, SB earned a reputation for their spirited and unusual liveshows.

"Strange Boutique was the most visually arresting of the night, displaying an affection and talent for British-inspired dark psychedelia. Stomping and swooping around the stage, singer Monica Richards intoned like a tough Kate Bush while the band constructed massive melodies behind her." - The Washington Post - 1991

Following a powerful performance supporting Killing Joke in D.C., The two bands struck an immediate friendship, and KJ gave Strange Boutique the support slot for their next UK shows. Having never performed out of the U.S. (let alone the East Coast), the band took the chance and flew to London. Customs took hold of their equipment and EPs, so the band was forced to rent and borrow instruments. Killing Joke was amazed to see that SB had shown up to the first show in Manchester, and warned the band to not let on that they were Americans, due to the aggressiveness of the KJ audience.

"Killing Joke warned us not to tell their audience we were Americans, so I stomped out onto this massive stage, and after the first song, stated where we came from and there was a friendly 'WHOO!' from the enormous crowd. The audience didn't mind one bit, and actually sang along with our Magazine cover, 'A Song from Under the Floorboards'. Needless to say, the shows were well received." - Monica Richards

Killing Joke offered SB a chance to open for their European tour. Due to visa problems, the band was only able to appear on the UK leg of the tour, returning home exhilarated. 

"HOLY SHIT - WE'RE GOING ON THE ROAD WITH KILLING JOKE!!! - The first show in Manchester for me was fucking Godawful, I had ordered Marshall amps & what they sent me in place of a 100 Watt Marshall amp was a 60 Watt Marshall bass head by mistake. Absolutely no power for my effects or for the pink, I'm sorry my mistake, Hot Pink heavy metal Jackson guitar that showed up in Manchester that night . And if that wasn't bad enough Danny completely froze the first 2 songs and played em' both as if he was eating dinner in a fuckin' funeral home. Whew! After the gear got right the rest of the shows we're fuckin' awesome. It was really weird how each band member of each band clicked respectively i.e., guitar player-guitar player, singer -singer, etc. The only real anecdote I can think of through the whole tour, I have been a Killing Joke fan forever. Throughout this tour I was playing my ass off every night just hoping that Geordie would at let say something, anything about my playing. One night after one of K.J.'s more intense soundchecks we were up there doing this & that & fucking around a little bit and as soon as I leave the stage I walk pass Geordie and he goes, very calmly as he says just about everything, " Hey, you're a pretty good guitar player. " The only correct response that I could come up with was, " UUhhm, Could you write that down on a piece of paper & sign it please. " To that he quietly turned, quietly chuckled & walked away - I Suck!" - Fred "Freak " Smith

Strange Boutique live, Steve Willett and Monica Richards

Strange Boutique - 1990, from Left, Clockwise: Monica, Fred, Danny, and Steve

In the Summer of 1990, Strange Boutique began to tour along the Southwest, ending with a performance in Austin, TX at the South By Southwest Music Convention. After giving away numerous promo kits and EPs to no avail, SB decided to consider their own label seriously. Bedazzled Records as a singular independent label was born.

Strange Boutique live 1990, Monica Richards and Steve Willett