Ghost Bitch: Ridin’ (For Kathy Acker)

Ghost Bitch is the nom de tune of Stasia Kowaleski. Growing up in Silver Spring, Maryland, a young Kowaleski was obsessed with the glittering music of Britney Spears and the Spice Girls. Eventually, she found her way to Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute to study sculpture and visual art—incorporating trash she gathered off the street into her own creations. There, she got into the Australian post-punk band the Birthday Party, which shifted her musical output toward the raw and unrestrained. Ultimately, NYC wasn’t her style. In her official bio she notes that many of the artists she encountered there “were motivated by money and careerism,” so she split for Olympia, Washington. The community there felt right, and she soon fell in with the legendary K Records imprint. On March 25th, her new album Blood and Honey will be released.

Recorded at High Command studio in October 2021, it finds Kowaleski not only playing handling lyrics and all instruments, but also creating the album’s homespun art and packaging. WASTOIDS is pleased to debut the new video for the hypnotic third single, “Ridin’ (For Kathy Acker).” Directed by Kowaleski, it joins the previously released “My Wings” and “Scar.” She’s performing a livestream to commemorate the album on March 24th at 5 PM PST —don’t miss it.