Tracy + The Plastics

Wynne Greenwood, the Olympia, WA performance artist, channels her work through the explosive electro-dance solo project Tracy + the Plastics. In this setup she embodies the central alter-ego Tracy, supported by two video-projected companions, Nikki Romanos and Cola, who serve as the backup members of the Plastics. Greenwood’s earlier video-band Meme America gave way to this fractured, multiple-personality-disorder-themed endeavor. Onstage she delivers snotty vocals in the vein of Kathleen Hanna while projecting a commanding presence overall. Within the video elements, Nikki appears as the highbrow artiste and Cola functions as the more politically engaged pixel figure.

The project issued a 30-minute videotape and placed the track “Oh Maria” on the Mr. Lady compilation All Kings and Queens. Its debut full-length, Muscler’s Guide to Videonics, arrived on Chainsaw Records; Joe Preston of the Thrones, the Need, and the Melvins handled the recording, which blends garbled, lo-fi drum machines with whining keyboards and includes a guest appearance by Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney. In 2004 Tracy + the Plastics followed up with the CD-and-DVD package Culture for Pigeon on Troubleman Unlimited.