When Mommy is a headbanger

They’re housewives, workaholics, PTA members and ... rock stars?

Women fighting to shatter the stay-at-home-mom stereotype and rediscover their youthful voice are forming bands, such as Housewives on Prozac in suburban New York, Frump in Dallas and Placenta in Oakland.

These moms are rocking the house and the cradle, singing about breast-feeding, exhaustion and making kids do their chores.

“I feel like what we do is remind people about their passion and that sense of importance and that sense of vitality,” said Joy Rose, a 47-year-old mother of four who founded Housewives on Prozac in 1997. “Life is really short, and it’s important to live colorfully.”

Mothers have struggled for identity and fulfillment for decades, growing more exasperated with their increasing career and child-rearing demands, said University of Michigan professor Susan Douglas, coauthor of the book “The Mommy Myth.”

She said those feelings may explain the growing number of mom rock bands. (Rose estimated that there are 50 active mom bands across the country, with 20 of them having been formed in the last year.)

“In our cultural common sense, what could be more opposite from the icon of Mom than a punk rocker?” Douglas said.

Suzie Riddle, who has three children ages 19, 12 and 6, started Frump in 2001 as a gag for her 40th birthday party. A punk rocker in her youth, then a librarian, Riddle hounded other mothers at her church and her daughters’ school until she found three women willing to play along.

At first they performed five songs, including “Suzie Is a Headbanger” by the Ramones and “We’re Really Beat,” a song Frump guitarist Frances Peterson wrote to the tune of “We’ve Got the Beat” by the Go-Go’s.

“See the mothers driving down the street, see their makeup melting in the heat, straight from work, the pantyhose are tight, it’s takeout tonight,” the song begins.

Three years later the band has grown to five, adding new members as others have moved away. Frump practices every Saturday night and performs about once a month at parties, churches and community events such as the Punky Mamas Christmas Bazaar in Dallas.

The band members even encouraged their daughters to get involved. The girls formed their own band, called Spawn, and have played at two gigs with their moms.

“It is the best feeling in the world,” said Frump lead guitarist Diane Harris, whose 11-year-old daughter, Anna, plays drums in Spawn.

Frump is still trying to forge an identity, teetering between being a novelty and a serious band, Riddle said. She’d like to add a second weekly practice and focus on cultivating a unique sound.

“I am really proud of this, and I’m proud of the attention that it’s gotten us,” she said. “It’s kind of a silly idea, and a lot of people have taken notice.”

Several mom bands will converge on New York City throughout May for the fourth annual Mamapalooza festival. The festival, founded by Rose, will feature at least five days of events, including a free outdoor concert and a poetry and jazz night.