Warped Tour Orlando was already buzzing long before gates opened, but the electricity shifted when Winona Fighter hit the grounds. Known for their explosive blend of punk energy, emotional honesty, and unmatched stage presence, the trio has built a reputation for turning every set into a full-body experience. At the center of that chaos is frontwoman Chloe (CoCo) Kinnon Luther, whose raw vocals and fearless personality have made Winona Fighter one of the most talked-about rising acts in the scene.
Our Music Coast correspondent, Cecilia, caught up with Chloe before their return to play the Salt Shed in Chicago to talk identity, the band’s creative process, and what it means to build community through noise. What follows is that conversation, offering an unfiltered look at the heart behind Winona Fighter.
Read below or watch full video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/UnDzQ2rZ4d4!
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How did Winona Fighter come to be? What was the moment you knew you wanted to form a band?
I’ve been playing in bands for pretty much my entire life. As soon as I could join one, I did. I grew up playing in the New England punk scene and joined my first punk band when I was 12. It was such a cool and welcoming community for how aggressive it is and how scary the people are. We were underage and the older bands would invite us onto shows and help get us in or we would play house shows or in churches.
When I moved to Nashville, there wasn’t much of a punk scene at the time like there is now and I just kind of was like well I'm not going to wait around to join a band, because I was a drummer at the time, and I would just write and play and sing, like play guitar and sing on the side. But I was like, I want to be in a punk band, I want to bring what was so special about the Boston punk scene to the city. It's like a scene that I think everyone should know about, and I think that everyone could be a part of, so that was the real catalyst. Then, when I met Dan, we had both answered a Craigslist ad for a different band that I was going to play drums for and him the guitar, and it just was not the vibe.
Dan and I hit it off very quick, so I was like, hey, I started this project. I think we get along really well. We play really well. Do you want to, like, come jam sometime? And so then we became best friends and just DIY toured, played our parts out, got our 1,000 hours, figured out what we are capable of, really. And then I actually met Austin in Los Angeles and started playing with him, or started writing with him. Then eventually, we all ended up back in Nashville, and Austin's schedule freed up, and we never really had, like, a determined bass player. So once his schedule freed up, Dan and I were like, well, you already write for the project, and you're, like, the best bass player anyone could ever have. So do you want to come play for us? And it's so cool how natural everything happened and how naturally the band formed.
I really feel like every show we play, we're going back to what started it all, which was me wanting to build this community and this scene.
The name Winona Fighter, how did that come to be? And like, is there any relationship to Winona Ryder?
No, and I have to give Austin the credit because we went by Coco for a long time and it was just always, like, fine. We're all very private people. So it's just like when we recorded our first EP, we're like, okay, we need to solidify the band name before we put anything out. I also think that's why a lot of people think we formed in 2022, but that's just when we released our first body of music, and changed the name of the project. Anyways, we were spitballing back and forth one night, and he was really interested in band names that are kind of like a fun spin on something, like the Dandy Warhols or Bill Murray. And he mentioned Winona Fighter because it's, like, got a feminine but masculine thing to it, like sweet but edgy. And I turned it down at first.
Then the next day, we were writing it out, and we kept kind of saying it some more. And I was like, you know what, I actually think that works perfectly for us. So we, yeah, we went with it. And I think people either really love it or they really hate it. And I think that's fine. I think having discourse like that is fine. You know, is there really any band name that is like, everyone thinks it's the perfect band? No. When we did decide on Winona Fighter, we were like, what are we toying around for? Are we trying to please everyone or are we just trying to have fun?
My Apologies To The Chef! Can you tell me a little bit about how the album came to be?
Yeah, so the album, we had released our debut EP, Father Figure, and I think the thing about us is we're always writing. I know a lot of artists these days will get an Airbnb somewhere for a week and like write a whole record and then record it. And I think if that works for you, that's great! For us, where we just want to be consistent, we're writing and consistently working and honing our sound, honing our craft. So, My Apologies To The Chef, it's like all of those songs where, you know, we release this EP and the band kind of starts to gain like a lot more traction, and so from that to the release of the album, it's like this growth of the band, and I think the growth of us as like songwriters and musicians, and so, My Apologies To The Chef, it was like okay, it's time to release the record.
When we recorded the record and made, I think, this, like, really cool project that very much symbolizes our growth as a band and our growth in the community and in the scene. We're so big on DIY – and people love to fight me on that. They love to be like, well, you guys are signed to a label and an agency, you got a manager, and it's like, yeah, true. I mean, isn't that the dream, you know, like, don't you – like, if you want a career in music – don't you want to be able to form a team that just lifts you up? And that's what our team does, you know. They know how DIY we are and how much we like to do things on our own. So we found a team who just lets us do our thing. I think that was really special too, getting to do this debut record, how we wanted to do it and how we do things, which is in our garage by ourselves. I think the whole process from the songwriting to picking the songs to how we record it was so natural and so us. And I think that's what makes it like the perfect introduction to us, to someone.
Where do you find inspiration when you’re writing?
I write about everything! And it's not like off limits at all. It's just, I, you know, don't really feel the need to... we don't write love songs. My Apologies To The Chef - those songs are definitely all about the human experience. They're all scenarios that I think everyone has gone through. I think someone can listen to the record and be like, is this song about me? But that being said, I think this next batch of songs we are writing is a bunch of more self-reflective stuff. I think the cool thing about punk music is there's no limit, and I think it's rooted in the present. Like, what's going on now in your life or in politics or in the news? I'll sit down to write, and I'll be like, okay, what's going on right now? And I think that creates such a special thing. With Wlbrn St Tvrn, I say TikTok in it, and people on Reddit tear me to shreds. They're like, I think you're going to regret saying TikTok in a song. And I was like, no, because it's like when I wrote it, that's the thing was TikTok and douchebags on TikTok. So it's like I don't think I'll ever regret writing about, about the present, because that's what I do.
And that's like what this whole genre is kind of rooted in... Sometimes you just need to say exactly what needs to be said.
I think just focusing on what's going on in the world, it gives you enough to write about. There's something very poetic about that. Our lyrics are very blunt. Like me as a person, I'm very blunt when I talk to someone. But I think that's because not everything going on in the world is like poetic or a metaphor, or whatever. Sometimes you just need to, like, say exactly what needs to be said.
Do you have a personal favorite track on the album? Either to play live or to have written?
There's a couple, I would say, um, we, I would say my favorite to play live is Hamms In A Glass cause it's fun and it's very like universal. You can hear the crowd singing it with their whole chest.
One song I think I'm really proud about is off the deluxe, it's called Don't Get Close. I think that, like I said, the record is very situational stuff that's happening or has happened. And that song was a very like self reflective song. And it was like definitely a very scary song to write because I was writing it about like my like self after coming out of an abusive relationship and like how I, you know, kind of self-sabotaged a lot of relationships. And then, you know, including my now husband, I wasn't always like the kindest to him because I was dealing with these things. And so writing a song like that, showing it to the person it's about, recording it with the person it's about, playing it every night with the person it's about, it's scary, but it's so therapeutic, and I think at the end of the day, and same with I'm in the Market, both of those songs, it's so therapeutic to now play live. And, you know, I think it stays true to who we are.
How are we supposed to cultivate a community, and want people to feel comfortable with themselves and honest with themselves if we can't do the same thing.
When you guys found out you were on the bill for Warped Tour, were you like, holy shit, it's Warped Tour. Tell me a little bit about that.
It was extremely surreal. It's like one of those things where you're like, great, it's gone. It's never going to come back again. I'm never going to get the chance. I was really young when it was around. And that was the other thing - my mom wasn't going to just drop me off to hang out in this concert in this parking lot somewhere in the middle of nowhere. But like I said, I was always in band, so like Warped Tour was like the goal for us, you know, it's like, Oh my God, if we can just like stick it out a couple more years and be old enough to do the Ernie ball battle the bands and get the, you know, the spot!
When we got the offer, it was a very surreal moment. And I think it's interesting cause it didn't feel like a nostalgia thing at all. I think there are a lot of festivals right now that are like such a nostalgia base like when we were young or Ohio is for lovers festivals with Hawthorne Heights. But it's like, oh my god, this this is Warped Tour! Obviously, it wasn't like it was back in the day where it was like, they went to every city and bands were just trying to survive. We're always nervous when we do that stuff because there's a very lot of talented bands in the scene. And I would never want what I'm about to say to be misconstrued. But there's not a lot of real raw bands out there right now. Like, there's not a lot of bands doing what we're doing at the level we're doing it. And by that, I mean, we play out of stage monitors. We don't have tracks. It is just so raw. Like, there's no autotune or vocal effects, and again, if you do that, that's great. Put on whatever you think is going to give you the best show, but we get very nervous because we go up there and it's completely raw, and a lot of bands during the day, they have tracks. It's, like, locked into a click. They have the light show. So you don't really ever know how people are going to react when they go from that to then, like, our set. And, man, it was just, like, so emotional. Like, people, I think, loved it. And we got a lot of "that's what Warped Tour is all about. That's what it's all about, baby". And yeah, it was very validating for us. It's like, okay, we went up there, and we did us. We did Winona Fighter, and it went over pretty well. So it was just such an emotional day and so surreal, and everyone was so kind and sweet. And, you know, I do feel like sometimes when you feel like the outcast, you can get stuck in that mentality. But it's communities like that that make you realize you can run with the big dogs, even though you do things maybe a little differently.
If you had an ideal festival lineup, who would be on there?
That's a great question. We've been very lucky in the way that we've gotten to do a lot of festivals and we've gotten to play with some dream artists of ours. I would say right now. Oh, that's so tough. I want to do like a festival with the girls like Mandy and Among the Sniffers. Fearbox, they're great. Hailstorm! I just saw Garbage. The Nova Twins, they're badass. So it would be cool to get all the girlies together!
You can catch Winona Fighter currently on tour with Waterparks, but after tour wraps, they will be returning to their garage to do what they do best! Next year will be filled with lots of new music and more touring. I'd keep an eye out if I were you ;)