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Described by Joan Wasser as "punk rock R&B" and "American soul music," Joan as Police Woman combine two of the biggest influences on her music: classic soul such as Al Green and Nina Simone and the rougher, experimental sounds of Sonic Youth and Bad Brains. The mix never sounds contrived, thanks to the intuitive interplay of Wasser's vocals, violins, and guitar, Rainy Orteca's bass, and Ben Perowsky's percussion in the first version of the group. Later, Wasser employed a varied cast of collaborators. Wasser, who has played with everyone from the Scissor Sisters to Lou Reed, began playing violin at age eight while attending grade school in Norwalk, Connecticut. At Boston University, she studied violin with Yuri Mazurkevich and also played with the Boston University Symphony Orchestra, and expanded her horizons to rock with local acts including Hot Trix (which featured Autoclave member and Helium founder Mary Timony) and the Dambuilders, which went on to national success. Wasser also pl...