The first public performance of indie-punk band Heavens to Betsy must have been magical. Corin Tucker (widely known through her later band Sleater-Kinney) played overdriven, fuzzed-out guitar and bellowed like a banshee, while Tracy Sawyer pounded on her drums like a madwoman. What was more magical was that their first performance was part of the Love Rock Revolution Girl Style Now convention in 1991, and Heavens to Betsy shared the stage with the likes of Bratmobile, 7 Year Bitch, and two projects from Kathleen Hanna. It congregated third-wave feminist zinesters from all corners of America and was a momentous occasion for the movement.
In convention's participants were united to destroy the term girl band. There were frontwoman dressed in bras screaming and protesting the power of pro-life (or anti-choice) groups had in society and culture. Concert-goers smeared “slut”, “dyke”, “cunt”, and “bitch” over their bodies with lipstick in order to remove their invidious weight. By its end, it set a vital stone in obliterating sexism within the culture of music.
It's been nearly fifteen years since riot grrrl has splintered in the mid-nineties. But one thing that the movement has achieved is the deconstruction of the term girl band. Following a concert organised by MUZAI records, I talked to two bands that could be generalised as girl bands about the music they make and the influence, whether explicit or implicit, of riot grrrl in their music.
Cat Venom is a musical duo, consisting of Maeve Munro and Zina Gladiadis. They have first described their music as “dark, gothic, lo-fi pop” but Maeve thought that “they were a bunch of genres that would sound cool.” But they do agree on the influence of classic gothic rock bands like The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees in their music.
However, they don't consider themselves rooted within the goth subculture. “I always thought of myself as a punk. I think the colours that you wear, clothing wise, are different to your attitude. All our friends and peers are dirty grunge kids that wear flannel. I'm all for vampires and things like that, but I got called a goth at school when I was 15,” Maeve recalls. Zina further adds that “In other people's eyes, we're part of the goth subculture. But in my own eyes, I never thought of myself as a goth.” In a nutshell, Maeve describes their musical kinship is through “a punk rock ethos with a gothic heart.”
Despite the progress riot grrrl has made on music, the two had their fair share of being unfairly pigeonholed. “A couple of years ago, I remember people sort of laughed at me at work when I told them I was in a band. I don't know whether they'll still laugh right now.” Zina remembers, “I still think people just say “Oh, it's a girl band!” and generalise that we're gonna be like Spice Girls or Bikini Kill.”
Although being a girl band may be a powerful draw for shows, it almost certainly prevents them to find a respecting audience. “It's a shame that people wanna watch you because you're a girl instead of good music,” laments Zina. She ends the interview with the following: “I hope that the reason most people come to our shows is because they like good music.”
FATANGRYMAN is a power trio, consisting of Jessica Dew, Ary Jensen, and Reuben Winter (Who is also part of bands Bandicoot and Kitsunegari). Although the songs are written by Jessica and Ary, they consider Reuben as part of the band due to their noisy chemistry. “He's our kitten. He's a big personality and fun to jam with,” Jessica says with Ary boasting that “He's a good cunt to be around.”
They are current students of Western Springs college. Their formation was during a maths class. “I wanted to play instruments and be in bands because people in bands are cool,” Ary explained. The two girls bonded over through a mutual appreciation of No Wave, noise pop, indie rock, and “basically anything from the record label Kill Rock Stars.” When asked about what their friends think of their music, Ary jokes “They're like, “Rock on, rock chicks!”” Shortly after, Jessica sensibly counters with “I reckon it's pretty mixed, ay. It's a pretty good school.”
When asked about being a girl band, their immediately respond in humourous exaggeration. Jessica yelps “Feminism! Kim Gordon! Punk girls can be beautiful too~!” before a comical roar from Ary. “See, when people make fun of us for being girls, we just kill them so that's okay,” Jessica reasons, “we just waste them up with our little pink flick-knives with sparkles.” “And our lady powers,” Ary adds.
Although their songs sound so spontaneous, they have spent some time working on their collective craft. “We're just getting actual songs written. We, like, spent a year trying to make stuff that work,” says Jessica. “The most recent song is, probably, about 6 months old,” Ary further explains. When asked about their future, they say FATANGRYMAN will continue “until [Ary] and Jessica have a big bitch fight.” Right on cue, Jessica and Ary then start an epic, mock bitch fight, slamming each other with “OH MY GOD, YOU BIG FAT SLUT!” and “TAKE THOSE FUCKING SHOES OFF, YOU FUCKING BITCH!”
In terms of style, Cat Venom and FATANGRYMAN are, respectively, night and day. But they support the notion that girl bands do not need to sound pretty, sexualise themselves or be really divisive. They just need to sound like something that they like. As long as you are making music that you like, you don't need to worry about having a lack of musical knowledge, proper music production, or being cute. So go and be proud if you play music!
