2016 Favorite : case/lang/veirs

Historically the bands dubbed "supergroups" have almost exclusively been comprised of men. The WIKI list reads like an exclusive men's club and a quick Google search for female supergroup turns up Wild Flag and that Adele wants to form one at some point in the future. Surprisingly Trio comprised of Parton/ Harris/ Ronstadt doesn't pop up in my initial search at all.

It turns out that when incredibly talented women come together to make a record, their music is dubbed something closer to a collaborative project or isn't celebrated as a big deal by the industry at all.

I refuse to call case/lang/veirs anything but a supergroup. Individually: Neko Case, K.D. Lang, and Laura Veirs are music icons. Apart, they are masters of an individual music style that is unmistakingly their own. They are all dynamic storytellers whose delivery, timing, and melody choices set them apart from the pack. The most stunning thing that takes place when these three powerhouses come together is how the flawlessly their styles blend together. Rather than these three voices standing alone like bold primary colors stacked next to each other, they work together to create new and magnificent colors. These songs are a Pantone swatch book of their very own.

There is a shade and tone to please everyone here. Their vocal harmonies are world class. The musical orchestration is dense yet burns away at the right moments to audio equivalent of a movie camera panning out or moving in for a close up. The result is a distinctly American(a) tale that perfectly balances the intimacy of a person sharing a piece of themselves but they tell it in a way that can be universally appreciated and understood. This is the result of musicians knowing how to do what they do best while leaving plenty of room for others to move around and add their own layers. You can't make this kind of record without truly listening to each other. It turns out this supergroup are also super-communicators.

I have never done much time in church but whatever inspiration people describe after a strong Sunday sermon is the kind of experience this record delivers. Listen to "Down" and you will hear what I mean.

Watch their first live performance together in Portland here.

Feminist Friday : A Weekly Round Up for June 24th, 2016

Phew! Lost power last week for a bunch of days thanks to a terrible storm that rolled through Richmond, VA so I am happy to be back at it again.

The best thing about this week was learning about Portia Sabin's (Kill Rock Stars President) music industry podcast. This is my new everything.

In a quick backyard report, local lady and massive talent Lucy Dacus has just been picked up by Matador Records. Our whole community is so darn happy for her and I wrote about her several months ago noting ironically a similarity to a classic Matador artist, Bettie Serveert. Weird, right?

Alice Bag is headlining Philadelphia's Treat Y'Self Fest, a benefit for the annual March to End Rape Culture. Pretty darn excited to be a part of this as well; happening this August once again at the PhilaMOCA .

Flying Lotus needs to a dictionary because his use of rape is wrong all wrong.

Tavana wrote an insulting piece of trash  about sex appeal in music for the LA Weekly that has every feminist I know steaming. But it isn't all band, Hawking wrote a response piece that gets it right.

How do touring bands deal with tragic news? This story shares an example of how musicians cope.

Laura Mvula talks us through the many "ists" found in the music industry. Hint: Racist and sexist are in the mix.

Sexism in the music industry is happening in every corner of the world. This story highlights what is going on in France. Don't worry, it is written in English.

All it took was one brave woman to out Ian Conner as her rapist and 5 more women have since also stepped forward to say they were his victims too, rapper/songer Theophilus London has something to say about it.

Social media means musicians are more accessible than ever to their fans and equally, dangerous people who are on the cyber attack. The NYT weighed in on this.

ANd last but not least, what is the state of women in music today. This article helps present some of those issues.

Have something you think I should share ? Send me a note via tracy at littleblackcloud records . com

Feminist Friday : A Weekly Round Up for June 10th, 2016

A manel is yet another music panel where it is a wall of dudes that sit around and talk about stuff. Once again, the industry is lightyears behind the artists themselves. There are women in this industry so how about asking us to sit on more panels?

What happens when a band member defends a rapist? They get what they deserve, to be popped like the pimple on society that they are.

Athena is a powerful pendant necklace that doubles as an emergency alert system to help protect women against assault. By holding down the button on it will not only sound an alarm but send loved ones text messages alerting them to your location and alert 911. This way, you are truly never alone.

Glastonbury Festival has created a an intersectional, queer, trans, and disability-inclusive safe space that will be staffed by people who identify as female, including security and performers. This new area will also feature DJs, workshops on diversity / inclusion, daily dance classes, and DIY class on power tools.

Wax Idols dropped off the Pentagram tour because sexual harrasment isn't worth the exposure a tour of this size can bring. 

This has nothing to do with music but math is certainly an important skill to have and the Fields Medal mathematics prize was won by a woman this year for the first time in its history! 

Congratulations Baltimore, you have a new record store! If you are like me and love record shopping and coffee, this could be worth a road trip for you. 

From the world of DIY punk feminism (Riot Grrrl in the '90s) to an oscar winning film producer, Audrey Marrs deserves a standing ovation. 

CASH Music is a nonprofit organization here to help educate and empower artists and the their fans to foster a viable and sustainable future for music. WE NEED THIS. 

Cool, a Nashville mural celebrating musicians that happens to exclude women completely. Really? Has no woman ever played Exit / In? 

Feminist Friday : A Weekly Round Up

Safe show spaces only happen when we make it so. Here are a few highlights from Fuse.TV but a shout out to Beach Slang who are also a part of this movement and not mentioned here.

Dear Gibson Guitars, women are very important part of your history so please don't ignore it. I have always stood on team Gibson as a player but that could easily be changed.

What is the deal with cis male bands who pick mis-gendered names? It's not an ironic choice to me as an actual woman in music who has dealt with so many hurdles over the decades.

Hutch from the Thermals wrote a darn fine personal account about the frustrating aspect of band life when it comes down to trying to hold down a day job because music doesn't really pay. Note: band press which looks like popularity does not equal actual money coming in for human beings who make art. Social media likes do not translate into something creatives can pay the bills with.

However sexual assaults at concerts are still happening and at festivals, in mass.

It turns out that when nobody shows up to an author's reading, it feels just like a band with no audience.

The weirdest thing I read this week related to Kim Gordon, a coyote, and a Whole Foods parking lot.

NYC, I am very sorry your record stores are having a hard time keeping doors open. Our small city of Richmond, VA has kept more than 7 around for years now so perhaps it is time to visit us.

I very much enjoyed this piece by NPR about the forgotten women of Classical music.

Drummer wanna get some? Here are 10 funk beats I wish I knew how to play.

When you say stupid things, we are here to tell you and if it happens to be in front of a large audience, so be it.

Kickstarter as a possible A&R source? Molly thinks so.

Compact Discs and why we can't quit you quite yet.

Since 2011 these Muslim ladies have been blending their culture with hip-hop dance and it is beautiful reminder that music and art connects us all as humans.

Music-tech start ups are getting it all wrong according to Jim McDermott

Manko madness in Japan, art from the other down under.

Does your skin get off on music? Learn about skin-gasms here.

Tears of Joy

Photo by Jake Cunningham 

It can be alarming when a stranger approaches you at the merch table and breaks down in tears. This was my Saturday evening. I quickly discovered these were tears of joy. This woman went on to describe why the Beach Slang / Potty Mouth / Dyke Drama / Positive No line up was something she had waited decades to see. This rock show was not the usual a boys club, it was all inclusive. Women shared the stage with men as equals. LGBTQ musicians were front and center. The age of the musicians spanned between three different decades. There was so much love and respect on display between all the bands that it overwhelmed her. When a sexist heckler was called out and removed like a splinter by members of multiple bands from the venue, it was obvious the entire line up were allies to one another. It was a safe place. It was at atmosphere of overwhelming respect. The evening was how in her mind shows should have always been but sadly have rarely ever been. 

In short, this kind of line up is a very important step in the right direction of acceptance, tolerance, and equality.

For many of us who grew up going to shows in an oppressive environment where sexism, homophobia, and racism were the norm, this show is a shock to the system.  As a fellow middle aged women, I understood EXACTLY how she felt. I cried for joy with her. I expressed this later to other members in the various bands and cried some more like a sentimental fool. I have been waiting my entire adult life for this moment.

A lot can happen in two decades. Twenty plus years ago I was playing in a heavy indie rock band and I was so FUCKING lonely. 

It was straight white men as far as the eye could see. I met a handful of amazing women who came to see our shows but mostly it was a sea of dudes in the audience with no women sharing the stage with me. I felt like a freak of nature because I wanted to play loud music and be a part of this creative community without being a Riot Grrrl. In 1996 however you were either preaching to the choir in the bubble that was feminist music scene or you took your chances in a male dominated rock world that could be very cruel. If some men didn't walk out of the venue because a girl was in the band they would stick around to make fun of me and shout rude things. After shows I was treated like I had the plague. A lot of people were scared to make eye contact with a girl in a hardcore band no less befriend one or go out of their way to balance a show line up by booking a show with other women on a bill. I can't stress how humiliated this left me feeling. I honestly never cared if people liked the music I made, I just didn't want to feel like I was crashing a private sausage party all the time. I wanted to be given the space to be me, to create music, and given the equal opportunity to be heard. I am so thankful my fellow band members were willing to give me this safe place because the world outside them was often not nearly as generous to women.  

As a music fan who during some decades was seeing 10 to 25 bands perform a week, I can promise you my show going experience was more of the same. White men ruled and minorities were nearly invisible. If I wanted diversity, I would have to seek out a splinter scene show where these groups had created their own majority rule. For every outsider who felt pushed out of the mainstream world of music, there was a tiny subculture bubble and rarely did these worlds overlap and share a bill. 

Fast forward twenty years and nearly every show I play now includes bands with female members. In fact it is rare when that doesn't happen and if it is an all male bill, it feels wrong and dated. I still can't believe how different it is now. There is no longer a reason to feel lonely or like an outcast because women are more accepted than ever on a stage. I know it still isn't perfect out there. There are still assholes who say and do inappropriate things to women in bands but I promise you, it is 1,000 times better than it was. 

I am currently watching the LGBTQ music community facing many of the same barriers women did years ago and in turn they coping in the same ways to manage / fight that discrimination. It is only natural that insular communities are popping up to create safe places for themselves. Much like the activists among the Riot Grrrl community, they are creating insular worlds for themselves to perform within. I get it, I really do but I personally never wanted to cut myself off from the rest of the world. I want to celebrate diversity and learn from as many different kinds of people as possible. I feel stagnant when I surrounded myself by people just like myself. I feel richer, wiser, and like a more well rounded human being when I take the time to get to know everyone around me. This is why I stubbornly never let the boys club of the rock world win and don't want any of the other outsiders to give up.  It is important to push back and create a new normal. By sticking around, we forced people to accept that we exist in their world. We can't go away just because a few losers don't believe we belong here. 

We belong just as much as anyone else does in this world. 

I have however fallen into a new position of alienation. It is no longer my gender I feel set back by, it is my age. Music audiences want very little to do with someone over 40. There are so many outrageous and disappointing stereotypes that are associated with being older. I didn't work this hard to become invisible again. So here I am, an outcast all over again. I've got terrible news for the haters. I am still stubborn and I am atill not willing to go away. I will continue to make music because this is who I STILL am and whatever your preconceived notions of who is old and what that actually means should be reevaluated.  

I am still here so get used to it. 

Thank you Beach Slang, Potty Mouth, Dyke Drama, fellow members of Positive No, and those who came out to support the shows this past weekend. Those 48 hours gave me new hope.

Remembering Marlene Marder

Everyone should get to know the guitar / bass playing Marlene Marder of the Swiss band Kleenex and then later, LiliPUT when the band was forced to change their name. The punk band existed from 1978 until 1983 and their discography will forever be celebrated as some of the best post punk around. The cause of Marlene's death has yet to be announced but I would rather focus on the gift of music she has left behind for us to enjoy anyhow. Thank you for paving the way Marlene.

New Band Alert : Faye

Check out this Charlotte, NC garage-pop trio Faye. Fans of Autoclave, Slant 6, and Wild Flag take note.

We are playing a show with them here in Richmond, VA and hope to do a show or two with them in North Carolina this July.