L7- Pretend We're Dead Alanis Morissette- Eight Easy Steps Melissa Auf Der Maur- Taste You McQueen- (Don't Know How To) Break It To You After School Sports- Almost Left My Boyfriend For His Casio Slunt- Not About You Daisy Chainsaw- Dog With Sharper Teeth The Sounds- Song With A Mission The Eyeliners- Sealed With A Kiss The Dollyrots- Because I'm Awesome Kate Bush- Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) Sixpence None The Richer- Kiss Me Paloma Faith- Do You Want The Truth or Something Beautiful? Patti Smith Group- Privilege (Set Me Free) Tegan and Sara- Walking With A Ghost Banarama- Cruel Summer Robots in Disguise- We're in the Music Biz Courtney Love- Sunset Strip Pat Benatar- Heartbreaker Jefferson Airplane- Somebody to Love Imelda May- Big Bad Handsome Man Marnie Stern- Every Single Line Means Something Femmepop- Good Even More Vast- Pure Bittybox- Snake Eyes (artist of the month) Florence and the Machine- Kiss With a Fist Gossip- Fire With Fire The Creepshow- Candy Kiss The Noisettes- Don't Give Up Lene Lovich- I Think We're Alone Now
As a major fan of all things riot grrrl, female fronted music, and DIY, of course I love reading zines and going to Ladyfest's, so far I've only been to Ladyfest London a few years ago, and I'm planning to go this year as there is a Ladyfest London in November to celebrate ten years of Ladyfests. It's times like these I wish I was a bit closer to london, or at least that the train journey wasn't so expensive as on the lead up to the event they have been doing loads of fundraisers to raise money for the main event including life drawing classes and spoken word evenings. Not only all this Ladyfest activity happening in London, but I've been finding out about more and more "female fronted" music club nights, band nights etc, but most of them are in London (and sometimes further- Ladyfest Nottingham also happened this year- and they are doing a zombie beauty queen contestevent over Halloween)!
I also like reading zines, I've been reading my friend Sophia's local music zine "Noisy!" for a few years now, I picked up quite a few when I went to Ladyfest London, and this year I've bought two so far, so I haven't indulged myself completely in it as yet but I'm starting to get quite into it!
What makes me sad, is in my town of Southend, Essex, UK, there isn't much of this type of thing. There is no feminist group, no female music clubs/gig nights (apart from my own earlier this year) there's never been a ladyfest (that I know of) and I'm not really sure about how many zines there are, apart from Noisy!
I really want this to change, I really want these things to be here! As apart from the usual gripes people have about their hometown, I quite like where I live. There's a lot of great talent here- music by bands like Trash Monroe, poetry and spoken word from Sundown, and more. The talent is there but there isn't much of my type of "scene" as it were. Sure we have a few good music venues like Chinnerys (who have had some good bands play this year, although not often enough)! and Club Riga, there isn't much in the way of alternative clubs anymore though.
Anyway there is a purpose to my ramble, it's that if I want these things, then for one thing I'm probably not the only one, and secondly what am I going to do about it?!
First of all, I'm setting up a feminist group! Southend Fawcett Society is now registered on UK Feminista and we're having our first meeting in October. All year long I've been trying to arrange this meeting with the people who have joined my facebook group, but it's been so much trouble trying to agree on a mutual date, that finally I decided enough is enough, I'm gonna set the date and then whoever can turn up on the day is great, I'd be waiting forever if I waited for everyone to agree on the same date. So I'm looking forward to getting started with that, and I've already had an email from The Fawcett Society asking if we would like to do something on "Equal Pay Day" so hopefully we will even have an actual event to plan!
Secondly, the Ladyfest thing. I've been having a good think about this, and I really want to make Ladyfest Southend happen. The one thing that mainly worried me is the cost of venues. I've been talking to a few people I know that have done events here, and have discovered that some venues will let you use them free if it's for a charity. I'm planning to do it for a charity that either helps victims of rape or domestic abuse so that's covered. My other friend let me know the good sides and bad sides of various venues (sound, amps etc) so I have to think some more first before I decide what venue to approach, but basically I'm hoping to have some sort of all dayer with all female bands, zine stalls etc, sometime next summer, so I'll keep you posted once I've got a bit more info.
Finally, the smallest thing but not necessarily the least, I really think I want to do my own zine. I've just been looking up a about how to do it, and to do a basic one it doesn't sound too hard, I think the hardest thing will be content, but as most zines don't come out monthly/weekly etc, I think I could do it. I don't want to make it the same as this blog though. Again, will keep you posted on it's progress!
oh and I've tried to get involved in LadyfestTen (the london one) by taking part in Wears The Trouser's zine project (I wrote something about Joan Jett) and I made a postcard sized collage for the Ladyfest Ten postcard project, I just have to send it now! here's a pic of it- it was based on the theme of "X"
If you don't already know I'm a huge Joan Jett fan, you've probably not been reading this blog much, so of course it's envitable I'm also a fan of the band she co-founded The Runaways Being such a fangirl, it must have been at least a year ago that I heard that there was a film being made about one of the first all girl rock bands. I couldn't wait for it to come out in the UK, especially when I heard that Joan Jett was really impressed with it and how pleased she was with Kirsten Stewart's portrayal of her younger self. That was pretty much a stamp of approval in itself, as not being a fan of the Twilight films (sorry but I don't think vampires should be glittery- as well as other issues I have with those films I won't go into here) I wasn't really sure about that particular actress playing my all time idol.
It seemed to be bloody ages before it finally got released in the UK, it was originally meant to be out in August, and that turned into September, and for some silly reason it isn't showing in my hometown of Southend's cinema (it's in it's second week of release now) so we had to go to the nearest cinema showing it which was in Basildon. There was no way I was going to miss this film! When we intitally planned to go we couldn't go, but luckily we managed to be able to see it a few days later.
Well, not that it's really that much of a surprise at all, but I absolutely loved it. Sometimes when you think you're going to really like something, it sometimes sets you up for disappointment but I was NOT disappointed.
The film got my interest straight away, in the first scene you see Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie, get her first period! How often do you see something as taboo as periods shown so explictly in a film???
Anyway, the film goes on to show the story of how The Runaways got together, and the success they had with manager Kim Fowley, before the rock n roll lifestyle eventually ended them. The film deals with drug addiction, problem families, and sexual experimentation as well as what it was like at the time to be a girl and want to play rock n roll music. One of my favourite scene's was Joan Jett going to a guitar lesson and being told she couldn't play electric guitar, but she plugs the guitar into the amp anyway!
All the characters in the film are portrayed very well, and I was very impressed with Kirsten Stewarts Joan Jett. If you compare the film star's version of the japan live performance of "Cherry Bomb" it is almost spot on to the original, I will post both versions at the end of this blog for your comparison.
My only real criticism was at the end credits, when explaining what happened to each member, they didn't say what happened to all of them, only a few, and I feel there should have been a dedication to Sandy West, who sadly passed in 2006 due to lung cancer (RIP). But other than that, I found the film inspiring, and exciting, hoping that the film will lead more people to hear their music, and then look into Joan Jett's music, and beyond. If it's possible, I like Joan Jett even more, her and the other members of the band really were amazing, wish I had actually been able to see them when they were around! But at least Miss Jett is still very much into her rock n roll, and never stops touring (although not in the UK enough- so if anyone to do with her is reading this- COME TO THE UK MORE!!!) and also Lita Ford has forged a pretty impressive career too.
Go-Go’s -We Got The Beat Pat Benatar -Love Is A Battlefield The Pretenders -Back On The Chain Gang Remi Nicole -Rock ‘n’ Roll Sleater-Kinney -You’re No Rock N’ Roll Fun Bif Naked -Ladybug Waltz Call The Doctor -For Your Leisure We Start Fires -Strut The Runaways -Cherry Bomb The Joy Formidable -Greyhounds In The Slips Roxy Saint -Firecracker Heart -Crazy On You Fire Bug -Eyes Wide Open (unsigned) Ten Tigers -82 (unsigned) Le Monnier -No Power (unsigned artist of the month) Jack Off Jill -My Cat Babes In Toyland -Blood Yeah Yeah Yeahs -Heads Will Roll Client -Price Of Love Tigerpicks -Disco Punk Electro Funk Harry -Goddess On The Floor Lauren Harris -Steal Your Fire Blood Red Shoes -ADHD Alannah Myles -Black Velvet Amy Macdonald -Mr Rock &Amp; Roll Morcheeba -World Looking In Garbage -You Look So Fine Heather Nova -Blood Of Me Patti Smith -Smells Like Teen Spirit
Current Playlist Jane Wiedlin -Rush Hour Giant Drag -Pretty Little Neighbor Land Of Talk -All My Friends ’til tuesday -Voices carry Snake River Conspiracy -Casualty Sneaker Pimps -6 Underground Sahara Hotnights -Cheek To Cheek The Dead Weather -I Cut Like A Buffalo Robots In Disguise -The Sex Has Made Me Stupid The Sounds -Running Out Of Turbo Peaches -Boys Wanna Be Her L7 -One More Thing The Kills -Tape Song Tori Amos -Cornflake Girl Hole -Doll Parts Keira May -Pins And Makeup (unsigned) Dirty Love -Baby You Suck (unsigned) Le Monnier -Kingyo (unsigned artist of the month) Alanis Morissette -Sister Blister The Slits -Newtown Alisha’s Attic -Stone In My Shoe Fleetwood Mac -Seven Wonders The Pierces -Boring Bangles -Walk Like An Egyptian New Young Pony Club -Ice Cream Sixpence None The Richer -There She Goes
Some of my readers may remember that Mike and I went to Offset for the first time last year after being convinced by RX Kitten, we had such a good time that despite the fact of not really knowing any of the bands playing this year (last year The Slits and The Futureheads played- The Slits was enough of a reason for me to go)! we thought we should definitely go again. The only band we actually knew any songs by was Art Brut, and some of the band names rang a bell, but couldn't think of any songs. This year for that exact reason I thought it would be a good opportunity to discover some new music, especially to play on my show. I spent some time investigating before the festival, and I did buy two albums- Thomas Tantrum and Wet Dog and a very helpful person on my facebook fanpage (add if you haven't already- just look for DJ Moonlight on facebook) gave me a long list of female fronted bands that were playing at the festival, so I had a bit of preparation beforehand!
Last year we went in our friend's Dave's car but this year we had to travel down ourselves, so we met our friend Will outside Westcliff station at about 11.30am on saturday, for some silly reason there was no one at the ticket gate so we couldn't buy a ticket from real person, one of the machines was broken and you couldn't see it really as the sunlight was beaming on it, and then we went round to the other side to the other machine that wasn't taking notes! Eventually after much running about we finally managed to get tickets to Upminister, which according to the Offset website was meant to have a shuttle bus to the site, but when we enquired with the train staff, they told us there wasn't one and we weren't the first ones to ask. Apparently we would of had to get two buses from there to get to the site, so we waited for a train to Romford and then we could get a normal bus (again, no shuttle bus) to the site. We were very relieved once we finally got there about 2.30pm! (we live in essex and the journey should have been just under an hour in total) even if we did have to join a fairly lengthy queue to get out wristbands. Luckily Dave was nice enough to have taken some of our stuff in his car.
We met Dave and our other friend Paul once we got our wristbands and then found the campsite to find a spot to pitch our tents up. The campsite was already quite full but they were expanding it as more people were arriving, it was about double the size of last year, indicating ticket sales must have been better and they were also selling tickets on the door this year. We managed to find a nice spot just in the corner. We got all pitched up, helped Will set up as it was his first time camping at a festival then had the joy of inflating our air bed! Soon after RX Kitten arrived, she hadn't been able to come sooner as she had college that day.
When we had a look at the arena we could see straight away that there was a bit more going on this year. There was a small fair this year, we didn't actually end up going on any of the rides, but at least there actually was this time, as they promised one last year and there wasn't! There was also cash points this time, and a special security van where you could store stuff or charge your phone, we didn't personally use it, but I thought it was a good idea. There was several clothes stalls including the vintage clothes tent again, this year I got a pretty necklace from there, it's silver and has a heart charm that says "You Rock and Roll" on it which cost me £5. I saw a gorgeous dress that had guitars all over it but it was £40 :( There was a stall selling Offset merchandise (we got a program from there, but they also had t shirts and bags) and another one that was selling some of the band's music and merchandise.
There was a selection of food stalls but we spent all eating time at one that was called The Wide Awake Cafe which we discovered all their food was vegan- including cheese and everything! We sampled Chili, Pasta, hot dogs, sausage sandwiches, and best of all a full vegan cooked breakfast on Sunday morning :)
Anyway, Saturday. The first band we saw was on the Loud and Quiet stage called Teeth!!! fronted by a slightly mental Japanese female singer, they were electro/punk/noise and fun to dance to.
We hung around as we wanted to see the next band on this stage, who had a interesting write up in the program comparing them to Bikini Kill and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. This band was Comanechi another band that was fronted by a mental japanese woman. She was not only the singer, but also the drummer. She was awesome, the epitome of a riot grrrl. There was a small mosh pit and the security was being really over the top. The slightest movement and they were going in to tell people off but really they were just making it worse, at one point the singer/drummer was telling them to get out the way (they were standing right in the middle of the stage at one point) so she could see her fans, and she got the crowd to start putting their middle fingers up at them! At another point she was drinking straight vodka and then she gave it to someone in the audience. This band was truly the highlight of my weekend, it was very much modern day riot grrrl, I felt this may be the closest I'll ever be to what it was like to see Bikini Kill. Expect to be hearing a lot more of this band on my show soon!
The last band we saw on Saturday was Thomas Tantrum, I thought they were quite good musically but weren't anything special live really, but then again I had witnessed some really amazing bands that day so it was hard for them to compare to them!
We didn't do much else that night really, we did have a boogie in the dance tent at some point and a brief walk in the woods.
Sunday morning we went to the petting zoo type thing that was just across from the forest and got to stroke horses and goats, and look at chickens, donkeys and rabbits. The conditions were by no means perfect, but it was nice to be able to do something like that.
The first band we saw was Wet Dog on the main stage, they were pretty good although to be honest I think either being on a smaller stage or at a later time of day would have been better as there wasn't much energy. as they were first on, most people were just sitting chilling out to it.
The second band we saw on Sunday was Blue on Blue unfortanely as I had so little sleep I couldn't really enjoy them properly but I did really like them, and there was some speculation, which I've now discovered is correct- is the female vocalist was indeed the same vocalist of a band that played last year- who I enjoyed but sadly split up An Experiment on A Bird in the Air Pump
Went back to the tent for a while to attempt to get a bit of sleep, I still couldn't manage so just decided to start drinking instead! When we got back up, we went to see Chrome Hoof as Rx Kitten had told us how awesome they were. She wasn't wrong! (not she ever is ;) ) there was about 10 of them, and they play a blend of metal and disco and somehow make a very interesting and entertaining noise! also an amazing stage presence, dressed in silver and black outfits, with the lead vocalist like a vampire Grace Jones.
The next band we saw was Anna Calvi there wasn't much of a crowd for the band but they were contending with These New Puritans on the main stage. I did quite enjoy them but again, there was no atmosphere, I'm sure this band will get bigger though...
We decided take a quick peek in the Offset Presents tent as I had a funny feeling I recognized the name The Rayographs as soon as I saw them, i remembered i think I had them on MySpace when I actually bothered to use it. I only saw a small glimpse of them but that small bit sounded great, I saw a review elsewhere giving them a glowing verdict so kinda disappointed I missed most of it now!
Anyway we wanted to have more drink at the tent (rather than paying for alcohol in the arena, as you couldn't bring it in with you) so we did that for a bit before going to the arena again. We saw a bit of Caribou (the first band we watched all weekend that wasn't female fronted)! who were quite good, wasn't too impressed with the vocals though, I preferred the instrumentals!
Even though I had heard of them, I had no idea what Atari Teenage Riot sounded like, and everyone kept going on about how great they are so had to see a bit of them. Well my apologies to the legions of fans, but I don't get it? It sounded like just a lot of noise to me, like drum and bass music with shouting over the top or something. I really didn't like it!
We wandered off and watched Gramme who were dancey fun and I loved that the lead singer didn't really fit into the traditional mould of female singer and she looked like she was having a great time!
Well that was it for another year, what great time, can't wait for next year, heres some videos of the bands-
Hi I'm Hayley,
I'm an internet radio dj. I present the radio show Pigtails and Army Boots which is all female fronted music and available for syndication.
I love music it's my life!
I'm a vegan and animal rights activist.I'm also a feminist.
I love to write and read.
