"Comedy is powerful and can make a lot of social change. You have an audience of people that you’re hopefully making laugh. You’re inviting them to agree with you in laughter, to allow themselves to be vulnerable enough to laugh."
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Embracing Destiny; Bebe Buell on New Album and Life as a Musician
Bebe Buell has been on my radar for awhile as one of the coolest women in rock. I connected with her a few years ago when she was developing a band and a new live show called Baring It All. Now, she has released a brand new album that pretty much tells the story of her life; Baring It All: Greetings from Nashbury Park. Bebe Buell has been living it for years. Her career started when she moved to New York City at 18 to model under contract with Eileen Ford. She was highly successful but was immediately drawn to the rock world frequenting Max’s Kansas City and CBGB. She…
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Up and Coming, Emma Hern Releases First EP
Emma Hern of Nashville, Tennessee got her roots back in Richmond, Virginia. The singer/songwriter first found her voice when she was 14 years old. “I went to a very hippy, crunchy granola high school and we had this [open mic] that was outside every Wednesday and Friday and kids would do slam poetry and sing. When I was in 8th grade, some of my friends convinced me to go up there and sing and one of my teachers heard me and came over and promptly told me that I was in a band with them and rehearsals started next week.” From there, she started performing in bars and venues in…
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Artist Profile: Angela Perley
Angela Perley, of Angela Perley and The Howlin’ Moons, always exudes coolness. She’s dressed in paisley bell bottoms, leather jacket and red hat for a gray day Monday interview at the Fox in the Snow in Columbus, Ohio. On a daily basis, the full time musician looks nothing but the part of a 70’s musician who just happens to be stuck in the 21st Century. Angela’s dad introduced her to Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Tom Petty and others that inspired her love of music. She attended Ohio University and dove deeper into folk, blues and country music which makes perfect sense because her music is rock n’ roll with an alternative…
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Laurie Kilmartin and the Subtle Power of Laughter
It’s a small thing and a huge thing when men “let” a woman make them laugh.
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The Dollyrots: Pop Punk Power Parents
Arriving at the Southgate House Revival to interview The Dollyrots starts out like any other interview; Kalie and I grab a drink and wait for their tour manager to let us know they were ready. Even as we walked into the green room, it looks like any other band getting ready for a show, slightly chaotic but perfectly in character with any other punk band. But the huge difference between The Dollyrots and other bands is that their adorable kids are roaming around in big headphones and Kelly Ogden and Luis Cabezas are keeping a constant eye on them, punk parent multitasking. As we sit down to begin the interview,…
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Shellshag, The Masters of Rock n’ Roll DIY
Shellshag, a two piece from New York, is the heart and soul of rock n’ roll DIY. Comprised of Jennifer Shagawat and John “Shellhead” Driver, the band has put in more time than most bands out there. What makes it possible for them is their genuine love of rock n’ roll. Shell first learned to play guitar from his buddy, Bob Taylor. “I was 22. He was my best friend in college. We had sculpture class together. He showed me how to play power chords and taught me this song, ‘Why Do You Wear That Stupid Toupee?’ and it’s just two chords… that was pretty much all it took, I…
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Breaking Glass: An Unsolicited and Biased Review
Breaking Glass could be considered a new band. After a fairly long hiatus they have reformed under a new moniker. They are a three piece made up of Izzi on drums, Makenzie on bass and Roxie on guitar and vocals. All female bands are rare in the male dominated rock world and bands of any gender that rock this hard are even rarer. Full disclosure–this review was unsolicited because Izzi is a humble person and would not ask me to review one of her bands for her magazine. Second this review is very biased. Breaking Glass is my partner Roxie’s band. They practice at our house. I go to almost…
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Penelope Spheeris–Rock and Roll Anthroplogist
Back in the 80’s there was no internet which means no YouTube. Back then a large part of learning about punk rock was swapping homemade cassettes and VHS tapes. Two very important movies in my circle of friends were The Decline of Western Civilization and Suburbia. These movies heavily influenced what bands we listened to, but more importantly they portrayed the tribal culture of punk dress, dance and worldviews. When Izzi suggested that we make a movie list for this issue of Women in Rock, I immediately thought of these two films. Not because they focused on female bands, but because they were made by a female. I decided to…
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Diving into the Depths of Door Girl, An Interview with Shilpa Ray
One of my all time favorite albums is Quadrophenia by The Who. I love it because it is a complete album, it tells a story that engages the listener. The individual songs are good but fitted together in sequence, they are a masterpiece. Shilpa Ray managed to create that high quality of art with her new album, Door Girl. On a chilly November night, Shilpa Ray and her touring band played Cincinnati’s best kept secret, Junker’s Tavern. Shilpa Ray and I chatted before her set about the creation of Door Girl and the story that goes along with it. “I knew I was going to write this record. When you…
