Haidee J is the co-founder of the Boston-based band Double Star, which she formed with Dave Kurimsky. The band as is described by the Somerville Arts Council: “Double Star mixes punk riffs, high-energy horns, and lush harmonies to create pop tunes that defy easy categorization.”
Here is a historical bio of Double Star courtesy of Haidee J:
“I think I can write a song around that” Haidee said to Dave, when he shared some half-finished guitar riffs with her. It was a cloudy, cool day in March when these two seasoned musicians, both veterans of a number of bands on the East and West coasts, got together for coffee at Jamaica Plain’s iconic, cow-themed ice cream parlor.
Just two weeks later, their first song was complete; State Line, a song about a road trip along the Northern California coast, a favorite activity of Haidee’s when she lived in Portland, OR.
Before too long, these rising double stars had enough material to start filling out the band with bass, drums, and another multi instrumentalist female on keys/synth, saxophone, backing vocals, and percussion.
Inspired by the feelings that are stirred by the various chords and rhythms of Dave’s and her guitars, Haidee’s lyrics run the gamut from drug addict breakups in Holding Hands is For Lovers and Small Children, to surviving a hurricane in Thoughts and Prayers Are Not Enough. She also touches on standing up for yourself (Say Something Now), escaping the boredom of a small town (Small Town) and hearing voices (Late at Night Inside My Head).
Double Star was born and has been taking the Boston music scene by (solar) storm with their catchy melodies, pop sensibilities, and lovably quirky arrangements. Like a double star in the sky, that appears to be one star until you look closer, Double Star may surprise you!
Questions
What brought you to Boston?
I grew up in Brookline, then moved out to the West Coast for about 10 years after college, before deciding to move back East to be closer to family. I was in a band for six years in Portland, OR. We had some local success, playing the main stage at Portland’s Pride Festival, an audience of thousands. On the downside, we handed out CDs for free, but they had been burned on an early computer CD burner and didn’t work in most players. We also weren’t marketing savvy, and this was pre-Facebook etc., so struggled to build a big fanbase. Once back in Boston I kept my eye out and played with numerous people and bands until I met Dave and we formed Double Star.
Haidee J Photo by Caroline Elizabeth Photography
Have you experienced a strong scene for Queer women and gender expansive folx in Boston in terms of music/performers etc?
Not really, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there. I identify as a rock musician first, and a woman in rock 2nd. I can’t say I go out of my way to seek out queer oriented events. We applied to play at some pride events this past year and didn’t get in, or even hear back from some of them. The one we were invited to play at in the suburbs we couldn’t make.
Do you have any sense of a history of a Queer scene in the city?
I do have a sense of a history of a Queer scene in the City, mostly that there are gay clubs, for dancing, and of course, annual Pride month and related events.
Haidee J and Double Star photo by Caroline Elizabeth Photography
Are there any venues or spaces that have been particularly influential or accommodating?
Accommodating to queer or gender expansive artists, I can’t really think of any in particular. Nor can I think of any that felt unaccommodating. Some of my favorite venues have been Aeronaut brewing, both the Allston outdoor and Somerville locations, the Square Root in Roslindale, and the Midway Café in JP of course. We had our first show there and play there a few times a year. I’m amazed at how stable the staff has remained, even through Covid, and they are always friendly and seem happy to have us back. Also, shout out to the JP Music Fest. We had a blast playing there in 2022, the sound system was amazing, and I loved that they sold your merch for you. That felt like a Boston area highlight for us.
Are there any artists in the Boston scene or elsewhere that you admire or who have inspired your own music?
Yeah, definitely. Some of my favorite local bands to play with include Threat Level Burgundy, CE Skidmore and the Damn Fine Band, The Skirts, Pink Slip, The Spots, Battlemode, AZNjujube, Why Try?. I’m know there are more, but off the top of my head, those bands share our energy; some are ska which we draw from significantly, some are quirky but also poppy like us, and some have queer members, with whom I feel an affinity.
Do you think things are getting better for Queer performers or are there still barriers to overcome?
I haven’t noticed any barriers for me or my band. I feel like the arts scene in Boston proper is very Queer-friendly. I wear a shirt and tie for every show and have never gotten so much as a sideways glance.
photo by Caroline Elizabeth Photography
What advice would you give to a Queer person thinking about getting into music?
Same advice I’d give anyone, Do it! Don’t be afraid. If it’s something you love and can do, it’s a powerful art form.
Are there any other current or former bands, solo artists, or DJs you would like to see featured by QWIMB?
Have you talked to CE Skidmore and the Damn Fine Band? We played with them once and saw them another time and they’re fantastic and queer-fronted. Also, Battlemode. Also the Spots.
Pitstain is a queer & feminist punk trio born in Boston, MA. Jules Ozone, on bass and vocals, loves melodic, spotlight-stealing basslines and distorted screaming blended with legitimate singing. Kelly Baker, on drums and vocals, is committed to a DIY ethos and writing heavy-handed lyrics about politics. Kathleen Silver, on guitar and backup vocals, combines meticulous riffs with fuzzy power chords. Imagine if Kim Deal, Meg White and Julia Kugel formed a band. In Boston. And were all super queer and wrote songs about the grind of everyday capitalism, mental health, and being hit on without your consent. The members of Pitstain met through volunteering at Girls Rock Campaign Boston, a feminist organization that empowers youth to make noise and take up space through music education. Self-described “polite punks,” the band members write all of their songs collaboratively and value respect and connection above all else in creative endeavors.
QWIMB Q&A With Pitstain
Photo by Sasha Pedro
What brought you to Boston?
Jules: I originally moved to Boston for a relationship (0/10
would not recommend), but stayed to attend grad school for mental health
counseling. I’m so happy now that I came here because it introduced me to an
incredible community of musicians and friends.
Kathleen: I also moved here for grad school and part of
why I chose my program is because of the location!
Kelly: I’m the outlier — I was born and raised in Boston.
Have you experienced a strong scene for Queer women in the city in terms of music/performers etc?
Jules: Most of my community comes from Girls Rock Campaign
Boston, a community that is made up of many queer women and folks with other
marginalized gender identities. I feel so lucky to be surrounded by so many
people who share my identity, but outside of GRCB I can’t think of any queer
women performers who I’ve met in the recent past.
Kathleen: Sadly, grad school demands have kept me from
exploring the queer scene in Boston as much as I’d like. Most of my friends
here are queer and/or musicians, but that’s probably a sampling bias on my
part.
Kelly: When I was in my early twenties, almost a decade ago
now, I was pretty heavily into the DIY punk scene in Boston — going to shows
in Allston basements and all that. It was a super male dominated space. I felt
unwelcome as a queer woman. It kind of chewed me up and spit me out. I didn’t
go to local shows for a number of years because it was so triggering. I’ve
gotten back into it again and have been so stoked to see how many queer,
female, and/or POC folks are creating their own punk spaces and rewriting the
narrative of who is centered in DIY spaces. I’m excited to contribute to it
now.
Do you have any sense of a history of a Queer scene in the city?
Jules: I don’t at all. I just came here several years ago.
According to my partner, Jamaica Plain used to have a thriving queer scene
which diminished once rent skyrocketed in that area.
Kathleen: I really don’t but I’d love to learn more!
Kelly: Damn. This question really hit me hard… this is my
hometown and I have no idea. That’s why QWIMB is so important — we have to
archive & share & talk about queer stories.
Pitstain by Sasha Pedro
What made you decide to join a band?
Jules: I love playing music as an act of self-care, and I
love collaborating with people who share my creative aspirations and
worldviews. I’ve spent some time making music on my own but playing regularly
with friends keeps me accountable and motivated to keep playing!
Kathleen: I’ve been playing guitar since middle school
but always either in jazz band or by myself in my basement. I basically handed
my best friend a bass and some No Doubt tabs and convinced her to learn so we
could play together. We formed a band with our other good friend who is a
drummer and after that experience, I didn’t look back! I have played in various
bands since then but had a lull period for a few years, so I was SO excited to
join Pitstain.
Kelly: It was a lifelong dream. But it felt super out of
reach. By my late twenties, I honestly thought I was too old to learn an
instrument. In 2017, on a whim, I attended Ladies Rock Camp and that blew my
mind. I started teaching myself to play drums, joined this band, and here we
are.
Are there any artists that you look up to or who have inspired your own music?
Jules: I started playing bass because I wanted to learn Kim
Deal’s basslines from when she played with Pixies. I also draw a lot of
inspiration from Kathleen Hanna; she describes her voice as “a bullet” shooting
towards an imaginary target, and I think of my own voice in that way when I’m
screaming lyrics at the top of my lungs.
Kathleen: So so so many, whether they’re an inspiration
for their guitar, lyrics, general attitude, or all of the above. Some all-stars
are Joan Jett, Debbie Harry, Shirley Manson, Emily Haines, Marissa Paternoster,
and so many more.
Kelly: So many. I love listening to shit that blows up the
idea of what a woman should sound like — you know, pretty and soft and shit. I
get a lot of vocal inspiration from Brody Dalle (The Distillers), Stephanie
Luke (Coathangers) and Marissa Paternoster (Screaming Females), for example.
Flier by Amber of Sapling
Do think things are getting better for Queer performers or are there still barriers to overcome?
Jules: Both! It seems like it has become more
acceptable/celebrated to be openly queer as a musician over time, at the same
pace at is has become more accepted in general society. Most of the bands I
listen to, I listen to in part because they
have queer members. I also see ways in which queer performers are held to
higher standards than their straight counterparts, such as the queer band PWR
BTTM being removed from all streaming services following abuse allegations
while mainstream cis male performers continue making music despite numerous
accusers coming forward for the same thing.
Kathleen: What Jules said.
Kelly: Yeah, I think it’s still highly contextual. We seek out venues that are demonstrably queer friendly, we only book gigs with bands that we know (or know of) and have a good feeling about. That’s intentional. And it also feels like I’m in a cozy safe bubble of my own choosing. I think there’s a lot of privilege to that — as three white cis-women. There are lots of BIPOC artists and performers who might experience racism at some of the same venues that I probably consider “safe” or “good.” That’s a blind spot for sure. I look to organizations like BAMS Fest who are doing some dope artist organizing to carve out space for QTPOC folks in the Boston music scene.
What has been your proudest moment as a member of a band or as a musician in general?
Jules: I’m so proud of how our band writes music
collaboratively and base all of our process and aesthetic on mutual respect and
love for one another. I would not want to embark on any creative endeavor that
didn’t double as an interpersonal bond with my creative partners. It is
sometimes hard to maintain these values as stress and creative differences
occasionally come up, but we stick to them regardless.
Kathleen: This was a long time ago, but I remember
playing a show at this bar all the way back in high school with some other
bands who were all dudes. I think it was my first show that was actually in
“public” even though basically nobody came. I was setting up in the back and
the manager forcibly grabbed my shoulder and was like, “No girlfriends allowed
backstage.” It was immensely satisfying to shove his hand off me and show him
my fist (marked B for band). That memory has stuck with me for over a decade.
Kelly: Oh my god, Kathleen, that’s the worst. Your response,
though! Badass. For me, my proudest moment is just getting up on stage and
doing it. It’s incredibly vulnerable and nerve-wracking and exhilarating, every
time.
Flier by Kelly Baker
What advice would you give to a woman thinking about starting a band or learning an instrument?
Jules: Start out learning on your own! I think that many
women/girls who want to play music feel that they need to be taught by a
professional in order to learn the “right” way to play, and those professionals
are often male musicians who teach in a didactic and intimidating way that does
not always align with how people learn. Also, as women, we are socialized to be
ashamed of any creative mistakes we make, which prevents us from learning
because mistakes are so integral to gaining mastery. If you rock out alone in
your room, you can make as many mistakes as you want and not feel judged by
whatever bro thinks he’s been tasked with teaching you the “right” way to play.
Kathleen: Do it! Also, practice, practice, practice. It
might take longer than you hope to get where you want to be but that just means
you have more time to have fun getting to know your instrument. Practice for
the process, not necessarily the outcome.
Kelly: You are not too old. Like, seriously, 65 is not too
old. Or 30. Or 92. Or 15. The age you are now is the perfect age to pick up an
instrument. There’s this obsession in our culture with doing things on a
timeline. And that’s the least punk thing I can think of. Just go for it. Be
sloppy, make mistakes, get weird with it.
Are there any other current or former bands or solo artists you would like to see featured by QWIMB?
Yes so many like: Palehound, Sidney Gish, and Oompa.
Elliot Wren is an 18-year-old emerging Indie pop singer-songwriter who hails from the Boston area.
Elliot Wren’s music takes you on a journey through their experiences with their raw lyrics and expressive sound. Elliot reveals their substantive soul through the lyrics and arrangements they write and the ease at which they capture your heart.
Elliot Wren has been fortunate to have been an artist on the All You Got Tour for the 2019 season, Countdown To Christmas Concert in Celebration, FL, and First Night Boston in Copley Square. Whether they are performing at a larger venue or smaller more intimate venue, Elliot is always excited to meet new people and share their music. Elliot Wren plays festivals, coffeehouses, microbreweries, and bars/pubs in New England. They can be found weekly playing at open mics at all the well-known venues in the Boston area or rehearsing in the Strega Studios in Brighton. As an 18-year-old solo artist, Elliot Wren has had the pleasure of playing with some of the incredible local music artists on the Boston music scene. Look for more DIY collaborations and new music coming out this spring.
QWIMB Q&A with Elliot Wren
at Article 24 in Brighton photo by Lisa Teeter
Q What brought you to Boston?
A For me, music was always a way to express myself when I didn’t have much else. Whether it was singing or writing, it was a way for me to cope because I never really fit in growing up. I was always different and singled out, and the music was just my way of dealing with it. It probably saved my life if I am being honest.
Q What’s one message you would give to young queer music artists just getting into the music scene?
A It’s going to be hard but my honest advice is to just be who you are. Don’t try to be someone you aren’t. People will see you being authentic and will respect you for that and eventually you’ll find the people who will support and love both you and your music.
Q Are there any artists who you look up to or who have inspired your own music?
A One of my biggest inspirations is Hayley Kiyoko. She is an incredibly talented queer music artist who changed a lot for the LGBTQ community and musicians. I have followed her music career for a long time now.
Q Do you think things are getting better for queer performers or are there still barriers to overcome?
A There are definitely still barriers to overcome and there probably always will be but as long as we continue working to break down barriers it will keep getting easier. One of the best ways to help in this process is to actively support other queer music artists on social media and by attending shows. I love the DIY music scene and the opportunities to highlight the diverse talent in this city.
Q When do your ideas for songs come to you?
A It’s been at the weirdest times and because of the weirdest things. I’ve written songs in the car while my mom drove (safety first), at friends’ homes, at performance venues before a show, you name it. Most of the time though, it’s late at night after everyone’s asleep that I get my best ideas. I end up writing them all in my notes and coming back to it in the morning.
Q Describe your creative process.
A I will start with a song idea, usually a concept of the type of song I want to write or a line idea. I then grab my guitar and will play the chords that come to mind initially. After that, it’s usually a stream of consciousness. After that, I will go back and clean up the chords and the lyrics I have written. Once it’s all cleaned up and I have a first version of the new song, I will send it to my manager and if it ends up getting shortlisted for recording, it will go through some slight changes before actually being recorded in the studio.
Q Have you ever dealt with anxiety about going on stage?
A Oh absolutely. I just try to take a couple of deep breaths and I remind myself that I will be fine. I have to consciously remind myself that people are there to support me and even if I do mess up a chord or something, I can grow from the experience and hopefully never repeat it. One thing’s for sure, in live music anything can happen, but that’s part of the fun.
Photo by Len Films & Photography
Elliot’s New Single, RIP My Diary, Out Friday February 21, 2020
Check out their new video for RIP My Diary onYoutube.
Hegemonix is the solo experimental electronic pop project of Ava Vex. They have been making music under different project names for a couple years now and identify as trans femme non-binary. They just released their latest EP “The Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted.” They make music to explore identity and politics and also to make people dance and have a good time.
Hegemonix in the studio by Ava Vex
QWIMB Q&A With Hegemonix
What
brought you to Boston?
I’m from the area and have been an
active member of the DIY music scene here for a couple years now.
Have
you experienced a strong scene for Queer women in the city in terms of
music/performers etc.?
Yeah a great DIY scene that’s
accessible and supportive for people starting out playing shows and new
projects as well as connecting online to book shows.
Do
you have any sense of a history of a Queer scene in the city?
I know a little bit about clubs like
Machine and Jacques Cabaret but nothing specific.
What
made you decide to join a band?
I started making music and
performing and putting it out independently when I was 12 and have kept doing
since. I started making and recording music to experiment with sound and also
to explore my identity and relation to the world around me, which I’m still
doing.
In Studio By Ava
Are
there any artists that you look up to or who have inspired your own music?
There are a couple of cis male
musicians who have influenced me sonically for a while like Aphex Twin, David
Bowie and Beck but right now I find a lot of female and trans pop musicians
like Sophie, Charli XCX and Black Dresses to be inspiring in terms of exploring
identity and sound in new and exciting ways.
Do
you think things are getting better for Queer performers or are there still
barriers to overcome?
I think things are getting better in
terms of there being more widespread acceptance and understanding of trans and
gender non-conforming identities but also there’s still work to be done to
diversify fields like music production and live sound tech.
What
has been your proudest moment performing music or as a musician in general?
My performances over the past year
of being more openly queer and trans have been great and very inspiring for me
and others from what I can tell.
Hegemonix Taken by Elsie Hupp, live at Caffeine Underground in NYC
What
advice would you give to a queer woman thinking about starting a band or
learning an instrument?
Personally I would say experiment
and keep trying to find what works, just like I would say to people who are
exploring their gender identity, there are no wrong answers, just options
Are
there any other current or former bands or solo artists you would like to see
featured by QWIMB?
Lyrics from the new Hegemonix EP “The Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted”
1. Revolution Is Gay
This is a double-edged
song showing how a violent revolution can devolve into a sort of religiosity
with the sing-song ending kind of substituting actual change, sort of an opiate
of the masses obfuscating systemic changes. I imagined it as a queer Fight Club
kind of revolt, like cis guys realizing their repressed gay and trans yearnings
and finding solidarity in having gay sex instead of beating each other up in a
masochistic display of irrelevance. Also for the record I don’t think Marx is
wrong (that’s the narrator of the song speaking) although not entirely right
but a useful figure to consider when approaching societal change and the
emancipatory potential of labor.
Well we burned all the
factories tonight
Ran out in the street
and had a fight
Pitting ourselves
against one another
Hey man are you still
my brother?
The police showed up
and made a scene
Arresting us while we
were peeing
On a monument of our
boss
Guess it’s a symbol of
our loss
I don’t care
Anymore
Revolution is here
We’re all queer
Well I’m sitting in a
jail cell alright
Talking to my comrades
about our plight
Working class
rebellion is the best
As long as you can pay
the cost
The robot guards are
on our asses
Telling us we’re
unemployed masses
The revolt didn’t work
and now we’re dead
This is the afterlife
instead
All the time
We were lied to
Marx taught us wrong
Everything is a song
Sing for your life
Don’t be scared of the
cause
Change
everything
Open up all your
thoughts
Free love is here
If you want to be
saved
Trust in the sound
Of your golden voice
Lyrics from the new
Hegemonix EP “The Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted”
It’s been called
“the single worst incident of racial violence in American history” as
white authorities decimated what was then the most prosperous Black community
in the U.S. I felt inspired to write the song to explore how racist systemic
police violence is still very alive as we all know and to speak to how
fundamentally violent the state is above and beyond supposedly “violent
criminals.” I included a quote from the amazing Angela Davis from this
interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIDgDFvyeS8&t=8s
I was wary about
releasing this song at first because it’s written from a place of purposeful
ignorance, a somewhat conscious citizen who insights violence without
considering the racial dynamics of the situation. I just want to clarify that I
don’t directly believe what’s stated as “I” statements in these songs
but rather wanted to illustrate a somewhat flawed point of view that might be
the more common understanding of such events as peddled to us by the mainstream
media.
Woke up this morning
With tears in my
eyes
I couldn’t see through
All of the lies
Hundreds dead in
The city tonight
Police killing whoever
They like
We must maintain
Law and order
To have a story
For the reporters
The citizens
have
Gotten unruly
Time to show
The power of cruelty
White lies
Black lives
Violence lives
In hearts and minds
They say that
it’s
A story in
history
So why is it such
A big mystery
Black citizens
Killed for
resisting
White powers
Still insisting
We’re making
A movie about it
Promotional
Responses are rabid
Profiting off
Tragedy like this
Is how we respect
Whoever resists
We like
Bad times
Stories thrive
That surprise
Angela Davis:
“Because of the way
This society is
organized
Because of the
violence
That exists on the
surface everywhere
You have to expect
that
There are going to be
such explosions
You have to expect
things
Like that as reactions
If you are black
person
Who lives and walks
out
On the street everyday
Seeing white policemen
Surrounding you”
Whatever man
Race is dead
Violence is fine
As long as it’s mine
Lyrics from the new
Hegemonix EP “The Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted”
3. Ode to the End
Haha the big finale
and definitely the opposite of what I believe. This song is complete
resignation and acceptance of the hegemonic order of understanding, that
nothing can change and we should just accept societal decay and environmental
collapse. No! Maybe there’s some acceptance towards the end of the song though,
like transcendance through giving up and being born anew as an empty subject
ready for sustenance through revolution, circling back to the first song on the
EP. Shout out to Julian and the Strokes for inspiring this song and the first
one, big inspiration and definitely someone whose fighting for truth in the
face of lies and deception. Keep up the good fight and I hope you enjoy reading
my lyrics and commentary!
Endless wars
Burning Earth
We’re not gonna win
Anymore
The climate is done
It’s all a hoax
Like the moon landing
He says as he smokes
On a cigar
He bought from a store
Down the street
Next to the prison
Where they keep those
Who do not fit
Into the state’s
Definition of a
citizen
He wants you to cum
But you don’t care
Because you are
So debanoire
Part of the queer
Vanguard of hope
That will help us
Slacken the rope
All the
Time you spent
Is not
Gone
It’s just part of
Experience
That helps you
Move on
Are you not
Entertained
Anymore
Is this not
What you asked
For
What is this trauma
Processing grief
Actor plays
parts
Reading out lines
I’m calling cut
Redo the shot
It was all wrong
So I walk out
This movie is fucked
The plot is so
bad
It’s going nowhere
Now we’re all
bored
Talk to my
shrink
Who says hold on
Find a new cast
Rewrite the
ending
He wants a cut
Of all the
profits
Withholds my pills
Until I sign off
Of course I agree
I’m not a fool
Compromise
Is my golden
rule
Finally
The grand
Premiere
We’re all here
The audience
Just loves it
As they clap
On cue
Are you not
Entertained
Anymore
Is this not
What you asked
For
Oh
The end
My friend
Once again
Oh
The end
Begin
Pretend
Catch their next show at Outpost 186 on 2/14/20 with Fen Rotstein and Expletive.
Fen is a Latinx Jewish
Trans woman making music and organizing shows in the greater Boston area. Known
for a diverse body of work and a penchant for the weird, she’s found Boston to
be immensely supportive, with a great deal of potential growth for its various
scenes.
She got her start in the music industry at a young age playing to audiences around the country during the early days of the Brony fandom. Despite reservations and difficulties in a notoriously conservative scene, she was ultimately inspired by this burgeoning global creative network, and made use of her talents as a multi-instrumentalist and her years of classical vocal training to produce a wide body of work for the community in a variety of genres and styles.
Fen would go on to build a home and a network in Boston, MA, precisely the environment needed to spark a new burst of inspiration, both musically and emotionally. Through her Berklee education, Fen further developed a wide breadth of expertise covering composition, arranging, studio production, and engineering. And through her involvement in the local Rap, Rock, and Electronic scenes in Boston, she continues to explore vast musical landscapes, and hopes to increase her creative output and uplift the Boston music scene, a community that has supported her for years.
Photo by Echo Harris
QWIMB Q&A with Fen Rotstein
What brought you to Boston?
I originally headed out to
Boston for school, but I’ve stayed here for the incredible music scene and the
lovely queer community. It feels incredible to live in a city large and diverse
enough for real connections to be made across various social, sexual, racial,
and class-related boundaries; even more incredible to live in a city that’s
also small enough for cross-city communities to become tight-knit, to grow
while remaining close. Of course, the city and its various scenes have a whole
lot of problems to work on, but there’s already such incredible momentum
towards a better Boston; I’m overjoyed to get to stick around and see things
develop!
Have you experienced a strong scene for Queer women in the
city in terms of music/performers etc?
While it may not be the
biggest scene in the world, queer women are absolutely leading it! Boston music
and queer women are inextricably linked; the best organizers, the busiest and
most successful musicians, the hardest working and most stunning
artists…they’re all queer women out here! To see someone like Brandie Blaze, or
Dez Decarlo, take off and really shine…it’s just incredible; their hard work in
the Boston scene makes that possible. It feels like we’re at the start of a new
chapter for queer women in Boston.
Photo by Totem Fahey
Do you have any sense of a history of a Queer scene in the
city?
I’ll be frank, being a
relatively newer voice in the Boston scene, it’s hard for me to draw upon my
own personal experience to give an idea of the history of queer music in
Boston. However, I think its safe to say that a relevant chapter in this
history is being written right now. More queer women are standing up every day,
more black voices are being heard and celebrated, more safe spaces are opening
up. An explosion of rap, rock, and electronic music lead by queer women is
waiting to happen as we speak!
What made you decide to join a band?
While I’ve been working as a
musician in one way or another, either solo or in a band, for around 10 years
now, I found myself primarily doing solo work from the get go here in Boston.
After a few years of solo work, I eventually came to the conclusion that
collaborating and exploring music with a team of people might be exactly what I
needed to progress, both within the scene and within the narrative of my own
musical development. I started joining and/or starting bands here and there,
and now I’m happy to say that I’m playing with Violet Not, and Pregnancy Mask;
2 rad bands filled with lovely people~
Photo by Sheri Furneaux
Are there any artists that you look up to or who have inspired
your own music?
Oh most certainly! it’s easy
to rattle off obvious influences, I mean I could hardly avoid mentioning Nine
Inch Nails, or The Gorillaz, or Phy Life Cypher, or Aphex Twin, but ultimately,
I think it’s always a bit more interesting to talk about what someone’s
listening to when they’re walking home from work, or going to the grocery
store. To that end, I’ve been listening to a lot of The Garden, Japanese
Breakfast, Soweto Kinch, Ollie Byrd, and Pieta Brown— Really solid releases,
songs that bring a sense of healing that I think is somewhat lost from a lot of
what’s on the radio these days.
Do think things are getting better for Queer performers or
are there still barriers to overcome?
I don’t really think those two
things are mutually exclusive; there will always be barriers, but things are
improving! More and more queer people are finding themselves accessing fame and
mainstream artistic success that has never been known by the out queer people
of generations past. Large parts of the US government are, on a federal, state,
and local level, fighting hard to reduce our liberties as members of the LGBT
community, and the damage being done is undeniable. From the place of privilege
that many of us, myself included, find ourselves in, it can be easy to forget
that countless queer people are living day-to-day, facing homelessness,
poverty, starvation, constant and active threats…the struggle is absolutely
real, particularly for the Black people and POC that make up the most
significant parts of our communities. But the tide is turning, and legitimate
positive change is being made on a societal level; bigotry is increasingly
difficult in a world wherein people are personally familiar and supportive of
queer people and the LGBT community. This is the role that music and other
forms of art and media can play in our liberation.
Photo by Sheri Furneaux
What has been your proudest moment performing music or as a
musician in general?
That’s definitely the toughest
question for me out of all of these. For me, my musical career has felt and
continues to feel like a never ending quest of growth and creative output;
proud moments come and go, good performances are followed by bad performances
are followed by great performances. Playing to crowds of a thousand or more,
going on national tours, these are all definitely accomplishments I’m proud of,
but I think my favorite moments in my musical life have been found while
teaching. Teaching music and having the chance to feel like I’m helping people
better understand music, even themselves, is possibly one of the most cathartic
things I get to experience. Is it super corny? Oh most definitely.
What advice would you give to a queer woman thinking about
starting a band or learning an instrument?
Photo by Sheri Furneaux
Pick something up, anything
that speaks to you. Block out naysayers, build your support network. Find your
home, your family, and your practice space. Once you’ve got that, all you need
to do is practice, and to build your relationships. The best thing about being
queer, about being a woman, even in these tough times, is plain and simple: you
have every reason to be friends, partners, bandmates, and family with your
sisters. We can build, but only with each other; there’s nothing that will help
you more than reaching out to the people around you, building relationships,
and giving yourself to the art you love, no matter what form it takes. The
first, most difficult step is allowing yourself to love something without
shame. Once you’ve got that love, nothing can stop you.
Are there any other current or former bands or solo artists
you would like to see featured by QWIMB?
Oh for sure; right off the
bat, y’all should contact Dez Decarlo and Brandie Blaze, and the bands WIMP and
Ansonia! They’re lovely people and performers all around, and they most
certainly deserve the attention. There’s a whole lot of amazing and talented
queer women in Boston; people with real roots in the scene, like Dez for
example, act as an inspiration to many of us. There may not appear to be a
scene packed to the brim with queer women, but there are so many of us slowly
rising to the surface. I wouldn’t be too surprised to see things blow up in the
next year or two. If you’re at all concerned about finding great queer artists,
I can confidently say, you’ve got nothing to worry about~
Photo by Echo Harris
For more on Fen, read Fen’s Interview with Boston Hassle
FEN’s band, Pregnancy Mask has a new album coming out soon! Buy the album on Bandcamp! You can find the Pregnancy Mask Bandcamp at the following link here: https://pregnancymask.bandcamp.com/
Comprised of four vivacious, accomplished women, this dynamic and passionate band explores the musical textures of upbeat hard rock, emotional folk rock, and intricate progressive rock, creating the fresh sound that is Flight of Fire. Highly influenced by classic rock artists such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, Rush, Heart and The Who, as well as modern rockers like Halestorm, Paramore, The Foo Fighters and Evanescence, Flight of Fire has varied inspiration contributing to their unique sound – rooted in time-tested rock with a fresh, modern flavor. Equipped with a dynamic lead vocalist, belting beautiful melodies with power and passion; identical twin sisters creating a harmony of electrifying guitar leads and gritty bass grooves; and a woman of mind-blowing rhythmic inspiration keeping the pocket tight, Flight of Fire is a force to be reckoned with. They have opened for Bon Jovi, The J. Giles Band, The Michael Allman Band, Fitz & The Tantrums, The Strumbellas, Joywave, Alestorm and Lita Ford. Their awards include: Winners of Limelight Magazine’s “Opening Act Contest” 2016, Winners of Radio 92.9 Earthfest Battle of the Bands 2016, Winner of Limelight Magazine Music Awards’ “Band of the Year” 2016, New England Music Awards’ “Last Band Standing” Boston Finalists 2015, Hard Rock Rising 2015 Boston City-Wide Champions and Winners of the 2013 Fox Rocks Bon Jovi Contest to Open For Bon Jovi At Ford Field, Detroit.
QWIMB sent Flight of Fire some questions about Boston and Queerness and here’s what they had to say:
What brought you to Boston?
Our lead singer, Maverick, and our guitarist and bassist, Tanya and Tia respectively, moved to Boston in 2009 to attend Berklee College of Music. Our drummer, Kat, is from Dracut, MA
Have you experienced a strong scene for Queer women in the city in terms of music/performers etc?
We’ve been inspired by so many of the amazing queer organizations in Boston! We’ve been involved with the Dyke March, both in their fundraisers and at the Dyke March itself, and our good friends Unstraight and Mad Femme Pride put on the badass Big Queer Show, which is always a great community of people!
Do you have any sense of a history of a Queer scene in the city?
We’re relatively new to the scene, so we can’t speak to Boston’s queer history as well as others could, but as newbies, we definitely feel that there’s been a strong queer musical community here for a while. We love volunteering for the Ladies Rock Camp Boston (& Girls Rock Campaign Boston), which, while not an exclusively queer movement, is certainly a feminist, empowering org that has been inspiring women to break barriers and make noise!
Flight of Fire
What made you decide to join a band?
We’ve been committed to music since we were little, writing songs, studying and performing as much as we could, which brought us eventually to Berklee! Once we were there, we shared a dream of forming an all-female rock band, and Flight of Fire was born.
Are there any artists that you look up to or who have inspired your own music?
We have been greatly inspired by bands such as Led Zeppelin, Rush and Heart in terms of their instrumental/musical prowess and variety. Lzzy Hale from Halestorm inspires us with her leadership skills as a woman in the modern rock industry.
Do think things are getting better for Queer performers or are there still barriers to overcome?
Both are true! Boston is one of the best places in the country to be a provocative person, and female queer musicians are breaking barriers just by being themselves! That being said, as an all-female band, we’ve received our share of persecution, from casual condescension and pigeonholing to outward harassment. There’s still hard work to be done.
What has been your proudest moment as a member of a band or as a musician in general?
A couple years back, we won a contest to open for Bon Jovi at Ford Field Stadium in Detroit, and that experience was one of the proudest and most motivating opportunities we’ve had!
What advice would you give to a woman thinking about starting a band or learning an instrument?
Do it! Don’t worry about being great, or even good. Just follow your inspiration. Don’t filter yourself too much – as women, especially queer women, we’re socialized to hold ourselves back every second of every day! Music and performance is about throwing off the status quo and disregarding anything that gets in the way of expressing your most powerful self.
Are there any other current or former bands or solo artists you would like to see featured by QWIMB?
Carissa Johnson, Unstraight, Viva Gina
Flight of Fire recently released their first music video!
Call Me Doxy is an angsty, feminist interpretation of classical motifs in a Cabaret coated, rock n’ roll context. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Call Me Doxy may be better described as the musical equivalent of an unlaced corset, or a cacophonously sultry orchestra of ne’er-do-wells. Prompted to action by misogynists everywhere, Call Me Doxy often explores (and dispels) the concepts of gender roles, sexuality, and empowerment with the combined musical forces of five unlikely partners in crime.
What brought you to Boston?
Initially, college. But good friends, good music, and the warmth of the Boston community have kept us (Call Me Doxy) here.
Have you experienced a strong scene for queer women in the city in terms of music/performers etc?
Yes, to a certain extent. Most people in Boston are incredibly welcoming and tolerant. That being said, I don’t personally feel like I have enough of an awareness of/connection with other queer musicians. I would like that to change. Our band has been playing together for a little over a year at this point, but we rarely play shows with fellow members of the queer community. We would love to play a stronger role in advocating for the freedom to express sexuality and gender in less binary ways: it’s a huge part of why we make the music we make.
What made you decide to start performing?
We share the same ideals and the same message: people are people. All of us have been pigeon-holed at one time or another because of our gender or sexuality. All of us (regardless of whether or not we all identify as queer) want to advocate for social change, feminism, and a heightened awareness of the way bigotry has crept into cultural normalcy (and how to stop that.) And it just so happens that all of us wanted to communicate this through classically influenced, cabaret-rock music.
What has been your proudest moment as a band?
Honestly, every moment we play together is the proudest moment. We rehearse twice a week, we play at least once a month, and yet the novelty of being able to share space with each other has yet to wear off. Just being in the same room as them makes my heart feel all warm and fuzzy, it’s pretty gross.
What advice would you give to a queer woman thinking about starting a band or learning an instrument?
Do it. If you have the slightest inkling to do it, DO IT. Music should be music, regardless of your gender or sexuality. So do it. Worst case scenario, you’re learning something new. That’s a pretty innocuous worst case scenario.
It is not often that one gets to sit down and talk with an icon of the Women’s Movement, but I had that opportunity last week during my interview with Marcia Deihl. Marcia has been a fixture in the women’s movement in Boston since the late 1960s. It is hard to visualize a time with no women’s centers or GLBT rights. Deihl was part of a generation that gave these and many other things that we often take for granted. This was a time when the words “lesbian” and “feminist” were used with pride and often met with significant cultural resistance. She was at the forefront of the movement that not only normalized these terms, but helped define them. The word “queer” was used at that time to denote those belonging to the counter culture as well as to describe G&L peoples. It later expanded to include LGBT. The movement in support of queer women began as a lesbian feminist movement and has expanded to include a broader spectrum of folks in the last 2o years. In any event, a view of the lesbian feminists of the 1970s would show Marcia Deihl at the forefront.
marciadeihl.com
Marcia Deihl has been committed to activism since she came to Boston in the late 1960s to attend BU as a music major. She is a classically trained harpsichord player, but she felt boxed in by the traditional and elitist nature of her training. This led Marcia to pursue more radical alternatives, which she found in the Goddard School of Vermont. The school was offering feminist music courses in Cambridge, MA, influenced by the grassroots nature of the folk movement of the 60s and 70s. Marcia earned a Master’s Degree at the Goddard School in Feminism and Folklore. The school was also offering accredited Master’s programs in film making, left wing organizing, and children in the revolution. This was a time when much of academia was not offering courses on women’s studies or radicalism and interested parties had to find places to educate themselves. It was only through the hard work and dedication of these activists did the larger academic community finally catch on to the need for an exploration of women’s history, popular culture, race and gender studies, and many other areas.
c. www.marciadeihl.com
In Cambridge in the 1970s, there were Lesbian Feminist Music Collectives and women’s bars within which to showcase their talents. Bars like the Marquee in Cambridge, Sneakers in Somerville, and Somewhere Else in Boston. Imagine having a bar in the city exclusively dedicated to serving gay women? Boston has not had a women’s bar in over two decades. There would have been a ready -made venue for all of the bands QWIMB features. Women would not have to wait for their one night a month at male establishments and could have Monday-Sunday to plan events!
www.marciadeihl.com
It was in this atmosphere that Marcia founded her band the New Harmony Sisterhood Band. Marcia’s website, www.marciadeihl.com showcases the band history as well as the history of other women’s groups during this time. Her Music in History workshop on the lesbian feminist movement is “Still Aint Satisfied.” She also has a program on gender and the representation of women passing as men throughout history entitled “She Dressed Herself in Sailor’s Clothes.” These workshops are the best place to start an understanding of the history of queer women in music since the 1970s. Please look forward to more features on Deihl and her experiences in the near future.
Unstraight formed through a blaze of social media and dyke marches and friends of friends. Their music, simultaneously introspective and ringing with clarity, beckons you to connect and wills you to ponder the tenuous nature of relationships and all that you want from life. Unstraight coaxes the wishes out of your imagination and channels them into instruments and amplifiers, pouring sound into your ears until you’re moving your body not knowing why.
Jen on drums, Emily on bass, Katie on guitar, Lizzy on synth, and Madeleine on vocals: together they push the boundaries of alternative rock to the edges, with intertwining ribbons of electronic, punk, and garage. “Clarity” owns the first love song lyrics that Madeleine ever wrote, which pull at you, leaving you wanting more. “Not Close Enough” and “Show Me” tangle with hidden desires, and “Make Up Your Mind” simply wishes certain people would just make up their damn minds and expresses that through a variety of time signatures. And “Words to Seduce You,” well, music is going to save your soul and this song knows it.
The meaning of the band’s name is two-fold; one is blatantly queer and the other that Unstraight does not walk the common path. Walk with them–they already love you for it.
Unstraight is all women, all queer, and all you ever wanted. (bio courtesy the band)
Q&A WITH QWIMB
What brought you to Boston?
Madeleine: I came here for grad school in psych and stayed to pursue music, which is what I’m actually supposed to be doing with my life! Emily came for work as well I believe (she is a post-doc in math at Harvard), and Lizzy and Katie grew up in this general area. Jen has lived all over the country and finally found a home in the Boston area, where two of her siblings also live.
Have you experienced a strong scene for queer women in the city in terms of music/performers etc?
Madeleine: When I first moved to Boston and right up until I formed Unstraight, I was in the punk rock band The Furiousity. In that band I had my first taste of what a sense of community in the music scene could be like. When I put together Unstraight, having had that experience I actively sought out a queer music community. While it does exist in some ways it could always be stronger and more present. That is part of the reason that I put on the Big Queer Show (next one: June 6th—Pride Kickoff Party!) collaborating with Mad Femme Pride; I want there to be events in Boston (and beyond?) where the focus is queer music and musicians.
Do you have any sense of a history of a queer scene here or is the past a faded memory?
Madeleine: I’ve only been in Boston about 6 years and was just fully coming out when I arrived, so I’m not sure I’m qualified to answer this question. However, I’ve found a really fantastic network of musicians, queers, artists, performers, queer organizations, and other awesome queer people and allies since I’ve been here and I think they and the events they are involved in really make the queer scene what it is.
Beyond dance nights, like many of Dyke Night’s events, Queeroke, and Zuesdays which I love and are absolutely necessary and appreciated, I think there is a need for other queer spaces and performances which many large events like Big Queer Show, The Femme Show, Genrequeer, Traniwreck, and smaller events like book clubs and discussion groups and craft nights try to fill. As far as history goes, event organizers of the past and present have one very formidable enemy: the couch. Come out and do things, queers and friends!
What made you decide to join a band?
Madeleine: I didn’t just want to join a band; I wanted to make one. I wanted to find musicians who could help me take the music that is in my mind and heart and release it to the rest of the world. I wanted my bandmates to be dedicated, passionate, honest and forthright, and more talented than me. And queer. I basically wanted the (nearly) impossible and got it, and I think anyone can, really, with perseverance.
I’m really grateful to now have a talented platonic musicwife in Katie, who basically has the same music brain as me. We write songs collaboratively and we just both kind of know when our parts (and sometimes when the other person’s parts) are right. We agree 98% of the time, and it’s kind of magical. Jen, Emily, and our new synth player, Lizzy, also seem to really understand the music in a way that I’m continuously amazed at; we give feedback openly, but so much of it seems to be instinctive. I’m lucky. Really lucky.
Katie: I was extremely impressed and inspired when I first heard Madeleine sing. As the lead singer of her previous band The Furiousity, I immediately noticed her talent, technical ability, and the pure quality of her voice—how it stands out and shines.
Perhaps love at first note?
We both spoke about how we are both classically trained and enjoy the opera. I think I asked her “Want to jam sometime?” and she invited me on her conquest to form an all-women all-queer band. Best decision ever.
We began writing music together and we’ve been creating some of my absolute favorite music in existence. Yeah it’s pretty awesome to be a member in one of your favorite bands! Jen, Emily and Lizzy are all such incredible musicians with improvisational skills and natural instincts, so everything just flows nicely. Madeleine continues to impress and inspire me with her beautifully crafted vocal melodies. I am beyond blessed to make music with all of these lovely ladies.
Jen: This is the second “lesbian” or queer band I was “recruited” into. This one, by Madeleine, who knew an acquaintance of mine, who had heard me play drums with the former band. I knew Katie beforehand, but I only knew of her impressive DJ skills – not that she was also a phenomenal guitarist who pulls Santana-esque riffs out of thin air, noodles Nintendo worthy segues and writes songs that Tool would be honored to perform, due to multiple, rapid-fire time signature and tempo changes.
And yet, I have a very hard time answering the questions “Who do you sound like? What is your style?” The first thing I noticed about Madeleine (besides her Harajuku girls style, for lack of a better term), was her Amy Lee of Evanescence style ethereal vocals which float over our much harder (though still not hardcore) music. And Emily – well, Emily impresses constantly. I call her the “band genius”. I learn new things about Emily all the time, and at this point, I’m no longer shocked, though I am continually impressed. Her skills seem to know no bounds, AND, bonus point, she keeps us on point during practices! Lizzy – let’s just say she fills out the band both with music and personality and I’m happy to announce we have decided to be music-wives. Emily will have to decide if she wants a music wife – we may have to have a wife threesome. When I heard Lizzy’s synth with our music – it was the “Aha!” moment – with eyes bugged out, and screaming “YES!”. The way that we practice, the way that we endeavor to perform, the way that we record – it is with the intent to be as professional as we can be. We mean to be taken seriously, but we are also having a lot of fun doing it!
Are there any artists that you look up to or who have inspired your own music?
Madeleine: For sound influence, I love Sahara Hotnights, Garbage, and Florence and the Machine, among many others. I also really look up to The Shondes, Amanda Palmer, and Melissa Ferrick—they are really making it DIY style and I really admire that.
Katie: I am inspired by many different styles ranging from classical to indie rock to metal to electronic to folk and more. Notable artists for me are Mozart, Tool, Bjork, Arcade Fire, Pantera, Rodrigo y Gabriela, DFRNT, Fleet Foxes, Juana Molina, The XX and Florence and the Machine.
Jen: I’ve never been into names: brands, celebrities or otherwise. But there have been a few artists that really get that sound that tugs at me and compels me to look them up (at different points in my life). I would say Juliette Lewis, MSMR, The White Stripes, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Flyleaf, Bush and Gossip are a short list of bands/musicians that I look up to. I have a lot of respect for any artist that writes his/her own music and sounds great live, though. Shoutout to Kristen Ford and her amazing band, who are writing and performing amazing, original music live right here in the Boston Metro area!
Emily: I’m rarely able to identify an artist I hear on the radio – and this is even if I “know” the song well enough to sing the harmony. When Madeleine recruited me, she included links to music by three artists I’d never heard of. I love it when my bandmates share music with me. I’m learning a lot.
Do you think things are getting better for queer female performers or are there still barriers to overcome?
Madeleine: It’s better, but I feel like I/we live in a sort of bubble here in Boston. There are still many, many barriers to overcome; when I toured with my last band I got kind of sick of hearing “Oh man, you are pretty good for girls.” In this band we are both all women and all queer; double the chances for some sort of disparaging homophobic or sexist comment. I just like to think of it as double the opportunity to really unexpectedly blow someone away and change their minds and hearts, if just a little, in how they feel about queers and women in general.
Are you in any other bands?
Madeleine: No, but if I could quit my day job and do music exclusively I probably would at least have a side project or two. Or perhaps not be so terribly behind on band promotional work!
What has been your proudest moment as a member of a band?
Madeleine: I have had so many proud moments, but I think my next proudest moment will be when we can finally release our EP to the world this fall. Right now we have some great demo tracks, but to finally have a tangible item that people can purchase and hold in their hand, to finally have something I want to send to everyone I’ve ever met and just say—hey LISTEN, that will be my proudest moment yet.
What advice would you give to a woman thinking about starting a band or learning an instrument?
Madeleine: You want to? Start. Learn the instrument that resonates with you. Learn it and study it and love it. Find others who share your passion, they are out there. I volunteer for Ladies Rock Camp Boston for just that reason—women belong in music and queers do too. There is space for everyone; this is not a competition. Go to shows, say hello, meet people, be part of the world you want to be part of. The only thing stopping you is you.
It’s all that you ever dreamed of in a show, and now it has come back as a fabulous kick off party to your Pride week! This show/party will not only start with some friendly Mad Femme Pride-led mixing and mingling, but will follow with four fantastic queer bands, dancing between sets and after the last band until 1 a.m.!
Bio from Facebook: “Menacing, pubesenct, black hearts.”
QWIMB asked the Fur Purse women some questions about life, love, and the pursuit of fur purses and here is what they had to say:
What brought you to Boston and how long have you lived here?
Eve, Claire and Amy were all summoned to planet Earth at different times, but for the same reason: to be in Fur Purse. Eve arrived in Boston first, having appeared to have been born and bred here. Amy showed up in Boston not long after Eve first appeared, and did a bunch of stuff while biding her time. Claire is the one who is still the most jet lagged.
Why did you form Fur Purse, what brought you all together?
Destiny cannot be denied, everybody knows this! Inexorable forces, that’s what. What more can we tell you? Do you really expect us to understand these forces? That is similar to us asking, “Why are you, Tina, so deadpanning-ly funny?”
Do you think there’s a good scene/community in Boston for queer female musicians?
We think it is amazing!! You go queer female musicians!!!
No seriously, even though we don’t believe in labeling ourselves, we know, enjoy, are amazed and are grateful for the INCREDIBLY strong female presence in Boston Indie Rock!!! It gives us strength and courage!
Why do you think it was ordained 1000’s of years ago that the three of us would end up at these very particular coordinates as Fur Purse? If you don’t believe what we are saying is true, then you probably think Ladies Rock Camp is a hoax too.
Fur Purse has Peeps
Have you noticed any trends in the scene, i.e. is it better or worse now than it used to be?
Based on the analysis of the data we each have been transmitting continuously from the BostonMA area back to our source originations, there has a steep increase in people of the non-male persuasion playing instruments, singing and thrusting their pelvises on-stage in clubs and halls around town. Marked increase. Preliminary analysis points to probable cause/influence as likely being an organization, a camp, if you will, that is for ladies who want to rock.
Eve and Claire at The Cantab
Are there any artists who have inspired you musically or personally?
Amy: Cindy Wonderfulis someone who really helped light the way for me on this crazy zoom zoom wheee! Eve sends props to all the great performers, like David Bowie, or Boston’s own Deb Nicholson. Claire says The Haggard broke all the rules and changed her dna forever.
Have you been in other bands before Fur Purse?
Do you BFP? What is BFP? This is an illogical concept.
When and how did you get started playing music?
Amy started on air guitar first, then switched to a material, physical guitar at some point, because it’s louder and therefore sounds better. Claire first started on the sewing machine at her mother’s behest. Once she mastered that sewing machine, her mother said she had “earned the right to hit things really hard”. Eve started singing in her dreams, and continues to this day. Shhhh don’t wake her up.
Claire and Amy at the Milky Way
How did you come up with the name Fur Purse : ) ?
Goddammit! It is not what you and some other people think!! How can we ever get that through to you people! We are going to keep protesting this until you believe us!
No – “Fur Purse” is really just a term for a sort of small-ish container into which people put things, in order to carry them around. Like if you were a trader in the 1850’s on the Oregon Trail you would likely have a fur purse. or maybe if you were a fancy lady in out on the town in the present day. OK?
…I think that’s it. Again, if there’s a question you’d really like to answer feel free to add it on.
Yeah here are some questions I think we should answer:
What is best thing about being in band? #1 Groupies #2 Feelings
What is worst thing about being in band? Feelings
What advice would you give to people who want to start a band? Just do it and don’t look back!
