Mother Music Festival

Mother Music Festival

May 20-22, 2010

London

Wet Dog, Molly Nilsson, Normal Love, Iori's Eyes, Maria and the Mirrors, Mary and the Baby Cheeses, Melissa Castagnetto and Beatrice Dillion, The Konki Duet, Pens, Phoebe Jean and Kirikoo Des, Sonja Cvitkovic, Vera November, Kelli Rudick and Tourrists: Sherelana Ostano Ono Vonobitch and Meltifisio Chavez Chicoma.

Tickets

http://motherfestival.com/

And if you're like me and not in London, then just spend a little time checking out these bands.  I've written about a few of them before like PENS, Maria and the Mirrors and Wet Dog.  But check em out for yourself. Okay?

        


               

Interview with An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump

I am SO excited about these three grrrls from London. So I asked them a few questions, before they set out to release their first EP, Buy a Life, which features the songs Silent Hour, Smear and Only in Death.  The EP will be available on vinyl at Rough Trade stores on 11/23, worldwide on itunes 11/30 and worldwide on vinyl 12/7. I guess I'll have to wait until December to get my hands on a copy!  You can pre-order it from Rough Trade here.

Can you tell me a little bit about the herstory of your band?

D-Bird: We met in 2007 but formed the band April 2008 after a random jam session. We did our first gig one week after forming and have been on the road ever since .

X-Bird: It all started during a jam session last year. I had never picked up a bass or drummed before but I just picked up the instruments and was just free with it. If you have the ideas, do what you can to make that idea come to life! We just let ourselves go…


How do you think you are perceived, being in an all girl band?


D-Bird:  To be honest, I forget that we are girls until people mention it. I've gone through my whole life thinking I can do anything I want if I put my mind to it. I've never let my race or sex be an invisible obstacle to anything. I go for the jugular everytime and get what I want through sheer knowledge, hard work and talent. No one can steal those things away from you.

X-Bird: People tend to always focus on our gender, or our fringes. We can grow out our fringes but growing a penis is a lot harder. Our gender shouldn’t really be regarded as something that makes us stand out and I don’t think it is, what stands out first and foremost is the music we create. The fact that we are women is purely biological nothing more, nothing less.

C-Bird: Our sexuality shouldn’t really be an issue. We are simply people who happened to be women making music.


What's the scene like in London?

D-Bird:  Kind of weird at the moment. The whole 'darkwave' scene that NME were predicting never really happened as no one was purposely trying to be goth or anything.  There is also a new breed of wannabe-grunge bands emerging east of Shoreditch.  It's pretty exciting as there are so many bands but very, very few are channelling their influences and actually doing anything new and interesting, besides copying their heroes. That's really frustrating to see and be around all the time.  We are pretty much an island to ourselves. We have friends in different bands but we are not part of a set friendship group or scene with just a few certain bands. Everyone in a band is in some kind of clique and it's pretty annoying. I think we're not part of any group because everyone is kind of scared of us!

X-Bird: Coming from the ‘burbs filled me with this drive to one day move to the city with my friends, party every night, form a band, meet interesting people.  To be honest the only thing I’ve achieved out of that list in adulthood is, I’ve formed a band! I did all the other stuff when I was dreaming of moving to the city, sneaking out of the house to go to clubs and gigs in London then even sleeping rough with a few friends in Trafalgar Square until first trains home, all the while telling my parents I was sleeping at a friends house. And it's weird that now once I’m in the city all the time doing gigs, meeting other like minded people, I actually yearn for those moments in suburbia. Don’t get me wrong there are some great moments but sometimes its good to take a breather and not get sucked into too much of the bullshit. You have to keep level headed, no scene will ever make you, you’re the only one who can do that!

C-Bird: The scene in London must seem alluring to some. Coming from outside of London I’ve always wanted to be in the city. That’s where I thought my heart belonged.  It's only when you throw yourself into the midst you realize home isn’t so bad. The scene is bustling though with some cool club nights and interesting bands. You always find your way back in the end.


It seems like there are a lot of interesting women making music in the UK right now, anyone else you think we should know about?

D-Bird:  I really like Veronica Falls, they are 2 girls and 2 guys making really pretty pop songs and sound like one of my favourite bands, The Shop Assistants. I really like LA FOURS, who is a Canadian friend of mine whose moved to London and makes weird and wonderful music on her tape deck.

X-Bird: We saw Veronica Falls play Nail The Cross recently and they were really good! And as D-Bird mentioned, LA FOURS is wonderful. She makes some really interesting and beautiful music.

C-Bird: I’ve always liked Theoretical Girl and LA FOURS who seems to be pushing the boundaries.


Who are some of your female musical influences?

D-Bird:  My all-time favourite woman in music is the massively underrated and understated Hope Sandoval from Mazzy Star. I'm going to see her play in Berlin next week for my birthday. I also love Lydia Lunch who we've played with a few times and is a good friend of ours, PJ Harvey, Kim Deal, Tanya Donnelly, Kim Gordon and Patti Smith.

X-Bird: I think I’ve said this a number of times now in interviews but I am really inspired by Tina Turner, especially during her Ike and Tina era. Now, there’s this camp quality about her but that woman is fierce. I’ve always been drawn to the Amazonian aspects of female role models, I think it's pretty predictable to say women of this nature are strong as usually this assumption is based purely on the image. Just because a woman can growl doesn’t mean she can bite, but it’s the hope that these women are strong on and off stage that really inspires me. In that respect I suppose I live in that constant hope that I can be that woman on and off stage too.

C-Bird: The Slits have to be one of the best groups around. Their sound is so unique and inspiring. I saw them play a couple of times. Ari Up really knows how to entertain and involve the audience. Like X-Bird, I’ve always found Tina Turner an inspiring figure. Not only with her powerful voice but also with her inner strength.


Who are some of the best bands you've played with so far?  Who would you love to play with?

D-Bird: My favourite band ever is Selfish Cunt who we've luckily played with quite a few times. They are the best band of the century and I hope they go triple platinum and become the biggest band ever! It was an honour to support Teenage Jesus and the Jerks at their only London show and last ever show earlier this year. I also really like Hatcham Social and Male Bonding, they are both very very good bands.


X-Bird: I’ve really enjoyed playing with Selfish Cunt, I remember seeing them first play 6 or 7 years ago when it was just Patrick on guitar and Martin on vocals.  It was the most intense show I’ve ever been to and ever since I’ve been hooked! I loved playing with Lydia Lunch, that woman is an inspiration. And I would love to one day play with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, I’ve been a fan for years since I bought their first EP. For a while ‘Bang’ was played on a well known radio station in the UK without the bit where Karen O sings, ‘As a fuck son, you suck’ bleeped out as they weren’t really sure what she was singing. I thought that was pretty cool.

C-Bird: Definitely playing with Selfsh Cunt has been quite an experience. There are so many bands I wish I could play with. Bikini Kill, The Slits and  The Yeah Yeah Yeahs.


Any plans to come to the states?

D-Bird:  We recorded our album in Chicago with Steve Albini in July 2009 and hopefully we will be back touring for SXSW and some other shows in March 2010.

An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump on Myspace

An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump Blog

       

The Voodoo Queens

The Voodoo Queens were a London girl group started by Anjali Bhatia in 1992. They released five singles from 1993-1995 as well as Chocolate Revenge and Peel Sessions in 1994.


Magical Anjali on Myspace

Anjali Bhatia's website

The Deptford Beach Babes on Myspace

Ella Guru's website

Voodoo Queens on the Peel sessions, BBC


  

V.V. Brown

V.V. Brown does it all. This singer, songerwriter and producer hails from London and makes some catchy tunes. She wrote the music and plays the instruments on her recent full length release Traveling Like the Light.

http://vvbrown.com/
http://myspace.com/vvbrown
http://vvbrown.blogspot.com/
http://www.kyte.tv/ch/199716-v-v-brown-tv

        

Thee Headcoatees and The Actionettes

The Actionettes are a London based dance troupe, here is a video of them dancing to Thee Headcoatees awesome song Have Love, Will Travel.

Thee Headcoatees line-up was Holly Golightly, Kyra LaRubia, Ludella Black and Bongo Debbie. They released 8 vinyl albums as well as CD's, singles, videos, and have been on compilations. Holly Golightly is featured on The White Stripes' track "It's True That We Love One Another", from 2003's Elephant.

The Raincoats - LP reissue and tour dates

One of my favorite labels, Kill Rock Stars is reissuing The Raincoats first LP. It will be out October 13th and this version will include the song Fairytale in the Supermarket.

Side A
1) Fairytale in the Supermarket
2) No Side To Fall In
3) Adventures Close to Home
4) Off Duty Trip
5) Black and White
6) Lola

Side B
1) The Void
2) Life on the Line
3) You're a Million
4) In Love
5) No Looking

The Raincoats will also be playing some shows in the states, including their very first West Coast dates ever:

October
09 - San Francisco, CA @ Mezzanine - Part Time Punks mini-fest
11 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo - Part Time Punks mini-fest
13 - Portland, OR @ Holocene w/ Panther, Explode Into Colors
16 - New York, NY @ The Knitting Factory

kill rock stars

Rubella Ballet

Formed in London in 1979, Rubella Ballet's original name was "Rubella Babies" but they decided to change it to "something meaningless" instead. At this time Sid and Zillah were 14/15 year olds, with a somewhat revolving line up. According to their website, the band started when "One night at a gig we the audience were told we could use the equipment so Sid played drums and Zillah sang for the first time using any one who wanted to play the guitars, we just made it up as we went along."

At the time Gemma and Dan (children of Vi Sub Versa, Poision Girls lead singer/guitarist) were already in the band Fatal Microbes, who released the well received Violence Grows in 1978. But their lead singer Honey Bane left the band to record with Crass, and then signed as a solo artist with EMI.

So Zillah, Sid, Gemma and Dan (a.k.a. "Pete Fender) began practicing using the Poison Girl's equipment. At the time Gem was 12 and Pete Fender 14. They played their first gig in 1979 with Poison Girls, Crass and Charge. Next thing they knew, they were playing shows almost every night.

In 1981 they released a cassette package called Ballet Bag on the Poison Girls label and sold 3,500 copies, and then did some Peel sessions. Then in 1982 they released the Ballet Dance EP on vinyl. They toured the UK with Death Cult (The Cult.) During this period, Pete Fender left the band a couple of times and was replaced by a few different guitarists.

In 1984 they released the 12" record 42f. They garnered some good press throughout these years, and were offered major record deals, but declined them. In the mid 80's they started their own label, Ubiquitous, and they began releasing their own stuff, including 6 albums and some music videos.

In 1987 they played with the Dead Kennedys, Faith No More and The Mission in the US. But in the 90's they sort of faded down. At this time Zillah and Sid experimented with some techno music under the name Xenophobia and played at raves.

In 1999 they bagan to have gigs offered to them again, especially in the UK, but they continued to have trouble securing a guitarist who could tour. In 2000 they played some big punk festivals. According to their website, in 2006 Sid and Zillah were still looking for some permanent members to tour with them. They also made a film called "She's a Punk Rocker" about women in the early punk scene (more about this to follow)



http://www.myspace.com/rubellaballet
http://www.geocities.com/rubella_ballet/discography.html

Riot Grrrl – the entire series by Everett True

Journalist Everett True (Melody Maker) wrote an interesting piece about his experience in the media and the early Olympia and London riot grrrl scenes.

http://everetttrue.wordpress.com/2009/07/29/riot-grrrl-the-entire-series/#comment-751

Interview with Maya from Death Cigarettes

Can you tell me a little about the history of Death Cigarettes?

Death Cigarettes landed in London about two years ago. After the initial shock of moving form quiet Yorkshire to the city we settled down and got on with making the noise that brought us here.


Your Myspace page says you sound like "none of your influences." Who are some of your influences?

Patti Smith had a big impact on me from the first time I heard her. But as a band we all have quite different influences so I don't even know how relevant my answer would be to this one. I am more influenced by an outlook or an energy than bands or songs I think. So much influences what goes into a song, the light, the noise of the city, the great bands we see play live, a photograph, everything.


Mya, what is your experience like of being a woman in a band?

I suppose my experience of being in a band is much like the lads' experiences of being in a band, except I sing and they play. I love being in Death Cigarettes, I have a voice and a vote (as it were) but obviously things are slightly different for all of us. I used to feel underestimated by people when they were surprised by my voice or by the way I like to move around a lot, I used to think 'guys get to do this shit all the time why does it shock you that I want to do it too?' I mean, we all want to sing and dance and shout and laugh don't we? It never felt like a big deal to me, I was just responding to the music. More recently in the UK it feels like women are being hailed into the music scene but as you know (from seeing your blog), we were always there, we are just as strong and loud as we always were, maybe we are just easier to find these days? If so, that can only be a good thing.


I see that we can download the single, what are your plans for future releases?

The first single 'Bleed You Dry' is out on iTunes and Amazon etc. And there is a video that goes with the B-side 'If You Take Me Apart' which you can view on our myspace: www.myspace.com/deathcigarettes

70SIX Music put out a limited edition physical run which are available through our website (below). They are rather beautiful, they look like records- even have the grooves and are just what we wanted.

The second single 'Break my Bones' was recorded with Max Dingle (White Lies /Glasvegas ) and is due out in the near future, also on 70SIX Music.

We just spent this weekend shooting the video for it. It was very tiring but great fun.

We are lucky enough to have people around us who enjoy making music and have a DIY ethic so we have already recorded a new set of demo's in a friend's studio which sound great. Hopefully these will be used in the future. And another friend of ours helped design our t-shirts which (along with our cd's) are available from http://www.deathcigarettes.co.uk/


Any plans to play in the states?

We'd love to play the US, the single sold fairly well over there but we haven't been offered any shows - offer us some shows!!



Thanks Maya! For more information on Death Cigarettes check out:

www.myspace.com/deathcigarettes
http://www.deathcigarettes.co.uk/
http://www.deathcigarettes.blogspot.com/