I’ve written several pieces with titles like “See this band before it’s too late!” or words to that effect. In this case, I can’t say that because, well, it is already too late. Mary’s Blood formally disbanded in the spring of 2022, giving a series of farewell concerts before moving on to new things.
Never heard of Mary's Blood but wow. Such incredible talent. It does my heart good to see young women not only playing hard rock and metal but re-invigorating it. Does us old gals who weren't allowed to do anything 'unfeminine' really proud. Thanks for sharing this!
Thank you for checking it out. This is the tip of the iceberg. My favorite comment on this is "Rock isn't dead, it just moved, and put on a dress. Or a hijab." If you have the time and inclination, check some of these stories out:
Having watched these videos (and thanks for sharing them), I have a whole mixed bag of feelings. Really pleased to see young women playing rock and to see rock living on in different places. I saw some local bands this weekend and rock is really vibrant at the local level. It may be all but dead except for old rockers or tribute bands at the national level, but that isn't stopping people from touring living rooms and small venues around the US.
But it also makes me sad, looking back, how few women who weren't in girl groups or singer-songwriters were accepted into the rock fraternity in the US. I remember lots of boys aspiring to be in bands, and girls just saw that as not even a possibility. We were supposed to watch the boys and admire and desire them -- the "female gaze" -- not want to be in their shoes playing, or even think about trying on an electric guitar or getting a set of drums. (I do know there are exceptions and always welcome learning more about them, like your Sister Rosetta posts.)
So it's great to see girls in other countries throwing off the psychological shackle, because I still don't see it thrown off in this country. (The bands this weekend were all boy players and singers, except for two female vocalists.)
Thank you Ellen for the thoughtful comments. I also have bittersweet feelings about a lot of this. As it turns out, despite being a guy, my Substack and Medium columns have ended up being mostly about women in music. On Medium it's all rock or rock related, but on Substack I've also written about jazz, classical, opera, you name it.
There was a golden moment for women in rock, and it's actually smack-dab in the period you are focusing on. The Pleasure Seekers, Suzie Quatro, The Runaways, Joan Jett, Chrissie Hynde, the Wilson Sisters....and many more. I've written about many of them, and I would encourage you to write about them from your own perspective, since you are already deep into that period of history.
Just to be clear: I have been told I'm the only writer covering this angle on Substack. I don't claim any ownership over it--quite the contrary. I feel alone, and would love to have comrades in arms getting the word out about the early female guitar heroes, as well as the new generation of metal chicks from other parts of the world, and the women breaking into domains like production and engineering that were reserved for men. It's become a sort of mission for me, so I'll never paywall my substack. I just want more people to fall in love with these musicians, and I think when people actually listen, that's exactly what happens.
I'm happy to be your sherpa if you decide to give it a try.
Oh: What did you think of Voice of Baceprot? I've seen them live and it's quite a moving experience.
I love "God, Allow Me (Please) to Play Music" and want to listen to more when I have time. Indonesia has a special place in my heart because I did some work there and the Indonesians were so warm and welcoming and fun and wonderful sense of humor.
It's great to know that you're the only writer covering this and that you're happy to give me some guidance on artists. I'm in the process of figuring out how much time I have to give to substack and what I want to focus on. I didn't do my homework and didn't realize how many music stacks there are. So I'll be back in touch when I get my proverbial act in gear.
Btw, I do want to support women musicians, but men like you doing so actually gives them a lot of cred. Rightly or wrongly, there can be a belief that 'it's a woman thing.' So I'm very glad you're doing so.
Ha Ha! I did zero research on the world of substack and have been anything but systematic. I just started posting stuff. I get your point about the "cred" but there is a flip side to it. I have gotten heat from (some) women for daring to talk about the sexual politics of the music industry. Apparently men are not allowed to opine on such matters, no matter how pro-woman our views are....
I will certainly read them all as soon as I get the chance and give you any thoughts I have. Thanks for subscribing, happy to have your thoughts as well.
Never heard of Mary's Blood but wow. Such incredible talent. It does my heart good to see young women not only playing hard rock and metal but re-invigorating it. Does us old gals who weren't allowed to do anything 'unfeminine' really proud. Thanks for sharing this!
I just subscribed to Rock 'n' Roll with Me. I love some of the topics right off the bat. Looking forward to digging in.
Thank you for checking it out. This is the tip of the iceberg. My favorite comment on this is "Rock isn't dead, it just moved, and put on a dress. Or a hijab." If you have the time and inclination, check some of these stories out:
https://zapatosjam.substack.com/p/international-womens-week-2023
https://zapatosjam.substack.com/p/international-womens-week-2
https://zapatosjam.substack.com/p/not-just-another-silly-love-song
https://zapatosjam.substack.com/p/is-the-best-rock-group-of-our-time-22-07-14
https://zapatosjam.substack.com/p/the-warning-22-01-07
And if you are interested in a little history of women and the origins of rock, here's a place to start:
https://zapatosjam.substack.com/p/sister-rosetta-tharpe-part-1
Would love your thoughts on any of this.
Having watched these videos (and thanks for sharing them), I have a whole mixed bag of feelings. Really pleased to see young women playing rock and to see rock living on in different places. I saw some local bands this weekend and rock is really vibrant at the local level. It may be all but dead except for old rockers or tribute bands at the national level, but that isn't stopping people from touring living rooms and small venues around the US.
But it also makes me sad, looking back, how few women who weren't in girl groups or singer-songwriters were accepted into the rock fraternity in the US. I remember lots of boys aspiring to be in bands, and girls just saw that as not even a possibility. We were supposed to watch the boys and admire and desire them -- the "female gaze" -- not want to be in their shoes playing, or even think about trying on an electric guitar or getting a set of drums. (I do know there are exceptions and always welcome learning more about them, like your Sister Rosetta posts.)
So it's great to see girls in other countries throwing off the psychological shackle, because I still don't see it thrown off in this country. (The bands this weekend were all boy players and singers, except for two female vocalists.)
Thank you Ellen for the thoughtful comments. I also have bittersweet feelings about a lot of this. As it turns out, despite being a guy, my Substack and Medium columns have ended up being mostly about women in music. On Medium it's all rock or rock related, but on Substack I've also written about jazz, classical, opera, you name it.
There was a golden moment for women in rock, and it's actually smack-dab in the period you are focusing on. The Pleasure Seekers, Suzie Quatro, The Runaways, Joan Jett, Chrissie Hynde, the Wilson Sisters....and many more. I've written about many of them, and I would encourage you to write about them from your own perspective, since you are already deep into that period of history.
Just to be clear: I have been told I'm the only writer covering this angle on Substack. I don't claim any ownership over it--quite the contrary. I feel alone, and would love to have comrades in arms getting the word out about the early female guitar heroes, as well as the new generation of metal chicks from other parts of the world, and the women breaking into domains like production and engineering that were reserved for men. It's become a sort of mission for me, so I'll never paywall my substack. I just want more people to fall in love with these musicians, and I think when people actually listen, that's exactly what happens.
I'm happy to be your sherpa if you decide to give it a try.
Oh: What did you think of Voice of Baceprot? I've seen them live and it's quite a moving experience.
I love "God, Allow Me (Please) to Play Music" and want to listen to more when I have time. Indonesia has a special place in my heart because I did some work there and the Indonesians were so warm and welcoming and fun and wonderful sense of humor.
It's great to know that you're the only writer covering this and that you're happy to give me some guidance on artists. I'm in the process of figuring out how much time I have to give to substack and what I want to focus on. I didn't do my homework and didn't realize how many music stacks there are. So I'll be back in touch when I get my proverbial act in gear.
Btw, I do want to support women musicians, but men like you doing so actually gives them a lot of cred. Rightly or wrongly, there can be a belief that 'it's a woman thing.' So I'm very glad you're doing so.
Ha Ha! I did zero research on the world of substack and have been anything but systematic. I just started posting stuff. I get your point about the "cred" but there is a flip side to it. I have gotten heat from (some) women for daring to talk about the sexual politics of the music industry. Apparently men are not allowed to opine on such matters, no matter how pro-woman our views are....
I will certainly read them all as soon as I get the chance and give you any thoughts I have. Thanks for subscribing, happy to have your thoughts as well.