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The Passage of Time: 90s and now.
Many women throughout history have considered themselves to be a reflection of their parents, more specifically their mother. When you grow up around someone, you will find pieces of them seeping into you. We are all nothing but a mosaic of the people we know. This shows when you take a step back and look at how many musicians nowadays have parents who are musicians. This isn’t just the famous ones, the “nepo babies” and industry plants. So many people have picked up music because they watched a parent do it.
All this considered, it just made sense that Flower Bone of Memento Mori would take on after her mother. Augusta Mitchell is the former drummer of the band Eklypse, a group from Nashville active in the 90’s.
This time period was a fascinating one for women in music. The 90’s brought us the riot grrrl movement, which had its own struggles with racism and transphobia. But, it was the first scene that was exclusively for women. You wouldn’t be shut out because you’re a woman like some of the other rock-adjacent scenes had the tendency to do. Hardcore scenes were particularly guilty of this, playing into the macho-man culture that bordered on being unsafe for women to be around. This is still prevalent today; women are often pushed to the back of crowds, and shows consistently lack the presence of women on stage. The music scene as a whole has become more progressive, however there are some constants from the 90’s to now. Flower experiences some of the same misogyny that Augusta did, in different forms and flavors, but it is still there, unchanging from 30 years ago.
The pair is featured in the zine Hell Hath No Fury, but space limitations prevented the full interview from going into print. However, their words are just too valuable not to share.
What drew you to the drums?
Flower: My mom, of course. It was a no-brainer; I’ve always looked up to her. It took a while for me to unlock that facet of myself, but it’s definitely always been there, thanks to her.
Augusta: My first musical memory was seeing the Trinidad and Tobago Steel Band when I was just a toddler. Percussion was just always a part of my world. The drum set felt like an extension of my body.
What was it like to be a young woman entering the punk scene in your era?
F: It wasn’t easy; because I’m a female drummer, I’ve faced extra harassment from men. I’ve really had to fight to make a name for myself separate from my male counterparts. When talking to promoters and people working at the venues, I find that they’ll talk to my male bandmates about everything, including setting up the drums, even though I’m the one who handles all online communication and obviously knows the drum set-up the best. I’ve seen myself portrayed as nothing more than a piece of meat; I’ve had my fair share of sexual comments and people telling me how I can “improve” my appearance, rather than my playing. I’ve been told that I will never be anything more than my looks and that I should give up on trying to be a good drummer and just focus on looking good.
A: I didn’t have any female drummer role models in my world; it was uncharted territory for me. I was always fighting the stereotype that only men played “heavy” drums. I was told not to bring my drums to auditions, and then given kits to play that were missing pieces or duct-taped together and told I didn’t play well because I was “a girl.” I always had to be better than the men just to be taken seriously.
Have you ever told each other stories and realized they were almost identical?
F: Oh definitely, sometimes I feel like I’m living her life 30 years later. I get told the same things she used to hear all the time. I know I’ve got it a little easier than she did, mostly because it’s slightly more common for female drummers now than it was 30 years ago.
A: I think being looked down at because you’re a female playing percussion is, unfortunately, still a timeless and universal theme. I know my daughter has had some of the same experiences that I’ve had, but fortunately not as many. I had to fight for my right to audition for my high school band, for example, and my daughter did not.
Do/Did you feel like you had to prove yourself more than male musicians?
F: One hundred percent. I have to try so much harder to earn the respect of anyone, especially people in the music industry. You can see it in the comments of our posts; we get praise from some women, MAYBE a few men, and everything else is negative. I get similar comments on my personal drumming posts, and it just makes me so sick that I’ll turn off my notifications for days on end.
A: Absolutely. I couldn’t ever make a mistake, or it was blamed on being a female. My performance had to be flawless every time, or I was “just a chick drummer.” I couldn’t be at the same level as the male drummers; I always had to be better than them just to be taken seriously at all.
Have your views on feminism/misogyny changed over time?
F: I feel like existing in a male-dominated field has had a severe impact on how I see misogyny. Prior to entering the music world, I didn’t see or experience it nearly as much as I do now. I’ve definitely experienced my fair share of bad experiences, and it’s just strengthened my beliefs.
A: Performing recently, I was pleasantly surprised to be taken seriously by the male drummers. I think male musicians give women more of a fair chance these days than they did when I was my daughter’s age. Yes, things aren’t perfect, but I think things have definitely changed for the better since I was my daughter’s age.
What gives you hope for younger women entering punk today?
F: It sounds cliché, but the resilience of the human spirit. If we don’t give up hope of creating a better space for women in punk, things will change, and it will be easier to make it as a woman in music. Things have definitely changed since the ’90s, and if we keep working towards progress, female musicians will eventually be seen as equal to our male counterparts.
A: I think young women today have more of an opportunity to be seen as serious musicians rather than being judged mainly by their gender and appearance. I love to see young women being able to showcase their talent without having to fight to prove themselves as musicians solely because they’re female. It’s an amazing kind of freedom.
You can grab a copy of Hell Hath No Fury here to see more interviews and info about women in the Michigan music scene.
The Woman On The Bill: A conversation with Aubrie Earl of Mind Riot.
89%.
Bands with women are not uncommon. However, when asked in a poll on Michigan Band Directory, 89% of those bands said they have played multiple shows where they were the only women on stage. Bookers often favor male bands, whether consciously or not, and that becomes apparent looking at show fliers and venue calendars. 89% of bands have been “The Woman On The Bill”.
Aubrie Earl, the bassist and vocalist of Mind Riot, is no stranger to this phenomenon. Time and time again, she finds herself being booked with all-male bands. It’s not for a lack of trying- Aubrie is yearning to play with more femme people. Unfortunately, there is an unspoken feeling among some girl bands in the scene, a complicated combination of jealousy, admiration, and fear. There is also the subtle cliquishness, where a select few will stay together and not open up their time to other bands. Interactions are not negative, just awkward. Mind Riot’s new single, It Shows, describes this feeling wrapped up in harmonies and hooks. It touches on feeling out of place among other femmes, and how easy it is to compare yourselves to them.
Michigan Band Directory had the chance to ask Aubrie about the song for the zine “Hell Hath No Fury”, a piece on the women of Michigan’s music scene. This is their conversation.
What was the process of writing “It Shows”?
The writing process of all our songs is very similar: Aedan (the band’s guitarist) brings an instrumental that’s been sitting in his voice memos, and we jam it out that way until I think of lyrics! This one took quite long, because I couldn’t think of what I wanted it to be about, but it came to me in the shower, as usual.
Have you ever felt like you were being pitted against other women in the scene/they were being pitted against you?
Certain male-dominated spaces just come with a “there can only be one” aura surrounding women/femmes.
Do you ever feel like you are falling into that mindset?
I definitely do it to myself a lot of the time because of that aura, and assume other women in the scene must look at me like I’m this gross creature, since they’re all so gorgeous and cool to me. There’s usually only one other femme on a bill with us (if that), so there’s a tendency to feel like we’re competing to be heard/listened to as The Woman On The Bill.
How has this tendency to compare impacted the way you behave around others in the scene?
It’s always been difficult for me to approach other bands at shows, because of my anxiety and feeling like I’m gonna be awkward and embarrass myself before I even get on stage. I’ve always cared deeply about the opinions of femmes in the scene. I want to represent us well, and I want them to feel that I am too.
Is this mostly a subconscious thing, or has there ever been an incident where this was more direct?
I’ve genuinely never had an overtly negative interaction with anyone in the scene, but the worry is always there. I’ll always look at femmes on stage with stars in my eyes, wishing/hoping that I look even half as badass and therefore be hesitant to approach them.
If you’ve ever felt this way, try to remember that the girl who’s putting stars in YOUR eyes may also be nervous to approach you. If we hold out our hands to one another, we can build a stronger community, one with support and joy for one another. Female rage is all the rage, after all.
You can check out “It Shows” everywhere you stream music.
You can also grab a copy of “Hell Hath No Fury” right here on the site.
MI/OH Show and Release Calendar
There is a decent amount of overlap between the music scenes of the Great Lakes states, and despite our sports rivalry, I’ve noticed a significant crossover between Ohio and Michigan. As is such, there is a MI/OH Show and Release Calendar! It was created by @tsouth_mgmt over on Instagram, and now has 5 editors, including myself.
Check out the calendar here, and DM an editor on the form to get yourself added if we missed you.
Pride, Punk, and the Joy of Rebellion
Pride and Punk are movements that go hand in hand- an alliance with deep roots in rebellion and the rejection of societal norms. The first Pride was a riot, with a black transgender woman at the forefront of the movement. I am not exaggerating when I say we owe everything to Marsha P. Johnson.
Punk music was born to an underground movement full of what were considered societal rejects, mothered by genderqueer folks and DIY aesthetics dreamed up by drag queens. A “punk” is defined as someone who was deviant to the standards of society, and at the formation of punk communities, queer people had found their calling inside the bars and basements where shows were happening. After a while, the genre started to evolve, and LGBTQ+ people had created their own branch of punk, Queercore.
Queercore music touched on similar subjects to that of more mainstream punk: sexuality, political rage, and an overwhelming frustration with the expectations placed on our shoulders. But this was a different kind of fury; this one was often laced with fear. The violence LGBTQ+ folks experienced, along with legislation outlawing their existence, set them apart from cisgender and heterosexual individuals. Their rebellion was a different flavor from that of the core punk movement, and you can taste it in the modern punk scenes today.
There will be a bad egg everywhere you go- skinheads exist with neo-Nazi ideas, who have nestled themselves into punk scenes. What they fail to recognize is who opened up the space to begin with. Penny Arcade has been quoted as saying “Losers, freaks, and deviants started this movement, not these control freaks” in the documentary Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution (2017). Another questionable movement lies in certain Riot Grrrl scenes, which were exclusionary of transgender women, although TERFS have started to get pushed out of those scenes. True punks are making it uncomfortable for these radicals to exist, with public shaming and boycotting. Even those not in the community are showing their allyship by being a voice for the silenced, using a platform they are given as a birthright to protect the less fortunate.
To ignore the history of LGBTQ+ folks in punk and music as a whole is to ignore the roots of this movement. Although being queer is more accepted in society today than it was in the past, it is still essential that we uplift LGBTQ+ voices and music. It is more than adding a rainbow flag to your logo or posting pictures of an icon; it is showing up. It’s listening to music, sharing it, going to shows, and paying attention.
Do you want your article on MBD?
Get in touch! I am looking to highlight opinion pieces, articles, and experiences from marginalized folks. Send me your writing pieces so we can see if it’s a good fit!