How Do We Do? The state of Madison women in music (part one)

This is part one of an article by local music writer and photographer Amanda Gaze concerning the state of women in Madison music. Part two will appear tomorrow around noon.

When it comes to local women and local music, 35-year-old performance artist Nicole Gruter provides a point where the past and present intersect. Gruter has had the opportunity as an observer, performer and bartender to note the changes for women in contemporary music since the 1980’s. She recalls counting the money in the till at the famed O’Cayz Coral on New Year’s Eve 2001 when someone told her the bar next door was on fire. She had bartended there from 1994 until the day it burned down; after its demise she followed the owner, Cathy Dethmers, to her new establishment, the successful High Noon Saloon that opened in 2003. Gruter notes it used to be a novelty to see girls in bands but now women grace the stage most evenings at the High Noon.

”I do see far greater numbers of women on stage than ten years ago. Social acceptance and change is a slow process, but it is noticeable. I really believe that people are greatly influenced by their surroundings, so if you are seeing and hearing women perform, you (as a female) are more likely to view that as an option for creative expression. I didn’t see too many women performing hard-core, punk or rock in high school, but right when I got to college the gender-bender bubble was bursting. Bikini Kill, L7, and the Lunachicks had the underground; Sonic Youth and Courtney Love were practically household names. Role models hold an enormous amount of power in our psyche as far as confidence and acceptance is concerned”

For a long time Madison was primarily a boys club, but now most female musicians face the same basic struggles as their male counterparts. Things like good communication surrounding booking gigs can be a struggle, i.e. whether bands will be compensated, who plays when, and running the p.a. are common issues. Twenty local women involved in contemporary popular music shared their thoughts and experiences with me, including, Lisa Hinsman, who, like Gruter has been on the scene for over twelve years. Hinsman senses a different attitude out there since first playing in the 90’s punk band the Quickies that featured two woman and two men.

“When I was in the Quickies, there was this more definite gender thing, like attention to ‘girl bands’ and women bands, being singled out by gender. I know it was supposed to be positive, but I got pretty tired of it, just with the thought of ‘We're a BAND’. Period. Why say we're a band 'with women', like that's amazing in some way? By the time I was in NoahJohn gender became mostly a non-issue in my experience, which is how I like it to be. It's wonderful that there's just a mutual respect and feeling of family locally and that it's a really normal thing for women to be behind the drum kit or comprising whole bands. I like that we're not "women musicians" but rather "musicians". I front a band of all men [Mae Rae] and we have a great musical relationship going, all pretty respectful and equal and fun. We have great personal relationships with each other too, which helps make the whole thing work better. “

Most feel Madison is a good place to try one’s hand creatively. It probably doesn’t hurt that there is a history of activism here as well as a large university; curiosity and growth are nurtured from the academic level through grass roots experimentation. Opportunities to get involved abound-- from open mics at small coffee houses to catching national acts at The Kohl Center. Women not only participate more in rock shows these days they also own some of the most popular clubs such as Dethmer’s High Noon. Gruter endlessly extols the merits of exploring one’s creative bent in this climate.

“I think my experience in music and performance here in Madison has depended on the open-mindedness of people in the scene. Any city is going to have its share of positive, supportive people, but Madison's audience seems to not only tolerate unique acts, it nurtures them. Analyzing the scene specifically as a woman, I've never felt shut down because of my gender. You make what you can of your craft through your attitude, perseverance, talent, and plain old chutzpah, neither because of or in spite of your sex."

Courtney Collins is another local musician who feels positively about the Madison scene. She fronted the former local band Arena Venus and continues with solo and group music projects. Besides music and working full time at the university she also finds time to produce the Chad Vader films with her Wis-Kino friends at Blame Society Productions.

“I spend a lot of time in Minneapolis and have recorded three out of the four CDs I've done (solo and with other bands) there. I have musician friends who live there and I was lucky to have them play on my new CD. The music scene there is similar to Madison (well, to almost any city with a "music scene" I suppose) in that everyone seems to know each other and many people are in 3 or 4 bands at any given time.

I think Madison's very supportive of its female musicians. We're lucky to have music newspapers like Rick's Cafe and Maximum Ink that are devoted to local and regional artists. And newspapers like Isthmus, the Rhythm section in the Capital Times and Wisconsin State Journal, and even the university papers like The Badger Herald and Emmie are very supportive of the local scene. For a moderate-sized city, I think Madison has a decent variety of female musicians - on any given weekend, you can find female jazz, rock, blues, indie, country, lounge, electronic, etc musicians. That's often not the case in smaller cities - just like week-night shows are often non-existent in some towns.”

Seasoned musicians speak highly about their experiences in Madison and don’t see gender as a big issue in their endeavors. Women of all ages report good responses at gigs, but many women raise the issue of merely getting people out to shows in the first place. Some say it’s hard to get 21+ to check out local/new/indie artists/bands as people often stick with what they already know and/or cover bands. Those newer to the scene probe more for answers on the difficulties of achieving one’s version of success as a musician.

Mikelanne Northrup is collaborating with female musicians and music lovers through her new zine the area code and besides offering practical assistance on becoming a musician such as guitar lessons they also write about social issues that may affect females. Some of the topics they investigate include pieces on how the role of females has changed in hardcore since the early 90’s, including issues of body image and “punk rock pornography”; the ways the Internet can influence the scene; and an incident of sexual assault in an activist community. Northrup and artist Jenny Ng are working on a point/counterpoint on the gender debate, i.e. whether it’s wise to even put attention on the issue of gender when struggling to advance as a female artist.

Local Musician Cynthia Burnson, 22, is another of a number of ladies Northrup says is volunteering her expertise in the making of the area code zine. Burnson plays guitar in the popular local band Screamin’ Cyn Cyn and the Pons and has no complaints about her personal musical journey but would like to see the male to female ratio in bands continue to equalize.

“I think the biggest issue surrounding women in bands is getting into them in the first place, not getting respect once you're there. My dream is to see a bunch of girls in shitty bands, just like boys are. I want a crowd to have the same expectations out of a random band with girls as with boys. I want a band with only girls in it not to be referred to as "that all-girl band." And while I think both genders need to work together on this, I have to say I think the ball is in the girls' court. We need to just flood the market so there are so many girls in bands and boys in bands and everybody in bands together that stereotyping isn't so easy and it just doesn't matter what the gender composition of the band is anymore. I love Madison and there are lots of girls in bands here. I don't think it's as bad a sausage party as it is other places, but of course there is always room for improvement.”

Part two appears by clicking here.