Why oh why

I’ve been talking about this with my bandmate a bit…


Punk & riot grrrl can be really empowering for people because of that idea that "Yes, you can do it, so go out & do it!" However, musically, what I often see are a lot of cookie-cutter loud & aggressive bands. We should be challenging ourselves to move beyond that if we're serious about writing music.

While there’s this notion that these cultures are supposed to promote freedom, there’s also this idea of what a riot grrrl or punk band is supposed to sound like. At least, that’s how I’ve felt as a musician. If you’re a female musician in punk/DIY culture, it seems like it’s expected that you’re either in this loud, fast & aggressive band or that you’re a girl with an acoustic guitar. I’d like to see more examples of women stepping away from that stereotype. I’d like to see more bands in general try & push themselves further, but a lot of times I think there’s just this knee jerk reaction of what a punk band is supposed to sound like, & personally, I’m pretty tired of seeing of seeing the same band again & again at shows with little variation. I mean, it’s ok if you want to do something like that. If you just want to start a band that’s like the bands that you love without going for something incredibly original, I think that’s fine & you should have fun! But we should also be trying to create an environment that encourages people to try new things (& listen to new things!) & push themselves creatively.

I love the message of punk & riot grrrl that anyone can go out & start a band & play music. However, I also feel that creativity can be stifled. We should be challenging ourselves to really think about the music we’re writing. I don’t think technical proficiency is everything (I personally want to improve at my instruments, but you don’t have to be a virtuoso to create incredible music), but writing music, how we conceptualize it - it’s much more important to focus on that. I think it’s important to promote the idea that a girl realizing that she can play music & be in a band doesn’t mean she’s going to be playing a specific type of music or have a certain sound. We need to move beyond that in order to grow. Otherwise, things just get stale real quickly.