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Our own Jo teamed up with the incredible Chloe Hepburn to put on this fantastic virtual event, which showcases predominently female and LGBTQ+ musicians and visual artists.

Ten Women Inclusive Bands To Check Out This International Women’s Day.

This list is for those of you who want to discover some more modern, punk/alternative bands with women at the helm! Here are ten of our picks (in no particular order).

1. Meet Me @ The Altar

Formed remotely in 2015 after the girls met online, Edith Johnson (vocals), Téa Campbell (guitar) and Ada Juarez (drums) recently signed to Fueled By Ramen after gaining attention online in 2020. They are teasing new music in follow up to their 2019 EP ‘Bigger Than Me’ and their 2020 singles ‘May The Odds Be In Your Favor’ and ‘Garden’. They offer some much needed representation for black and brown girls in the more mainstream alternative scene and hopefully they will help open the door to more recognition for WOC in these genres.

Spotify

Our favourite track(s): Beyond My Control, Tyranny, Garden, May The Odds Be In Your Favour, Caught In The Middle (Paramore cover).

2. Stand Atlantic

While they have been a band in some form since 2012, Australia’s Stand Atlantic began going by the name in 2014. They’ve gained steady momentum since releasing their debut EP ‘Sidewinder’ in 2017, touring with the likes of New Found Glory and State Champs, quickly making a name for themselves in their own right. Their relatable, down to earth approach to social media has helped garner them a faithful fanbase, along with the stellar debut album ‘Skinny Dipping’ (2018) and sophomore album ‘Pink Elephant’ (2020).

Spotify

Our favourite track(s): Push, Lost My Cool, Hate Me (Sometimes), Drink To Drown, Your Graduation (Modern Baseball cover), Righteous (Juice WRLD cover).

3. Meg & Dia

Sisters Meg (guitar) and Dia (vocals) Frampton have been playing music together since they were children. In 2004, they began writing original music together under the name Meg & Dia. They released their debut acoustic album ‘Our Home Is Gone’ in 2005. They reworked some of these tracks for their album ‘Something Real’, having recruited a full band to fill out their sound. They enjoyed popularity on MySpace, especially with their single ‘Monster’, and consequently played Warped Tour in 2006. Over the years they have explored many genres within their music, combining rock with folk, indie, and most recently pop. After a break in 2012 in which Dia pursued her solo career, she was a contestant on (and almost won) The Voice US. In 2019, the girls reformed to play the final Warped Tour, and released their fifth album ‘happysad’.

Spotify

Our favourite track(s): Monster, Inside My Head, Dreams Like Oceans, The Broken Ones (Dia Frampton solo), Teenagers.

4. Sonic Boom Six

Fronted by Laila Khan (Laila K) and Paul Barnes (Barney Boom) Sonic Boom Six formed in 2002 in Manchester, UK. Blending punk, ska, grime and hip hop with lyrics focusing on social commentary to challenge issues such as racism and sexism. Known for their energetic live shows, the band has a strong underground following, and have played festivals such as 2000 trees and Warped Tour. Their single ‘For The Kids Of The Multiculture’ was featured in the video game ‘The Sims 3′ expansion pack ‘Showtime’.

Spotify

Our favourite track(s): Monkey See Monkey Do, While You Were Sleeping, Meanwhile Back In The Real World, Virus, From the Fire to the Frying Pan.

5. Hot Milk

Another export of Manchester, Hot Milk began releasing music in 2019 with their debut EP ‘Are You Feeling Alive?’. Fronted by Hannah Mee and Jim Shaw, who both share vocal and guitar duties, they don’t want to be confined to any one genre and prefer having the freedom to write whatever they feel like. They have supported the likes of Foo Fighters, as well as playing Download, Slam Dunk and Reading & Leeds festivals. Mee has also spoken openly about her sexuality, and is currently in a relationship with Bonnie of Stand Atlantic.

Spotify

Our favourite track(s): June Gloom, Candy Coated Lie$, Awful Ever After, California’s Burning.

6. The Skints

Formed in 2004 in London, The Skints are a reggae punk (or ‘tropical punk’ as they describe themselves) band. Vocal duties are often traded between multi-instrumentalist Marcia Richards, guitarist Joshua Waters Rudge and drummer Jamie Kyriakides. Marcia will keep audiences guessing what new instrument she might play from song to song. Onstage - on top of vocals - she plays guitar, keyboards, sampler, melodica, flute and alto saxophone. Their fourth studio album ‘Swimming Lessons’ (2019) reached number one on the Billboard reggae chart. The band have played with the likes of You Me At Six, Mayday Parade and NOFX. They have never signed with a major label, prefering one-time licensing with independent labels in order to retain creative control over their music.

Spotify

Our favourite track(s): Just Can’t Take No More, Where Did You Go?, Let’s Stay Together - Live at Electric Brixton (Al Green cover), Learning to Swim.

7. Courage My Love / Softcult

Courage My Love are a Canadian band formed in 2009 by twin sisters Mercedes (vocals, guitar) and Phoenix (drums) Arn-Horn and joined by Brandon Lockwood (bass) in 2013. Early releases were pop punk/alternative rock, but the band has transitioned to a more synthpop sound on later releases. Their EP ‘Becoming’ was nominated for Breakthrough Group of the Year at the JUNO Awards. They later re-released ‘Becoming’ as a full album in 2015. Phoenix self-produced their latest EP ‘Spectra’. During 2020, Mercedes and Phoenix began making music under the side project ‘Softcult’ which has a grungier sound.

Spotify

Our favourite track(s): Kerosene, You Don’t Know How, Stereo, Original, Everybody’s Lonely, Another Bish (Softcult).

8. Mint Green

Mint Green are an indie/punk band from Boston. Founded by frontwoman Ronnica and drummer Daniel, the pair are joined by bassist Tiffany and guitarist Brandon. They released their debut EP ‘Growth’ in 2016 and continue to grow a dedicated fanbase through their live shows and outspoken social media presence.

Spotify

Bandcamp

Our favourite track(s): Take Care, Callie, Changing, Motion Sickness (Phoebe Bridgers cover), Adore You (Harry Styles cover).

9. Pinkshift

Baltimore based Pinkshift began releasing music in 2020 and have quickly gained popularity. Inspired by 90s grunge and 2000s pop punk, they pull from various individual influences and combine them with their shared love of angsty rock. The band consists of Ashrita Kumar (vocals), Paul Vallejo (guitar), Myron Houngbedji (drums) and Erich Weinroth (bass).

Spotify

Our favourite track(s): Rainwalk, Toro, On Thin Ice, i’m gonna tell my therapist on you.

10. Forever Emerald

Forever Emerald are a pop rock band from Los Angeles. The band consists of vocalist Devin Papadol, guitarist Brodie Higgs and bassist Tay Fischer. They released their debut EP ‘Safer Space’ in 2019, and while lockdown may have stopped them from touring, they have continued to provide fans with livestream gigs and teasers from the studio where they’re working on new music.

Spotify

Our favourite track(s): Candy, Safer Space, So Sure.

#iwd2021 #women in rock #women in punk #our picks #women musicians #meet me at the altar #meet me @ the altar #sonic boom six #the skints #forever emerald #stand atlantic #meg & dia #pinkshift #mint green #hot milk #courage my love #softcult #woc in punk #queer women in music

Jo Oliver · Playlist · 43 songs · 4 likes

A small collection of some of our favourite women in bands with pop punk and punk rock vibes for International Women’s Day

Jo Oliver · Playlist · 252 songs · 4 likes

A comprehensive collection of tracks from women across many genres generations in celebration of Women’s History Month.

Jo Oliver · Playlist · 37 songs · 3 likes

Iconic queer women in music to celebrate LGBT History Month!

Boxcar Mavericks and Death Is A Girl drummer Lyns joins Jo to discuss the importance of representation and roles models, being out, gender norms and standing out when you're sitting down (at the back... because you're a drummer... you get it)

Char and Jo discuss the gender bias in the diagnosis of ADHD, parasocial relationships and the impact of having a female music teacher as a role model.

TW: This episode contains discussion of sexual assault and mentions of homophobic slurs.

Jo and Sammi discuss cancel culture, challenging gender expectations and navigating misogynistic subcultures.

Jo was joined by band mate Amy to discuss the gender balance in the band scene, impostor syndrome, internalised misogyny and more.

More Than Muses' Jo spoke with Emily about her experience as a woman working in the male dominated area of sound engineering, being a heavy metal fan, LGBT representation and more.

More Than Muses' Jo is joined by bandmates Char and Amy as they discuss their experiences as women in the music industry.

[This conversation was recorded in May]

Memoirs of a Female Film Composer - Anonymous

I’m a film composer and performing artist now :).

At school there was a male music teacher trying to take advantage of female students and ended up in jail, which nearly put me off music altogether. The teaching was always about male composers works as that is what was on the curriculum. At university there was a male member of staff (now head of dept who during my MA told me he doesn’t watch film or see the point in writing film music) who didn’t take many women composers seriously and the tech side of things in the dept was very male dominated. For my MA course in composing for film and TV there were only 2 women. I wrote first for theatre and in that found an uphill struggle with male sound designers. Again in composing for film at the lower level starting out and more recently being told my track wasn’t suitable for mastering by another artist when the engineer was also insulted and told she didn’t know what she was talking about. (This was truly awful)

On the opposing side of positive progression The women composers forum was formed 2 years ago, now the Europe branch of the Alliance of Women Film Composers and there is positive recognition and a sense of progression in the industry. I think we get more resilient to the nonsensical people the more we discuss our issues together as women composers with a support network, it’s becoming easier to overcome these situations. Our strengths are totally in our networks and numbers. There are also times where you wonder if you were considered for a project or a talk, just for being a woman rather than based what you have achieved, which is tough so I think that sort of virtue signalling by production teams or industry needs a bit of stamping out, but at the same time whilst women are slowly being given a bit more of a platform, there’s definitely room for more progression. Connecting women in industry we also have networks such as Primetime, Glass Elevator, women in film and tv ... era 50/50 just to name a few!

I know that electronic artists and neoclassical world are quite male dominated and women scoring top box office movies it’s like 6% So there’s definite room for change - that was data from 2 years ago I think.

Despite the negative experiences it hasn’t stopped me, but I did also become aware of compromising femininity when I was younger to fit in (with the boys) in the past so it’s also a case of finding yourself and staying true to who you are and want to be, as I think there is more room for that now than ever. Saying that, as artists I’m not sure we ever stop finding ourselves or that urge to progress and keep learning new things.

Womxn in bands are often assumed to be the singer, if they’re granted the luxury of being assumed as part of the band at all.

Even when it is the case that they are the singer, it’s incredibly unprofessional (and just plain rude) not to ask any questions or show any interest towards a specific band member or role. It may be jumping to conclusions to assume this was gender related but it’s hard to imagine a male singer being treated in such a dismissive manner.

We’ve said it before - sound tech yield a lot of power over artists performance quality and it may well be some of them enjoy using that power for their own ego. It’s important to diversify sound jobs, to help counteract the discourteous attitudes exhibited by sound techs like this one.

More Than Muses want to help combat the gender imbalance in music by creating a welcoming environment for those in and entering music spaces. If you would like to get involved with the project, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

You can follow us on Instagram @morethanmusesnetwork

The Glass Ceilings of Music by Naomi Austin

I have tried hard to do a talking head about being a female in the music industry but my thoughts keep flying off in a myriad of directions like fireworks and I can’t string a coherent thought together so I am putting my thoughts on paper. The thing is, I always used to just accept the fact that music was a bit like cooking- women were expected to be, if not good at it, at least mediocre while those men who attempted it elevated it to an art form. In fact, I was always a bit dim when it came to seeing any form of male privilege until my own children and my students started to encounter it.

It was in primary school that I first encountered something that was exclusively for boys. The Benedictine Boys Choir. We were lucky to have an ex choir master from the Vienna Boys Choir living locally and he chose my school to form a Cheltonian version. I was incensed when I discovered that boys were being auditioned for a choir and there wasn’t going to be a girls’ version but I was easily pacified when the wonderful Mr Perris took up my cause and ensured that the very best female singers from the school would be allowed to attend rehearsals to benefit from the training but would not be allowed to sing at the prestigious events that they were invited to sing at. As far as I was concerned, as one of the top three female singers in the school I was sorted, but as I look back I wonder whether it would have been so hard to form a sister choir or even mix us up!

When I reached secondary school I discovered that clubs like choir and recorder group suddenly lost the majority of the boys. I was at a comprehensive and I realise that my experience does not necessarily reflect the experience of those of my colleagues who attended private and public schools, but somehow being good at music made working class boys into sissies. There were, however, a few super cool specimens who managed to carry on with music either because they were also brilliant at sport or because they played either the saxophone or electric guitar. Hats off to those boys who captured everyone’s hearts with their solos but who was the piano accompanist in each case? My O level group actually had more males in it than females and I used to feel in awe of them as the adulation of the majority of teachers in the school told me that they were superior musicians. Interestingly, results day told a different story.

And so to university, where I met many musicians destined for future success. I can’t recall whether there was an even gender balance- to be fair there is not a whole lot that I can recall- but when I sat down and gave myself a couple of minutes to name those who were on the course it felt like it was dominated by males. We had organ scholars in abundance (all male… is there a rule about this?) plus many students who wanted to study composition and electroacoustics which were seen to be very male dominated areas. We were lectured exclusively by males and taught about the male composers of the Western Musical Tradition. There was no module on female composer… nor one on BAME composers but it was 1992! The department secretary was a wonderful lady called Dot- I believe she had a music degree but don’t quote me on that!

The one shining light in this was a postgrad called Gillian. I had met her the year before at Guildford while visiting a friend and she was into truly experimental music. We would get together for New Music Group on Monday evenings at six o’clock and it was at these sessions that the confidence that was knocked by scathing comments from a well known (male) composition lecturer was rebuilt.

Gamelan was my other love at university which was ironic because traditionally females are not allowed to perform on the instruments- they can only dance to the music.

Since then I have had a number of different experiences. I have found my music degree belittled by many (“that’s a shame {she studied music} she was clever wasn’t she!”) yet whenever I have had cause to work alongside a “famous” composer in my role as teacher, it has been a man. I ask myself… do they give out really easy degrees for girls and really difficult ones for men?

I have watched as one of my students, to whom I taught piano and clarinet from the age of six, as she completed her music degree and became a respected composer. This has filled me with enormous pride but I have seen her posts on social media that remind me of the struggle that she has had to have her work accepted in a male dominated profession.

One moment in my career as a teacher that really stands out is when I was consulted about what the music facilities should contain in a new build school. I looked at their proposals for resources and talked to them about the pros and cons of certain layouts, computer hardware and software. I had to raise my voice several times in the meeting as people were not listening to me despite the fact that (as mentioned before) electro acoustics formed part of my degree. They did, however, hang on to every word of the hobby guitarist male English teacher who had been sent along with me. The music department was resourced with top spec macs which the IT guys hated because they kept breaking down, expensive midi enabled Yamaha keyboards that gave no more benefit to students than a £25 midi controller would have done and software that we couldn’t afford to keep up to date. I KNOW that the reason I wasn’t listened to that day was because I was the only female in the room and tech… well that’s bloke stuff isn’t it!

Another enlightening moment was right at the end of my time in school. A supply teacher (male), covering for my absence, went to senior management and said that students were not being taught basic music skills. I was hauled into meetings and quizzed on whether I had taught students to read music and taught the most basic of musical skills – Male non musicians deciding what were essential music skills. A school governor (male from public school) was brought in to audit the music department and without discussing the curriculum decisions that I had made (as a professional teacher and a highly qualified musician) decreed that they were not being taught enough classical music. Instead of allowing me to explain my curriculum decisions I was taken to task in a meeting which had 4 males (non musicians) and me present. I stand by my curriculum decisions because of the percentage of students who have continued into further education and careers in music. This was the point at which I resigned!

I don’t know how much of my experience is the experience of females and how much is prejudice against a subject that people think should be an easy practical option. I do recall one lesson that I was teaching where a science teacher observed me as I explained the physics of sound waves and the use of formants in singing- after that day he never talked down to me quite as much as he had before. I imagine that it is a combination.

I love music and working within the industry. I love teaching students and watching as their skills and creativity move past what I have taught them as they own the music. As I have reflected on this I have realised the many ceilings we are butting out heads against- gender, class, homophobia, racism. I believe it is important to keep examining the terrain and calling out those whose prejudice makes it difficult for all to access a full range of art.

Char spoke to us about forming her band, the importance of female role models and how simply existing as yourself and pursuing your passion can have a huge influence on those wanting to do the same. Char (@dno_char) plays in pop punk band @downnotoutband More Than Muses seeks to create a welcoming environment for those in or entering music spaces to help tackle the gender imbalances and biases in the industry. If you'd like to get involved, don't hesitate to get in touch.

Comments like this, especially these days, are often purposefully ignorant to undermine the person it's directed at. They know full well they're your instruments, but they want to invalidate you and make you doubt yourself in hopes that they will get in your head and prove their preconceptions right if you mess up.

It's important to ignore these negative attitudes as much as possible, as more often than not you cannot change their minds. Simply do your best and don't let them ruin it for you - otherwise they win.

More Than Muses want to create a welcoming environment for womxn in and entering music spaces and help tackle the gender imbalance and biases in music.

Starting a DIY Record Label by Beth of Smash Mouse Records

My name is Beth and I founded a record label called Smash Mouse Records. I also play guitar and do a bit of shouting in a band called BoxCat. I also really like making zines.

Running a DIY label is a bit like shouting about bands into the void and hoping something comes back. It’s really hard work, and feels like nothing will ever come of it, but no one else is going to do it, so you just shrug and do it anyway, and thats pretty much what happened with Smash Mouse Records.

The thing with running a DIY label is that everyone and their dog at one point drunkenly says to their mate ‘I’m gonna run a label’ so with that, a definite challenge with running a label is convincing people that you’re serious and to trust you with their music. You’ve got to be able to answer the questions ‘What can you do for us? And what can you do for us, that we can’t do ourselves?’

I was lucky enough to have my own band, BoxCat, to kick things off with, as well as the encouragement of The Woodsman. We put out a split on vinyl between the two bands and it sold out. Then I wanted to add another band and I was worried about whether people would want to put their music out through an unknown label. But Tom and Andy of WolfPunch contacted me, enthusiastically wanting to release their long-awaited E.P through the label, and that made me feel better about everything.

We then released a BoxCat E.P, which really got me to a degree of confidence about what I was doing. After that came Ignitemares, a second release by The Woodsman and then Fake Friends.

By this point, I had realised that I couldn’t cope with the amount of work that the label needed in order to grow and after hearing one of my bands refer to me personally as smash mouse (which is not what I wanted), I decided that Smash Mouse needed to be a collective effort. So I invited the bands who I’d already released to get involved a little more, and I basically rounded up at least one member from each band in a group chat and everyone now pitches in with things.

We’ve recently added No Murder No Moustache to the group and he has immediately already fit right in, and we have two more bands ready to join when they have their releases ready, among other projects.

So thats the short version of story of Smash Mouse Records. We’re a collective of bands that deserve to be heard. It’s a diverse group, it’s supportive and nurturing, and we try to keep it as open as we can. We have a manifesto which helps us to keep a narrative and a culture of warm Welsh hospitality, and kindness to those that need it.

I think the best advice I can give is to just do things. Fuck anyone that tells you that you can’t because of X, Y and Z. You totally can, you’ve just got to have the nerve to go out and get it. You might experience imposter syndrome, like I have, but sometimes you need to look at how far you’ve come to settle those worries. For me, I had a BA Creative Sound and Music degree and was halfway through a Masters when I started my label, and I STILL felt like I didn’t have the expertise to run a label.

Running a DIY label is not easy by any stretch, if you’re a bit anti-social like I am, audience growth takes a long time. If you’re also worried about spending too much of your own money on it, running a label isn’t for you. It’s a labour of love. It’s hard work for very little in return. I do it to see that bands get heard, that may not get a look-in otherwise.

If you’re feeling like your next step is to start a label, your best bet is to examine your scene, look at what others are doing, learn from them, and think about what you could do differently. If you look at your scene, think about what you can build out of it, what is missing, what do the musicians need? And importantly, talk to people, and ask for help.

You’ve just got to try it. If it succeeds, you’ll have a healthy label that will inspire and encourage people to get creative whilst also getting bands the attention they deserve, and if it fails, at least you’ve gone out and done something, and hey, even if it doesn’t succeed, you never know who you may have inspired along the way.

Smash Mouse Records represent a variety of bands and artists including womxn and those belonging to the LGBTQ+ community. A playlist showcasing their current signings can be heard here and if you are interested in sending your music to the label for consideration, you can contact them via email at [email protected]

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