By Maxim Tamarov, news editor
It’s Friday night at Jacques Underground and Sam Coren, the guitarist of local band Sleep Crimes, is shredding on her yellow Gibson SG special. But Coren is not an anomaly — she is one of the many talented female musicians to grace the stage at the Yes All Women Boston (YAWB) inaugural rock show.
The event, organized by fellow musician and activist Bonnie Tacheron, was a collaborative music show that aimed to bring together female musicians of Boston and promote their songs in a safe space. A spin-off of the ubiquitous Twitter feed #YesAllWomen earlier this year, YAWB also strives to raise awareness of the misogynistic violence and harassment that women face in everyday life. The grassroots organization was founded by musicians who met at Ladies Rock Club Boston (LRCB). The camp provided room for women to explore their interest in music and form bands and play with other women.
“There’s a lot of discrimination in the music industry,” Bethany Leavy, lead singer of Sleep Crimes, said in an interview before the show. “People didn’t take us seriously [when we started out].”
The show started off with a mingling session. Upon arrival, audience members were handed a name tag sticker with questions such as “preferred pronoun” and “seeking” (which the crowd interpreted as either seeking: drummer, bassist, etc. or seeking: female, male, etc.). Before the rock concert, the crowd discussed potential music projects and potential forms of activism.
“The idea is that there are a lot of women here who are musicians and don’t have their own groups or just want to talk to other feminists,” Tacheron, a Cambridge native and member of female-dominated rock outfit Thrust Club, said.”After [the Isla Vista shootings] happened and it was all over the news, I thought it’s really great that people are talking about [the issues over Twitter and the rest of the internet] — It’d be great if this was happening in real life.”
Among the performers were Violet Pedal, Sacred Hearts, and Atomic Savants. Sleep Crimes — a band composed entirely of Northeastern graduates — closed out the show.
Of the 100 or so people in attendance, the overwhelming majority were female (or not identifying as male). The bands participating were to have at least 50percent female membership to promote the YAWB message: there are plenty of talented female musicians out there; and they want to be heard.
But Leavey said that the band’s music is not necessarily activism-themed.
“We haven’t consciously written anything feminist. We are feminists — sometimes it might come through,” Leavey said. “But it’s not off the table [for future songs to be more specifically feminist].”
She explained it was surprising for male musicians to hear women actually know how to play their instruments. We’ve come a long way since “The Feminine Mystique” but “Female Chauvinist Pigs” still rings true in the music industry.
“We’re collectively making a safe environment to have women meet women and play music. It is kind of a sad truth that women-fronted bands are ‘special’ or ‘unique,’” Coren said.
According to a report by Creative and Cultural Skills, women occupy only 32.2percent of the music industry.PRS for Music show that only 13percent of composers and songwriters are female.
Coren related her musical experiences in high school, when she was effectively shut out of bands because people couldn’t take a female rock musician seriously. However, Leavey added that their experiences in this area have been more positive than other parts of the country.
“The Boston scene has been really supportive. Especially because ofGirls Rock Campaign Boston (GRCB). It’s a week-long program for girls ages eight through 17,” Leavy said.She explained that the premise of GRCB is the same as LRCB but for a younger cohort.
Leavey volunteered at GRCB. She also was among many attendees to have participated in LRCB. Tacheron was inspired by the LRCB when she founded YAWB.Many of the musicians were her friends from the camp.
“We set up anIndieGoGo page. The minimum goal was $500 and people gave that much in under 24 hours,” Tacheron said of the first YAWB event.
She and her co-organizers hope to make many more such shows as well as presentations by speakers and more family-friendly events (this show was 21+). There are also plans for a large music festival for all ages in the YAWB name by this time next year.
“It’s a great opportunity to have women form bands and play shows and show that there’s tons of women in Boston who do this,” Coren said. “It’s not some rarity thing.”
Photo courtesy Madeleine Ashley Blum.
