Looking through my tagged photos when suddenly
Bibio’s garden recording set-up (source)
can we talk about how shitty it is to be a girl in music for a second?
i’m pretty sure everyone’s heard how pissed off i get when i’m assumed to be “the merch girl” instead of part of the band (which, as derrick pointed out, probably has less to do with sexism and more to do with the fact that i was standing behind the merch). that could also be a simple misunderstanding and is honestly the least of my worries, although i’m sure i’m not the only one who’s gotten pissed off about that.
here’s what really, really angers me:
- belittling of female musicians
- assumed lack of talent because of physical appearance
- disgusting comments from men
i’ve heard countless horror stories of women being told how to play their instruments by a sound guy. i guess most people realize they probably can’t play the cello, so i haven’t gotten any of that. but i have had people touch my equipment while we were line checking and break it instead of asking me to fix it myself. i don’t understand why it’s so hard to understand that a person in a band probably knows how his/her/their equipment works, regardless of gender identity. i will also never forget the first time i ever saw tigers jaw and heard someone say “oh, well, [brianna’s] probably only in the band because she’s fucking one of the guys.” of course it couldn’t be the fact that she is a talented musician and songwriter. no, not at all.
another thing (that applies to all genres of music, basically - even classical) is that people tend to assume that if a woman is ‘too attractive’ she can’t be a great musician. then, if she is deemed talented enough, then she’s just a ‘really hot bassist’ or whatever.
here’s the thing: it’s totally normal and acceptable to find someone else attractive. that should go without saying. what is unacceptable is to treat that person like a fucking piece of meat. luckily, i’ve only gotten a comment (at least an audible one) once, and that was on finch tour so it was a different audience. i’m flattered when people find me attractive, but that has nothing to do with the quality of my musicianship. also it kind of scares me like it would if someone yelled something at me on the street. even if it’s a “punk kid”.
one last thing: just because there is a girl in a band does not make her “the girl in the band”. she has a name. katie told me that someone asked her if she was the cellist. WE PLAY COMPLETELY DIFFERENT INSTRUMENTS. WE DON’T EVEN LOOK SIMILAR.
so here’s my opinion:
- girls are in bands because they like making music and not to fulfill some kind of weird stereotype/fetish/thing
- mentioning a woman’s looks while describing her ability to make music makes you look like an ignorant dumbass
- don’t shout rude things at women (period)
that’s all.
yes.
(via summertimeinh-ll)
Here’s the event poster (made by Brian Vu) + event page for the Orchid Tapes showcase on coming up on May 18th. Understandably, we’re more excited than words can even convey for this to be happening, and we hope that you can all make it out!
this show is a dream lineup and we’re all beyond stoked for it
All star game
This is gonna be the greatest night of my life, yours too maybe.
Most of them were recorded in my old apartment using kitchen appliances, pieces of metal left over from a project for school and old broken drums, except for two layers of drums that were taken from Youtube videos. The excerpt at the beginning is my friend Mat Cothran leaving a message on another friends answering machine.
this picture is incredible. i got people in boston, i hope ya’ll are okay. it’s a senseless, fucked up world. be as kind as you can to balance out the destruction.
Michelle Yoon took this.
Warren Hildebrand, owner of Mardi Gras Records.
Yes, there is another Warren Hildebrand living in New Orleans who runs a record label and I won’t rest until he and everything he loves is destroyed.
