Rock 'n' Roll Damnation
By B.J.
Lisko
Cleveland
rockabilly band, Lords of the Highway, take the stage to a packed house at the
Beachland Tavern in Cleveland.
Their honky tonk brand of rock 'n' roll, alongside their energetic stage show,
seems to instantly draw the crowd's approval.
Female bassist, Sugar, decked out in a cowboy hat, tank top, mini skirt, and
fishnet stockings, smiles from ear to ear as she thumps, and literally humps
away on her 1942 Kay stand up bass.
As their 40-minute set comes to a roaring close, one bar patron turns casually
to a friend and says, "I wonder if she's a player?"
And on this winter night in Cleveland, the women in rock 'n' roll debate
begins: Can women ever be deemed only as talented musicians, and not judged
first on their appearance?
This debate is one that rages on in barrooms across the region with female
rockers dishing up stories of making it in a world that has been ruled by
testosterone head bangers.
Four different female rockers told stories of male gawkers, press stereotypes,
and surviving in a male-dominated genre.
For Sugar the answer to the question of whether women can be judged for their
musical ability certainly seems to be yes.
"Everybody likes to have something nice to look at; myself
included," she says. "But when it comes down to it, I think people
remember if you rock or not."
For Lords of the Highway people appear to remember as the Lords have
played numerous gigs far and wide to the delight of many greasers, punks,
hillbilly's and the like. But the question still remains: Is sex selling the
Lords of the Highway?
Dennis Bell, Lords of the Highway guitarist, agrees with his four-stringer,
saying at first people might overlook the bands musical ability.
"Once they see her play, the clich้ about women not being able to rock
all falls to the side," he says.
"I think the press tends to focus on the sexuality of a woman in a band,
versus the musicianship," Sugar says. "Some people would say that
any press is good press though, so I don't know if you can truly call it a
disadvantage," she says. "All I know is that I want to talk about my
rig, my style, my influences, the antics, my bass; all the stuff about playing
the music.
"But the press typically isn't too interested in that angle probably
doesn't sell.
"Who really wants to know what kind of strings I use? They want to know
what kind of panties I wear," Sugar says.
With that sort of angle, many women trying to gain credibility in a largely
male dominated profession might put their instruments away for good.
Sugar even admits, "I think there are people out there that just come to
see the outfits, and the bass humping, that aren't really interested in the
music.
"But to be honest they don't really stick around too long. Once they
catch on that they're not going to pick me up, they stop coming."
But what about that guy back at the bar? With the image many women project in
a male dominated genre of music, where alcohol is almost a necessity, the
slobbering drunk babble would seem to almost certainly get on the nerves of
some female rockers.
"What bothers me the most is when people are so drunk that they spit on
you when they're trying to talk," Sugar says. "That bums me out. If
a drunk is being flirty to the point of annoying I'll just walk away."
Most people would agree, alcohol and scantily clad women usually isn't the
best mix for the neighborhood drunk. With sexual discrimination, sexual abuse,
and rape cases nearly always prominent in the news, it's a distinct
possibility fans may get a little too close to female performers.
Drunks beware: Sugar is happy to meet and chat with new people, but not so
sweet she won't do what she must to defend herself.
"The only threatening situation I've been in was actually directed
towards 'Big Candy' my 42 Kay stand up bass," she said. "I was
letting this guy play it after the show, because I always like to encourage
people to try the upright if they show an interest."
"This dude was so drunk and swaying, it looked like he was going to take
a dive with 'Big Candy,'" she continued. "So I tried taking it away
from him and he wouldn't let go, and he also kept trying to take my cowboy
hat, which is the thing that really pisses me off.
"I ended up karate chop kicking him in the stomach. I kind of feel sorry
for the fool that would try to mess with me, cause I don't think they'd come
out on top. "
The bass humping antic, which Sugar says she doesn't think of as a sexual
move, is a stage gimmick that certainly might bring some protest from
feminists and women's groups. According to Sugar, the female response to the
Lords of the Highway show, however, has been overwhelmingly positive.
"Women are my biggest fans," she says. "I get so many women
that come up to me after a show and tell me that they love the power that I
bring to the stage; that it is empowering them. You don't see too many women
do what I do on stage, and they really respond."
The issue can obviously be debated, and is one that really can't be resolved.
Despite drunks, and stereotypes, Sugar still stays very upbeat about her role
in the rock 'n' roll world.
"I appreciate the fans that come out to see the BAND," she says.
"Those are the ones that make it worth it. Sure they appreciate the
outfits and the antics, it's all part of the fun, but it comes down to what we
play as a band people that dig that, are the ones that are our true
fans."
One-hundred twenty miles down the turnpike in Pittsburgh, fans filter into the
31st Street Pub a small rock 'n' roll bar on the steel city's south side.
The Pabst Blue Ribbons are going down extra smooth on this crisp evening, and
"femme-fronted" rockers, the Motorpsychos are supplying the tunes.
Singer Rachel Cassady looks and sounds like the female incarnation of Glen
Danzig, decked out in studded leather pants, tight black shirt, and long black
gloves. She turns toward bassist Amy Bianco for a moment, then sneers at the
crowd who doesn't seem to know whether or not she wants their approval or for
them to cower at her feet.
All the while, guitarist Pam Simmons hammers away on her Les Paul. As she
turns toward drummer Dennis Brown, eyes get very wide at the bar, as her
six-string had been concealing her skirt, which couldn't possibly be any
shorter or tighter, without an indecent exposure incident.
Do the Motorpsychos feel hampered by their good looks? Hardly.
"I'd say I use it to my advantage," says Simmons. "I let the
attention attract people to us and then we hit them with a show that's just as
quality as any great guy band out there.
"Were so focused on our musical product that it's hard to ignore its
power. In my mind we're one package consisting of sight and sound."
"I feel asexual onstage," says vocalist Cassady, who also says that
fans can't look past the bands musical talents. "They can't ignore our
musical aspect."
"I don't try to be sexy onstage," says bassist Bianco. "I rock
out to what I'm playing."
Of the female members of the band, Bianco is probably the most low key in
terms of stage attire. On this night she wears a cutoff T-shirt and black
jeans, as her mop top flails while she head bangs away and thumps on her
four-string.
"Acting like Lita Ford in her 'Kiss me Deadly' video will get you
attention, but it's also supporting the stereotype that it's all women know
how to do, "says Bianco. "Anybody can roll around with their guitar,
I want to see you play it."
Unlike Lords of the Highway, the Motorpsychos are almost an entirely female
band. As a lady rocker, guitarist Simmons says there are pros and cons to
using her sexuality as a tool to sell the band.
"It can get you to the front of the line, but whether or not your taken
seriously when you get there varies from situation to situation," she
says.
"The scenario I see most often is that people don't come out and say it,
but you can tell that before they see us, they expect us to suck because we're
women and we're dressed up and when we don't suck they're a little over
the top with their accolades."
Simmons admits that flirtatious drunks get on her nerves after a while, but
what seems to aggravate her most isn't pesky alcoholics, but female performers
in the national spotlight.
"People like Sheryl Crow and Jewel carry around acoustic guitars, steal
chord progressions that have been done a million times by other people, whine
away and write the same song over and over again with different titles,"
she says.
"Sheryl Crow is acceptable [to the mainstream] because she's safe,"
Simmons says. "She doesn't challenge any of the men at their game; she
makes sure to show her cleavage."
"[Crow] will never cross the line, she'll never push the envelope,"
she continues. "She's no artist she's the poster child of mediocrity
and the everlasting double standard."
"For every girl band or musician who really rocks out, there are four or
five others that use their appearance to get attention," Bianco agrees.
"Sexuality sells."
Is there room for a band like the Motorpsychos in the music world?
Simmons says her gender is being misrepresented with festivals like Lillith
Fair and the continued mainstream success of artists like Crow, Alanis
Morisette, and Tori Amos.
"In the past powerful women like Grace Slick, Janis Joplin, and Joan Jett
had a shot at the radio," she says. "Any woman with balls today will
never get mainstream airplay because we've got Stepford rock stars like Ms.
Crow representing us and leaving no room for any one else with an edgier
way."
Still, despite watered down femme performers and stereotypes put on
"edgier" lady performers like the Motorpsychos, the band shows no
signs of stopping anytime soon.
Lillith girls of the world beware, the ladies of the Motorpsychos and Lord's
of the Highway four-stringer, Sugar, are out to put an end to the debate over
whether or not you need a c*ck, to rock.
Call B.J. Lisko at (330) 941-1807.