Giving it up for the women

It's actually Sylvia Robinson, also of 60's duo Mickey & Sylvia.

I also think Jenny Toomey has done a lot for independent music, and Windy (of Windy and Carl) totally kicks ass because not only does she run her own record label, she also runs an amazing record store.

This is just off the top of my head, there are absolutely loads of others. There are a lot of women who have contributed a hella lot to the music industry that will never be acknowledged and we will never know the names of, because they worked in the shadows of their male partners. Take Alan McG** for example -- his first wife put a lot of work and financial support in getting Creation off the ground, and gets cut loose when he gets bored. There are probably 5,000,000 stories like this.

Here's the address:

Stormy Records 22079 Michigan Avenue, Dearborn, Michigan 48124

I would like to give a huge hand to CAROL KAYE!!! A session player from the 60s, involved with Phil Spector's Wrecking Crew. She played bass on more hits than you can even imagine- all the Spector stuff, all the Brian Wilson era Beach Boys stuff (that amazing bass on Pet Sounds) as well as so many other classics.

She gave a talk, and guitar lessons in Seattle as part of the Rockrgrl conference, and she was so amazing that she nearly made us miss our own showcase performance! Big props!

And to Anthony -- hey, Neko's a blast. I saw her open for Nick Cave two months back, she was fun.

sorry

Number one with a bullet by far is Wanda Jackson, an amazing rockabilly singer in the late-fifties who outplayed and outgunned the male establishment of the time.

I'd also add early-60s folkie/beat writer Judy Henske who actually got her start as an stand-up comedienne working the same male-only circuit as Lenny Bruce before branching off into blues and psychedelia.

I'd also nominate Exene and Johnette Napolitano, not just for their music, but for what they've given back not just to the L.A. music scene but to the community at large.

Has anyone mentioned Kendra Smith yet?

Oh yeah, and Kimber Lanning who runs Stinkweeds Records in Phoenix (and who also played drums for Half String)

Actually, I think a reason why I didn't mention the Walkabouts that time through is because I like Neko Case -- and therefore have no need to post a yay/nay comparison between her and them, whereas when it comes to the likes of the Uncle Tupelo crowd and all, such a comparison is not merely warranted in my case, but demanded. ;-)

Kristin Hersh (Throwing Muses) and Sue Harshe and Marcy Mays (Scrawl) get major amounts of gratitude, having spent nearly 20 years in music without getting their just desserts and acknwoledgment. Tons of spectacular records between them, too.

That's good for a start.

Rose Melberg of the Softies, Tiger Trap, etc. We named our kitten after her.

Moe Tucker. She's a fabulous lady and she's rocked forEVER.

And I love Neko Case, and Sally Timms, and don't you forget the Wilson sisters who rocked the house with "Barracuda" back in the day!

Christianne O. of Pale Man Made - for her encouragement

Salad Butty - for mucho dancin' an' chillage

If "scenesterism" is a negative, exclusionary thing, whereby you decide who is cool and who is not, and exclude people on negative biases, then clearly it's bad. But if "scenesterism" is a positive, *inclusionary* thing, whereby a bunch of weirdoes and artists and musicians hang together, trying to support each other, is that a bad thing, or is that what it's all about?

This is going to be a sexist statement, so close your ears and your preconceptions: Men like to act in an individualistic, us against them sort of way. Women like to act in a group, community-building way. [/sexist statement]

(Yes, I know that's not always true. I was beaten up in high school by gangs of Popular Girls who saw me as a threat.)

But where this is going is... giving props to a woman, without whom I would not be the person I am today, without whom I would not have the musical tastes and exposure that I have today.

Charlene Shortsleve- she ran a nightclub in the Upstate NY town where I went to college. She went out of her way to bring in good out of town bands from all over the world *and* she supported and promoted local bands - because she believed in them, regardless of whether they made a profit or loss.

She was the Ultimate Scenester, and a lot of people would probably dismiss her simply for that. But she, almost single-handedly, kept indie (or alternative, as we used to call it back then) music going in a little tiny redneck community where I, and many other kids, would have drowned otherwise.

Yay, Charlene Shortsleave and other people who work behind the scenes to truly change some music fans' and musicians' lives.

am i allowed to say Nico? good. nico! :o) i think her solo career is often overlooked, or underappreciated.

Staying up feels like giving home