Comraderie Among Women Makes Musicianship a Warmer Experience
by Candice McElroy

The ringing phone wakes me from my afternoon nap and destroys the blissful moment of my dream -- the one where a rock star suddenly pulls me out of the concert crowd and asks me to play piano on-- stage before thousands of adoring fans -- and leaves me in a state of utter confusion as I fumble with the phone and say hello.

On the line, a cheerful voice introduces herself as Steph somebody from Vermont. I respond with equal enthusiasm, so as not to give away the fact that I was sound asleep only minutes before.

I wrack my brain over who this person might be. To my relief, she soon informs me that I don't know her. ("Whew, that was easy!")

I think, then ask myself the inevitable question: why is this Steph person from Vermont calling me? It turns out that our bands are both playing on the same bill on an upcoming weekend at a local bar and she just wanted to talk to me before the show and introduce herself. Now fully awake, it dawns on me how this simple gesture means so much in an industry that is often ruthless (and sometimes outright cruel) to those who are simply trying to keep afloat.

As a woman musician who is learning the ropes of the local rock scene, I have come to appreciate the camaraderie I have experienced among fellow female artists. At my first few club shows as a performer, I was struck by the lack of other women artists. I was also taken aback by the attitudes that I perceived, perhaps incorrectly, that male artists and club employees held towards the women in my band.

My first encounter with other female musicians was at a Valentine's Day show of all female-fronted bands. I spent a few days attempting to sort out my own feelings about whether this show was a good thing: Were we excluding men unjustly? Was the title of the show, "Love Goddesses of the Local Rock Scene," offensive or just cute?

I don't even remember what my mindset was before the show, because by the end of the night, I had decided that I much preferred this "all girl" bill to any other that I'd ever played. The other women artists, and the "sensitive-ponytail-type" men who backed them, supported each other despite stylistic and age differences.

The bands ranged from pop-punk to soulful rock to ethereal goth and even folk. Some of the artists had been around for many years while my own band had only been playing for a few months. Instead of encountering the usual scoffing at our ages and the fact that we use a keyboard rather than a guitar, we received nothing but compliments on our musicianship, and advice from bands who had been in our shoes year ago -- and though these sentiments could easily be given falsely, a lasting friendship we formed with one of the bands is my own proof that these women were genuine in what they did and said.

So when I got this call from a woman that I didn't know, only to find out that we would be playing together, I immediately felt relieved that once again I would be sharing a stage with a woman who has made it on her own in this unforgiving field.

Maybe we will like each other's music and decide to share bills in the future. Maybe we won't be compatible musically. Who knows? At least we are compatible as women artists who share a love and talent for music.

Now, if only we could extend this sisterly love to the women booking agents in the city...