Jess Dye of High Waisted Explores “Shame” with Video Premiere for Solo Project Hello Lightfoot

Photo Credit: Michael Todaro

The complex emotion of shame, often unconscious or ignored, happens when cultural norms are violated or reckoned with. There’s a flipside too – the emotional aftermath of rebelling against societal expectations sometimes feels so good. Shame can be exhilarating and lead to us on the journey of life’s greatest lessons, while acting as a vehicle for the kind of catharsis needed to alchemize powerful music.

Jessica Louise Dye of High Waisted explores these varying reactions on her sophomore single “Shame,” released under the moniker Hello Lightfoot, a solo project that’s been nearly a decade in the making, Originally composed of down-tempo folk songs, Dye sidesteps the DIY surf rock chaos of High Waisted altogether to begin releasing intricate, industrial-tinged baroque pop songs. With a noir twist, the lyrics of “Shame” roll off the tongue like medieval riddles on a surrealist intergalactic quest. 

“I used a fun poetry method of blacking out lines in an old book to help start my story for lyrics.” Dye tells Audiofemme. “Being forced to work in a thematic box really drove the direction of the song and inspired a dark subject matter. Soundscape wise, Kyle McCammon [a.k.a. PLUS], who produced this track, was able to bring a huge gritty, driving, pulsating to the instrumentation. I love the contrast from intense bass and guitar to light, eerie samples. I think we were able to embody the complexity of what the emotion shame would sound like in the form of a modern song.”

A glitchy montage of found footage and saturated visuals, the music video, premiering today via Audiofemme, follows Dye in an alternate digital reality. She wanders through an urban dream sequence, bleeding into images of a younger self, distorted by digital audio sound waves. Dye dances on rooftops against the New York skyline, the subway her stage, as she commands the camera clad in a mod checkered jumpsuit. Through flashing images of ultrasound clips, the video embodies the evolution of self, and loss of innocence. The chorus rings out with undertones of melodic anxiety. Fast cuts embody a restless night of sleep, subconscious pressures and repressed emotion bubbling up to surface. Disguising her eyes under thick black sunglasses, Dye remains unaffected and dignified in the motion and stance of a 1980s aerobics junkie. A lady of the night, she embraces her shame, and praises the wisdom granted through her learned experience.

A self-proclaimed extrovert, Dye dives into the deeper complex lyrical meaning behind “Shame.” The song is meant to empower, and take back control over the crippling emotion, a feeling we associate with rejection, isolation, and the inability to experience or feel worthy of love. The song exists as an anthem for moving through the emotion, embracing rather than repressing shame. Society expects one to make a mistake and never repeat it, but we all know inner human programming doesn’t flip off like a light switch. Dye coos and delivers a cunning take on empowerment of our flaws and the wisdom we gain by living recklessly and making what society may deem as “mistakes.”

“Sometimes this shameful thing I’m doing becomes heightened and also enhanced by knowing it’s shameful. Self- awareness triggers pleasure, which is sort of naughty. The chorus of ‘Shame,’ it’s my inner voice saying, “you should not be doing this, but you are, and you enjoy it more because it’s wrong,” says Dye, recognizing that the most erotic love often presents itself within complex and debaucherous interpersonal dynamics.

Written when Dye was in her mid-twenties, “Shame” was not initially heavy or drenched with grit. Instead, Dye leaned into an operatic delivery, an almost religious performance coming to terms with her demons as a vehicle for creation. “It’s almost like you’re in church, surrounded by people praying and praising shame, as if it’s passed down on you. The guitars, the melodies, explain my complex relationship to the feeling,” she says. “Having to revisit these lyrics, and go through journal entries I began to figure out what was actually going on in the undertone of my experience. ‘Muzzle be damned’ is a reference to silencing your own opinions around others as a means to be more amicable. It’s very easy to lose yourself if you’re constantly catering to the likes and dislikes of other people.”

“‘Secure your namesake/Embellish to reclaim/What you choose to ignore will tear you apart’ are my favorite lyrics in the song,” she adds. “I don’t really think I realized how powerful it was until looking back at it ten years later.”

Dye describes the resurrection of these songs, now fully actualized for her current project, as a form of spell casting through writing notes to her future self. “I think in this sense, I was expressing the self awareness of the damage I was potentially doing, living recklessly in my 20s,” she admits. “Drugs are one thing, but hurting people feels like the real crime, whether it’s emotionally or physically. I think I definitely did a lot of emotional damage to people in that period of my life. Essentially a lot of people met a much different version of who I am today.”

“The hope is that one continues to change and grow, but I don’t think everybody does. Some people get stagnant, in a stage of arrested development, stuck at a certain stage,” she continues. “I think that’s why I chose to revisit these songs and reinterpret the meaning in context of the person I’ve grown to become.” 

It’s the little things, whether you’re dissecting a relationship, or looking inward, the micro glitches that you choose to ignore, or give permission to stay, that start to add up. Whether it’s excuses for bad behavior, patterns of negative thinking, or self destructive tendencies, often (and hopefully) this programming will one day implode and come to a breaking point. This inevitably becomes a catalyst for self discovery, change, and personal growth. As our culture evolves by holding space for difficult conversations surrounding mental health, shame, and creating new boundaries and formats for interpersonal, romantic, and sexual relationships, songs like “Shame” move the needle forward. Difficult emotions never live in black or white territory – rather a monochromatic spectrum of grey tone. 

As a rockstar, lyricist, empath, and community organizer, Dye continues to throw iconic downtown happenings like Home Sweet Home’s Femme Fatale, and create and share new multi-faceted introspective alternative music. As she steps into her next chapter, Dye explains, “I think I’ve made progress by not giving so much power to pleasing people who feel undeserving. That’s the trick – investing in the right relationships. I think without even knowing exactly what I’m ashamed of, the actual music, the guitars, the melody, explain it.” 

Follow Hello Lightfoot on Instagram for ongoing updates.

Dropper Seeks Personal Growth with Lead Single “Don’t Worry”

Photo Credit: Cirsty Burton

Dropper is the brainchild of Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist Andrea Scanniello, who finally steps into the spotlight as a vocalist and songwriter after many years playing guitar, bass or keys in other projects. A veteran of Brooklyn’s indie rock scene, Scanniello previously played in High Waisted and Stuyedeyed, and has filled out the line-ups of TVOD, Russian Baths and Saara Untracht-Oakner (Boytoy, SUO)’s solo projects, among others.

She comes from a long line of musicians and has played music since childhood, but says she “was always too shy to show people music that I was writing. I was like, well I’ll just play guitar, I’ll play keys. It’s fine. I don’t mind being in the background.”

She is in the background no longer. Joining longtime collaborators Jono Bernstein (also of High Waisted), Yukary Morishima and Larry Scanniello, Dropper releases their first LP Don’t Talk To Me on February 11, 2022, and they’re premiering their first-ever single from the project, “Don’t Worry,” today on Audiofemme.

The album is two years in the making, written and recorded pre-COVID, something Scanniello patiently sat on while she awaited the return of live music. “I don’t want to release anything if I can’t play a show,” she said. “I [didn’t] want to put it out in the middle of the pandemic, because we’re so new, that I just didn’t want it to get lost in the Internet shuffle.” The band will have the opportunity to preview the album on a handful of Midwest tour dates with Habibi later this month.

The record lays bare Scanniello’s personal journey through her twenties in nine tracks. She wrote it while she scraped by with a series of service industry jobs and all that comes with them: the late nights, the drinking, the shallow friendships born of participation in a scene. What started as an exercise in healing after a bad break-up became more introspective, a personal inventory of life thus far, the habits that weren’t serving her and the things she’d like to change about herself.

“For a while I was kind of caught up,” she says. “Going out too much, partying too much, and then being anxious because you’re partying too much, and not feeling really connected to anything you’re doing, general bad feelings.” She laughs. “Trying to work through that.”

In the band’s press release, they say they write music for “People who have worked in the service industry too long and become curmudgeons at the ripe old age of 26. People who are lonely yet want to be left alone. People who drink because they are sad but also sad because they drink. Bisexuals with crumbs in their bed. Optimistic pessimists. Those with seasonal allergies. But overwhelmingly for people who, in lieu of being crushed by the eternal weight of existence, choose to scream internally with a smile upon their face.”

And it lands squarely at this nexus, emotionally astute in a way that speaks to Scanniello’s self-awareness and chops as a songwriter. “Don’t Worry” is peak Dropper, in that it encompasses the entire weight of the album with these words: “I do it to myself.” The track negotiates the happy medium between what Scanniello calls “sad girl singer-songwriter kind of stuff” (your Angel Olsens and Waxahatchees) and the heavier, psychier aspects of the Brooklyn music scene, with nods to all the bands Scanniello has lent her talents to. It hits a nerve emotionally, but one can imagine the energy of a raucous, PBR-soaked crowd growing as the track’s energy builds from the opening licks to the multi-faceted explosion of sound that drops in after the bridge. The irony is that it’s exactly this kind of scene that led Scanniello’s songwriting to this place to begin with.

She says this track particularly speaks to “the amount of times in my life I woke up hungover, being like what the fuck am I doing with my life? But then realizing it’s my fault, these are choices that I’m making, and I could easily change these things but I’m choosing not to.”

This type of reflection and self-realization is frequently the catalyst for the type of change she’s referring to, a journey I imagine we’ll see play out alongside Dropper’s journey as a band. In the meantime, you might bask in the sharp empathy of this first offering, that you’re not the only one who feels this way. 

Follow Dropper on Instagram and Facebook for ongoing updates.

Jessica Louise Dye of High Waisted Details Sophomore LP Sick of Saying Sorry

Photo Credit: Kelsey Wagner

As the lead singer of High Waisted, Jessica Louise Dye creates sonic psychedelic lullabies while also acting as the vision and force behind some of most innovative punk rock dance parties in New York City. An authentic space cowgirl flown down from Planet Awesome with the sole mission to save Rock ‘n’ Roll, Dye is the mastermind behind unforgettable experiences like her annual Rock n’ Roll Booze Cruise: free booze, shaky waters, and synergy only the unicorn herself could have cultivated and conjured. With strong pop sensibility and feminist ideals, High Waisted are more than a surf rock band. They’ll release their much-anticipated sophomore album, Sick of Saying Sorry, on May 22.

Of the singles from the project so far, “Boys Can’t Dance” makes use of the band’s unbridled party spirit, while “Drive” captures the surrealist emotional undertone of Planet Earth from its opening lines: “We’re looking outward/Trying to decipher the code/The past repeats/Echoes of what once was and will be/We’re both guilty of editing what could harm the world.” The project will also include “8th Amendment,” recorded in 2018 for WNYC’s 27: The Most Perfect Album release, in which artists such as Dolly Parton, Adia Victoria, Devendra Banhart, Palehound, Torres, and more each contributed songs based on a different constitutional amendment. High Waisted tackled one designed to protect incarcerated individuals from excessive fines and cruel and unusual punishment.

They just released an epic psychedelic video for their most recent single, “Modern Love,” directed by Jenni Yang & Logan Seaman. The directors met while working on Beyonce’s Made In America concert and created the High Waisted video in the midst of getting married. Yang, inspired by the quote “To love is to destroy and to be loved is to be destroyed,” created a visual story about love and power. “Jess would be the heroine in the story, not only because she looks badass on the stage, but because she represents many modern women. As her character lives a happy and love-filled life, she encounters situations where she needs to step out of her comfort zone in order to protect her love. It’s a metaphor for modern love. You can’t just live happily ever after like in the movies. There are moments in which we struggle. It’s a journey of learning to be yourself, and most importantly to be brave.”

I gave Dye a ring to discuss her anticipated sophomore album, Sick of Saying Sorry. Let’s just say her infectious charisma and charm had me playing the High Waisted musical repertoire on rotation for a week – and inspired me to practice guitar until my fingers bled.

AF: The dynamic single “Drive” that illustrates the breadth of your sound. Can you talk about your influences behind the track?

JLD: The idea came from waking up just before dawn in the passenger seat of the van on tour. Everyone silent, traveling over endless pavement as the sun slowly sets the horizon on fire. Chasing something we’ll never catch.

AF: The song echoes themes of agency, rebirth, and cyclical patterns. Was that inspired by a personal experience in a relationship – or a universal state of being?

JLD: It’s actually about the forbidden love story of the sun and the moon, obliged to never meet in order to keep the world alive.

Photo Credit: Michael Todaro

AF: How would you describe your songwriting process?

JLD: I like to set little secret intentions within my lyrics, hoping those wishes will come true. Sometimes these premonitions become accidental realities.

AF: Can you discuss teaming up with Tad Kubler (The Hold Steady) and Arun Bali (Saves the Day), in the making of Sick of Saying Sorry?

JLD: Tad was a remarkable producer. I’ve never had anyone believe in me as a songwriter like he did. He had such empathy for the writing process. To be the recipient of that level of creative commitment is intoxicating. This album was born from scraps of paper scribbled while riding the train from Brooklyn to Manhattan at 4am. It came to life in a steamy apartment on an acoustic guitar played in my underwear because a broken radiator was blasting heat. I would walk through snow to Ludlow Street to play with Richey Rose (Wendy James, Tamaryn, Jennie Vee). We would stay up til dawn singing to each other at the top of our lungs. The music came easily. Nothing felt forced. We treated each song like a sovereign nation with its own set of rules, culture and history. The result is an album of many moods. We were lucky to have Arun lend his talents to mix. He had such a fresh perspective and patience when our ears were tired. Sometimes in order to discover what we liked, we had to first figure out what we didn’t. Mark Buzzard (The Format) has been nothing but a cheerleader as I started my own music career. I was so proud to share these creations with him and honored to have him play keys. I love that everyone left their mark on this record.

AF: When did the moment hit you that fronting a rock band was your calling?

JLD: Sitting behind a screen, fresh from a break-up, at the only 9 to 5 I’ve ever worked (lasted 8 months) while I was still living out of my ’99 Buick Century. It was the only future plan that gave me a will to live.

AF: In a world with no limits to magical realism, you have to go undercover for a spy mission and can only choose one disguise to carry out a secret mission: Disco Glitter Queen, Space Cowgirl, or Candy Raver Rocker – which would it be?

JLD: This is a no-brainer – Space Cowgirl, every time.

Photo Credit: Michael Todaro

Follow High Waisted on Facebook for ongoing updates.

RSVP HERE: New Myths Play Our Wicked Lady + More

Welcome to our weekly show recommendation column RSVP HERE – your source for the best NYC shows and interviews with some of our favorite local live bands.

New Myths are a Brooklyn-based alt rock power pop trio comprised of Brit Boras (guitar/lead vocals), Rosie Slater (drums/vocals), and Marina Ross (bass/vocals). In 2019 they released three new singles (including a cover of “Unbelievable” by EMF), made two music videos, and  went on tour with The Joy Formidable. I saw a lot of great New Myths shows last year, but my favorites were their direct support slot for Crazy Town at Sunnyvale and their Halloween cover set as The Go-Go’s, where they dressed as The Beauty and The Beat album cover, complete with their hair wrapped in towels and white face paint to look like face masks. Their first show of the decade is on 1/6 at Our Wicked Lady with Looms, Jelly Kelly, and Color Tongue, and we chatted with them about their favorite gas station food, Brooklyn bands and future plans.

AF: How did you meet? What was the first movie you all watched together?

Brit Boras: We met a long time ago individually – Marina and I went to middle and high school together and were on the same school bus, but didn’t become friends till after high school. Rosie and I met at music school; we were two of only like six females in the whole program which is part of why I really wanted to start a band together. Also ironically, Marina and Rosie played in a band together throughout high school. I don’t know if we’ve ever watched an entire movie together honestly… If the three of us are in a room together we are usually chatting, writing, rehearsing, recording, playing shows, or dancing.

Rosie Slater: Marina and I had been playing together in another band through high school and college, and then Brit and I went to college together. I’m not sure what movie? We talked about Spinal Tap a lot?

AF: Who are your favorite Brooklyn bands to play with? Who is your favorite band that you opened for?

MR: Oh my god, Wet Leather, Jelly Kelly, Ash Jesus, Mother Feather, Yella Belly, Power Snap, Lola Pistola, Desert Sharks, Catty, Max Pain and the Groovies…we’re just surrounded by endlessly talented people.

BB: All of the above plus Darkwing, Grim Streaker, Monograms, Stuyedeyed, Sharkmuffin, Slow Caves… My favorite bands that we’ve opened for are Metric, Warpaint, and The Joy Formidable.

RS: My favorites are Jelly Kelly, Wet Leather, Sharkmuffin, and The Muckers! Opening for Metric was wild… I’ve been a huge fan since high school.

AF: What are your favorite gas station snacks? 

MR: Smart Food popcorn, git OUTTA here with anything else.

RS: Peanut M&Ms and the red Doritos.

BB: Cheetos, Cheez-Its, Goldfish all the way. Basically anything with cheese…

AF: I love your cover of “Unbelievable.” Why did you decide on that one and are there any other covers you plan on recording?

RS: Thank you! “Unbelievable” kind of just happened… Brit suggested it when we were in the studio recording something else, and Marina and I were super into it but thinking about making it really sludgy and then we recorded it the next day! There may be some other top secret covers coming soon…. maybe!

MR: It was the one we were all stoked about! Years and years of middle of the night texts of “Wouldn’t it be funny if we covered…” and this was the one we were all, like, yah…yah, that would be sick.

BB: Yeah we were in the process of recording our original songs and I was listening to “Unbelievable” on the way to the recording studio, thought it’d be a cool cover, brought it up to Marina and Rosie, they suggested we slow it down and sludge it up, we worked on it, and then recorded it the next day. We are in the process of recording another cover but that is in the vault for now!

AF: What were your favorite moments of the past decade and what are your plans for 2020 and beyond?

MR: Christ, there’s so many good ones. Our first show ever was of course one of my faves – opening for Lucius at Cameo Gallery. We played a street fair in Worcester YEARS ago which has grown to be one of my favorite moments because we still to this day get support from them and everyone has just been lovely. Watching Metric up close and personal after opening for them at Music Hall of Williamsburg was amazing. There are so many “moments” that I love so much that are so small but so indescribable.

BB: Yeah this decade has been really fun. I love the weird shows; dressing up in towels and face masks and performing as The Go-Go’s for Halloween was super fun. SXSW festival is always a blast to play every time. Going on tour with Cindy Wilson of the B-52s and The Joy Formidable were also times I’ll never forget. We have a lot of new music that’s still unreleased so we are looking forward to putting those out. A new music video and single are currently in the works. We’re playing Treefort Festival in Boise Idaho in March which I’m really looking forward to as well.

RS: The last decade was a doozy! I don’t know if there’s anything specifically planned except to keep doing what we love, making music, and seeing what happens next!

RSVP HERE for New Myths, Looms, Jelly Kelly, and Color Tongue @ Our Wicked Lady Monday 1/6. 21+ / $10

More great shows this week:

1/3 AVSE, Pocket Protector, Holy Tunics, Monster Furniture @ Gutter Bar. 21+ / $8 RSVP HERE

1/3 Colleen Green, Unkle Funkle, Free Weed, Cassie Ramone (DJ) @ Alphaville. 21+ /$15-$17 RSVP HERE

1/3 Deitre, Shadow Monster, Castle Rat, Johnny Dynamite @ The Broadway. 21+ / $12 RSVP HERE

1/4 2nd Annual DIY Band Lottery @ EWEL. $5 RSVP HERE

1/4 Shelter Dogs, The Next Great American Novelist, Wave, The Unders @ The Gutter. 21+ / $5 RSVP HERE

1/4 Duke of Vandals, Darkwing, Shred Flintstone @ Our Wicked Lady. 21+ / $10 RSVP HERE

1/7 Best Baby, Jess of High Waisted (DJ Set), Tenderheart Btches, Jeerleader @ Knitting Factory. 21+ / $10-12 RSVP HERE

1/8 Shop Talk, MPHO, No Ice @ Our Wicked Lady. 21+ / $10 RSVP HERE

1/9 Toth, Mal Devisa, Beau @ Rough Trade. 21+ / $16 RSVP HERE

INTERVIEW: Women That Rock @ Brooklyn Bazaar

Last week on Friday the 13th at Brooklyn Bazaar, Women That Rock put together their first GIG LIKE A GYRL summer extravaganza showcasing women in punk rock & other DIY music scenes, women of color and LGBTQ+ artists & musicians. The stacked lineup included GYMSHORTS, Sharkmuffin, Sister Munch, Monte, Lady Bits, Strange Parts & DJ Jess Louise Dye (of High Waisted), and you also could have gotten your first Friday the 13th tattoo, take goofy (or spooky) photos in the PhotoBooth, and browse through the special pop-up night market featuring apparel, jewelry, art & more creations by local female artists.

We chatted with some of the bands who played below about everything from their bands spirit animal and their favorite release this year to what they would like to change about society today…

Gymshorts

What’s your bands spirit animal?

Our bands spirit animal is andy milonakis!!

What’s your favorite single/ep/album to come out in 2018 so far?

lalalala just released a song/video off their new album thats coming out in september and its fucking awesome! Its called destroyer and the album is called the lamb!!!

 

Monte

What was the last CD you ever bought?

Well, I recently bought a CD from this awesome band from Vermont called Clever Girls!  

What’s your favorite NYC venue to play & why?

A lot of the venues I used to love playing no longer exist, but I used to have a lot of fun at Trash Bar.  It was the right amount of grunge, grit, and grime for a Brooklyn punk centric venue. Currently, the new Knitting Factory BK is my new favorite venue.  The room is large,the sound is great and the staff is friendly. All good vibes from the knit!

Monte’s debut single out July 20th!

Lady Bits

If your band were to replace the cast on any television show, which show would it be?

Arrested Development:

Krishanti – Lucille 2

Adriana – Maeby Funke

Kat – George Michael Bluth (I like the way they think…)

What is your favorite part of playing live?

There’s a different energy every time we play, which makes it exciting. The room, the stage, the crowd, the other bands – all of these elements contribute to our performance and make every song feel new and special. Everyone is lost in the moment together at the same time, and it’s exhilarating to create that space.

Stange Bits

If your band were a fast food restaurant, which would it be?

  • Strange Parts is definitely an Arby’s. My bandmate Corey has written several books on the chain and has the hat tattooed on his chest.

What do you think the most important thing that should change in our society/culture right now? 

  • erase all borders

  • dismantle the prison industrial complex

  • pay women of color fair wages

  • eliminate single-use plastic

 DJ Jessica Dye

What’s your favorite meme?

What EP/Album are you most excited about being released in 2018?
The new Sunflower Bean record won my heart over. So in love with “Twenty Two in Blue”

 

SXSW 2018: Rock or Die V with Little Dickman Records

Chris and Amy Dickman of Jersey Shore Indie label Little Dickman Records have been taking good care of bands in Austin for five years now. Their unofficial events showcase badass touring bands from all over the country as well as the bands with releases on their label. We talked to them about how the festival has changed over the years, the challenges of being a promoter at SXSW and why they keep coming back.

AF: Tell us about your showcases and some of the bands you’re most excited to see this year.

LD: This year is our 5th year in Austin throwing unofficial SXSW Rock or Die showcases and we can’t believe it! We have two unofficial showcases and six bands we have worked with are OFFICIAL SXSW showcasing artists this year!  That’s huge.

We are stoked for Wednesday 3/15, Hard Luck Lounge, nine bands, including Stuyedeyed, Grim Streaker, Pink Mexico, Ex-Girlfriends, Dentist, Gustaf, Old Lady, John Wesley Coleman III, and Shred Flinstone.

Saturday we are teaming up with our favorite friends over at CoolDad Music and Garden State Beardos to bring a killer Day party to Valhalla w/ The Gloomies, Dentist, Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires, BOYTOY, Kino Kimino, High Waisted, Sharkmuffin, Honduras & Fruit & Flowers.

AF: What’s your favorite food truck at SXSW?

LD: This is gonna sound very lazy, but every year I find one I like, and I either forget the name of it or I remember and when I come back the next year it’s in a totally different place (maybe ’cause its a food TRUCK?) so I don’t make it back. But at least we are finding a new one every year. Just a few I remember: Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ, Tapas Bravas, the killer breakfast taco truck that used to be on East 6th but now I can’t find….

AF: How did you get started booking showcases at SXSW? Why do you keep coming back?

LD: We just decided to go for it and take the chance. Even though no one really knew us yet, we didn’t care – we wanted to get out and be a part of something, so we said F-it and it paid off! We met many wonderful people down there. If we hadn’t started going our lives would be much different.

AF: What are your favorite and least favorite SXSW memories? Does it get easier or more difficult booking and taking care of so many bands each year at SXSW?

LD: My least favorite memory is showing up to a venue and them not having a sound system when we were told they had a top of the line system, so the fall out that happened after that wasn’t my fav.

A great memory was asking INVSN with Dennis Lyxzen of Refused to play and they showed up and put on a  hell of a surprise show! Also, getting to meet the Mrs. Magician dudes. I think just getting to hang and see people we’ve worked with play great shows is the best feeling ever.

AF: How has the festival changed over the years and what would you like to see more or less of this year or in the future?

LD: The first year we were there it had HUGE acts – I think it was the year Lady Gaga, Kanye, etc. were there. I think it had gotten out of hand. There was also a bad accident that killed someone. Since then I have seen it become a little more more up-and-coming acts instead of trying to pack in the big names, which obviously feels better to us. It also gotten warmer each year….we will see what happens this year!

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Little Dickman SXSW Family Photo 2017

 

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CHECK THE SPREADSHEET: Best DIY Promoters, Collectives, & Venues of 2017

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Ex-Girlfriends tour routes by Tine Hill

After spending 21 weeks on tour in 2017 with four bands (playing in Sharkmuffin, Ex-Girlfriends, Kino Kimino and tour mama-gering for The Big Drops) in three different countries, here are my picks for the best promoters, collectives and venues that I’ve been lucky enough to experience in 2017 (in no particular order)…


Bitchcraft (Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar

Brighton, England

Sharkmuffin played at Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar in Brighton for the Great Escape Festival at about 3 in the morning. English psych rockers PINS kicked off the night and I couldn’t believe people were still around and excited that late. True to its name, the basement venue of Sticky Mike’s is reminiscent of sweaty ’70s LES punk venues, with a fence barricade between the stage and audience that everyone pushes and pulls on. At one point during our set an audience member coaxed me to jump over the barrier and crowd surf. I took the opportunity to do so, but was quickly dropped (don’t worry, I’m used to it) into a puddle of vomit. 

Polly & Ollie, who organized the whole show, put us up in their flat that night, as well as for our return visit to Brighton – the final show of our U.K. tour. Every last Friday, they and a group of friends who “wanted to give themselves and other girls involved in music, art and promoting a more accessible platform in the music industry on their own terms” host BITCH CRAFT at Sticky Mike’s in an effort to create “a safe, friendly and equal environment for girls to come and enjoy themselves and promote what they’re good at,” including behind-the-scenes support. 

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Chris & Amy Dickman. Photo by CoolDad

Little Dickman Records (The Saint, Asbury Park Yacht Club, Asbury Hotel, ect.)

Asbury Park, NJ

Asbury Park, NJ is  a small city by the sea, sandwiched between NYC and Philly. A decade ago, Asbury was a ghost town full of uninspiring classic rock cover bands, making it difficult to convince touring bands to pass through. Little Dickman Records, run by Chris and Amy Dickman, have changed all that with their intent to bring the coolest original touring rock bands to Asbury Park. One of their most memorable shows of the year was when Nashville country duo Birdcloud played at The Saint. “The place was packed and there was a real excitement in the air. Birdcloud came out in diapers and put on quite an amazing show. Probably one of the edgiest and dirtiest shows Asbury Park has seen since the night GG Alllin played Fastlane in ’91,” remembers Chris. 

The Little Dickman team also presents shows at Asbury Park Yacht Club and at the Asbury Hotel – named Best New Hotel in 2016 in a USA Today Readers’ Poll. Fruit & Flowers played there with The Nude Party and High Waisted, two shows that LDR say they’re also most proud of this year. We also played the Little Dickman Records SXSW showcase in Austin, Texas, which included music from LDR artists The Off White, The Blind Shake, Thelma And The Sleaze, Pink Mexico, Dead Coast and more.

Fleetwood’s

Asheville, NC

Fleetwood’s is a brand new rock ‘n’ roll chapel, vintage store, rock venue and bar run by a wonderful woman named Mary and her partner. She put together a great last minute show for Ex-Girlfriends in September and was also able to host A Deer A Horse after their Florida shows were canceled because of the Hurricane Irma. It’s a versatile and cozy space where we felt right at home. 

“Fleetwood’s Rock-n-Roll Wedding Chapel and Vintage in Asheville, NC opened on August 23rd 2017. My partners and I had the opportunity to take over an old pawn shop that we transformed into a vintage store with a bar and a ‘quickie wedding chapel’ (where bands play). Since we’ve been open we’ve hosted over 50 bands from all over the country – mostly punk and rock-n-roll with a couple of old-time country events. We’ve also held two legal weddings (including same sex) and three drunken fake ones. The word has spread fast within the band scene and nearly every touring band is making plans to come back. I think that our unique space coupled with our true love and respect for indie musicians is what makes us so special. We try and create a welcoming environment to all who come through and make sure they are paid well and respected. We’ve run the gamut from unknown bands that have blown our minds to members of bigger groups like TVOTR and The Black Lips. We look forward to every band that plays because we live for Rock-n-Roll.” – Mary

Made in Colombia Presents (Barranquilla DIY Studios & BUST Magazine)

Brooklyn, NY

Janeth Gonda of Made in Colombia Presents has run a DIY venue out of her incredible apartment with basement studio space and backyard since 2014. At Barranquilla, I’ve played anything from a horror movie screening/flea market/record release party to my own joint birthday party with Natalie of Sharkmuffin. She has hosted countless touring bands, Northside events, full moon gatherings and so much more. The event she is most proud of this year at Barranquilla was the BUST Pride Event with Haybaby, New Myths, Parrot Dream, Lost Boy ?, Espejismo (feat. Janeth herself!), See Through Dresses, Hot Curl & Street Rules.

“This year I’ve been super lucky to extend my platform beyond Barranquilla Studios by working with BUST Magazine. It’s so awesome to be able to bring so many amazing people together. I think I’m most stoked on my efforts to help create safer spaces for open discussions and to hopefully foster change. At my most recent event we combined music, crafting, and herbalism with politics and workshops such as how to heal after sexual trauma and consent. I think it’s essential to bring certain issues to light even when we’re just having a good time at a show. In order to create change we sort of have to shove it down people’s throats, raise our voices and let them know we are here.” – Janeth Gonda

We Can Do It Promotions (The Lock Tavern)

London, England

When Sharkmuffin toured the U.K. for the first time in May 2017 we had no idea what to expect. We feel so lucky to have met Kelly of We Can Do It Promotions who put together our amazing first show in London at The Lock Tavern that was way more well-attended and fun than any of us could have imagined. Founded in January 2016, their mission is to support “continuously improving but sometimes overlooked gender equality. In the music industry we are constantly met by male dominated line-ups and We Can Do It Promotions is here to support female and male musicians equally.” Their website includes interviews & photos of a lot of the shows they’ve promoted!

 Muchmore’s

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Muchmore’s is the last DIY venue of Williamsburg, Brooklyn owned by New Orleans born lawyer Andrew Muchmore. This year he had a major victory with a lawsuit that helped overturn the 89-year-old Cabaret Law, which prohibited dancing at venues that didn’t have a certain license. Muchmore’s current booking manager is Heather Cousins of Ex-Girlfriends and Side Bitch. 

“One thing I love about being a booking manager and also a touring musician is that I get to help bands we’ve played with on the road. We recently had Blaha from Minneapolis; one of their members put us up while we were out there. Today we had Cult Flea Market Twisted Christmas edition which, yes, is a Flea Market for horror and weird cult stuff. It was put on with Mike Hunchback from Co-Op 87 Records (cool record store in Greenpoint). I picked up a Wanda Jackson Record and a weird novel about lust and blood with Cavewomen. I’ve made cocktail menus of women-fronted bands; you can get a Birdcloud or a Sharkmuffin.

We’ve had so many great shows lately, like Hank & Cupcakes from Georgia, and Ute Root from Australia. I love booking all kinds of stuff, from comedy to rock shows and burlesque. We even have a monthly wrestling comedy show! I can’t wait to do more with the art scene – especially comic book artists – and we’re hoping to finally get some rock ‘n’ roll DJs. All in all, being a booker is a rewarding experience even if it can be a little grueling sometimes.” – Heather Cousins

Super Dark Collective (One Caroline)

Saratoga Springs, NY

I was able to play at One Caroline in Saratoga Springs with Kino Kimino and also come back to see a show with The Big Drops, High Waisted and The Coax in November. One Caroline is your typical jazz bar with fancy cocktails and good American bistro styled food. But Super Dark Collective ironically hosts louder shows on Mondays and Thursdays. The block that One Caroline is on gets so crazy on the weekends with all its packed bars, cover bands and college student crowds, but One Caroline is the only place you can here a plethora of genres of rock music as well as interesting touring bands thanks to Super Dark Collective. They also run the independent record labels Super Dark Records and Lo-Fi Kabuki Records and book shows in the Capital Region area.

GNARBURGER Records

Los Angeles, CA

GNARBURGER is currently my favorite record store. The joint venture between Gnar Tapes and Burger Records opened their doors in 2015 and have let bands from all over play on their tight floor space ever since. Ex-Girlfriends and Fruit & Flowers played a day show here back in February, thankfully escaping the NYC winter to play music, drink beer, and shop for records & vintage clothes on a lovely afternoon.

Kind Turkey Records (Mickey’s Tavern

Madison, WI

Kind Turkey Records is a garage/punk/pop record label run by Bobby Hussy from The Hussy, whose roster includes Proud Parents, Digital Leather, and Nots among many others. Bobby also books amazing line-ups at Mickey’s Tavern every time we come through town. The venue has a few different velvety rooms, a pool table and great food (plus they have an option to feed bands)! Bobby also has put together Turkey Fest every fall for the past eight years.

 

Hi Tide

Brooklyn, NY

Hi Tide is a booking company formed by Ana Becker of Fruit & Flowers and Tim Race of Big Bliss (both of whom were recently named the #1 and #2 hardest working bands in NYC by Oh My Rockness).

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photo by Steven Anselm

“Tim and I started Hi Tide after we got back from a joint Big Bliss / Fruit & Flowers tour in March. We booked that tour together, and it was the least painful tour booking experience either of us had ever had. Most of us in DIY touring bands rely on friends in bands in other cities to help us book good shows in their towns. It makes a huge difference when people actually set up a show with care. So as long as we’ve each been in bands, we’ve done our best to return the favor when bands from other cities reach out to us. We figured we could do that part together too, so we stuck a logo on it and Hi Tide was born.”- Ana Becker

Their biggest achievement this year was their Babes All Rock Festival at Baby’s All Right on December 3rd that had a stacked line-up of female-fronted bands featuring Combo ChimbitaPRIMAA Deer A HorseBig QuietDebbie Downer, VerdigrlsEspejismoTreads and more, with proceeds from ticket sales and a raffle donated to the Mount Sinai SAVI Program, which aids survivors of sexual assault in NYC.

“The idea for Babes All Rock started on a Facebook thread. One of the organizers from Color Me Bushwick put out a call for recommendations of women musicians to play CMB. I tagged a ton of people, others chimed in, and it snowballed. A few people thought it’d be a great idea to make that into a fest of its own, and we got to work. Tim was 100% on board; booking diverse lineups has been a part of Hi Tide’s mission from the start. Also crucial to the fest’s organization were Gwynn Galitzer of Suffragette City, Amanda Jun, Rachel Rossen, Janeth Gonda, Josh Meyer & many others.”  – Ana Becker

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