Last updated Issue #10 ROCKRGRL featuring Sleater-Kinney
ROCKRGRL was the first national publication for female musicians in the United States. Created by Carla DeSantis, the magazine purely focused on women in music and highlighted the artistic diversity of women musicians, often overlooked in mainstream culture. The magazine ran for eleven years, and the strength of its message inspired two pioneering ROCKRGRL conferences that showcased, celebrated, and addressed the state of the music industry for female artists.
In December 2008, the ROCKRGRL Magazine and conference archives were acquired by Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University, to be included in their collection of American Women's History artifacts.[1]
ROCKRGRL magazine
History
ROCKRGRL was started by Carla DeSantis (aka Carla DeSantis Black) in 1994 in San Mateo, California as part of the zine movement to provide a third-wave feminist perspective on women in music.[1]
Commenting on the magazine's founding, DeSantis recalled, “One issue of Rolling Stone was about Women Who Rock, and the writer asked everyone what their favorite perfume was, not music. Women were really shut out of music magazines like they didn’t exist.”[2]
ROCKRGRL started out as a 14-page, black-and-white photocopied zine. Its first issue, which hit stands in 1995, featured Gretchen Seager on the cover along with articles about that dog., the Go-Go's, Queen Latifah, and Au Pairs. In 1999, ROCKRGRL became a full-color glossy bi-monthly magazine.[3]
ROCKRGRL billed itself as, "a real departure from the condescending and patronizing tone found in other "women in music" magazines and web sites. No beauty tips or guilt trips here—just shop talk with fascinating artists."
From its inception, ROCKRGRL created an atmosphere for women to address music industry sexism head-on. Here is an example from Gretchen Seager of Mary's Danish who appeared on the magazine's first cover:
I don’t want to be qualified as a female singer. I just want to be a singer. And I don’t think you should be qualified by your gender. That’s always bullshit. And unfortunately, it’s probably not going to change in my lifetime. But I just want to be considered a good lyricist and a good singer, not a “girl” singer or a “girl” lyricist. That’s not relevant. Just evaluate me on my music and my lyrics and I'll be happy.
So many of the stories that women were able to tell in ROCKRGRL were stories they weren’t able to tell in any place else. What was different about ROCKRGRL was that a lot of the artists we talked to had cautionary tales. My favorite artists to talk to are the ones who can talk honestly about what happened. They were dropped by their label – why did that happen? Bands broke up, why did that happen? In ROCKRGRL, what I was looking for were career arcs and career stories – how people got started, what their career was like, how it went for them, and what unusual things they did to be successful.[2]
Circulation
ROCKRGRL peaked at roughly 20,000 in circulation,[2] domestic and international, during the years of 2002 and 2003. The magazine was carried by most major retail chains, including Virgin Records, Tower Records, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and Hastings Entertainment. ROCKRGRL could also be found in most feminist bookstores. During 2005, the cost for a yearly subscription was $14.95.
DeSantis explained:
I wanted ROCKRGRL to be in the hands of musicians. It was important to me that it found women who were playing music.[2]
Music conferences
DeSantis, one of the nation's leading advocates for women in rock,[1][5] has also produced two highly successful and critically acclaimed ROCKRGRL Music Conferences which took place in Seattle in 2000 and 2005 respectively.[6]
Based on the business model of SXSW, the goal of the ROCKRGRL Music Conferences was to give women working in the music industry an opportunity to network and allow those who were just starting out an opportunity to meet those who influenced them. With three nights of music showcases featuring female artists in all styles,[7] a special Woman of Valor[8] award dinner, two full days of panels, workshops and an artist-friendly trade show, the ROCKRGRL Music Conferences was an opportunity for women working in music to meet, mix and mingle in the city of Seattle.[9]
“We had 250 female bands perform in clubs and coffeeshops and all kinds of places in downtown Seattle. We had really A-list artists come and speak and perform. And all levels performed, actually. It was eclectic and interesting. It was a really big deal because for me all the people I admired were in the same room,” said DeSantis.[2]
Daisy Rock Guitars, a subsidiary of Schecter Guitars, is company that makes guitars for girls exclusively. Its first three prototype models debuted in November 2000 at Seattle's first ROCKRGRL Conference.
Women’s voices have been repressed for many years in music. Most of the pop stars we see are singing songs written by men, or written for them. My day, in the 80’s, there were lots of women in music who were writing their own material...What the magazine provided was an opportunity for women who weren’t only singers to find their voices through the magazine. When there aren’t many women doing something, it’s hard to have them as role models. Different ages, different styles of music – they demonstrate that women have a lot to say, and because mainstream music magazines weren’t exploring that, it needed to be explored in some way. The more we see woman musicians, the less of a novelty they will be.[2]
A ‘’ROCKRGRL Day’’ was held at Musicians’ Institute in Los Angeles in 2003.
DeSantis Black relocated to Austin, Texas in 2010 and started Musicians for Equal Opportunities for Women (MEOW) which provided a daily updated web magazine featuring news and interviews with women in music. She put on another music conference in 2013 featuring Suzi Quatro, Kathy Valentine and other artists.
Linda Maria Ronstadt is an American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American Music Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, and an ALMA Award. Many of her albums have been certified gold, platinum or multiplatinum in the United States and internationally. She has also earned nominations for a Tony Award and a Golden Globe award. She was awarded the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award by the Latin Recording Academy in 2011 and also awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award by the Recording Academy in 2016. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2014. On July 28, 2014, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts and Humanities. In 2019, she received a star jointly with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for their work as the group Trio. Ronstadt was among five honorees who received the 2019 Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievements.
Keith Jarrett is an American pianist and composer. Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey and later moved on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s, he has also been a group leader and solo performer in jazz, jazz fusion, and classical music. His improvisations draw from the traditions of jazz and other genres, including Western classical music, gospel, blues, and ethnic folk music.
Gary George Peacock was an American jazz double bassist. He recorded a dozen albums under his own name, and also performed and recorded with major jazz figures such as avant garde saxophonist Albert Ayler, pianists Bill Evans, Paul Bley and Marilyn Crispell, and as a part of Keith Jarrett’s “Standards Trio” with drummer Jack DeJohnette. The trio existed for over thirty years, and recorded over twenty albums together. DeJohnette once stated that he admired Peacock's "sound, choice of notes, and, above all, the buoyancy of his playing." Marilyn Crispell called Peacock a "sensitive musician with a great harmonic sense."
Jack DeJohnette is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer.
David “Dave” Holland is an English cellist, double bassist, bass guitarist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States since the early 1970s.
Veda Hille is a Canadian singer-songwriter, keyboardist and tenor guitar player from Vancouver, British Columbia. She writes songs about love and tragedy, as well as about topical British Columbia subjects. As well as solo work, she has taken part in many musical collaborations, and has organized two recording projects, Duplex! and The Fits.
Scarling. was an American noise pop band formed in Los Angeles in 2001. The band consisted of lead vocalist Jessicka Addams and guitarist Christian Hejnal.
Mr. Lady Records was a San Francisco-based lesbian-feminist independent record label and video art distributor. Artists on the label included Le Tigre and The Butchies. OutSmart magazine noted that Mr. Lady was "queercore's strongest label."
Jessicka Addams is an American visual artist and former musician. Best known by her stage name Jessicka, she was the frontwoman for the rock band Jack Off Jill, and later for the noise-pop band Scarling.
June Elizabeth Millington is a Filipina-American guitarist, songwriter, producer, educator, and actress.
Carla Werner is a singer and songwriter from New Zealand who began her music career at age 11. At age 12 she won the New Zealand Junior Entertainer of the Year for country music, and went on to win the junior category of New Zealand's first televised talent show 'Telequest' in 1986, hosted by Mark Leishman and judged by Ray Columbus.
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine Rolling Stone. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in a special issue of the magazine in 2003 and a related book in 2005.
Linda McLean is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. McLean's debut album was released in Europe on Rounder Records, her second released internationally on Bongo Beat Records and her acoustic CD on her own Mandolin Records.
Linda "Tui" Tillery is an American singer, percussionist, producer, songwriter, and music arranger. She began her professional singing career at age 19 with the Bay Area rock band The Loading Zone. She is recognized as a pioneer in Women's music, with her second solo album titled Linda Tillery released on Olivia Records in 1977. In addition to performing, she was the producer on three of Olivia's first eight albums. Within the women's music genre, she has collaborated with June Millington, Deidre McCalla, Barbara Higbie, Holly Near, Margie Adam, and others. Tillery was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1997 for Best Musical Album for Children.
Carla DeSantis Black is a writer and advocate for women in music. Sometimes referred to as “The Gloria Steinem of Rock,” she is the founder of ROCKRGRL Magazine (1995-2005) and MEOW - Musicians for Equal Opportunities for Women (2010-2013).
Bear Creek Studio is a residential recording studio located in Woodinville, Washington and is located in a barn on a 10 acre farm. Bear Creek is known for its "rural farmhouse" location. A number of artists have recorded at the studio, including: Brandi Carlile, Train, The Lumineers, Soundgarden, Foo Fighters, James Brown, Modest Mouse, L.A. Edwards, Geoff Tate, The Tragically Hip, Eric Clapton and Lionel Richie. James Shaw of Metric called it "the oldest family owned studio in America, and is a really special place." Chris Cornell said: "It was such a pleasant place, we didn't want to leave."
Women in music include women as composers, songwriters, instrumental performers, singers, conductors, music scholars, music educators, music critics/music journalists, and in other musical professions. Also, it describes music movements, events and genres related to women, women's issues, and feminism.
Women in rock describes the role of women singers, instrumentalists, record producers and other music professionals in rock music and popular music and the many subgenres and hybrid genres that have emerged from these genres. Women have a high prominence in many popular music styles as singers. However, professional women instrumentalists are uncommon in popular music, especially in rock genres such as heavy metal. "[P]laying in a band is largely a male homosocial activity, that is, learning to play in a band is largely a peer-based... experience, shaped by existing sex-segregated friendship networks. As well, rock music "...is often defined as a form of male rebellion vis-à-vis female bedroom culture."
Nicholas James Donnelly is a British filmmaker and music video producer. Donnelly first gained national exposure when directing/producing the music video Game Over Female Takeover, an independent release that featured many of the leading female urban artists in England on one video. These artists included Lady leshurr, Mz Bratt, Ruff Diamondz, Cherri Voncelle, and Amplify Dot The video served as the official remix to the record "Game Over".
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