Local leading ladies rock the eBar
On Friday Jan. 29, 2016 the eBar was host to a night of powerful female-led rock and roll. The lineup included Guelph’s own Cupcake Ductape alongside The Folk and Toronto’s So Young. The event, hosted by Kazoo!, was a fundraiser for the new Guelph Girls Rock Camp which will debut its inaugural set of future rock stars this March Break. The camp aims to “empower young women and trans and/or gender nonconforming youth to shape the future of Guelph’s creative communities.”
Cupcake Ductape is a relatively new sound in the Guelph scene, consisting of Alanna Gurr (Alanna Gurr and the Greatest State) and Steph Yates (Esther Grey). The sparkle-punk duo opened the night with a minimalist and quirky drum and bass set. Staying true to old school punk stylings, few songs lasted more than two minutes, with a couple even clocking in at under 60 seconds. This duo could probably write a song about anything—and I mean anything. Lyrical themes ranged from eating a hotdog naked in the sauna (if you wanna) and unceremonious champagne birthdays that end when you pass out with a cupcake on your head. Whether or not you can relate to that seemed to be of no concern to the band as they chugged through their set with charismatic nonchalance. Really the best single word to describe Cupcake Ductape is weird. And that’s not always bad thing.
Next to take the stage was Toronto pop-rock quartet So Young. Well-rehearsed and lively, the band brought up the energy another notch for the now-packed house. Fronted by lead woman Paterson Hodgson and paired with bassist Laurie McColeman, So Young proved for a second time that night that women can (and do) rock as well as their male [pullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]…there’s still an undoubtedly male bias in the music industry…[/pullquote]
counterparts. Both Hodgson and McColeman are counselors at the London Girls Rock Camp and have been working hard to inspire a new generation of young rock and rollers.
Closing the night was Guelph favourite The Folk, fronted by two more prominent local female leads Sara and Emma Bortolon-Vettor. Besides being a great example of why music needs more of a female presence, The Folk are also decidedly anti-pop. Songwriting for the band takes from the non-conventional, while still remaining true to the roots of rock and psychedelia. Moments of spacey guitar-induced dream states are interspersed by a raw energy that can come only with true confidence in both your music and your ability to perform it. The Folk are the kind of genuine rock band that would be neither out of place in an arena or your local dive and we’re lucky to have such an act so close to home.
Of course, the real focus of the night was supporting the Guelph Girls Rock Camp. Although things are getting better, there’s still an undoubtedly male bias in the music industry, and that doesn’t just include the composition of bands. Males tend to overwhelmingly outnumber females when it comes to producers, roadies, sound engineers, promoters and venue owners. As a former touring musician, I can only ever remember working with one female sound person in over two years of playing shows and can’t remember a single female promoter that we worked with.
“The gatekeepers tend to be men,” said Yates speaking on a panel earlier in the day with CFRU 93.3FM. “I started playing music in my twenties, and the pivotal people who gave me that ‘permission’ were all men. Having this camp run by women will be really important.”
“It’s about time we had something like this,” remarked Emma Bortolon-Vettor. “We’re creating a space that allows girls to work and play music together. There’s a different narrative that happens when you’re a female musician.”
This anecdote from Sara Bortolon-Vettor summed it all up: “We were playing one of our regular spots in Toronto, and the guy running the show stopped us at the door and said ‘Are you guys girlfriends of the band?’ We’re tired of being called just the girlfriends.”