Music

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Womxn in Music: Friday 5 March

Promotional image for the Womxn in Music event hosted by the Boileroom. It features Lesley-Anne O'Brian playing guitar, Ruth Pearce singing and pointing, and Nuha Ruby Ra looking moody and intense.

I am speaking on a panel on Womxn in Music this coming Friday! The event is being streamed by Guildford venue The Boileroom as part of a super cool series in the runup to International Women’s Day. I expect to be speaking a bit about DIY culture, my research on queer and trans politics within punk scenes, and experiences of playing in bands and running events.

I’ll be in conversation with Nuha Ruby Ra, who will also be performing a live set, plus Lesley-Anne O’Brien of Lockjaw Records and Midwich Cuckoos.

You can book tickets for free here (or for a donation to the venue – which definitely helps in Covid times!)

QUEERPOCALYPSE
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QUEERPOCALYPSE

Today is Trans Day of Visibility, apparently. I have felt very strange about this day since it became a Thing over the last decade, as visibility is double-edged sword for many of us. With visibility comes community, and increased access to trans and queer arts, culture, politics, ideas. But in the last few years this has met with a cultural and ideological backlash. We are more visible to those who hate us, those who fear us, those who would cause us harm.

Last year I wrote some lyrics about this dichotomy, which are now part of a new song from noise/punk band Dispute Settlement Mechanism. It’s called Queerpocalypse.

 

One of the great things about being in a band is that the process of creation is always  collaborative. I like that this enables us to express ourselves, be that as queer, as trans, as woman, as people, in different ways that come together as a whole. Communicating through riffs and percussion which tell their own stories alongside lyrics and vocal performance.

This, at least as much as my research and formal writing, is the visibility that matters to me in 2020.

I fear your hate inside
I fear the turning tide
I fear your time will come
I fear you think you’ve won

moral panic
moral panic
moral panic
moral panic

you fear with desperate pride
you fear the turning tide
you fear our time will come
you fear that we have won

well guess what?

this world is ours
this world is ours
this world is ours
this world
is ours

Queerpocalypse is available as part of the compilation album Songs From The Vaults. All proceeds from digital sales of the album (available from £5) go towards supporting important Coventry venue and community centre The Tin Music and Arts through the COVID-19 crisis.

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Gigs in March and April

I’m playing some super cool gigs with my two bands over the next couple of months! You should totally come and see us play.

85063535_2769728823121741_5866758282172956672_nSunday 8th March
Tin Music and Arts, Coventry

I’ll be shouting at Boudica Festival’s International Women’s Day event with the noise rock/punk experience Dispute Settlement Mechanism.

We’ll be sharing a stage with Human Resources, Paradise of the Titans, Jen Haigh, Nyotaa, and the Yap Collective.

Muncie Girls poster
Sunday 29th March
Gullivers, Manchester

I’ll be playing bass in fuzzy pop rockers wormboys at this super cool gig where we are supporting Muncie Girls!

We’ll also be playing alongside the awesome Perkie and Bleach Body.

 

Wednesday 22nd April
Wharf Chambers, Leeds

Another exciting wormboys gig – we will be supporting DIY supergroup Somnia on their UK tour.

 

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New band – wormboys!

Over the past couple of years or so, this website has been host to a series of Increasingly Serious Academic Posts. So it’s time to interrupt this trend to share some exciting personal news – I’ve joined a new band! I am now playing bass in super cool Leeds-based fuzzy noise-pop group wormboys.

Line drawing of the band wormboys

 

I’m using the word “new” in a relative sense here. wormboys have been around a few years now – I first met my future bandmates when they shared a lineup with my other band Dispute Settlement Mechanism back in 2018. And I’ve actually been playing with them since the summer – but better late than never when announcing these things, huh?

 

Anyway, you should totally come and see us play sometime! We play pretty regularly, and our next confirmed gig is at Gullivers, Manchester on 29th March, supporting Muncie Girls.

You can follow wormboys on Bandcamp, Instagram, and Facebook. We also have a super-cool EP out, called eartime (recorded before I joined the band) and will be back in the studio again soon.

 

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Concerts in Coventry: 24th June, 29th July

I’m involved in organising two exciting events at Coventry’s Tin Music and Arts over the coming month.

This coming Saturday sees the return of feminist club night Revolt, complete with bands, DJs, spoken word, zines and our Feminist Library. I’ll be opening the night with my band Dispute Settlement Mechanism.

For tickets and more info, click here.

Revolt #10
On Saturday 29th July we’ll be treated to a performance by CN Lester, who will be performing songs from their new album Come Home and reading from their great new book Trans Like Me.

For tickets and more info, click here.

CN Lester.png
Entry will also be available on the door on a donations basis (suggested donation £5, but no-one will be turned away for lack of funds).