Year: 2017

Nice & Rough: Black Women IN Rock Indiegogo Campaign

~ Black Women In Rock ~ Leave a comment

Hi all! I’ve just got word that the good folks behind Nice & Rough: Black Women IN Rock have launched an Indiegogo campaign to help get their documentary off the ground, and they need YOU to help make it possible!

This project is not directly affiliated with my own, and I found out about them three years after starting my own blog, but I absolutely support what they do and want to help get the word out about them. You can find a treasure trove of interviews and features with various working black rock musicians on their site Nice & Rough. Use their wonderful site as an extra resource to find out more about the plentiful contributions of black women to rock music.

I’ve already contributed to this campaign, and urge you to do the same. As with the Poly Styrene documentary campaign (which recently exceeded its’ set goal), it is very important to get media out there that present the stories of black women who make rock music. Even though we’ve been a part of rock from the start and have given so much to the movement, it’s so easy to make black women invisible in this scene. Projects like these helps to make sure that DOESN’T happen!

The link for the Indiegogo campaign is here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/la-shoot-nice-rough-black-women-in-rock/x/16403222#/ If you can give to this project, please give! If you can’t please, please share! Thank you!

Black Women In Metal: Part 4

~ Black Women In Rock ~ 1 Comment

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What’s special about these last four ladies is that they perform as solo-acts, crafting their own special sound while rocking out at the same time. This is the conclusion to our Metal series. The other 3 parts of the series can be found by clicking the following links: Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3

Adore (top left) – One-woman black metal, with artist Adore (Shantell Daggs)  playing all of the instruments on her recordings. If you like having your face melted, then definitely check her out! The Facebook page for her project is here: https://www.facebook.com/1adoremusic/

Dohrn (top right) – For even more face-melting, check out Alicia Warrington’s project Dohrn. Completely heavy, completely brutal, and stunningly good. Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/dohrnmusic/

Omega Sirius Moon (bottom left) – OSM has a grungy sound that crosses over into stoner territory at times. Nice to listen to. Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OmegaMoon/

Kudisan Kai (bottom right) – What’s best about Kudisan Kai are her powerful vocals, laid over tight instrumentation that’s as good as any other alternative band out there. Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KudisanKai/

Photo Credits: Adore (FB page), Dohrn (FB page), Omega Sirius Moon (http://omegasiriusmoon.tumblr.com/), Kudisan Kai (FB page)

Black Women In Metal: Part 3

~ Black Women In Rock ~ 1 Comment

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Far from being an anomaly, black women play extremely important roles in a variety of rock acts. This includes a number of metal acts. Here are five more ladies who shred and scream in metal bands. This is a continuation of the Metal series. Part 1 is here, and Part 2 is here.

Dana James (Helms Alee): Dana James plays bass for this stoner/sludge inspired metal band Helms Alee. High-quality music, recommended if you like laid-back metal like Torche and Baroness. Bandcamp page: https://helmsalee.bandcamp.com/

Militia Vox: The lead vocalist for the Judas Priest cover band Judas Priestess, and also works as a solo artist. Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/militiaismyname/

Goldgrrl (Erzulie): Lead vocalist for Chicago-based metal band Erzulie and an all-around awesome person. Their sound is reminiscent of Plasmatics-esque punk metal. Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ErzulieBand/

Jada Pinkett Smith (Wicked Wisdom): Yes the actress! Besides acting, she is in a heavy metal band called Wicked Wisdom, who got to play Ozzfest a few years back. Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OFFICIALWICKEDWISDOM/

Kiyoe Krista Fluker: Guitarist for Harlequin and former bassist for Fortress of Empyrean. Based in Los Angeles. Facebook page for Harlequin: https://www.facebook.com/pg/harlequinofficial/.

Photo Credits: Dana James (Helms Alee Bandcamp Page), Militia Vox (Facebook page), Goldgrrl (Erzulie Facebook page), Jada Pinkett Smith (Wicked Wisdom Facebook Page), Kiyoe Krista Fluker (Harlequin Facebook page)

Part 4 is coming up next week to conclude the series!