Tag: kayla phillips
Black Women In Rock: We Do Hardcore
So, story time. This group of ladies make me particularly proud. I’ve been listening to rock music since 2002, but didn’t start going to shows until 2009. The only thing I found to go to locally were hardcore shows, so that made up the bulk of what I was seeing and listening to at the time.
One of the things I always wanted to see was black women doing hardcore and metal music on the stage, since that’s what I prefer to listen to, but when I first started going to shows that wasn’t something I ever saw. When I started this blog in 2011 there weren’t a lot of black women in rock in general, but there were almost no black women doing heavy rock music. Alexis Brown of Straight Line Stitch was the only one I knew of at the time.
It’s been an absolute pleasure to see that change over the years, and to have so many women to choose from when I want to dig in and listen to hardcore. Because the hardcore scene was the first scene I ever explored in Atlanta, it always has a special place in my heart, and I love that there are so many black women doing this type of music now.
Like a lot of hardcore kids, I transitioned into metal as my primary genre of choice and most of the shows I go to now are metal shows. And there’s a glut of black women to choose from when I want to listen to metal as well! But I always look fondly on the days of going to weird, out of the way venues (including a random warehouse) to go see hardcore shows, and the women in this group remind me of good times.
Featuring…
Bleed The Pigs (Kayla Phillips) #SeenLive
Replica
Venkman (Lynette Vertilus)
Buggin (Bryanna Bennett)
Hostilities (Larissa Perrin)
Red C (Toni Young)
Picture credits go to their respective owners.
BWIR – Women in Punk Video
Black Women In Punk: Part 3
Osa Atoe is a punk powerhouse and multi-instrumentalist who has been featured in several bands. Osa is also behind the Black Punk centered zine Shotgun Seamstress. Bands she’s played in include New Bloods (along with Adee Roberson – another black artist), Firebrand, and Negation. Suggested Music: Firebrand – EP (2011)
Ally Lowe is the lead singer of Texas punk band The Atomic Tanlines. With her growling, power house vocals, Ally calls to mind great punk singers like Lux Interior from The Cramps, or Kathleen Hanna from Bikini Kill/Le Tigre. Punk’s not dead, and you’ll believe it after taking a listen at this band. Suggested Song: Dirty Queer Rocknroll (Bandcamp – Facebook)
Rachel Aggs, the lead singer and guitarist of bluesy rock band Trash Kit hails from London. Trash Kit’s music evokes the mood and sounds of the early 1980s post-punk wave (think Public Image Ltd), with a shot of the blues. Suggested Song: Medicine (Facebook)
Joy Vay fronts and plays guitar for NJ based punk band TV Tramps. Anyone who’s a fan of the classic skate punk/pop punk sound will thoroughly enjoy this band. They play fast and hard! Suggested Song: Keep Your Mouth Shut (Bandcamp – Facebook)
Lynette Vertilus is the lead singer for hardcore/powerviolence band Venkman. Check them out if you’re into stomp your face in style hardcore punk — you won’t be disappointed. Suggested Song: Dead End Job (Bandcamp – Facebook)
Kayla Phillips is the lead singer for powerviolence band Bleed The Pigs. Brutal, bold and in your face, Kayla will instantly melt your face with her vocals, and who doesn’t like that? Suggested Song: White Washed (Tumblr – Bandcamp – Facebook)
Felony Melony, one of the first Black Women rockers I’d ever heard about, is the lead vocalist for Las Vegas, NV punk band The Objex. A former Suicide Girl (which, if you have to ask who they are, you’re too young) and an all around bad ass, Felony Melony and her band once performed in front of a faction of the Aryan Brotherhood. Her band’s another one to get into if you like the skate punk/pop punk sound. Suggested Song: Kill Your Stereotypes (Bandcamp – Facebook)
———-
This post is part of a series exploring Black Women in Punk music. Part 1 is here, and Part 2 is here. Part 4 is next!
I had this post on ice for awhile, so I no longer have the photo credits for these images. If one of them is yours and you wish to be credited, please comment here or email jaleesa@blackwomeninrock.info.
Black Women In Rock 