With a mug of beer in one hand and a cymbal in the other, Anna, "Annamul," prods her drum set onto a low stage occupying the front half of the Blue Fox Bar and Grill.
Annamul, nicknamed after the raucous drummer in Muppet Babies for her head-shaking onstage presence, is one-fifth of a jam band organized by Women in Music Minnesota, an advocacy group for female singers and musicians living in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
On the last Sunday of each month, the non-profit group gathers in Arden Hills to practice, perform and open up the stage to female artists of every genre.
"We've been doing a lot of showcases and jams," Rebekka Fisher, WIMMN's executive director and co-founder, said. "We do anything to get women on stage."
Helping women gain the same amount of exposure that men typically have in the music industry is one of the non-profit's key goals.
"A lot of women have told me they wouldn't normally come to a jam, but they do come to this one," Fisher said.
Past jam sessions have included hip-hop artists, country singers, up and coming teenage rockers and a woman who performed a Native American ritual in full costume. The only requirements for jamming are that you're female and you sign in with Kulla, a WIMMN board member.
Tonight, Kulla sits before the stage, clipboard in lap, soon to be filled with names of fledgling artists eager to step onto the stage.
The first to arrive is Sneetches, a band of middle and high school girls, here to perform for the first time.
"We get a lot of 13-year-old all-girl bands," Fisher said.
Many have had few chances to try out their songs before a crowd. WIMMN's jam sessions are an ideal opportunity for them to gain experience in front of a supportive audience, bolstering a future generation of female musicians. Being on stage also builds confidence and inner strength, another main goal of WIMMN.
Another goal, as stated in their mission statement, is: "Starting a conscious change of how society sees women in music," because Fisher explained that women are seen as sex first, musician second.
She can easily rattle off half dozen more problems with the current status women stereotypically occupy in the music world.
"When I'm setting up, I constantly get 'Oh, it's karaoke night,' or, 'I bet you're a singer,'" Fisher said, in a condescending voice. And even though Fisher's musical group, the Rebekka Fisher band, is named after her, bar owners never think to pay her at the end of the night.
"They probably don't think a woman's in charge," she said. "Part of the problem is, women are treated a little bit differently and women take it. They don't stand up for themselves."
But WIMMN is beginning to change that, one girl at a time by providing a safe environment where women can step up to the plate and do their stuff. The organization's helping to build self-assurance in local female musicians, who can, in turn, demand more for their skills.
Quarterly meetings, open to women and men, are held before jam sessions throughout the year. Here, WIMMN members (about 35 total) gather to listen to a guest speaker in the music industry, learning how to build on existing skills and learn new ones. The group also hosts an open songwriting contest, to help participants craft songs likely to gain airplay.
Although WIMMN's mission is serious, they also come together to relax, have fun and rock out.
Between sips of beer, Annamul's unbridled laughter spill forth as Michelle Dunkirk, the jam band's sage and violinist, lobs playful jibe after jibe at her.
"We want to have fun," Dunkirk said. And they certainly do.
"You never know what to expect, but we always have fun," Kulla agreed. "And we're all becoming great friends."
Now standing on stage, Dunkirk sings: "Winter, spring, summer, or fall/All you have to do is call/
You've got a friend/You've got a friend/You've got a friend."
Dunkirk finished with a smile. "And that goes out to all the wonderful people in this band."
www.wimmn.com |
