Women in Rock

I just saw Skillet in concert over the weekend. Last weekend I saw Sick Puppies at Locofest in El Paso. In August at the X-fest I had the pleasure of seeing Halestorm. All three were absolutely amazing live.

The other thing these rock bands have in common is that they have female members: Skillet’s rhythm guitarist Korey Cooper and drummer Jen Ledger, Sick Puppies’ bassist Emma Anzai, and Halestorm’s lead singer and guitarist Lizzy Hale. All of these ladies, I’m glad to say, rock harder than a lot of male rock musicians out there. Not to mention that they are all ridiculously beautiful. You should have seen the men in the crowd go crazy for Emma Anzai when Sick Puppies took the stage, including my teenage brother.

I actually got to meet Lizzy Hale and Emma Anzai-I’m one of those crazy people who waits hours after the show and elbows people to get to them-and not only did I get their autographs, but I also got to tell them how much I love what they’re doing for women in rock. (By the way, when I told Halestorm I was doing women’s studies at Tech, one of the other band members told me his sister just got her master’s in feminist studies. How freaking cool is that?)

It’s interesting to see more women take on the guitar-of course, they’re still not lead guitarists generally- rather than bass. I learned about this study on female bassists in my Gendered Lives class where in interviews female bassists would say they prefer bass because it plays a more supportive role in the band, and that they actually prefer not being in the limelight as lead guitarists. It was an interesting study, and not to say that female bassists are merely victims of discrimination in rock music, but I am glad to see women taking on roles in rock we haven’t necessarily seen them in before. (The major exception would be the great Nancy Wilson of Heart, whom I still consider to be one of the greatest rock guitarists ever.)

I highly recommend all three of these bands, not simply because some of the members are female, but because they are amazing up-and-coming musicians. Here is Halestorm's "I Get Off" video for your enjoyment.