Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 1986)
1 C reating culture by Kim Severson The past two years have been hard ones for me. Seems like every time I went to my turntable to hear some good women’s music, I found myself taking the album off after the first few cuts. I mean, how many times can you listen to Meg sing about the sweet wo men in her life, Ferron wax lyrical about get ting her heart smashed or Cris sing what is undoubtedly the worst lyric in the genre (com e to your life like a warrior/nothing will bore ya)? Oh sure, Linda Tillery’s Secrets album helped, and sometimes the old tried- and-true stuff soothed my weary soul. But I had to face it I was in a lesbian rut, culturally speaking. And then I went to Michigan. (For those of you not familiar with this amazing annual lesbian — o h . . . uh, wom en s — cultural event the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival is the premiere music cultural and spiritual get-together in the country. To those of us who have ventured to the northern Michigan woods for the fete, it is simply called “Michi gan”.) In the five days I spent listening, talking and living music (and women), I found that there’s a lot of great performers out there, and that my turntable would not be bored for some time to come. The changes in women’s music are hap pening at several levels. The most obvious is the growth of the genie as a whole. Back in the early 1970s when the commercial appeal of music written by and for women was just beginning, there weren't a whole lot of wo men who knew how to mix a record, how to produce a concert or even how to start a band. We had to rely, to some degree, on the knowledge held by men. By the same token, the freedom to make music that centered on the fact that the artist was a dyke was not as available. What was apparent however, was that there were dykes, and by some miracu lous efforts on the part of women who wanted more out of life than Anne Murray, we created record companies, distribution networks and music producers. We found our culture. In creating that culture, however, some thing was forgotten. When I played high school basketball, the coach lived in constant fear of having a crummy junior varsity team. If there were no new players being trained to take over when the varsity graduated, the basketball program would die. Olivia Records, arguably the leader in dictating what — for lack of a better term — I’ll call modem lesbian pop culture, seemed to lack a J.V. team. The rest of us did, too. Older women (I’m 25, so I consider anyone over 30 older) were left wondering what happened to the early ac tivism that sparked political and cultural change, and we younger women had not yet found our place with a pop culture that had gained steam merely 10 years earlier. The old music didn't totally speak to us, and our cultural and political viewpoint was changing. But during the void of the early 1980s, wo men still kept making music and political choices, Olivia and Redwood Records got bigger, and we kept hearing from each other. The result was a larger number of women artists who, finally, are ready to burst into lesbian superstardom. Olivia and Redwood, for example, are now pushing Deidre McCalla and Hunter Davis, two Michigan acts who will show up in Portland before the year is ou t Casselberry-DuPree, an incredible duo on the Iceberg Records label, were a smash at Michigan. Several others of different styles of music are available, and the musical and technical quality of recordings are sounding better than ever. In addition, the variety of political messages are stressing racial issues, religious issues and some music doesn’t even Unique, excellent and very affordable!" stress an issue at alL (Hey, that’s refreshing.) So we finally have a new varsity. But in 1986, the game is being played differently. Opening up the genre means opening up the definitions of women’s music to include more than politically correct statements and white, lesbian love songs. And the sheer numbers of different types of groups means the traditional women’s music audience (even with all our incredible wealth) cannot support the number of women out there who deserve to make a living doing their music. To survive culturally and financially, women’s music needs to tap the mainstream audience. I’m sure the idea of having men in the audience of an Alix Dobkin concert produces chills in the traditional souls of some lesbians. In addition, big-name labels are threatening to start distributing some albums, and the local women’s music distributors who built an incredible network stand to lose money. If Tower Records sells albums, it means less money for women’s bookstores. The key is to work to keep the space we have, and grow into larger markets — not at the expense of women producers and distributors, but in conjunction with them. I still buy as much music as I can from the women’s bookstore. I hear women’s music at straight clubs, when possible, and go to women-only events. I remain steadfast in working to preserve spiritual drinking fountains such as Michigan and women-only spaces. But I also believe there are a lot of straight people who can benefit from hearing good, feminist music and a lot of money in the pockets of some of these same people. Another important aspect of opening our culture to a diverse audience is what it can bring into the culture. A genre dominated for too long by the middle-class, white camomile tea crowd can grow stagnant Culture is not static, however. To grow, new ideas and new energy needs to be introduced. And, happily, that is happening. One small example is Max ine Howard, a Saturday night act at Michigan. I mean you should have heard the rumors fly after her set Imagine a woman dressed in black leather hotpants and a tuxedo jacket kicking out the hottest rock and roll ever to hit Michigan. Some said she was straight Some were incredibly offended by the music, writ ten by the likes of Chuck Berry and B.B. King. But damn if you couldn't dance to it And after she left the stage, Teresa Trull took over, and we heard from a white lesbian who has been around almost since the onset of com mercial women's music. And we had diversity, we had empowerment and most importantly, we had fun. ( THE NUMBER YOU CAN T FORGET Vans Visa and Mastercard accepted, too. 2 2 7 -1 2 5 4 PROMPT COURTFOUS SAFE 50 YEARS • Parcel Pick-up ft Delivery • Jumper Cable Service • Station Wagons Available • W h e e lc h a ir/ H andicapped Transportation • Sightseeing Tours by Taxi or 15-Person Luxury Van METROPOLITAN PORTLAND'S OLDEST & LARGEST Bring Patricia Charbonneau into your home! Up the street from The Primary Domain PETTYGROVE HOUSE AND GARDENS 3RD ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION A special thank you to the lesbian and gay community for your support. We cordially invite you to celebrate with us! Please bring in this Just Out ad and receive: • An autographed “Asiano” print of the • Victorian Pettygrove House • A complimentary glass of French champagne 50% off on a second entree of equal or lesser value NOW OPEN EVERY NIGHT Luncheons Monday-Friday • • • • DESSERTS WINE COCKTAILS LITE BAR MENU Served til Midnight THREE COURSE DINNERS FROM 7.95-15.95 FULL COURSE LUNCHEONS FROM 3.95 RESERVATIONS ACCEPTED 221-4254 Desert Hearts in video All major credit cards Com er NW 23rd & Pettygrove PETTYGROVE House & Gardens 3RD ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION $7995 at A W om an's Place Bookstore • 1431 NE Broadw ay Available December 22nd. Limited quantities. Reserve your copy by November 16th. 'v8Vt.»9<Jrr,<»v/ovr ilA J lev Ju$t O u t, N o ve m b e r, 1986 _ . (
