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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 2, 2018)
Page 10 Street Roots • Nov. 2-8, 2018 Culture P HO TO BY ASHLEY ANDERSO N GAME CHANGER Editor Fabi Reyna celebrates five years with her groundbreaking magazine She Shreds, a revolutionary platform for female guitarists BY ANN-DERRICK GAILLOT STA FF W R ITER ive years ago, local musician Fabi Reyna started what would become a revolution. A guitar player since she was 9, she had long been frustrated by the lack of representation of female guitarists and women in the industry. Publications dedicated to the instrument abounded, but their portrayals of women rarely extended beyond the bikini-clad models of Guitar World’s annual Buyers Guide issue. Armed with her expertise with the instrument and the conviction that something needed to change, she created She Shreds, the first magazine dedicated to women who play guitar. With the publication of its first issue in 2013, Reyna bulldozed out a space in the industry where women could, at last, be consistently recognized as culturally significant musicians, luthiers and leaders. Today, She Shreds is the go-to destination for anyone looking for robust and nuanced coverage of one of the most popular instruments in the world. Coverage includes interviews with popular artists, such as rapper Little Simz and Satomi Matsuzaki of F experimental rock band Deerhoof, along with profiles of guitar legends of the past, such as glam rock bassist Suzi Quatro and Hawaiian steel guitarist Annie Kerr, and gear reviews. Over the years, it has also put on a number of events across the country aimed at bringing the inclusive space of the magazine out into the world. On Oct 27, She Shreds celebrated five years of publication with a special showcase at Revolution Hall featuring all female guitariste. While visiting family and working on a story in Oaxaca; Mexico, Reyna talked to Street Roots via phone about She Shreds’ success, the recent fifth-anniversary showcase, and what readers can expect from the magazine as it continues in its mission of highlighting female guitarists, past and present Ann-Derrick Gaillot: How do you think the guitar industry has evolved since you started She Shreds five years ago? Fabi Reyna: Five years ago, the idea of women and girls being a - before even a market before even a consumer - people, especially the guitar industry, didn’t even consider us a community. I would go to these conventions or I would try to get support from different guitar companies and manufacturers, and the question that I always received was, “Do girls really play guitar? Are they really out there?” And for me it was like, well, yeah, and here’s your 60 pages worth of all these different women across the world that play guitar. So five years ago, for so many people, we didn’t exist Today, we’re becoming the largest and fastest- growing demographic in the guitar industry. Whereas then we were considered a niche magazine, I’m getting told more and more that, on the contrary, magazines that were historically mainstream are becoming more niche because they specifically cater to this older, male-driven, male- dominated demographic. See REYNA, page 1 1
