Dear Dickheads,
On August 26, RadioActive aired a show asking the question “why are there not more female-fronted rock bands in Utah?” I called in and stuck my foot in my mouth, in a sense. I said that I feel it may have something to do with folks looking up to their favorite bands as idols rather than people just like themselves expressing their ideas through music, which I agree with. Where I fucked up is calling out bands. I said something like “bands people idolize, like Pink Floyd, The Doors and a lot of metal bands.”

First of all, I’m a huge Floyd fan. I feel they are a band that I have idolized in my life, which is why I said it. Same with The Doors. And generalizing a whole genre like Metal? I was out of line. So to Pink Floyd, Doors, and Metal fans, I apologize.

However, I’d still love to see more ladies fronting rock bands in this state. There are plenty of affordable guitars, basses and drumkits out there, so if you’re a woman who’s thought about doing it, do it! We’re lucky to have KRCL with programs like RadioActive in Utah. Next time I decide to call in, I will be choosing my words more carefully. Maybe. Sometimes I can be a compulsive, neurotic fuck. How interesting are careful folks anyway?

Damn the man,
Benjamin H.

Dear Benjamin,
I’m not sure I entirely understand your point—are you saying that people don’t include women in their bands because the bands they grew up idolizing didn’t have female members? Because that’s both fucked up and fucking stupid. Since you said you have stuck your foot in your mouth before, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you meant something entirely different, even though I already have a pretty strong dislike for you because of your fondness for Pink Floyd (if you can buy a band’s shirt at JC Penney, that band sucks). Women have always been underrepresented in art and music, but there are a lot of women in Salt Lake making great local music. We love the hell out of Subrosa, whose most recent lineup featured three women. Spell Talk has recently added a great female guitarist. Pretty Worms released three awesome 7”s last year, all with a female vocalist. Daisy & the Moonshines, Uncle Scam, ESX, Bellrave, Chainwhip, IX Zealot, INVDRS, Dani Lion, Moon of Delirium, Dick Janitor, The Suicycles, Dances With Wolves, Erin Barra, The 321s, Handicapitalist, The Folka Dots, ABK Band, and probably a shitload of bands from Provo all feature at least one female member, and they’re all pretty great. It’s definitely true that there are way more dudes making local music than ladies, but there are more local female musicians than most people think. And even though I hate The Doors, Benjamin, you do raise a good point: We could always use some more awesome women making music in Salt Lake.