"Take Back the Radio," by Christine Murray (Rockerchick Zine, January 2001)
If you lived your life according to radio playlists, you wouldn't think women were making music at all.
I'm talking about women who play instruments. Women who don't have back up dancers.
I'm not belittling women who are primarily pop vocalists, I'm just saying that women musicians, players, bands, are basically invisible on the radio right now.
We know there are women rockers out there, Sleater-Kinney, P.J. Harvey, Hole, the Pretenders, occasionally Sheryl Crow, Fiona Apple, Joan Jett, Le Tigre, Tori Amos (add your own favorite rockerchicks here) -- why aren't they on the air?
So, if you're in the NYC area, below is a list of radio stations and their request line numbers to call and request female artists.
If you don't live in the NYC area, make your own lists and pass out flyers at shows you play or go to.
If I could hear Sleater-Kinney played on KROCK, the home station of Howard Stern, here in New York, I think I could believe in God again.
91.1 FM WFMU
201-200-9368
Format: Variety
92.3 FM WXRK (KROCK)
1-880-321-WXRK
Format: Rock
(Not one female artist is listed in their playlist found on their website.)
95.5 WPLJ
1-800-321-WPLJ
Format: Top 40 Pop/Rock
(You know a lot of Third Eye Blind, Matchbox Twenty and Creed.)
92.7 WLIR
516-955-0927
Format: Alternative
106.3 FM WHTG (New Jersey)
732-493-2002
Format: Alternative
So listen folks, all you punk princesses and indie boys and all species and subspecies of musician, girls and boys, women and men, we need to get together on this because we can't make a dent without each other's support.
NYC is filled with bands. Let's get together and let's make, as they used to say in the '60s, a happening.
We ladies in Bionic Finger are constantly looking for new girl bands, girl/boy bands and cool boy bands to play with and hang out with. Let's cause a ruckus and rabblerouse.
I don't care what kind of music you play -- the point is that women and like minded men support each other.
I recently heard Courtney Love speak at the Rockrgrl conference in Seattle, and she said don't be afraid to be huge. I'm taking that to heart in the sense that I want a huge community of musicians, artists, fans, friends and troublemakers from New York and everywhere.
Then we can really kick ass.
Want to discuss? Email me at biofingrl@yahoo.com.