Move over guitar heroes — it is time for some guitar heroines.
Brooklyn bands with female guitar and bass players will melt faces at the Knitting Factory in Williamsburg on April 3 in a showcase organized by She Shreds, a magazine dedicated to axe-wielding women. Even decades after Lilith Fair and the riot grrrl movement, shows that shine a spotlight on women’s string-slinging skills are still necessary, one performer said.
“Seeing women kick ass on stage is really important,” said Maia MacDonald, who plays guitar, bass, and drum machine in a band with singer Mirah, who will headline the gig. “It is important to see a variety of faces up there all the time.”
Grunge-blues outfit Slothrust, melodic punk collective Worriers, queer pop-punks Aye Nako, singer-songwriter and guitarist Mal Blum, and Sadie Dupuis — who is the frontwoman of indie rock band Speedy Ortiz — will also play the gig.
The founder of She Shreds said she created the tri-annual magazine after attending a rock camp for women and realizing ladies who shred were still struggling for respect and recognition.
“Every woman who plays music has the same stories of not being treated equally and getting harassed,” said editor-in-chief Fabi Reyna, who has been playing guitar since age nine and lives in Portland, Ore. “It is exhausting and I thought it was time for a change.”
Reyna said she also felt that the traditional guitar magazines on mainstream shelves had become stale, churning out the same type of content year after year.
“Even beyond just covering women, a new aesthetic needed to happen,” she said.
Reyna published the first edition of She Shreds in 2012, which she funded with the first of what would become many She Shreds concerts. The magazine organizes an annual festival called Shred Fest, which has taken place in Austin, D.C., and Chicago, and has featured big-name bands and artists including Ex Hex, White Mystery, and Cassie Ramone of Vivian Girls.
She Shreds at the Knitting Factory [361 Metropolitan Ave. at Havermeyer Street in Williamsburg, (347) 529–6696, bk.knitt
