I note that there's a festival of events and gigs coming up in London called <a href="http://www.ladyfestlondon.org/">Ladyfest</a>, "designed to celebrate and promote the achievements of women".
Going by the list of bands playing (The Gossip, Babes In Toyland's singer, Spy 51, Linus, Tender Trap), it's seems more akin to the edgy, underground Riot Grrl scene of about ten years ago than to the more commercial likes of Lilith Fair.
Although some of the festival's workshops are women-only, the bands playing aren't. Out of curiosity, not to mention my usual boundless vanity, I muse about whether Fosca would be eligible to play. Going by the genders of band members, Fosca are 75% female. Since Kate joined, our songs are created as a group. Most of the instruments on the new album are played by Kate, Rachel and Sheila. However, I suspect it would be hard for us to qualify for playing festivals of women in music, due to the male 25% – me – being the lead vocalist, rather than, say, the drummer. The lead singer of any band is always perceived as the group's ambassador, regardless of who creates the actual music.
In fact, Fosca are a rare reversal of the old girl-fronted band line-up cliche. We're three girl musicians backing a boy lead singer who wears more make up than the rest of them put together. I modestly like to think this is a refreshing change, in a world of umpteen bands and dance acts where dressed-down anonymous male musicians back glamorous female singer. How often is the reverse true?
Men in female-fronted bands were once given a designated term by the mid-90s music press: "Sleeperblokes", after the Britpop band Sleeper. Everyone knew the girl singer's name (Louise Wener) and what she looked like, but when forced at gunpoint to name any of the rest of the band, or pick them out from a crowd, few could oblige.
Sleeperblokes were there – <i>are</i> still very much there (Garbage for one) – to make up the numbers in photo shoots, to keep the singer company, and, oh yes, to do the icky manly business of playing the actual music, when not putting up shelves and reading road maps. This set-up is commonplace. But the reverse is extremely rare.
Why is that?
Comments in the usual box, please.
Especially if you can name ANY other band (that's released at least one album) where, like Fosca, a male singer is backed entirely by female musicians. NOT just female backing singers. NOT where there's an auxiliary male musician drafted in on drums for gigs only. And NOT that Robert Palmer video.
Perhaps Fosca are shyly, and indeed slyly, radical. For this reason.
And for the fact we have a ban on any band members wearing trainers.
Fosca's gig intro music, by the way, is Lesley Gore's "Sometimes I Wish I Were A Boy".
