Adventures in Kate Bush & Theory, the film by Emma Thatcher

On a cold day in December 2009, a troupe of eager Kate Bush fans and interpretive dancing enthusiasts gathered in Bristol to help promote Adventures in Kate Bush and Theory which is being published March 2010.

The result is this epic five minute trailer, made by the endlessly talented Emma Thatcher. Enjoy!

I am an author

These photos come from a few days of hard work madly moving stuff around in my room in order to make a DIY photo studio. Originally the fire was lit in the photos, but then we ran out of wood. Check out the sweet altar in the right hand side of the photo.

The photos are author portraits for the press release of Adventures in Kate Bush and Theory which is being published is 2 months time!

Happy Anniversary

On Feb 28th this year, it will be 40 years since the first ever Women’s Liberation Movement conference took place in the UK.

To get yourself in the mood, cast your eyes over this gem, the documentary A Woman’s Place, which has footage from the conference and from a march in 1971.

Legitimacy, DIY and making the most of your time

A new year inevitably brings with it re-evaluations of your life situation. What are you doing, what will the next 12 months hold, what possibilities for renewal, what same mistakes will be made?

My own particular existential angst these past few days has been fixated on the idea of legitimation: what does it mean to have your work or ideas legitimised by others, and what does it mean when your work isn’t? How do people creating or working outside of dominant frameworks have the strength to carry on if the value of what they are doing is not recognised? By being recognised I mean being funded or supported by an institutional body, either through a placement or a steady job, or having people put your work out (record companies, publishing houses and so forth), or have some kind of public acknowledgement of the value of what you are doing (good reviews, etc).

I’ve been thinking through these questions with the backdrop of the economic climate, which seems to be grinding to ever more spectacular halts. While the impact of the recession continues to resonate through our lives, with it comes the disappearance of work for precariously funded ventures and the cultural industries as a whole. As such, the paths for legitimised creative working become ever more slim and we have find our own alternatives, we have to create our own legitimation.

As a woman and queer who finds it hard to compromise (but is learning the value of listening to criticism and humility), I know that I have to fight hard to be a creative agent within a culture that remains, on the whole, pretty hostile to me. Likewise I know that I also have privilege which enables me to play the games easier, and which I use to my advantage as well (I can write funding applications and be middle class when I need to be).

I think the biggest tool I have at my disposal, however, is being steeped in the values of do it yourself (DIY) culture. On a daily basis it gives me such a sense of personal legitimation, the power to shape and mould my own life on my own terms. Given the current economic climate, many other creative people are also, I imagine, in the same position. Without a job that would potentially de-radicalise them by being inserted into institutional rhythms and patterns, there is the possibility of a loose, creative meandering in our own time. This time can be used to scurry and twist the reality of personal destiny with a message of our own making. What do we say outside of the hyper-speed of late capitalism? What are our desires and what will we make?

The down side of the economic situation, of course, is perpetual poverty, but at least many people are in the same boat. A benefit is that we may be forced into more public encounters to spread information. The possibilities for free and accessible education may increase as people, like me, who are simply passionate about what they know will have to organise public educational events else they will explode. If I can’t get a job in a university because there aren’t any, I’m going to create my
own forms of dissemination and encounter.

Likewise with research. If I can’t get funding for research projects, I’m just going to go ahead and do the research anyway. Well that was my revelation for this week. I need to just set up my own research schema (and obviously pick up paid work where I can) and get on with it. I desperately want to develop my skills as a researcher, in particular in the realm of history. As my PhD was in a critical theory, I didn’t exactly gain any worthwhile skills. Already I’ve learnt so much from just doing historical research in a DIY context (interviewing people, rooting through archives), and again I feel inspired daily by this ethic which never fails to give me a sense of personal power.

Maybe the recession is just giving me the chance to be ever more belligerant about doing my own thing, but in these times of despair for many it is important to realise there is hope, that we can still do what we love without being validated by anyone. It is also important to build networks, have mentors and not be isolated as you build your life in the way that you want it to be. So while this may be a lag for many, it may also be a time where we can be creative in different ways, and with a different purpose. Calamity can be fortunate sometimes.

Front cover, back and spine – don’t it look lovely!

katebush_coverforreal

Please click on this link for the cover of Adventures in Kate Bush and Theory, which is being published in March by HammerOn Press.

Thankyou to the amazing Caroline Duffy for all her hard work on this.

Advance praise for the book is coming in already. This week Mark Radcliffe described the book as ‘an in-depth labour of love by a genuine Bush fanatic,’ while the wondrous Allyson Mitchell said these nice things:

‘I have never in my life laughed out loud while reading cultural theory. Until now! Deborah Withers has created a text that is a dream come true for gender studies, musicology and fandom. This is just what we hoped for, a weaving of theory, historical data, imagination and activism tied with astute observation and wry wit. This intense semi-biographical read through the oeuvre of Kate Bush is something to be proud of. Cultural Studies has met its match in a readable stretch of the boundaries of theory and genres.’

I’m getting very excited about this now, I hope you are as well.

Vegan Lasagne – best recipe ever

Someone, I can’t remember who, asked me recently if I had a signature dish. My immediate response was yes, of course, it is my incredible vegan lasagne. Following some searches on the internet I recently found out that unfermented soya (e.g. soya milk, tofu, t.v.p.) is probably about the worst thing someone with eczema can put into their body, so one of my main ingredients for said signature dish was cruelly wiped off the menu forever. Well, not that cruel, let’s face it, t.v.p. is hardly the tastiest thing in the world, just something cheap I used to fill up the space in the lasagne tray. Incidently, since avoiding soya and bread for a week my eczema has almost cleared up which, as you can imagine, I am overjoyed about. Why did no one tell me before?

When faced with an evening in for New Years with two of the most important ladies in my life, I had only one viable option: to make the tastiest vegan lasagne in the world to delight their taste buds, warm their souls and make them love me just that little bit more. And make it I did, and love me more they only could.

It was so delicious that I am going to share the recipe with you now. For extra best results, use organic ingredients!

You will need for the

Filling

Passata
1 large onion
1 tin of chick peas (or equivalent dried mass, if you are organised)
1 tin of pinto beans (as above)
2 large flat mushrooms
1 medium squash, peeled and diced into small bits
2 medium beetroots, or one biggy
A liberal splash of balsamic vinegar
3 cloves of garlic, pulped
lots of fresh thyme
1 tablespoon carob syrup
salt, pepper, paprika
oil to fry

Process: Heat the oil and sprinkle in a tablespoon of paprika til really hot, then add the onion, fry. Then add the squash, mushrooms, beetroot. Continue to fry. Add the beans, fresh thyme, garlic, the liberal splash of balsamic vinegar and cook until it feels right. When that moment comes, pour in the passata and add the carob syrup, salt and pepper and let it simmer away til its yummy all the way through. Winter vegetables and squashes work so well in lasagne, don’t be afraid of using them!

Sauce

A generous tablespoon of sunflower spread
2 tablespoons of plain wholemean flour
Rice milk
1 teaspoon of vegetable boullion
1 generous tablespoon of peanut butter
Salt, pepper

Process: Melt the spread, when completely melted add flour and make a Roux (when I was smaller I thought a roux was called a ‘fut’). Add the rice milk in small increments and mix into the roux until you have a sauce. You need to be patient with white sauce (which is essentially what you will be making). Keep stirring it whatever you do and it will thicken, I promise. Add the peanut butter, the bouillion, salt and pepper and it will make the sauce yummy.

When this is done, you need to put the lasagne together. Oh, forgot to say, in the meantime, pre-heat the oven to 200c ready for you to put the delicious beast in. Put a layer of filling in the biggest and deepest dish you have in your collection, then add a bit of sauce, then a layer of lasagne. I used a verdi lasagne which was delish, so I recommend that for sure. Then repeat until you have no mix left. This should be enough to make about 3 layers.

For the final layer you need to make sure you leave enough sauce to completely coat the pasta on the top layer. On top of that, sprinkle sunflower or pumpkin seeds to make it all crunchy and hippy.

Then, whack it in your pre-heated oven for about 30-40 minutes, until the pasta is cooked all the way through, and I promise you, it will be the most delicious soya-free vegan lasagne you have ever tasted.

Serve with a salad of your choosing, but I always like a few olives, avocado, toasted seeds, red pepper, lettuce all covered in an olive oil and lemon dressing. Mmmmmmmmmmmm.

Adventures in Kate Bush and Theory – cover image

Cover image for Adventures in Kate Bush and Theory, coming in March 2010 from HammerOn Press.

Thanks to Caroline Duffy for designing it.

For all you design geeks, Caroline has blogged about the process of making the cover, as well as her thought about the book itself here.

Twtee

If you want to buy anything this yuletime, get a t-shirt from Twtee, the one-stop queer shop for all your t-shirt needs.

The brain child of the wondrous Emma Thatcher and Eva Megias, they have collaborated to produce compellingly hilarious designs that deserve to be plastered over everyone’s bodies. Tell your friends, NOW.

Here are my favourites….

‘Hairy Legs (the ansis tee)’

‘I support female facial hair’

‘I’m quitting crazy’

Can you quit if you are self-employed? Hmmmm….

Amazing! Check them out….

HammerOn Press Logo

My publishing company now has a logo! Behold, the public face of HammerOn Press:

By Semi-Square Design. Awesome!

Interview with Annie Gardiner

I’ve wanted to ask Annie these questions for awhile about her experience of being a woman musician, and how she sets up her sound with her band, Hysterical Injury. I thought it would be a good idea to whack these answers on the blog, so others too can benefit from this lady’s wisdom. Thanks Annie for answering! Here it goes…

Please introduce yourself and your projects…

My name is Annie Gardiner, I am one half or the noise-pop duo Hysterical Injury I play bass and sing. I also sometimes do solo shows with my own set of songs. It is still noisy with the same bass set up but i use
pre-programmed sounds on my laptop to break up the sound live. I also do
a bit or recording of bands and producing.

Can you give us some background to your experience of playing music.
What got your started? Where there any barriers that you faced as a
woman and what strategies did you use to overcome them?

I come from a musical background and so music is in my blood. I played
violin, I played clarinet as a teenager also but i wavered with interest
in these instruments…they seem stayed and uninteresting, maybe that’s
a teaching fault at school or whatever particularly as I was subjected
to things like John Cage, Glenn Gould and Eric Satie as a very young
child at home. I kind of wanted to explore stuff that wasn’t obvious. I
dont know if rock and punk music constitutes ‘non-obvious’ for my
generation maybe for the /actual/ punks but not second/third generation.
I was certainly into sound and noise and I like the way bands like Sonic
Youth interpreted that in a song format. My father had alot of guitars
at home and I was complaining I was bored one day so he gave me a bass
guitar which he bought from Woolworths before I was born and said ‘If
your bored you’ll learn that!’ He provided no lessons as he was
self-taught and was a firm believer in your own exploration of an
instrument and sound, however, he was on hand for all sorts of valuable
info which was extremely lucky!

[photo by Peter Dickinson]

Once I started in bands it was suddenly a boys world and they weren’t as
accommodating or encouraging as my father which I found stifling and
couldn’t understand why..for years!!! I was ready and serious about
music from about the age of 14 and found it very hard to be taken
seriously in bands, perhaps it was the age group, prehaps gender its
hard to say, but it was a surprise to me because I hadn’t experienced
these things in classical music when I was in orchestra’s etc. I didn’t
make the link that it may be because I was female for a LONG time
because I simply thought that was absurd! I dealt with it by moving and
searching for people -boys and girls- that were serious about art and
music. When I went to University to do Fine Art I met some amazing
people there who I am still in touch with and it was like i was
released! People who just knew what you were talking about and were
‘lets do it’! Girls who knew more about music, guitars, gigging than any
man I’d ever been in a band with previously! I also met incredible men
who were just into the creative process and didn’t care about gender –
it was all about making something – art/music together – and that was
the point! Hysterical Injury is me and Lee and it works just fine.

Do you ever feel intimidated by the terminology that is used in
describing musical processes in male dominated music scenes?

No, I dont feel intimidated. I have learned to be equiped with facts and
knowledge.

Please can you describe your sound set up on stage and how you came to
set it up like that?

Well, currently with Hysterical Injury I have two amps – one lovely
Ashdown transistor 150 watt bass amp combo and a very old (41 years)
Ampeg gemini valve guitar amp. I run my bass guitar through these amps
simultaneously via a loop I make through different pedals. Just over a
year ago we had a guitarist who left and Lee and I were faced with
either quitting or getting another guitarist. We chose neither. I
borrowed a Zvex Fuzz Factory pedal from a friend because Rob (our old
guitarist) had used one and I loved the sound. It turned out I could get
incredible dynamics with it especially if it effected the guitar amp
only! Lee and I went through practise after practise trying different
things. I wanted to have a really gorgeous clean dancey type bass sound
that I could sing over that could then be boosted to hike the intensity
of the song using different noisy pedals. It is exciting to explore
making the songs sound full with just two people.

Could you talk in detail about the pedals you use.

I use two pedals at the moment – Zvex Fuzz Factory and a Tech 21 SansAmp
Bass Drive. The fuzz factory is an analogue, hand made pedal by Zachery
Vex who lives in New York and is famous for making boutique obscure
sounding pedals. There is a Gate control and a Compressor control on the
pedal which help create some really broken up sounds that I’ve never
heard anywhere else. Check out the demo here:

I actually wrote a piece of music called ‘Airport’ for Attack!!!!
magazine using just this pedal and its incredible oscillation facility –
i used it in 3 part harmonies of fuzz! Listen here.

The Tech 21 pedal I use for bass boost and overdrive for my bass amp, it
is also an analogue pedal and from New York, and can turn a guitar into
a live wire or keep a deep warm bass tone. It has amazing eq on it as it
is from Tech 21’s character series. Here is a cool video about the PARA
driver – I have the Bass Driver which is slightly different but i saw
this and its very close :

Do you have any advice for women wanting to get a bit teccy with their
set up, but don’t know where to start?

Just get experimenting! Research a little on the web – there are
hundreds of demo’s of pedals on youtube. If your into bands for a
certain sound find out what they use. I prefer analogue stuff because it
sounds wilder and my experience with digital fx is that they tend to
have a restraint on the amount of unruly noise you can get. You want
something with a bit of wildness…maybe?! And if you get funny looks in
the guitar shop cos you’re not what the metallers expect then take it as
a compliment and get empowered by it!