Girl Power

Yo!

I have a shirt that reads "Feminist Chicks Dig Me." Surprisingly, I haven't gotten slapped yet. I was raised in a very progressive environment, so maybe that's why it gives me great glee to act like a male chauvinist pig.

But cro-magnum tendencies aside, I really do have a feminist statement to make today. This might take a minute, so hang in there. (Gee, I hope I don't lose macho-cred!)

16% of my students are girls. Yep, so don't blame me when I act like a goof, because I hang out with guy musicians all day. (We're known far and wide for our maturity.) This blog is for them.

I think we naturally gravitate towards heroes that are the same gender. I look up to Stevie Ray Vaughan, and my youngest female client looks up to Hannah Montana.

For us guy guitar players, we have it pretty good. 99% of rock guitar heroes are guys. I'd like to talk about the lack of emphasis on healthy female role models for the young women growing up today.

I was lucky enough to sit in with one of my student's bands last night. They played their first gig ever at their school talent show. It was awesome! Three hundred domestic catholic folks didn't know what hit 'em. Bam! We opened with Eye of the Tiger. I don't know for sure, but I would imagine that they could picture themselves as the guys from Survivor. Actually, they could pick from any one of the hundreds of male guitar heroes.

The acts that preceded the band consisted mainly of girls singing love songs. They did well. But I've been getting worried lately. I was talking to my mom, who was also in attendance last night. (She rarely misses my gigs, even if I'm just playing two songs for some students! She's the best!)

She noticed it, too. Where are the girl heroes?

Guys have Jimi Hendrix's pyrotechnics to study. Ozzy's irreverence to inspire. Eddie's finesse to inspire those long practice sessions.

It seems to me that many of the female songs are just about love, rejection, relationships, marriage, etc. All of this leads to....Domestic hell! Ha ha. OK, joking aside, these poor girls are up there looking awkward, average, and uncomfortable pretending that they're some diva crying about some guy.

Ladies, I hate to break it to you, but guys are creeps. We're not worth devoting most of your life to, and we certainly can't make your life worthwhile. (I think a lot of guys need to be reminded this about girls, too.)

I so want to see a girl up there, shredding up the guitar, and pretending she's a juke box hero (with staaaaars in her eyes!)...Just like my band did last night.

Ladies, let's find you someone you can admire for their skill at the guitar. Let's find you some chicks that folks respect for their guitar heroics, not just how they look, or how cute they sing.

Here's a few for you to start:

Jennifer Batten (It's hard to tell, but she's the blonde. ;)

Bonnie Raitt

Susan Tedeschi

Arch Enemy (She's not a guitarist, but she rocks!)

And if you don't see a female hero you like, it could be...The space is open: You be the hero for your fellow girls.

Now, I must go act like a caveman, or I will totally lose my spirit.