Out Artists on the Rise
Team Gina’s expressive brand of rap combines their shared experience as children of the ’80s, and their love of all things pop.
The Seattle-based duo of Gina Genius, 27, and Gina Bling, 26, audaciously sample Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back,” simultaneously referencing My Little Pony, and themes from the queer rights movement.
“We’re synthesizing all the elements of pop culture that we grew up with and mashing them up to create something new,” Genius. “We’re also trying to bring a perspective that’s kind of utopian—we want to represent the perfect queer paradise that doesn’t exist yet, that maybe exists at our shows.” Components? “Well, there’d be really great outfits,” muses Genius, giggling. “And really great dance moves.”
While Gina Bling is a Seattle-born former “musical theatre junkie,” Genius, who hails from D.C. via Brooklyn, is a former folk singer. The beat-heavy duo, who met in 2006 at a Scream Club show, sport matching attire (think booty shorts, wristbands) when they break it down every first Friday at Seattle’s Wild Rose bar. Their debut CD, gina gina revolution, was released this year by Crunks Not Dead and Don’t Stop Believin’ Records.
The two giggly femmes, who just finished touring with MondoHomo Dirty South, share one other love: butch girls. Hence these memorable lyrics from their Sir Mix-sampled track “Butch/Femme”: “I like butch girls and I cannot lie/You other femmes can’t deny/When a butch walks in all the femmes wanna fuss/’Cause it’s like one of them and thirty of us.”
For more on Team Gina, visit myspace.com/teamgina. –Melody Wells
Hip-hoppers to country crooners, this year’s up-and-comers are here, queer and ready to entertain
The Shondes
Brooklyn-based quartet, The Shondes, have been commanding our ears and attention with what they deem “politicized, dramatic rock music with classical and traditional Jewish elements.” After the release of a three-song demo last year, the group have been compared to the likes of their Riot Grrrl predecessors for their anthemic punk growls and scorching lo-fi guitars, alongside haunting
violin arrangements.
The group’s design was one of purpose and passion, according to bassist Louisa Solomon. After five years of doing political work, she met drummer Temim Fruchter in 2006 while at a rally protesting the Republican National Convention. The pair would soon explore music as their new medium for expression. The word “shonde” itself is Yiddish for disgrace, shame, or outrage. The members used the concept as a mouthpiece for their most personal causes, including sexism, racism, and the Israel-Palestine conflict. Their fans have been deeply responsive.
“Our music often resonates with a lot of people even if they’re not queer,” Solomon says. “We’ve connected with progressive Jewish communities, anarchists and indie rock fans…If they like the music, it opens up space for us to talk and that’s exciting for us.”
Right now, however, the group has no time to savor their success. The quartet is busy this summer working on their first full length record, The Red Sea, coming in October 2007. National tour dates in the Midwest and West Coast will follow on their website.
Visit The Shondes: shondes.com. –Patricia Chung
