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
Emma Gaze of Electrelane
Electrelane’s drummer, Emma Gaze, laughs with amazement when she talks about the places she has toured. “We’re heading to Japan for one day,” she says incredulously.
Gaze’s first gig as a drummer was in her parents’ house in Brighton, England, playing along to Buddy Holly and the Crickets songs. The eighth kid among nine, Emma was 14 when her father suggested she take up an instrument; she immediately knew that the drums were for her. In high school she met Verity Sussman and together they formed the band Electrelane, who have become one of the darlings of the indie music scene with their post-rock sound, reminiscent of Stereolab.
Gaze is comfortable with herself and her sexuality, “It’s fairly obvious that I am [gay]. It’s not something I have to announce or anything.” “On Parade,” the second track on Electrelane’s 2005 album, The Power Out pays homage to Stephen, the boyish heroine of the iconic lesbian novel The Well of Loneliness. Although not pigeonholed as a lesbian band, the all-female foursome certainly has a strong lesbian fanbase who love their lyrics and unforgettable live shows.
The band’s most recent album, No Shouts, No Calls, has been met with rave reviews and the four-piece have been impressing fans with their live shows all over the world. They just finished a stint opening for indie favorites The Arcade Fire, which is sure to help their fanbase grow. Gaze splits her time between L.A. and Brighton, where she grew up. Although Electrelane is mostly touring Europe this summer, watch for them and catch them as soon as you can.
For more about Emma and Electrelane check out electrelane.com. –Sophia Hoffman
