They love rock and roll

But will these local female musicians always be in the minority?

Troy L. Smith

Metromix

Lisa Canarvis’ breasts get the credit, and the blame, for most of what happens in her music career.

"People look at the physical first,” says the 26-year-old, who has been singing in Rochester bands for the past six years. “If you have a good performance, it’s because you have boobs. If you don’t get something or you have a bad show, it’s because you’ve got boobs. It is a double-edged sword.”

Being a woman in a band makes Canarvis a minority on the local music scene. There really is no way to put an exact number to how many women are in Rochester bands, but those who frequent local clubs can see it’s mostly a male-dominated world.

For instance, of the local bands headlining shows at Water Street Music Hall in November, just one includes a woman. It is by no means a sign of discrimination on the venue’s part, but more so a reflection of society’s seeming inability to see past gender when it comes to rock music.

Yet, there are signs that things might be changing, which makes many local female rockers hopeful.

“Every time I’ve played a show, the 12- and 13-year-old girls would come up to me and say, ‘I wish I could do that,’” says drummer Maggie Lawler, 22, of Rochester. “The thing is — they can do that.”

Lawler has been playing in bands since she was 17 and is representative of most early 20-something women on the local rock scene. She’s got the emo haircut, piercings and doesn’t mind rocking out with the boys. Lawler most recently was the drummer for local pop-punk act Youngbloods.

Pop-punk, perhaps more than any other genre as of late, has seen a resurgence of the female rocker. National acts like Be Your Own Pet, Flyleaf and especially Paramore have experienced mainstream success during the second half of this decade. The best example on a local level is Lights of Autumn, which often draws Paramore comparisons.

“Yeah, we get comparamored all day, every day,” jokes 21-year-old singer Lauren Ciarpelli, who started Lights of Autumn with bassist Danielle LeBeau two years ago.

While the pair does credit Paramore with helping inspire more female-fronted bands, LeBeau says the local scene is still lacking them. “Unfortunately, some people still haven’t gotten past that stage of awe when seeing a girl in music,” says the 21-year-old. “I wish more women would give themselves the courage to get out there. They have to get over that stigma.”

In larger cities, it seems to be less of an issue. Denise Reese, the 27-year-old guitarist for Rochester band Black August, traveled to New York City in 2006 to try out for Beyonce’s all-girl backup band. While Reese didn’t make the cut, she says the experience alone was worth it. “It was just awesome being in this room with all these girl musicians,” she says. “Just because I don’t see a lot of women in Rochester doing it, I know there are other women out there ripping it.”

Bands like Black August, The Buddhahood, and Tinted Image all include at least one female member and have headlined some of Rochester’s biggest festivals, including East End, Lilac Festival and 10 Ugly Men. But the exposure isn’t there for everyone.

“If you are a woman in any job, a normal job or a career in music, you have to show your talent more,” says Rose Mack, 27, frontwoman for local Goth-metal band Everdream. “It’s a hard job. I just wish your sex wasn’t an issue.”

Everdream will play a show on Nov. 28 at the Montage Music Hall, a venue where Lights of Autumn and Canarvis’ band, Safety Off, also have shows lined up this month. And there are several other bands like Cheetah Whores, Skies Align and Every Last Thursday that include female musicians and play out regularly.

If more women hit the stage around town, it may become less about them being female rockers and more about them being rockers who happen to be women. “I want to be judged on my talent and not my gender,” Lawler says. “I want to be judged on music and music alone.”