COOL AS LEICESTER

INTERVIEW: Unglamorous Music

What happens when you get together a group of older women taking their first steps into the music industry? That’s what Unglamorous Music is all about, and they’ve gathered some fantastic members along the way. Find out more in this week’s interview.

Tell us about Unglamorous Music and how it came about?

I played in bands in Leicester in the 1990s- Po! and Ruth’s Refrigerator, but wasn’t doing much musically until Covid-19 lockdown, when I reflected on my stressful and dull life and had this urge to form an all-women band. I put out adverts on Facebook etc to try and find a local female drummer/bass player etc but it proved impossible. There are loads of great women musicians in Leicester but they tend to be fronting their own bands or playing solo; there isn’t a pool of musicians to step in. Then one day I had the idea to form a band of women beginners. I thought that by writing simple songs – just like the punks did in the late 70s – and teaching women how to play together, it might be an interesting thing for audiences to watch. I mean, you see some young all-women bands, and there are older women who’ve been in the industry most of their lives like Tina Turner and Debbie Harry, but you don’t see middle-aged and older women starting out. I met with various people in the local scene and decided to start at Stayfree Music because it was staffed and they loaned out guitars and other instruments. The first band was The Verinos and when we played, we got lots of media attention as well as other women coming up to us after gigs saying that they wanted to try playing too. I put on workshops and encouraged those taking part to create their own songs and quickly get used to performing in front of others. This is now the second year of running Unglamorous Music and there are now 12 all-women bands formed in Leicester since the start. The age range is wide – from 24 to 71 and it seems to be making a big impact.

What is unique about the women you’re bringing together?

I think anyone could make a band with their own simple songs if they wanted to and had the right encouragement and coaching. All I’ve done is encourage them to have confidence in their own ideas and present them in a cool way. There is a lot of mystique about music that makes people think they can’t do it. You can be a very talented, dedicated player with the most expensive equipment but it doesn’t mean that your music will necessarily appeal to everyone. Our DIY approach, with simple instrument playing, different voices and lyric themes also won’t appeal to everyone, but we do find that a lot of women like the bands, the songs and the way that our gigs are run. They’re supportive, friendly and humorous and not like most other band gigs.

How did your recent kickstarter go?

I was so amazed at the standard of songwriting from the first bands that I wanted to capture that moment and make a vinyl LP. Back in the punk era, there was a fashion to make compilation albums of bands from one town or city, and that doesn’t happen so much nowadays. The Unglamorous Sampler will feature 12 songs by eight of the bands and the packaging will tell the story of how it all happened. We did a Kickstarter appeal and have reached our target amount a few days early, so we’re relieved and itching to get on with it! I want to promote all the good things about Leicester music. There’s already a lot of talent here, but I’ve shown that there’s also a lot of latent talent in women who might never have considered music or creating songs before.

With that now complete, what are your next steps?

I did have a record company in the 1990s called Rutland Records, which is how I know the process of recording and manufacturing vinyl and CD. We’ll do streaming and digital services too, but you can’t beat the visual impact of a gatefold sleeve to show you the bands and read about the ideas behind the album. Obviously we’ll need another big launch gig like the recent International Women’s Day event we did at Firebug. At the moment, we seem to be attracting worldwide TV and radio interest. We’ve had three different German TV stations come and film us, and The Verinos are due to appear on a national daytime TV programme in April. The idea seems quite contagious, and I’m getting messages and emails from women in Australia and Italy asking how they can set up their own version of the project. I just like doing little local gigs and getting back home at a reasonable time – that’s old age!

What is your favourite thing about Leicester’s music scene?

I like the variety of venues, styles and respect that musicians seem to have for each other, as well as a fantastic infrastructure that is accessible to new bands. Stayfree Music as a rehearsal space has been fundamental in our success because of the helpful staff and flexible bookings; we did our first gig at Duffy’s which is such a lovely small venue for bands starting out, but there seems such a lot of support from all the venues and individuals working in music professionally or as a part-time hobby player. Leicester is just the right size for scenes to thrive and every day we meet more people who are playing their part in it all.

Who or what inspires you?

The fact I’m getting older and you never know how much longer you’ve got to do the things that bring you joy. Literally, running out of time! Initially I gave up music once I was in my early 30s because I thought people would think I was too old for it. Now I realise it doesn’t matter, because you’re doing it for yourself, for fun and to create something new and different. I’m inspired by people of any age who have principles and integrity and try and communicate with the world rather than just wanting to be famous or rich.

How can people keep up to date with what you’re doing?

Unglamorous is on Facebook, Youtube, Twitter etc @unglamorous as well as unglamorous.co.uk

The Verinos are on social media @theverinos or theverinos.uk. Please also check out our individual bands: Velvet Crisis, The Wonky Portraits, Dada Women, Glitch Magnet, Virginia’s Wolves, Venus Attax, Belladonna, Peri Peri Women, Pretty Dirty Rats, Ruby River, Boilers

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