Last weekend, a Massachusetts band called Kalliope Jones, a trio comprised of 14 to 16-year-old teen girls, competed in the state’s Three County Fair Battle of the Bands competition. While that’s not news by itself, what is noteworthy is the disgusting feedback the group received from a male contest judge, who told them to “use the sultry” in their voices. Keep in mind that these are children he’s talking to.
The pop band, comprising 16-year-old singer-guitarist Isabella DeHerdt, 14-year-old drummer Alouette Batteau and 14-year-old bassist Amelia Chalfant ended up placing third in the competition. In their post-competition feedback cards, an unnamed male judge on the three-person panel wrote in the “Showmanship / Stage Presence” category, “Good outfitting style-matches music style well. [Love] the sultry in bassist voice + Guitar singer’s too (sic). Use the sultry to draw in the crowd. Audience participation opportunities missed.”
Like I mentioned before, when you take into account that, legally, these are children we’re talking about here, this is capital-I Insane. Even if these were adult women, it’d still be disgusting. This is the year 2015 and female musicians are just that — musicians. As an added cherry on this misogynistic cake, the anonymous judge gave the band a bonus point with the note, “Chicks rock.” Oh. My. God.
Being a little more in-tune to the world and the way words mean things, the band promptly responded on Facebook.
More Top Picks Best Swiss Automatic Watches For Women
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
Today, we played at the Tri-County Fair at a Battle of the Bands for ages 12-16. Everyone played spectacularly. There…
Posted by Kalliope Jones on Saturday, September 5, 2015
That pretty much sums it up. However, the band later clarified its statement again on Facebook yesterday:
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
To the board and organizers of the Three-County Fair:This is to clarify our position on what has become a controversy…
Posted by Kalliope Jones on Monday, September 7, 2015
If anything, this serves as yet another reminder that the way we write about music and women is extremely important. For this judge, who very likely thought he was doing a nice thing, actually ended up doing the exact opposite. Words and music both matter and as Kalliope Jones’ articulate posts prove, this serves as a teachable moment. Below, watch the band perform a really awesome song.
[email protected], @joshhterry
For more music, click here.
[Sponsored]: Want to learn how to brew beer or make an awesome cocktail? Click here to teach yourself.
More Top Picks Best Single Stage Snow Blowers