The Take Back the Night march is an event I try to attend every year in Saskatoon, help this year on Thursday, September 21, 2017. I don't feel I need to go into the reason why it is important, because if you don't know, you should. This year it was held at the YWCA Saskatoon parking lot, and walked over to the University and back (about two miles, total).
After the march, which had quite a few hundred people of all ages and genders, we met back at one of the rooms at the Y, and were treated to the music of local Saskatoon band, Jezebel. Yeah, I know, there are a few other bands with that name, but as I have not seen them, it's a moot point right now.
They had a nice contingent of fans at the event who danced in the back. Yeah, they were fun, that's for sure. They did a few covers as is expected for the crowd, including Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" and Joan Jett's "I Hate Myself for Loving You." And as they describe themselves as "Unapologetic Bridge City prairie pop punk; pulling no punches with knockout hooks, hard hitting melodies and heart-on-their-sleeve lyrics, it's no surprising they do a cover of Britney Spears' "Toxic." While they were well done, I actually liked their original material better. They have an EP coming out, and perhaps I'll get the chance to review it.
Terri Bear-Linklater: vox; rhythm guitar
Mik Mak Bowman: vox; bass
Jovan Larre: lead guitar
Breton Cook: drums
It is bound to come, where applying
for jobs by cell phone will be the common procedure. The level of technology at
present day, however, makes that possible, but is it the most efficient?
Of course, the biggest attraction to
using the mobile over the desktop or laptop is ease, and yes, being able to
blast out your information to a large number of companies covers more ground.
Having your resume and/or cover letter in your email and forwarding it is a
snap. Even with that, there are more functional and possibly successful ways to
proceed in your job applications.
When you send your resume and cover
letter to a prospective employer, the email will indicate that it was sent from
a mobile device. This tells the Hiring Manager some assumptive information. For
example, it says that you are sending out resumes that are not directed to the
company’s individual needs, but as a “pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey,” cover-all
template. They want to know you are
willing to put in the work and research before you apply, and that you are
self-motivated and proactive. If you want to stand out, it is better to individualize
your resume and cover letter rather than sending a come one-come all version.
This is especially true for cover
letters. Some people will type in a version of a cover letter into the actual
email, but this is not as efficient in attracting positive attention as
attaching a document that is easy to print out.
A proper cover letter should be
dated, addressed to the company connected to the advertisement even if you have
to look up the actual physical address in a search engine, and mention the
position exactly as it is mentioned in the ad, including competition number if
one is attached. Sending out a cover letter that is undated and unaddressed
does not garner as much attention as one that is directed to the person and
company requesting your information.
Many companies also have online
applications, where the person looking for a job needs to attach a resume after
you create a sign-in with that website. These cannot be sent from an email as
of yet, so there is still a need for the physical presence rather than just a
click on a phone.
Microsoft Word or other word
processing software are not easily navigated on a mobile device, so it is
better at this stage of the technology development to actually work on the
application on a desktop or laptop.
Cheap Perfume were a rockin’, all-woman band that was underrated in the
New York Scene, and deserved better. I had the opportunity to see them a couple
of times in 1977-78, and was happy to give them their due by publishing this
piece. They have reformed a number of times, sometimes with the lead singer who
had moved to the other coast, other times with the rest of the band filling in
vocally.
Please note that this has nothing to do with the Colorado-based band with
the same name, which was formed in 2015.
This interview was originally printed in FFanzeen, issue #5, dated August/September 1980. It was written/conducted by Marc
Silver. I have lost track of Marc, so if anyone knows his whereabouts, please let
him know about this!
Cheap Perfume
occupies the niche of the top-drawing all-female band in New York. Their music
is self-described as “power-pop with a rock’n’roll edge.” Performances are
vibrant and chock-full of ass-kicking rock’n’roll. The majority of their material
is original, but their unique covers range from the Beatles’ “Boys” to a
version of the Tokens’ “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” complete with choreographed
dancing in the aisles.
Brenda, the drummer, had
recently crushed her ankle and was partying the time away in the dismal dungeons
of the Metropolitan Hospital. Also present for the interview at the hospital
were L. and Nancy Street, lead singer and rhythm guitarist, respectively. Sue
Sheen [Palermo], bassist, and Bunny LeDesma, lead guitarist, were AWOL.
Brenda [Martinez-White]: In the beginning I created the Earth and the heavenly
bodies. No, at the start it was Zoey, Susan and me. But I didn’t consider that
the band.
Nancy Street: I noticed an ad in The[Village] Voice for a female vocalist
and I said to myself, “I know just the girl,” meaning L. She auditioned and I
tagged along.
L [Lynn Odell]: It was a package deal.
FFanzeen:When
did Bunny join?
Brenda: Eight months ago.
FFanzeen:After
Zoey left?
Brenda: Yes
FFanzeen:Did
your material change much?
L: The
material changed drastically. Most of the songs up to that point had been
written by Zoey and her boyfriend, so we had to give those songs up.
FFanzeen:Who’s
doing the writing now?
Nancy: Susan and I, and we’ve got friends who give us songs.
FFanzeen:How
would you describe your music?
Brenda: It’s hard.
L: It’s
pop. It’s definitely pop. It’s not punk. It’s not heavy metal. Pop pretty well
rounds it off. It’s under the genre of New Wave, but certainly not punk.
Nancy: Power pop, with a standard rock’n’roll edge.
FFanzeen:Who
are the major influences in your songwriting?
Brenda: Mostly guys.
FFanzeen:I’ll
ask you about that later.
Nancy: I’m influenced by the Beatles and the Who. Susan is influenced by…God
knows…Frank Zappa, Ian Hunter, Mick Ronson, Southside Johnny, Greg Kihn…
L: Uncle
Floyd.
FFanzeen:On
stage, Bunny for example, is styled after Keith Richards.
Nancy: Very Stones.
Brenda: Very stoned!
FFanzeen:Do
any of the rest of you ever mimic your rock heroes?
Nancy: I do try to do the Pete Townshend windmills.
L: And
it looks ridiculous.
Nancy: But I try. I don’t do it very often and I’m not very good at it. But
after a few vodkas…
FFanzeen:What
would it take to get you to slide across the stage on your knees?
Nancy: I’d pass out before then. But really, I don’t try to emulate anyone.
Brenda: I have my own style.
L: Nobody
plays like her.
Brenda:[to L.] And who do you try to
sing like?
L: Well,
my major influences are from acting. I’m very theatrical on stage. I move
around a lot. I don’t just stand there and turn around in circles, like Debbie
Harry.
Nancy: It particularly bothers me when you see a band who are obviously on a
Who trip or a Beatles trip. There’s a band in the New York area where the lead
singer is doing all the Roger Daltry moves, the lead guitarist is doing all the
Pete Townsend moves, and the drummer thinks he’s Keith Moon. It’s disgusting.
It’s stupid; I resent it. It’s one thing to have influences, but it’s another
to have it completely take over your performance.
FFanzeen:This
is the definition of a cover band. Have you played outside of New York?
L: We
played DC twice; Upstate at Hamilton College [Clinton, NY].
FFanzeen:What
were the audiences like?
L: In
Washington, they’re pretty civil. They’re a little too civil. They’re boring.
Brenda: They don’t get into it heavily.
L: Upstate,
forget it. We had to beat them back with hammers. It was like they had never
heard music before.
Nancy: We played the Hot Club in Philly. They loved us. We beat them off with
sticks.
L: They
were all lesbians. We had to barricade the dressing room.
Brenda: We played a prison once, in Danbury, Connecticut.
L: They
weren't wild about us. We were girls, and that they were into, not the music.
Nancy: It was a white collar prison; tax evaders.
L: Where
Nixon should be.
FFanzeen:What
makes you different from other all-girl bands?
L: Most
of them don’t get any further than forming a band. There are a few that you
hear about once or twice and then they’re gone.
Brenda: Do you know how hard it is to keep girls together?
FFanzeen:I
know how hard it is to keep them apart.
Nancy: Cheap Perfume is very significant to each of us. It is the first and
only band any of us have ever been in.
FFanzeen:On
stage, it looks as though there’s no jealousy over the spotlight.
Brenda: We’re pretty good about that.
FFanzeen:But
I have seen you run into each other on the way into the spotlight.
L: Well,
Bunny needs a pair of glasses.
Brenda: We should hold a benefit for Bunny’s glasses.
L: She’s
walked into my mic stand three times.
Brenda: But she never misses a cute guy.
FFanzeen:Being
an all-girl band might be thought of as a gimmick, but it’s obvious that you’re
serious about yourself as musicians. How do people seem to react to you?
Nancy: In the beginning it was a good gimmick and we never had any trouble getting
gigs.
Brenda: People still come up to me and say, “You know, you’re pretty good for
girls.”
L: At
first they were right, because nobody had come anywhere near mastering their instruments.
And now, although we don’t have it by the tail…
Brenda: – We have it by the asshole –
L: …We
do pretty well.
Nancy: I’d like to think that the timing is right for an all-girl band. It’s
more than accepted. Chrissie Hynde is the rhythm guitar player for the
Pretenders. Girls are becoming more than just the lead singer.
Brenda: Nancy Wilson of Heart is a fuckin’ hot lead guitar player.
Nancy: I think that the lack of female musicians is a problem from our
teen-age. It wasn’t accepted for little 13 year olds to be picking up an
electric guitar.
FFanzeen:There
were no role models.
Nancy: I think that now there will be a greater mix in the near future. There will
be more groups like the Nervus Rex and Talking Heads.
FFanzeen:Unisex
bands.
L: I’d
like to think that we’re responsible for a lot of girls getting musically involved
in the New York scene.
FFanzeen:Almost
all of your songs are about guys and are sexually suggestive. Despite your
musical social ability, it wouldn’t be outlandish to call this an exploitation
or even a gimmick since you’re an all-girl band.
L: Most
rock’n’roll songs are about guys, girls…
FFanzeen:Cars,
money…
L: Sex,
drugs. That’s all. They’re standard themes.
FFanzeen:I
don’t buy that. All your songs are about guys, not any of those other subjects.
Nancy: They’re really not. Only one: “Tommy.”
FFanzeen:What
about “Overnight Angel,” “Boys,” “Back Alley Lovin’,” “Todd’s Song,” and
especially “Too Bad”?
L: “Too
Bad”? No, you misinterpreted the song. It’s not about a guy, it's about missing
a chance, about being in a situation where you know if you did it right, you
could have it. Anything – a guy, a girl, money – anything. But you blow it for
one reason or another.
* * *
Anyway, Cheap Perfume
is a hot act with many surprises. They’re tight and fast and they’ll leave ya
beggin’ for more. They’re avoiding recording until they get the right producer.
Definitely a professional move.
As soon as Brenda is
out of the hospital, Cheap Perfume will be gigging up and down the East Coast
under the guidance of Spotlight Enterprise. I’m looking forward to it.
