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SINGAPORE: There are several reasons why you should go to Baybeats 2009. One, there'll be some interesting collaborations by Chris Collingwood of Fountains Of Wayne fame, with local musicians Kevin Mathews and the Lilac Saints, as well as Brit singer Ally Kerr and local band Leeson.
Two, it's still free.
And, three, you can check out the babes rocking out on stage.
Singer Inch Chua; DJ Ginette Chittick; Iva Sadon of electronica outfit Dualtone; Sarah Nicole De Conceicao, lead singer of pop rockers Audiocean; Alexandra Chan, guitarist of metal band For Better Endings; Jasmine Isa Butterworth and Feng Ying Yi of goth/metal band Meza Virs; Ann Chua from The Marilyns; Magdalene Han from Great Spy Experiment and Joanne Lim of prog-rock band Zero Sequence are the girls representing the local contingent.
Meanwhile while their international counterparts include Sarah Marco of Philippine band Taken By Cars, and Risa Saraswati and Dina Dellyana of Indonesian outfit Homogenic.
BUT CAN THEY REALLY ROCK OUT?
Female perfomers here generally tend to be categorised into a) Chinese pop stars like Stefanie Sun and Kelly Poon, b) jazz singers like Alemay Fernandez and Michaela Therese, c) the "others" - those pub singers who sing Top 40 tunes, up to and including hotel lounge acts.
Even with babes like Shirlyn Tan rockin' it out night after night, the general vibe is that the ladies can't quite bring it on like the guys.
All of this, of course, is balderdash, say all the female musicians we spoke to.
"There is always a stigma about females who do things that are generally 'reserved' for males," said Iva Sadon.
"In the music world, I think females have to work harder to be taken seriously."
"Girls rock," added Sarah of Audiocean. "Who doesn't want to see a chick on stage doing what she does best? Girls are capable of anything. It's such a wide span of music. When I hear 'girl drummer', I don't think, 'Oh really, girl drummer?' I go: 'Wow! Girl drummer!'"
"When people say, 'What do you do?', I say: 'I sing in a metal band'. I just love that reaction from them!" said Jasmine of Meza Virs, who cites Mariah Carey and Enya as influences. "Why are you singing metal?" Because it's more challenging, and I like that challenge of fusing the styles."
JUST DON'T CALL THEM WANNABES
According to Inch Chua, singer for pop-rock band Allura, the problem with pushing the female agenda is that the public needs reference points. That, unfortunately, usually means comparing them to established acts like Paramore - which results in yet another stereotype that they have to break. Although what's worse, said Inch, is that some really want to be the local version of Paramore.
"It's like a total stereotype on its own ... In fact, it's a bit sad when people say your band sounds like Paramore just because they're the only prominent female-fronted rock band," said Inch. "You need to be known for your skill, and for female vocalists, there's nothing more unoriginal than trying to sound like someone else."
At the end of the day, a lot of the ladies would prefer that music be genderless, and all they ask is for the audience to listen to the music and not be bothered about the sex of the musician. "Why does it matter whether I am a chick or a dude? I could be a hermaphrodite, and it still doesn't affect my role as a musician," said Iva.
'I'M IN A BAND'
What we want to know is: Do the girls ever use the line "I'm in a band" to pick up guys? Afterall, its what the boys always say to get the girls.
Said Inch: "Aaron, from my band, Allura, actually has a shirt that says: 'I don't have cash, I don't have a car, I don't have money, but I'm in a band'." "I really do think that is the worst pick-up line ever, and I will never use it," said Iva.
It's a no for Taken By Car's Sarah Marco, too. But being in a band does help. "No, I've never used it like that!" said Sarah. "But it's happened before that when guys find out that I'm in a band, they get really intrigued after that. Like, 'Oh, you're in a band'. And when they realise that I'm the lead singer they go, 'Oh, a rock star'. So I guess in that sense, I have used that to my advantage."
"(The line) is for guys to use because they actually need a line to pick up girls!" added Audioocean's Sarah. "I don't think we even need a line."
Ooh, burn!
Catch them all at this year's Baybeats from Friday to Sunday at various locations around The Esplanade, from 6pm.
- TODAY/yb
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