Scalet played to a room that was three-quarters full, which she describes as "a decent crowd for a Thursday night and for somebody no one had ever heard of." The same night, in a different section of the same appealingly garish building, a charismatic rockabilly trio led by Josie Kreuzer opened for that genre's leading female pioneer, Wanda Jackson. Former Heart vocalist Ann Wilson performed an intimate set hours after receiving -- along with guitarist, sister, and bandmate Nancy Wilson -- the Women of Valor Award. And the raucous Titanic-theme-covering Switchblade Kittens and the Hissyfits, which deal in infectious, intelligent punky pop, headlined a high-energy bill. All of these showcases and more (18 venues hosted shows) came courtesy of Rockrgrl, a 'zine that focuses on women and their music without the auxiliary fluff that bogs down most mainstream "chicks who rock" profiles. ("No beauty tips or guilt trips" is the publication's slogan.)
Carla DeSantis, Rockrgrl's publisher, addressed the crowd Friday morning with the inspiring rallying cry "Together, we rock!" She then introduced Ronnie Spector, noting that her band, The Ronettes, brought to mind "an age of innocence we no longer have." However, Spector's keynote speech revealed that dark circumstances lurked behind the creation of such sweet songs as "Be My Baby." As related in her best-selling book, Be My Baby: How I Survived Mascara, Mini Skirts, and Madness, Spector was essentially held captive in a spacious mansion by her manager/ record-label-owner/husband, Phil Spector. After she divorced him, he subjected her to various indignities: withholding royalties from her songs, prohibiting her from performing her songs in public, and petitioning to keep The Ronettes out of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In an emotional climax, Ronnie revealed to her supportive audience that the longest court battle in rock history ended with her being awarded $2.6 million, thus bringing "the biggest crooks in rock to justice."
The rest of the day was packed with panels, all of which were much more thought-provoking and audience-interactive than the typical big-conference discussion. The topics ranged from feel-good stories about networking and sisterhood to lesbian musicians' descriptions of being sexually harassed by crowds and pressured to play free sets at queer-pride events. Switchblade Kittens singer Drama gave a harrowing account of being raped and left for dead by a deranged fan, one of many disturbing experiences to surface during a forum on stalking. Drama urged those being pursued to "stalk their stalkers" by finding out their personal information and creating a trail of documentation to lead authorities to the stalker in the event of an incident. She also recommended that artists who are concerned about privacy fill out the necessary paperwork to have a post-office box serve as a valid driver's license address, remove their names from Internet search engines, and be as vague as possible in sharing personal details with the press.
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