Loud, driving guitar riffs; head-pounding bass lines; heart-bursting double bass kicks; screaming, angst-filled vocals; a dozen or so sweaty bodies in a mosh pit where broken bones and shattered teeth are real possibilities…sounds like a man's world, right? Guess again. Women are beginning to make an impact in heavy metal, a genre of music that is mostly dominated by male testosterone. On the national scene Kitty (an all-female group from north of the border) are garnering rave review, and they find themselves touring with the big boys of metal on a regular basis. Sharon Ozbourne-wife to metal demigod Ozzy-while not a musician herself, is perhaps the most influential female in metal today. They may call it Ozzfest, but Mrs. Oz has a large say in who plays. Metal's gender barrier is coming down on the local scene as well: FSN, from Clarksville, Tennessee, is fronted by an energetic eighteen-year old named Alexis Brown, and Evan Darr supplies the bass lines for Nashville-based Lower Unit. Don't confuse either one of these two talented musicians with the likes of pop stars Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera; they are both tough as they come and their musical ability speaks for itself.
Alexis is one of the best frontmen (make that frontwomen) around, even though she hasn't been doing it that long. Her normally shy exterior disintegrates once she grabs a microphone, leaving in its' place a natural performer. In the nine months I've been following her band I've seen her perform just as hard for a crowd of three as she has for a crowd of a hundred. When she's into the music she throws her body around with no respect for it at all, making her body twist into all kinds of mind-boggling positions. When the show is over she is usually left tired and hurting; sometimes she's in pain for days afterward. But her smile never goes away. It's that kind of intensity and dedication that is earning her band and herself a reputation for giving it all they have every show they play, no matter the size of the crowd. Once off-stage, however, the madwoman in her disappears (or at least goes into hiding) and she is her usual modest, shy self. She has the looks, the magnetism, and the talent to be a rock star, although the key ingredient is missing: the ego. Go figure. She is the perfect front(wo)man for FSN's unique style of music. Her musical ability, natural beauty and pleasant but mysterious demeanor combine to make Alexis one of the most interesting people in the local music scene today.
Nineteen-year old Evan Darr, from Nashville, Tennessee, has been thumping a bass for almost three and a half years now, and she continues to love everything about playing (including when she plays so hard that she busts her hand open and bleeds all over the strings). The blonde-haired bassist's resume includes playing with Eternal Glow, Fair Verona, Down Theory, Lower Unit and one other band during her brief career. At one point in time she was pulling double-duty with both Down Theory and Lower Unit. She credits Flea and Tia Carrere's role in the movie "Wayne's World" for getting her started on the bass: "I thought she was bad-ass, even though she didn't play," Evan said with a slight giggle and a smile. Though she told me that she can't compare herself to her influences, she lists Flea (the bass-playing genius for The Red Hot Chili Peppers, just in case you've been frozen in ice for the past twenty years and don't know who he is) as god and Les Claypool (Primus) as another influence. She has been playing gigs since three months after she got her first bass. Her current band, Lower Unit, can be compared to Limp Bizkit with more balls. I asked her for her opinion concerning Britney Spears and the like using sex appeal to sell records, and her response was quick and strong: "I think it's fucking disgusting. I know people that went to their concert and saw twelve and thirteen-year old girls, who aren't even supposed to know what sex is yet, dressed in slutty outfits…it takes away from a small girl's innocence, as far as I'm concerned." I couldn't have said it any better myself.
Alexis Brown and Evan Darr: two distinct personalities from two different towns, yet the effect that they are having on the music fans in the area is the same. At Flood's CD release where both of their bands played (Alexis with FSN and Evan with Lower Unit) the ratio of boys to girls was almost even. A couple dozen girls camped out in front of the stage during both bands' performances. "I think that see it like, well a chick can rock it just like a man can. It's motivating," Alexis explained. Both of the musicians hope that more women will follow their lead and pick up musical instruments. "I don't want someone to look at me and think that I'm a good bass player just because I'm a chick, and they're comparing me to other girls…music has no sexual origin, you know?," Evan said during our conversation. The music of our lives binds us all, regardless of race, color, sexual origin or sexual nature; it doesn't have eyes or the desire to pay attention to such petty details. It is the one definite place where men and women were created equal; those with big enough balls to pick up an instrument and find out can attest to that.
