 |
||||||||||||||
|
REVIEWS |
||||||||||||||
|
The Plath |
|||||||||||||
|
October 2002 - Piece from Wavelength by Jonathan Bunce Purveyors of: Last chance for a queercore dance The Plath are breaking up. That's one thing punk-rock bands do really well. The star that burns twice as bright burns half as long and all that. If you want to know why, it's probably none of your business. I know from my own experience that band relationships can be just as intense as capital-R relationships. But in this case I can only speculate, and I don't see the point. The Plath were a great band. Oct. 20's Wavelength will most likely be your last chance to see them. They also play Sneaky Dee's the night before, as part of their "So Long and Thanks for All The Shit!" weekend. Having gone through several line-up changes, the final version of The Plath is a quartet: Cheryl on drums and vocals, Shannon on bass and vocals, and Aron and Mary-Jane on guitars. The mark they leave on the world includes one fine CD and the first two Ladyfest Toronto installments, of which they were the primary organizers. There's nothing more insincere than saying "good luck in your future endeavours," but I really do hope they all keep doing the rock in an excellent fashion. August
2001 - Article from Wavelength 75 From the time of your first show 09/25/00 to the present, you’ve toured the States, got a demo and a full length CD, been in Chart Magazine for bringing Ladyfest to Toronto, been featured on 3 compilations, and have taken part in at least 3 festivals. To what do you attribute your rapid success? (Ladyfest originated in Olympia WA. Cheryl Steele and Shannon Mitchell organized it in Toronto to raise money for Interval House Women’s Shelter.) Shannon & Cheryl: Were really hard working and dedicated in what we do. Were also really honest in what we write about, and the way we go about life. I think people really appreciate that in a band. When we go onstage there is no big transformation into “rock stars”. We are just ourselves. What was your most choice happening during your trip to the U.S.A.? S & C: It was totally about the people we met. We met so many great people from bands, people who set up shows or individuals who were somehow connected to the venues we played at. People were so good to us, we’ve made a lot of really great friends and that to us is the most important element. And your worst? S & C: Getting fucked over by the promoter of the Kali Maa Fair in NYC. She made many empty promises and lied about everything. The festival was an absolute joke. If it weren’t for all the lovely people at the Meow Mix who saved our asses, we would have been screwed. They put us up for 3 nights in NYC and were some of the greatest people we have ever met. What drawbacks have you had in the music biz being all girls? Any creepy men asking you to show more skin for their buck? S & C: One of the biggest disappointment to us is the experiences that we have had with sound guys. We don’t understand it since there are so many female musicians now a days. We just find some of them are so ignorant and think girls can’t set up or carry their own gear. It really pisses us off. We’ve only had one instance of a guy heckling us and being kind of sexist, that just makes us even stronger. We have too much self-respect to let somebody get away with treating us that way. If people think they can come to one of our shows and exhibit that behaviour they are sadly mistaken. How do you feel about baby humans? Can’t stand ‘em myself. I think the world is overpopulated. S: I’m not really a fan of babies. I think it’s very unfortunate that so many unwanted babies are born a day. There are too many deadbeat parents out there. It makes me really sad. C: Yes the world is over populated, however if creative people with open minds start having more babies then the world will be a better place. Does the word human bother you? S: That’s a tough one, I usually make bold statements like I hate humanity and people suck, but then I meet someone really cool who makes me question those thoughts. What do you think are the most annoying things about men? S: I’m not a man-hating lesbian, I honestly love them. Though when it comes to misogynist men, they can just go fuck themselves. C: Just as in any group of people there are always the assholes. In my travels I’ve encountered a lot of really great guys. I hear a lot of Guns ‘n Roses in your sound, especially Mr. Brownstone. Are they a major influence for you or what? S: Ok I don’t know who tipped you off about our current run INS with Guns N Roses. We don’t even understand the Guns N Roses significance with us. For some reason they haunted us on our entire tour. We brought the cd with us for the irony, but then no matter where we went guns N roses would either be playing, there would be pictures of Axl or others would bring them up in our conversations. We just got more and more obsessed with the album through our travels. As for being influenced by them, I don’t think so.
Interval House is in perfect harmony with LadyFest, a local music festival. LadyFest is one of Toronto’s truly remarkable events. Thanks to organizers Shannon Mitchell and Cheryl Steele from the Riot Girl Band “The Plath”, LadyFest was a benefit concert for Interval House. LadyFest brings together female musicians and artists from the local community to educate people about abuse and rape. On April 12, 2001, LadyFest was held at the 360 on Queen Street West in downtown Toronto, and raised almost $500 for the shelter. Shannon from the band understands the tremendous challenges faced by women and children living in a shelter. As a child, Shannon stayed at a shelter with her mom, and the minute she walked through our door at Interval House, she was reminded of that time in her own life. Shannon and Cheryl found inspiration in LadyFest. There were 150 people that attended, 6 bands, 3 spoken word artists, local artists, and a few independent magazine writers. Their enthusiasm for organizing the second LadyFest in Toronto next year is infectious. “It will be bigger, and we hope to broaden the scope by holding a three-day festival, and including workshops for women as a part of LadyFest”. Shannon, Cheryl and the rest of the musicians and artists who made LadyFest a reality embody the spirit and the power of a community that pulls together to create magic. For the strength of their voices and the energy of their convictions, the staff and residents at Interval House are truly thankful. May
2001 - Article from Eye Weekly Together since June 2000, the Plath are a trio (bassist/singer Shannon Mitchell, drummer/singer Cheryl Steele, guitar Mary-Jane) of rock n' roll girls who left an indelible impression with their performance at last month's Ladyfest music night. Mitchell is founder of the new record label Colossal Youth Music, Ladyfest Toronto organizer, zine wrtter, record-store whore, YTV employee and is presently putting the final touches on the Plath's debut CD. As if that is not enough, she is also booking their North American summer tour and compiling (along with Plath singer/drummer Steele) a series of zines about women in music including "musicians, sound ladies, bookers, managers and women who run labels." The first issue of this should be out this summer. Taking the cue from Olympia's hugely successful rock festival of the same name, Mitchell coordinated Ladyfest Toronto. This year's fest was a one-night event featuring spoken word and music from the Honky Twats, Slutarded and others. Next year, they're making it a three-day event. Her choice for local hero is "Margaret Donnelly, because she has lived in and supported the Toronto music community since the beginning of punk rock. Currently, she is a representative of FAB Distribution. You would have a difficult time finding a show she hasn't gone to or a band she hasn't supported. The bonus part is she has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I've ever met" The Plath perform Tuesday, May 15 at Barcode, opening for Philadelphia's Winterbrief & Fingernail. February
10, 2001 - London, ON @ Call The Office *FEMMEFEST* I went to Femme Fest at Call The Office. All the proceeds were going to a local abused women’s shelter, so I figured if it sux at least I spent my money in a good place. There were lots of bands, spoken word, etc. There were a few people I knew from school performing. I was impressed. The Good News Foundation rocked it out, as the buttox-whipping punk band they are. Well, time came for The Plath to come on. I was there with my friend Dave (a tall, silly guy) and we both were really taken back. After each song I said to Dave, “hey, who are these people?” He didn’t know; we’d missed their introduction. We found out later on in the set. But we both loved it. As they went on, I noticed that they actually sounded good despite the venue's terrible sound man. Man alive, it took me back to when I first discovered Sonic Youth, Bikini Kill and Dead Kennedys; the lack of cliché’s, the amp level that sounds better the more you listen to it. They were the best band I saw all night. The spirit was real, the music was real; it’s what “rock and roll” was always supposed to be. If you ever get tired of the fake plastic roll of the normal, run of the mill local band, then go see The Plath. Right now.
I would like to send this e-mail to "The Plath", it's a little review from the show they did in December in Ottawa, at Club Saw. It was an all ages show, they had bands of younger kids, that weren't as interesting as the Plath. their a girl band with style of their own, and their not afraid to let their emotions show, even if the crowd isn't big, they just let it all out and play really good creative music. Yeah Cheryl, it was the toque you were wearing :), and it's really rare that you'll see the drummer be the singer, now that's fucking original, I can't even count on one hand how many singers are drummer out there. When you girls play you can see how much your really into it, and you can feel the emotion in their voices and the atmosphere of the song, and their music is actually about reality, and events that happened. It's really good stuff, we should have more influences like you girls. I would of bought a shirt but, I didn't have enough cash on me, sorry, and that evening you guys were trying to pick up some money to pay for a flat tire, I hope you got that fixed. You guys are good hearted also, because you don't forget people who helped you out, you thank them no matter what, you don't just think of yourselves, and I think that's awesome, cuz nowadays all that people think about is being big, popular and making money, they don't think of their family and friends, in the other hand you guys do. And that's how you'll gain more fans (and respect) :) with the respect you guys have, and you actually take the time to write back and talk with them, it feels actually good to talk with you guys because you care. |
||||||||||||||