Wildflower Soul: Kim Gordon

Kim Gordon is undeniably the first lady of Alternative music. She plays bass and sings in the landmark band, Sonic Youth.  She encouraged her former record label, Geffen Records to sign Nirvana. She was one of the producers on Hole’s first album Pretty On The Inside. She co-directed The Breeder’s song “Cannonball” with Spike Jonze (one of my favorites), started the first women’s streetwear line X-Girl with her friend Daisy Von Furth. Today, she continues to produce influential music, art, and fashion. Kim Gordon is not only a fashion influence, she basically set the indie rock standard of “whats cool.”

Sonic Youth formed in the eighties in New York City and established themselves in the nineties as an experimental, progressive alternative rock band. Their latest album, The Eternal is a nod towards the artists that have inspired the band. According to The Guardian:

The Eternal is literally a self-portrait of the artists as consumers. With a few exceptions, each song is a byproduct of Sonic Youth’s culture-vulture virtuosity at locating choice morsels of carrion left behind by vintage vanguards and bygone extremists. This has always been an aspect of Sonic Youth, from Death Valley ‘69 (inspired by the Manson Family and the moment the 60s trip turned heavy) through the Ciccone Youth side project with its conceptual-karaoke takes on Madonna and Robert Palmer songs offset by the hipster esotericism of Two Cool Rock Chicks Listening to Neu! (this was back when knowing about Neu! wasn’t virtually middlebrow like it is today, as the records were still out of print). I know people for whom Sonic Youth functioned absolutely as a portal band, an entry point for them into an underground wonderworld of dissident noisemaking and neo-beat bohemia stretching across several decades.

X-Girl was the first streetwear company for girls it was an attempt to bring alternative style to the mainstream

“…when we started out, we really just wanted to make clothes that we wanted to wear and a lot of things were, like, modified ideas about a good fitting T-shirt or pair of pants. Things that you’d find in a thrift store that you’d want to alter slightly.”

"I just happened to start playing music for the conceptual ideas."

The Eternal is Sonic Youth's sixteenth album and they are currently on tour

Sonic Youth is on tour in support of their sixteenth album, The Eternal.

Sugar Kane (Sonic Youth)

noiseImpera | MySpace Video

KIM GORDON + SCHOOL OF ROCK

NYLON | MySpace Music Videos

Jemina Pearl, former garage-rock goddess front woman of Be Your Own Pet, has just released her debut solo effort.

Whoever said punk was dead was not only wrong, but obviously they’d never heard of Jemina Pearl. The 22 year old, former front woman of now-disbanded garage-rock band Be Your Own Pet, brags about making boys bleed on her blog, sings with (and not along to) Iggy Pop, and rides bicycles. Punk rock? Check. The singer has just released her solo debut Break It Up to plenty of good reviews and fanfare, and wrapped up her cross country tour.

Jemina collaborated with legends like Thurston Moore and Iggy Pop on her album Break It Up.

Jemina Pearl started out fronting the Nashville band Be Your Own Pet when she was only 16, and the band managed to release two successful and indie-press approved records Be Your Own Pet (2006) and Get Awkward (2008) before their demise in late 2008. However, Jemina and her band mate John Eatherly had been writing together on the down-low for a while, and the result was a Jemina solo vehicle featuring legends far beyond what the singer herself could have imagined– Sonic Youth genius Thurston Moore is a guest on the album, as is TV On the Radio’s Dave Sitek. And her leading single, the very smart “I Hate People” is a duet with I-can’t-believe-he’s-actually-still-alive Stooges’ legend Iggy Pop.

Jemina's sound on this new record is decidely more mature, although her on-stage antics--including beating a boy up-- are not quite up to speed just yet!

Jemina’s sound on her new record is different, and she knows it. As a member of Be Your Own Pet, Jemina was a pint-sized punk who wailed at the top of her lungs, hitting notes in the highest of shrieking registries–basically, make sure to hide your puppies! On the solo tip, though, Jemina’s sound sees her experimenting with a variety of musical influences including 60s girl-group a la the Shangri-Las and surf-rock a la The Beach Boys. There are even some very Sonic Youth type moments of dissonant punk in the mix.  Of course, her garage rock influences are still there (and thank god because the girl can rock out on stage like nobody’s business!), but they are decidedly more feminine and softer in inspiration, with Jemina citing proto-punk hero Patti Smith as one of the major muses behind Break It Up.

Jemina's style and approach has definitely been "glammed up" for her new record.

Besides experimenting with her sound, Jemina’s also begun experimenting with her look, in what many are calling a more “glammed up” phase. The former strictly jeans-and-Tshirt kinda girl is now donning items such as sequin mini dresses with fishnets, and denim daisy dukes. What can we say other than she must be growing up? Don’t worry though, she still has plenty of Converse and band-Ts in her wardrobe rotation as well.

Is this not perhaps the cutest thing you've seen recently? Jemina hearts burgers!

Whether glammed out or beating boys up, its’ clear that Jemina Pearl is doing things her own way, on her own time. From collaborating with rock greats to experimenting with sounds that are out of her comfort zone, the singer is part of the new movement of women making music by themselves, for themselves. And how can we ever be mad at that?

Break It Up is available on iTunes, and check out the video for “I Hate People” below. You can also follow Jemina on her blog Puke Till You Punk.

Women Making History: Ritzy Periwinkle

Although we’ve featured projects by this next Women Making History honoree before, we realized that we’ve never actually done a full feature on her! So consider this a long overdue tribute to a rising star in the art world and get familiar with Ritzy P!

Ritzy Periwinkle, aka Marisa Estrada – a Los Angeles artist and designer with deep roots in urban art and music culture. The name Ritzy Periwinkle, a pseudonym that started among her and her crew, stems from “Maritza” (the way her birth name was originally supposed to be spelled) and the Crayola color, “Periwinkle”. The tight beats and poetic lyrics of Hip Hop fuel her artistic creativity. Graduating from California State University Long Beach with a fine art degree with an emphasis in graphic design, Ritzy has created designs and artwork for Dilated Peoples, Aterciopelados, Sonic Youth, Calle 13, “I Am Legend”, Slick Rick, Arcade Fire and many more. With art exhibitions in art and music hubs such as Los Angeles, Detroit and New York, Ritzy communicates a beautiful energy and respect for her community of women and people of color. Working in photography, illustrations, graphics, collage and creating a flourishing boutique t-shirt line, Ritzy compliments her gritty stylistic tendencies with a positive vibe that is attributed to her eclectic influences and unique background. Ritzy Periwinkle happily mixes music and art to her own beat, bringing pure harmony to her creativity.

Roxanne Shante & MC Lyte illustrations by Ritzy P.

Nat King Cole: RE:GENERATIONS by Ritzy P

Nat King Cole: RE:GENERATIONS by Ritzy P

Last month, we did a write-up on a few of Ritzy’s projects including Nat King Cole RE:GENERATIONS. Check out the video below to hear Ritzy P and others discussing the  project:

Check out Ritzy's handstyle as she handles the M.I.S.S. survey!

Ritzy answers some questions for us below:

M.I.S.S.: What woman, besides your mom or grandmother, do you find inspirational?

All the women that are doing the most in the male dominated game, whatever industry it might be. Also all the women around the world that fight for basic rights on the daily and never back down.

M.I.S.S.: How did you get your start?

I actually started in the music industry trying to find my niche. Everything from working underground hip hop records, interning at the Wake Up Show, graphic design to finally settling into concert promotions as a print buyer and production manager. I wanted to bone out on my own for a long time but always made excuses. A little over 3 years ago I dove and started Ritzy Periwinkle to get back to graphic design and art. Organically the opportunities to exhibit started happening then this live painting thing started. My first time was in a small gallery, next time was in front of 6,000 peeps on stage with Calle 13 (gracias Pantalones) then a live 5 hour painting battle for “I AM Legend” (gracias Man One) where I won second place. With each project or event I’d meet more and more great people that would ask me to work with them. I have to say I’m pretty blessed to be able to mix my love of music and art and make a living.

M.I.S.S.: What’s your favorite piece of art that you’ve created?

It’s a tie right now between my first vinyl toy I designed for the BIC Buddy Artists Series 1 that releases in August because it’s a dream of mine and working on RE:GENERATIONS NAT KING COLE cd creating original pieces, on top of doing the graphic design because I was able to meet and work almost on the daily with the amazing Carole Cole for almost a year. She was instant fam, a warrior and an inspiration. The project means that much more now because she passed away on 05.19.09. R.I.P.

BIC Buddy Artists Series 1

BIC Buddy by Ritzy P.

To get more on Ritzy’s BIC Buddy, check out our write-up from last month or visit her blog. A preview of all three toys is also available at Vinyl Pulse.

M.I.S.S.: Who do you want to (work with, dress, make music with, etc)?

So many but a few are Stevie Wonder, Ghostface, Café Tacvba, Erykah Badu, the series True Blood, Los Planetas, the show Big Bang Theory, the show Mad Men and always down to collabo with talented females doing their thing.

M.I.S.S.: What part of your work process is the most challenging and do you dislike the most?

Just that initial concept phase, I love it because it’s a challenge but I’ve learned that I gots to do it late at night (dead time) and have to have certain type of music playing to really get into that zone. I have to calm my mind down because I’m always thinking about a grip of things at once.

M.I.S.S.: Any advice for ladies who are just starting out in a career path similar to yours?

Hustle and grind, always be genuine, remember your word is your rep, know your worth, never stop learning.

Thanks Ritzy!

Stay up with Ritzy & her happenings by visiting the sites below:

Site: http://ritzyperiwinkle.com
Blog: http://ritzyperiwinkle.com/blog/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ritzy_p
Facebook: http://en-gb.facebook.com/ritzyp
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ritzyp/

Iguapop Gallery

FlakeTV gives us an inside look at Iguapop Gallery & Shop, a gallery/clothing shop in Barcelona’s El Borne neighborhood. They host exhibitions by artists like Miss Van and Kim Gordon (of Sonic Youth).

It sounds like Iguapop also carries an nice collection of magazines about fashion, design and urban art so if you’re ever in Barcelona, drop on by!

www.flake.tv