Music Commentary

No men, no women, just music

An encounter with rock band Ira changes one music writer's life

By Mitchell Peters

“One of Fresno’s only all-girl indie rock bands, Ira, will display not only their physical beauty onstage, but their musical enchantment as well.”

--Mitchell Peters, The Collegian, April 21, 2004

I was in trouble, big time.

First things first, they’re not an “all girl” band; they’re just a band that plays good music. With that said, let me see if I can accurately remember what happened. There was a show going on in the Pit at Fresno State, and some local bands were playing. I wanted to write something in The Collegian to let students know they could see some really good bands play for free. To give a better perspective on the show, I described the bands in one sentence or less using descriptions I thought were harmless and fun (see above). The next thing I knew, I was looking into the piercing eyes of Ira’s bass player Aurora Armijo. Ira was irate.

“ I wanted to pound understanding onto your face,” said Armijo in a later conversation during an Ira recording session.

I had no idea they’d take such offense to my seemingly harmless words. It didn’t take a genius to see that, collectively, Ira didn’t like the way I described them. My first reaction was, “What! They should be happy I’m even writing about them.” I would later change my opinion and understand where they were coming from. As a huge fan of many female-oriented bands, I wanted to understand why Ira was so upset about what I had written. In their opinion, the description was an objectifying, sexist look at something female musicians have been struggling with since the ‘80s. The trio had seen women in music exploited before, but never imagined it might someday happen to them. In a venting letter written to me clearly stating their reaction, Ira said:

“ We want to make it clear that we resent the term ‘all-girl band’ not because we resent our sex, but purely because bands with male members aren’t referred or described as being ‘all-male bands.’ We do not go on stage to display our physical beauty.”

They had a point. I questioned whether I was uneducated on the matter. It was something that never crossed my mind until our enlightening confrontation. I originally wanted to do a basic interview with the band for a story about girl bands in Fresno. Instead, we got into a debate about the role women play in rock n’ roll. My take was that “girl music” sounded completely different from “guy music.” I felt it should be celebrated. They thought otherwise. It was a conversation that would open a door in my mind and change my perspective on female musicians forever. I had a new angle for my story – a girl band that just wanted to be a normal band. No gender, no sex, just music.

We were sitting in a booth inside the “Pub” at Fresno State, and I was trying to understand why Ira was so bothered by what I had written. I don’t remember exactly how the conversation went, only bits and pieces of anger and frustration. Phrases like, “what were you thinking?” and “I can’t believe you wrote that about us,” were spouting from their mouths.

“ We are not in a band because we look like models or pop singers. We are normal, average-looking women that choose music as our medium for self-expression,” Ferber said. “We do not dress differently or more sexually attractive when we play shows . . . we’re normal average-looking women.”

I began to see where they were coming from, but I still didn’t see what the big deal was. In my opinion, I felt I’d done them a favor. I was wrong. Through questions and careful listening, I slowly began to relate and understand the difficulty that goes along with being in an all-female rock band.

“ For girls the struggle is different,” said Julia Porras, a local Ira fan. “Since the beginning of time, women have been a novelty for men. When you put a woman in front of a mic, they’re just going to belt it out and say all the things that have been building up inside them for so long. They scream because they need to.”

My personal experience with what I refer to as “girl music” (which I use only to describe bands containing female members), has been that of an unexplainable attraction. It all started in the mid to late ‘90s in the wake of the “grunge” period when I discovered the “Riot Grrrl” scene, and a band from Washington called Bikini Kill. With their punky guitar riffs and the harshly beautiful vocals of Kathleen Hanna, I was hooked. From there, I discovered bands like L7, Sleater-Kinney, Heavens to Betsy, Bratmobile, the Frumpies and later Le Tigre, Chicks on Speed and the Need (not to mention countless others). My obsession grew more and more as I was slowly uncovered this underground scene of hidden treasures. I wasn’t particularly interested in the politics or feminine issues that were the underlying theme in many of these bands, but I deeply respected and admired the fearless courage these women possessed. In a world where males primarily dominated the rock music scene, I was fascinated by the empowering voice articulated in their music. It was an awesomely raw style of music I had never heard before. I was yearning for the day when I’d witness that kind of inspiring energy in Fresno’s female musicians – and along came Ira.

I can recall the first time I heard about Ira. I was doing my radio show at Fresno State’s KFSR and my friend (who also loves girl bands), called me and asked if I was going to see this new band in Fresno play. At the time, I had only heard about Needy Eevy, a well-known rock band with all girls that I’d seen countless times. There were mysterious rumors floating around that a new girl band was in the works. The giddiness was almost unbearable - I had to see them. The day finally came a couple months back when I got to see them play at a house party. I wasn’t impressed; in fact, I was pretty disappointed.

Others disagreed.

“ When I first saw them, my jaw dropped to the floor,” Porras said. “Watching them made me want to make music, and I think that’s the best thing a band can do.”

I may have been a harsh critic, but I just wasn’t moved by their performance. I guess I was expecting to hear the uninhibited sound I was used to hearing in all the other girl bands I liked. They came off as being a little apprehensive and self-conscious – a charming naivete. This kind of stage performance can be expected from a band that has only been together since September 2003. I really wanted to like them, but it just wasn’t happening. I didn’t let the hope die though; I knew there was some magnetism drawing me toward them.

It wasn’t until I had an opportunity to spend a full day with the girls of Ira that I began to develop a true fondness and respect for their music. Their personalities weren’t too bad either. There was the strongly opinionated photographer and drummer, Lauren; the quiet genius behind Ira’s music, Bianca; and Aurora, the wisely persuasive bass player. It was a trio of musicians that individually brought their own artistic expression and talent to the table. They weren’t exactly pros at playing their instruments, but I could see the heart and passion that shadowed their music. I was slowly being seduced by yet another girl band – what a surprise.

I can remember the exact moment when I sat back and thought to myself, “this band might actually have something here.” It was halfway through a rough recording of a three-day old nameless song that I realized the vast potential of Ira’s music. I was sitting in the corner of the small room next to the drum set and all of a sudden my head began to uncontrollably bounce to the rhythm of the music. Next thing I knew, I had a tambourine in my hand and I was playing along to another one of their songs. The scenario would have been perfect if I would have been wearing one of Ira’s T-shirts and a small button that read I heart Ira, while singing backup vocals to Jacob’s heartfelt lyrics.

“ It’s like a bomb about to explode,” said Shannon Clem while admirably watching the band play last Thursday at Fresno State. “Their songs have so much energy . . . they’re getting better, and people should watch out for them.”

With their live shows getting increasingly better, the full potential of Ira’s music can be heard on the several local recording they have made in the past few months. Two songs will be featured on a double disc compilation of Fresno bands being recorded by Gardenside Productions. With a combination of simplistically dark melodies and lyrically passionate vocals, Ira’s music brings a new voice to the Fresno music scene that relates to people from all walks of life – male and female.

“ Most of the issues we sing about are not gender specific,” Ferber said. “Our lyrics deal with issues that for the most part can be experienced by either sex.”

They’re not Riot Grrrls and they’re not man-haters she says. They just want to write good music that anyone can listen to and enjoy. Unlike many of the girl music I have encountered, Ira’s approach to lyrics and music is that of your basic rock n’ roll ideologies: love songs, bar chords and cool simple drumbeats. They’re not interested in being in a band to sing about feminism and political activism, but they do hope to be an inspiration in getting other females involved in creating and playing music.

“ We hope that we can be part of the thrust to put more women in the forefront, and balance the ratio of male to female musicians in punk music,” Ira says in a Q & A from their Web site www.collectiveresistance.net. “We got tired of working the door and being roadies for our boyfriend’s bands.”

Girls or non-girls, Ira’s music is just good. I can only look forward to seeing them grow into a band that will surely get increasingly better with time and practice. In all the conversations I’ve had with people who’ve seen them play live, one word always comes up – “potential.” With a new album that is expected to be complete by the end of May, Ira is continuing to contribute energetic “sparse rock” songs to Fresno’s scene. One thing is for certain, regardless of their sex or gender, Ira is willing to play if you’re willing to listen.