When I started PO! I had some thoughts that could have been principles but I never stuck to them. 1. It's important that females play instruments in bands and girls shouldn't just be the singer. 2. Girl guitarists are particularly cool when they can play interestingly well. 3. Don't form a band with someone you're in a relationship with. 4. Don't have a relationship with anyone in the band. 5. Don't get in a more competent male player to cover up any female lack of ability. These ideas came from punk, from bands like The Raincoats and The Au Pairs which I liked when I was younger. It has proven hard to stick with them and I'm not even sure that they're right. The original version of PO! (Ruth, Julian Marc) and the second version of PO! (Ruth, Jan, Mary) hit my targets, only to be disrupted by the much more tuneful, jangly and downright competent sound when Terri Lowe joined the band, countering principles 4 and 5. From Ducks and Dr...
Songwriter and musician with Po! and Ruth's Refrigerator; owner of Rutland Records; co-writer of punkgirldiaries.com. Now recording, filming, writing for new company unglamorous music.