The Menstrual Cramps – Bristol-based Band, They/She/He
We are a queer punk band, based in Bristol. We are composed of Emilia on vocals (they/she), Abi on bass (she/her), AJ on drums (she/they), and currently Zam on guitar (he/him) but Zam is sadly leaving us later this year! We like to shout about what makes us angry, but also have a laugh, and raise each other up. We probably hate all your favourite bands, and we are blacklisted from multiple music industry bullshit things, but our motto is ‘if you are offended by what we say or do, then you’re probably the asshole‘.
2. What is your best achievement as an artist?
AJ: Supporting iconic acts like Kate Nash, Amyl & the Sniffers, and Skating Polly & playing amazing festivals like 2000 Trees and main stage @ Manchester Punk Festival have truly been bucket list worthy! Oh, getting signed late last year has always been a dream – probably for most musicians. I just need the Kerrang cover story and a Europe tour I’ll die happy!
Abi: When I was 16 my pop punk played a stage right after Chico. Second to that, probably getting signed!
Emilia: I agree with what Abi and AJ said, I am in awe with the bands we play with and the festivals we get to play at every year, and getting signed to Alcopop! Records was massive! I also think I’m proud of us sticking strong with who we are in this industry, still doing activism on and off stage, and not allowing ourselves to be silenced or controlled as artists, that is super important to me.
3. How does being queer influence your music?
AJ: It’s a weird meld for me; it’s an act of resistance and resilience. Men still heavily dominate the scene, and women are starting to level the playing field a little.. however, as a queer woman, there are spaces that still feel unsafe. Just wanting to exist will always be fuel to keep going, combined with having the privilege to be able to represent queer people transparently and openly.
Abi: I think it definitely affects how actions are inherently political. Just being on stage, taking up space, is itself a statement. I think it’s brought everyone in the band to the point where we don’t see staying silent on important issues and separating politics and art as a possibility.
Emilia: For me, being queer is inherently political, it is resisting and disrupting cisheteronormativity every day, and the life I have lead and the experiences I have all merge in with my queerness, and this gushes out of me in my lyrics, in my stage presence, in my performance. I can’t help but live and breathe it, it is me and I am it, in all aspects of my being and the music we write.
4. What are some of the challenges you have faced so far as a young queer artist?
AJ: Apart from the usual death threats we receive on a fairly regular basis – some opportunities won’t ever open to us: unless the industry changes as a whole. Being queer is still SO ‘political’ and some people don’t want to rock the boat or pick a side, but their complicity in trying to remain “neutral” only forces it to remain taboo. In the words of Skunk Anansie – everything is political. So get over it! If you want to be inclusive, then do it. Talk is cheap when your actions are the opposite.
Emilia: I think because we are outwardly outspoken, loud and queer, we often don’t get the same opportunities as other bands on our level, we get blacklisted, we get death threats, rape threats, people want to silence us by any means possible. Unfortunately for them, I have a very big mouth.
Follow The Menstrual Cramps on INSTAGRAM and stream their music HERE!
Beth Rushbrook – Solo Musician, She/Her
Growing up I didn’t know I was queer, it was never a part of my identity, I only realised I wasn’t straight at 15, and it’s still a journey i’m on and trying to unpack at 19. I guess because I didn’t know I was queer I didn’t feel super connected to any artists who were. But now I love artists like Kevin atwater, chappell roan, girl in red, ellie williams, I blast their songs even more just because it’s a part of my identity I didn’t know about, and I guess now i’m making up for the lost years.
For me, being queer, means sharing more vulnerability. When I thought I was straight, all of the small things didn’t seem to matter, the way a guy I “liked” looked at me, the words he chose to use etc, they all felt mundane or boring, i’d never think to write a song about it because i guess it didn’t excite me. Writing sapphic songs now means I get to write about the soft, warm, small but intricate moments that I never cared for with guys. Writing songs now, feels so intimate, it’s easy to write a song everyone can relate to, the man and the woman who are in love, but queer love is sometimes seen as taboo and so there feels like there more emotion and more at stake when I write a song that bares all.
As a young queer artist (especially a woman), my main struggle is feeling misunderstood. I can walk into a room full of straight guys who make rap music and i’ll be wearing my pink outfit, super gay fun earrings and rainbow heart makeup, sharing music where i’m talking about being really gay, and just feel like everyone has a prejudgment of me. Most people in the music industry can’t relate to me, they think i’m a little odd, or maybe ott about banging on about being queer, but I don’t care anymore because I deserve to make up for the years I lost, I had no idea who i was for so long, so now i’m going to bask in it, and make the gayest music as an ode to the girl who wishes she could have.
Follow Beth Rushbrook on INSTAGRAM
Gabi Gee – Solo Musician, She/They
I grew up listening to queer music. When I was young, I loved Depeche Mode and I used to get my mum to tell me about what it was like when the singer came out as gay in that time because it fascinated me. Getting older I found myself inspired by musicians like Clairo, Girl In Red, Adrianne Lenker and Surfan Stevens. I love the poetic writing style of these artists and hope to capture it in my own lyrics as I progress.
As an openly gay artist, I do get some questionable comments but usually I just smile and nod. If any of my other queer friends get any hate, I tend to stand up for them more than myself. However, strangely, I’ve found music has created moments of peace between people who had often been homophobic against me. There was one boy back in secondary school who used to call me slurs, hit me and throw bottles at me and my friends. One day, he walked passed me playing guitar and stopped to say “you’re pretty good for a girl”. Although it was backhanded, it was the first compliment this guy ever gave me so I’ll take it.
My sexuality has meant I had to learn how to ignore hate. I get insults and weird intrusive comments regularly and I have learnt not to entertain them because you never know what their next move is. Being a lesbian, I don’t usually get as much direct hate as my gay or trans friends. However, I find that I receive more creepy comments and only after I reject them, I get hate like slurs. Some people need to understand that just because I am an openly lesbian person, It’s not an invitation for them to release their supressed creepy or hateful thoughts.
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Ziggy – Solo Musician, He/They
I have had tons of LGBTQ+ music inspirations over the years and I still have many now! I think my biggest my most distinct growing up was Freddie Mercury. I found him and Queen during the early stages of highschool and he really helped me find myself and become comfortable with being a little different from everyone else. Although I say this i didn’t actually realise I may be part of the community until I started listening to Bowie who I would say is now my main LGBTQ+ inspiration. He made me think about gender more fluidly and made me start to experiment and truly figure out who Ziggy really is.
I think my biggest achievement so far has been getting up doing the regular open mics at the norwich voodoo daddies. I myself get quite nervous and anxious before going onto a stage so I’m proud of myself for having the confidence to go up and share my music- which is something i definitely wouldn’t of done a couple of years ago.
I think being queer impacts my music greatly. Growing up queer, I had a lot of experiences that a child who hadn’t may not have had. All those things I had felt and had gone through I think subconsciously slip into the music I create and the lyrics I write. For example in my song Cut it up I reference what is was like being non- binary and maybe not quite what my parents had expected me to turn out like
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