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This is my website. It belongs to me. I can write about whatever and whomever I choose without limiting myself to 2500 words or less. I can go as far off the topic as I want without being threatened that my work will never be published. I am my own editor, which ain't very fun. But, dammit, this is MY website. So, who am I and what the hell does LOUDITH FAIRE mean? Thought I'd never ask . . .
My name is Danise Rodriguez and I've been a freelance writer for 16 years. After a couple years of writing for several underground fanzines across the country my status as kamikaze writer was stepped up a notch or two when I was asked to join the staff of BITCH magazine.
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Actually, the editor had published one of my stories about The RUNAWAYS in an issue of BITCH without my permission. Someone told me about it and eventually I found a copy of that particular issue in the men's bathroom at The Mab (legendary punk club in San Francisco). But before I could call my lawyer, the BITCH editor offered me the opportunity to write for the mag and promised there'd be little if any editing of my stuff. So I had to decide what was more important: making lots of money in a copyright infringement court settlement or getting published without anyone fucking with my ideas of creative writing? And that's when I joined the staff of BITCH magazine.With a name like BITCH we succeeded in offending some - okay, A LOT - of people. But they just didn't 'get' what we were about. BITCH magazine was the original music publication that focused entirely, solely on women musicians / vocalists, as well as women involved in every other facet of the music industry. We wrote about the musicians and the bands that did not or could not get press coverage any place else. Our goal in 1986 was to one day NOT have to exist. Our hope was that one day discrimination and disrespect toward women in the music industry would disappear. On some days I think it has somewhat. But on other days I feel we have a long fucking way to go man. When BITCH magazine closed up shop, it was a good time. It was very early into the Nineties and bands like L7 and HOLE and 4 NON BLONDES were getting lots of attention. BONNIE RAITT was on the verge of her first platinum record and the Riot Grrl thing was starting to wake up the world. Feeling like I contributed as much as I could to the 'cause' I began to take my writing in a more personal direction. After living in the San Francisco bay area all my life, last year I moved to the quiet, slower-paced beautiful Southwest and began sorting through 10 years of my writing to see if I had what it took to fill a book. I did, and it will finally be published in spring of 2000. It's called 'Innards of a Piñata'. Lately, I've been dividing my time between building this website with the guidance and the smarts of my best friend Punky, and working on my second book. Will have more info...whenever.
Okay, so what exactly is a LOUDITH FAIRE? Well, best way I can think of to describe it is: It AIN'T the LILITH FAIR. Whatever comes to mind when you think of that little festival of estrogen . . . well, this website will be the opposite, and with BIGGER doses of estrogen. [Does that even make sense?] Anyhow, no, I didn't attend any of the tour dates. But that's not a bad thing cuz I like most if not all the women who performed on that tour. And I totally dug the idea of Lilith Fair. But, I would have preferred a more hard rock vibe, y'know? Or, hell, what if a bunch of acoustic guitar totin' chicks shared the stage with a bunch of LOUD electric guitar wielding chicks? Why not?! I think a tour like that could and should be put together someday. And if I have to organize it myself I will, dammit. So, anyhow, this is why I've named my website LOUDITH FAIRE cuz the women I'm gonna write about are gonna have some V O L U M E. Some will be snottier than others. Some will have gutter mouths. The common thread will be that they have LOUD guitars and/or LOUD voices. I plan to take y'all on a few trips back to a time when hairspray was better than beer (well, almost) and chicks were forming heavy metal bands every two or three days. I'm gonna share with you all the bands you may have missed that don't exist anymore cuz the business broke them beyond repair or rescue. Y'know, there are certain musicians today that I feel deep in my heart need and deserve a lot more support and attention than they get, like: Linda Perry, Drain STH, Mary Lou Lord , Kittie, Ani DiFranco, Girlschool, Fluffy, Lunachicks, and Skunk Anasie. While I love Natalie Merchant and Sheryl Crow, and while I think Sarah McLachlan is cool . . . well, so are Johnette Napolitano, Exene Cervenkova, and Janet Robin. So strap in and grab your little mouse. This hillbilly bitch of the Internet is gonna take you places you never knew you wanted to go.
~D.
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