Well, that is a needlessly long title. Before I jump right in, let me thank everyone who read my first article, and especially everyone who commented – I really enjoyed reading all your responses. I hope you continue to read and give me your thoughts and opinions. Music is an intensely personal experience, and I always find it fascinating to hear how different things, including things I might not be a fan of, can deeply effect other people. For example, I’m not a huge jazz fan, I’ve got nothing against it, and I like some old ballads and such – stuff with lyrics speaks to me the most – but my Dad absolutely adores jazz, especially the instrumental stuff. It’s always amazing for me to see how much these sounds that don’t mean much to my ears cause this incredible catharsis in him. I think the same goes for everybody, and let me say, just because I might have opposite tastes in music than you doesn’t mean that either of our tastes and/or opinions are less valid than the other. I’d like to reiterate that this blog’s sole purpose is not to take wizard rock down a few pegs, or being mean for the sake of being mean, because that would be too easy. But I really care about wizard rock, and see potential in almost all of the stuff I don’t like, and so I try to point out ways to maximize that potential, and become something really awesome.
I’d also like to give big thanks to the Wizrocklopedia, for posting about this humble site and starting a really great conversation that’s gotten insanely large and in-depth. I’d also like to give big thanks to the people who noticed my slip-up and saw through my impenetrable disguise (so impenetrable that at least a couple people figured out who I am before I accidentally told everyone), and are keeping it a secret. My anonymity is important, because as I said over on the ‘pedia, it helps to keep people from being distracted by my “real” internet self, and also, the more anonymous I am, the freer I feel to be honest – not necessarily in regards to backlash, but just in general, in keeping things here divorced from outside relationships and such, and giving my unfettered opinion, such as it is.
387 words in, and I haven’t said anything on topic yet, so allow me to dive headfirst into the issue – the one of gender and wizard rock. This is a huge subject, and one that I will probably discuss in-depth multiple times over the course of this blog. But I’m going to start my look at gender roles in wrockdom by offering up a few reasons why the gender disparity between various levels in the community is the way it is, and reasons that probably haven’t been too prevalent. Basically, I’m going to attempt to explain away this disparity using reasons BESIDES those related to gender inequality and gender relations. So, why is it that the biggest wizard rock bands are male?
I was originally gonna bang out one thousand words on my theory, but they say a picture’s worth a thousand words, and I wanted do something a little more fun than TEXT TEXT TEXT for you guys.
Best picture ever, amirite? That took me about an hour to make. Anywho, basically, I think the fact that the biggest bands are male could just be due to a circle of male musician friends, and a coin flip. The Moaning Myrtles and The Parselmouths are really big bands too, but there’s just a big leap between the founders and the bands that can consistently tour and the bands who came about a year or even less after. And I think the reason for why those bands in the second tier of wrockdom are predominately female is just because of the genetic makeup of this fandom, and of the Harry Potter fandom in general.
Now, I will admit the big, giant flaw in this theory is the Ministry of Magic, who came comparatively late to the party, and now are arguably the most popular band in wizard rock.
Leaving that snagged thread aside, another possible reason for why there are no women in the first tier of wrockdom is because the big female bands, back in 2006/2007, were younger than the male bands, and still in school and such, and thus less able to tour (also, and this is pure speculation, but their parents were probably less thrilled about the prospect of their children gallivanting across the country). Also, the first tier bands did pump out more music during the heyday beginnings of wrock.
Of course, according to the documentary We Are Wizards, when Paul and Joe first started playing, Joe was still in high school, and the MoM boys return to ruin my lovely theory, because they’ve never toured that much – they mostly just play at cons and things, and presumably around their state.
Is my theory perfect? No. Is it correct, or even partially? Possibly not. Is the underlying sexism of our society at least partially to blame for this? I would say without a doubt, and that is something that I’m probably going to get into next Wednesday. However, I did come up with a couple possible reasons for this gender disparity, without blaming gender relations and things like that, and I’d love to hear your opinions. Do you think I’m on to something? Do you think I’m full of crap? Do you think I should drop this whole thing and just run with The Bacon Snob idea? I’d love to know.
The Wrock Snob 
I don’t actually think there IS a disparity. See, we SEE a disparity, because the most popular bands are mostly male, yes. But is there?
No. See, the thing is, predominantly, the HP fandom is female. Like, probably 85% female. This important, because, by and large, the fandom is WHERE the bands come from. People start off as basic fans, perhaps hear HatP or MoM, or somebody, and decide to start their own band. Out of the 600-or-whatever odd bands that the Wizrocklopedia has listed, you’ll see this story come up a surprising number of times. And a surprising number of the bands are female.
The problem is, the limelight doesn’t circulate evenly. This is where your theory comes in. Most of the BIGGEST wrock bands are male because they’re friends of HatP, or because they have CRAZY talent (in the case of Gred and Forge, TRL, and MoM). This also applies to females, as The Moaning Myrtles, The Parselmouths, and others are all extremely talented to, and thus are very well-known.
Just my thoughts!
But the question is, why are MoM and TRL more popular than TMM and The Parselmouths?
I agree with Brad to a point.
I don’t think The Parselmouths and the Moaning Myrtles were crazy talented when they started, their talent grew as the wore on. Doesn’t mean they were bad when they started, just that they’re better now.
I think their fame came from when they started, like most of the large named bands.
Nina made a youtube video in 2008 I think, and said that their fame came primarily overnight, and I think she would agree it was just because of when they formed rather than their actual music.
I know How Airplanes Fly is an amazing singer and musician (going to school to become a musical Engineer) and IMO, more talented than the Parselmouths and the Moaning Myrtles, but started in 2008, not 2005/06.
In the case of the few bands that are getting “famous” now, I find that they have big names supporting them.
Lena went on tour with some really big names, Tianna Weasley has Matt Maggiacomo actively supporting her (though her talent could probably stand on it’s own, he just accelerated her fame, IMO).
I think MoM is famous because of the fact that they are a boy band… and they’re all really attractive. Let’s face it, if they were all ugly, even being as talented as they are, do you think that they’d have the fan girls screaming over them like they do now? Same with TRL… let’s face it, Alex is really good looking. I’m not saying their looks were the entire thing that made them famous, They both have amazing stage presence and take time to talk to their fans and whatnot.
I don’t think just one thing contributed to anyones fame in the community, it was a series of things.
But this is just my opinion.
WELL here’s my theory:
MoM: The fanbase is predominantly female. MoM is predominantly male (I kid, I kid). They’ve got that dreamy-boy-band thing going for them. They’re talented, totally, but they’re all also really good looking, and I think that definitely accounts for something. And for a lot of the newer generation, acoustic/bedroom/indie rock is hard to listen to. They want production and a sound like they’re used to hearing on the radio, and MoM provides that.
TRL: Talent. Call me biased, but Alex Carpenter is one freaking talented dude. Tyler and Toby are both professional musicians who play in bands beyond TRL, and all three of them are musicians for a living. You need talent to be able to do that, and they have heaps of that. Combine that with Alex Carpenter’s vocal charm, decent production, and his status as Wizard Rock Heart Throb? BAM, instant popularity.
Again, with TRL, they release albums every year and tour across the whole continent and beyond, whereas both TMM and The Parselmouths have not been able to do this. MoM has been cranking out albums and their fanbase is really big internationally and on the internet, which again lends to their popularity.
So it’s not to say that TMM and The Parselmouths aren’t talented- they are. Extremely. But the fanbase prefers male bands simply because they’re female, combined with the fact that neither of these bands has been able to tour and self-promote on the same level, which basically accounts for the secondary-status to the first-tier bands.
Whoa, Jacquelyn, read my mind much? Haha.
“But the fanbase prefers male bands simply because they’re female, ”
Hold up.
1. The majority of fans might be female, but not all.
2. The majority of said female fans might be attracted to guys, but not all.
3. Some of said female fans might base their musical choices/fandom favorites on how attractive they find band members…but not all.
In practice, mainstream fandom often ends up being more fannish about the dudes (whether that’s referring to slash fandom in general, wrock…hell, RPF). But a mostly female space doesn’t inherently lead to guys getting most of the focus. It’s something that’s been discussed (particularly over the last year) in the broader LJ fandom; fangirls don’t simply prefer guys. It’s more complicated than that, and it’s neither inevitable nor true in every case.
I know, I’m hot trying to suggest that this universal, by any means. But I’m saying that this happens OFTEN ENOUGH in the fandom to ensure that the scenario wrocksnob is describing above takes place.
And it doesn’t have to be absolute. I highly doubt that there are many people in the fandom that listen to MoM JUST because the guys are good looking. Highly doubt. But it certainly HELPS, doesn’t it? In most cases, yes, it does. Most, not all, but enough to ensure that they’re more popular than the female groups listed above.
For the love of bacon… TONKS AND THE AURORS, PEOPLE!!!
TONKS AND THE MUTHERFRIGGIN’ AURORS.
They rock ten times harder than the Parselmouths and the Myrtles, play as many of the ‘big” shows as anyone else, and Steph is a goddamn superhero in my mind and in the minds of the most influential people in wrock… those men you all have been discussing… ask them who the baddest chick in wrock is. Betcha $10 they say Steph Anderson.
Personally, I don’t care for folky/cutesy chick music, even when it’s done as well as the Parselmouths and Myrtles do it. Sorry.
I’m a plugged-in, amped-up rock n roll-lovin’ girl. I like what I like, so for my buck it’s T&TA.
So while the aforementioned “biggest female acts in wrock” may have been around longer and have a larger fanbase…. as far as I’m concerned, Tonks and the Aurors is the #1 female band in wrock and will be for a long, long time.
I will PULL THIS BLOG OVER and we will go STRAIGHT HOME unless you people start acknowledging the brilliance and talent that is Steph Anderson.
Thank you.
*smooths hair*
/hissy fit
I have nothing against TatA, but she’s nowhere near as popular as TMM and The Parselmouths, and this article was looking at the most popular female bands vs. the most popular male bands. I do love me some Tonks and the Aurors, though – her 2009 EP was the second best of the year.
I actually agree with this pretty much 100%.
I would, though, as I am in the Parselmouths.
So, the two things I have to say on the matter are that:
1. you’re right, my band started around the same time as the Whomping Willows, Draco and the Malfoys, the Remus Lupins, and the Moaning Myrtles. We all kind fo started on equal footing, but while Brittany/Lauren/Nina and I were all still busy with school, the boys in the other bands began touring a lot more than we were able to. We were still able to play along side them at countless conferences and shows though, when time permitted. They are more popular, but The Parselmouths and the Moaning Myrtles were still asked pretty frequently to headline shows with the bigger guy bands. Less people may just know about us. Because we couldn’t tour.
2. Had I the free time to tour back in 2006-2008, I never felt like being a female would have held me back. The guys in the bands slightly more popular than mine were never anything but accepting, helping, and supportive of everything we were doing.
I know there is stuff in this community about sexism or inequality in gender roles, but I personally haven’t felt too much backlash of that.
Maybe I was just lucky, though.
PS. Can we not use tiers to describe wizard rock bands? I don’t think that is a productive or even accurate way to “rank” anyone.
I agree that in most situations, a ranking or tiering system isn’t that helpful, but in an article in which I was comparing popularity across various demographics, there needs to be some way to gauge popularity, otherwise you’re in an entirely gray area, instead of a mostly gray one. And it’s easier to say “1st tier, second tier” etc., than “between the popularity of Tonks and the Aurors and Split Seven Ways”.
I think MoM’s popularity is based more on their musical talent than their looks, honestly. In wizard rock, it’s really rare to find that polished professional sound. I’m sorry, but it is. Even bands like TRL (although I only have his first album, so my info might be outdated), talented as Alex Carpenter is, still don’t have that professional sound to the vocal quality. Every now and then, wrock fans just need some wrock that has a “muggle” sound.
I’m not one of those hold-the-door-pull-out-a-lady’s-chair feminists, but I definitely believe that there is a layer of sexism in the community. It’s not intentional, and probably not even a conscious thing. Take bands like RiddleTM, SWAS, and The Buttermellows. They make songs from the perspectives of male characters. How many male-fronted bands can you think of that have done songs from female perspectives? I can think of two tracks: “Imperious Regrets” by the Mudbloods and “Kiss Me (Hermione’s Lament)” by The Brothers Black. In the latter, they technologically send their voices up in pitch to seem more female. I doubt it was intended as anything other than a more realistic choice, but what does it say about wrock that it’s weird for guys to just SING a “female” song? (Welcome to the paper I wrote for Music 205.)
Of course, even I can acknowledge that the male characters tend to have more interesting stories to tell, but female-fronted bands have had little trouble finding source material in J.K.’s female characters.
As for female-fronted bands that are second tier, Tonks and the Aurors tours, releases CDs, and sells merch regularly. Maybe it will help that she’s touring with TRL this summer, but I’m willing to bet that she’s stuck on second tier, which is totally uncool because she freaking rules.
/two cents
Wait, what? The singing in the Brother’s Black song “Kiss Me” was done by a guy and then filtered and stuff to sound like a female? Are you sure? Because that is the most realistic fake female voice I have ever heard. Woah.
Also, you make a great point about males singing songs from a female’s point of view. It’s something that I’d never noticed, and I’m now going to have to go through all 4.4 gigabytes of my wrock collection to see if I can find any others like that.
Actually, I dunno if it’s filtered or not. I just know that I’ve done a bit of that in some stuff in the past and if you don’t do entire octaves, you can create a realistic sound. (As opposed to chipmunk/devil.) If that actually is a female from another band, I apologize and want to state that I don’t not like the vocals. But would then have to edit my comment to one song, though you’ve found others. (I heard my first wrock track like six months ago, so my knowledge- not extensive.)
So, I’ve stumbled across another song from a male band from a female POV – sorta. “The Diary”, by Catchlove. It’s not really from Ginny’s point of view, but one of Jace’s favorite lyrical tricks is to write a song “to” a character, from an unnamed, unimportant outsider – see “Wake Up Harry”, “The Diary”, “Peter Pettigrew (The Rat)”, etc. And that’s just from on EP! So, I’d say that “The Diary” is pretty dang close. But you’ve really intrigued me, Arodhwen, and this is something I intend to bring up in a later article!
Just to chime in a bit here on the “cross gender perspective” thing, I think the biggest issue IS the fact that the top two characters, 3 of the top 4, and something like 7 of the top 10 characters in the series to write material about are male. There’s no need to reach accross gender lines to write a new song when there’s so much more material on the male side to write about.
I personally have no problems singing along at the top of my lungs with songs sung from a female perspective. It may sound weird singing “I know you think I’m crazy but I need to be your lady ’cause you are the dot of my dreams” but it doesn’t bother me.
Now, if this was Twi Rock (*dodges*), I’d be unsuprised if guys wrote songs from Bella’s perspective. That is, of course, if there are any males into the series enough to write music about it.
Funnily enough, arguably the biggest bands in twi-rock are male.
I think that the excuse of “the male characters tend to have more interesting stories to tell” is total bullshit.
REALLY? There are so many amazing, complicated, brilliant and strange women in this series! Women who are inspiring, frightening, loving, multi-faceted beautiful characters. If a girl songwriter doesn’t think there’s enough women points of view to draw from, she needs to read again.
The reason why I even decided to write a wizard rock song was because of Narcissa Malfoy. I dunno. I think the women are more interesting than you give them credit for. In some cases, more interesting than the men.
-MB (hangin’ tough in the five thousandth “tier”)
Exactly.
Hermione Granger, Lily Evans, Ginny Weasley, Tonks, Minerva McGonagall, Luna Lovegood, Angelina Johnson, Cho Chang, Fleur, Alicia Spinnet & Katie Bell, the Patil sisters, Alice Longbottom, Madam Rosmerta, Andromeda Tonks, Rowena Ravenclaw, Molly Weasley, and Ariana mf-ing Dumbledore.
That’s hardly a complete list. The Harry Potter books are not lacking in women with interesting stories or points of view worth exploring. But the *value* put on their stories is often less.
I love your tier. I thank Narcissa for inspiring the killer music you make
Dude! That right there was the 100th comment posted on this blog! DUDE!
WHOA. I wasn’t saying there WEREN’T any interesting female perspectives. I was saying MORE interesting. I’m of the opinion that Ginny pretty much turns into a Mary Sue. She has a couple of awesome I’m-going-to-fight-this-war moments, but apart from that…
I think you’re underestimating the popularity of The Moaning Myrtles and The Parselmouths a bit. Justin and I toured with the Myrtles last summer and they consistently kicked our asses on merch sales every night. The same goes for the few shows I’ve played with The Parselmouths when it’s just been us. People are dying to see these women play shows. And I would say that the Myrtles are just as popular as my band, and if The Parselmouths aren’t, they’re really damn close.
What’s made these two bands extremely successful is their connection to the fandom and their accessibility to their fans. They’re true role models to the females who make up 85% of wizard rock’s population. Countless bands have started because they were inspired by the Myrtles and Parselmouths. I don’t really like the notion of breaking up wizard rock into a tier system, but if you’re gonna do it, there’s no reason to keep the Myrtles and Parselmouths out of the first tier.
Not to downplay the Parselmouths’ and the Moaning Myrtles’ popularity, but one of the reasons they probably got more merch sales is that they tour less frequently. I own several Whomping Willows and JFF shirts and other merchandise, but I own nothing Myrtle or Parselmouth except some CDs I got online. So if I were able to attend one of your shows (sadly, I’ll be out of town when you guys come to Chicago!), I’d definitely be going for some of the girls’ merch.
Also, I Speak Tree is getting noticed because her music is AMAZING. She’s got exceptional talent and she’s a total sweetheart and she has a ton of genuine friends in the community, and these factors are helping her. I’ve raved about many bands over the past few years, but it’s seldom that my support really impacts a band’s popularity to any significant extent. Tianna has earned her success fair and square.
She is, and I said, she is extremely talented. I only said that I think you accelerated her music reaching people. I think she would of gotten there anyways, becase she is all the things you said.
I got really excited when I saw the topic of this one, and you honestly disappointed me. People are asking me all the freaking time why I’m not as successful as some other bands. At Terminus back in 2008, I did a panel on Women in Wizard Rock and proceeded to jump down the throats of some females who blame their lack of fame or success on their gender. I have engaged in debates like this that were way more intense and honest on Facebook, and Wizrocklopedia recently posted a really awesome discussion between Matt and Grace on the topic. This blog post was kind of a weak account on the whole topic, which was kind of a bummer. For a blog that strives and claims to stir things up with anonymous honesty, I kind of expected you to at least come close to the harshness of past public debates on the topic.
My position on this whole thing is that people who think there is sexism in wizard rock actually create sexism in wizard rock. Women who are unhappy with the amount of success they are receiving are seriously limiting themselves when they claim that their nether regions are entirely responsible. People who look at us and notice our boobs and the under-abundance of well-known bands who have them rather than our music aren’t helping either. I’m not saying that this issue shouldn’t be confronted, but that maybe the fact that it is brought up so often is making it seem like more of an issue than it really is. Maybe more people like the Potters’ and the Lupins’ music more than mine. Maybe the bands that are touring full-time are able to reach people that wouldn’t be as likely to remain an active member of the online community (and as of June 4th, I’ll get to test that theory). Maybe the music business in the “real world” is sexist, but why would a predominantly female (not to mention accepting, warm, genuine, etc) community be sexist towards their own sex?
Well, firstly, this was just the first of what will probably be an on-going series on gender roles in wizard rock. Also, I’m not 100% satisfied with these article either, to be honest, but half of it I did while trying not to sleep, and the other half I did whilst rushing to get it done so I could get to work. But I am a bit confused. Why did you feel this was weak? If it’s because it didn’t go that in depth, believe me, I will be going very much in depth later, but I wanted to start off with this. Also, are you actually asking me to be harsher, or meaner? And this is what I honestly feel. Well, sort of. This is an honest theory that came to me. I am honestly not of one mind, and not as convicted about this (because I find it harder to be convicted over wide-reaching social issues than whether or not I liked some music), so my thoughts on this topic my come off as a little weaksauce. And maybe this isn’t a good direction to take this blog. This is only my second post, so my thanks to everyone bearing with me as my non-fiction writing goes through some growing pains.
But thanks a lot for commenting and sharing your thoughts!
Also, some very brief comments towards your last couple sentences – my belief is that practically none of any sexism that may be in the wrock community is intentional or overt, and all very implicit societal based stuff. But I will be getting into that sort of thing in depth later. This was sort of the cop-out post before the OMG SOCIOLOGY article.
I thought it was weak in comparison to all of the other debates that have happened regarding this topic, which were not done anonymously. I’ve upset people with my “skullfuckingly honest” opinions, and my name is actually put to them. As Tina said further down, “the responses actually personally hurt me, cause I didn’t hide behind a false persona. I took a lot of shots under my name and I feel I’m still climbing from my bitter jealous honesty”.
You have a platform here; you can say what you want and nobody will know who you are so you have no consequences. I don’t think you should be meaner, in fact I’m glad that what you’ve said so far on here has been mostly constructive. I was just kind of expecting you to at least come close to the heartfelt intensity and strength of what other people in this community have said on the matter. Especially since we’ve done so with our reputations and friendships on the line.
Hunh. Good point. To be honest, I’ve been a little out of the loop as to the on-going saga of this debate, and I hadn’t really considered that point. However, as I said, I myself haven’t fully decided where I lie, so it is harder to have heartfelt intensity and etc. when you aren’t convicted. But thanks for making a good point, and I will try to get all my eggs in a row (so I can smash them [yeah, that metaphor was extended to a point where it made no sense]) for a later article on this topic.
Whenever anyone asks about women in fandom being sexist against women, I have two words: Supernatural fandom. Which may not mean much to someone who isn’t at least tangentially aware of said show, but…it’s pretty much a textbook example.
The thing about any -ism is, the effects it causes are independent of intent. You don’t have to be *purposefully* sexist, or to be conscious of what you’re doing, to perpetuate sexism. Predominantly female communities like wrock or LJ fandoms don’t *intend* to do things which keep sexism going; that doesn’t automatically mean those things aren’t sexist. And it’s conversations like these (or…rather, conversations like I hope will be happening in the more in-depth posts) which help people learn how to recognize sexism where it exists.
tl;dr : internalized sexism.
Abby said: “Personally, I don’t care for folky/cutesy chick music”
Have you ever actually listened to the Moaning Myrtles?
They write rock n’ roll music as if they’re personally connected to the 1950’s. Rock doesn’t have to be big guitars and bad-assery. It’s about catchy melodies over a 1-4-5. In other words, The Moaning Myrtles.
Steph is one of my favorite people and one of my favorite wizard rock musicians, but everyone’s different. Steph is phenomenal; she’s Bruce Springsteen in female form. The Moaning Myrtles are their own thing and they’re no less awesome.
The Parselmouths are definitely cutesy folk, but they’re damn good at it. 🙂
Yes, I have. And I’m entitled to my opinion, even if you disagree with it or think it’s totally flawed logic. (and if you go look, I did point out they they are both GOOD at what they do.)
You know I love the people in those bands and support them nonetheless, and that’s as far as your concern should extend, honestly… cause listening to music is subjective. You can throw all the theory and arguments you want at me, I’m just not really that into the more mellow girl bands, or even really acoustic acts for the most part.
I like it loud, you know this…heck, everyone knows this.
I don’t have to like everyone’s music to be friends, respect them and treat them nicely.
And that’s really all anyone honestly has a right to call me on, yeah?
I was simply refuting your assertion that Tonks and the Aurors “rock ten times harder” than the Myrtles, and that the Myrtles are “cutesy folk chick” music. You stated these things as facts, not opinions. Nothing personal here.
Interesting conversation, losers!
We > You! 😉
Seriously, this is awesome. This blog is already starting to live up to its potential. But am I really that much shorter that Bradley?
Well, does the fact that you apparently have a GIANT head make up for that? And you have a pet snake too, which is cool.
I have a couple things.
On what are we basing our standards of popularity? Attendance at shows, merch/album sales, youtube hits, twitter followers, facebook/myspace friends/fans? Because that’s going to effect your outcome. I mean, if we tallied up how much Wrocker X (…..I know kind of want to write a fic in which Wrocker X is kind of like Tuxedo Mask or something) made in the current fiscal year between door (on the occasion there is a cover), merch and albums – be that for themselves or their favorite charity, I’m pretty sure it’d be comparable for most of them out there – as far as the bands that are always on tour go, anyway. Obviously that’s not going to apply to a band that can’t get out there, until they *do* start getting the youtube hits/twitter followers/etc.
I like all kinds of music. I like stripped down acoustics, I like plugged in, amped up rock, I like dance music, I even like some rap and country. I kind of think most people are the same, though we all have our favorites – this is another thing to consider. Like someone else (Abby, I think?) said, most of the big name girl groups are pretty poppy or folky, or even (SWEET GOD FORBID [just kidding]) Broadway-esque. Steph is the only one – or one of the few – who rocks out hard, like most of the boys do.
Now, all that said, I’m willing to bet if we all take a look at our muggle music, we’re going to realize that the ratio of male performers we follow to female is similar across the board. Sure, I have a ton of Patti Smith, Heart, Pat Benetar, Christina Aguilera, Over the Rhine, Ani DiFranco, Tori Amos, Indigo Girls, The Supremes, Ella Fitzgerald . . . the list could go on and on, and could cover pretty much every genre. But there’s simply more Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, N*Sync, Bob Dylan and other male artists out there. Some of it has to do with how prolific a given band is, but a lot of it has to do with how many artists get recognized – gender, genre, insert sorting mechanism here.
I’m not against discussing the topic, because it’s a valid one. I guess my main point is that this ‘disparity’ applies to far more than just wizard rock, or even fandom rock.
Good point, and it’s one I intend to bring up at a later date – that a lot of the perceived sexism is probably as s result from an inherently sexist society (though we’re working on it!), and especially that there are socially accepted and even mandated roles for both genders, and this is a microcosm of society in which 80% or something of the society is female. But again, look for OMG SOCIOLOGY some other week. Next week I’m just gonna talk about bacon.
I don’t think that there’s any intentional sexism in wizard rock by any means; I can’t say that in the 4+ years I’ve been listening and 3+ years involved that I’ve ever heard of any instances of female-fronted bands being “held down by the man” due to their gender. I think that some of the female fronted bands are more talented than many of the male-fronted bands out there.
As a few others have pointed out, the wizard rock fanbase is predominantly female and I’d hazard a guess that many are on the younger end of the age spectrum. As a result, given that wizard rock isn’t a new thing anymore, instead of flocking to a handful of bands that are playing songs about their favorite books (regardless of age, gender, musical genre, etc.), they’re going to flock to bands that they feel comfortable with – meaning bands that resemble popular mainstream music. I think that’s where much of the MoM infatuation comes in.
And like others have pointed out, there’s a visibility issue as well – while NO wizard rock band would be where they are without the Internet, once bands like Whompy, JFF, tRL, DatM, HatP etc. started touring on a more consistent, regular basis, their visibility level increased because now there were one on one connections with the fanbase. Visibility = popularity. Had The Moaning Myrtles and The Parselmouths been able to tour regularly beginning a few years ago, I think everyone would view them as “just as popular” and we might not be having the same discussion here.
Personally, I think using MySpace figures as statistical data kind of skewers the point; bands like The Parselmouths, The Myrtles, MoM, tRL, etc. began their careers when MySpace was booming; that was THE place to go. Bands like Roonil Wazlib, Tonks and the Aurors, Split Seven Ways came along on that sort of “second wave” of bands, so their stats #1 don’t have the extra year or two that the other bands mentioned have and #2 are probably hurt stats-wise by the fact that MySpace is now a graveyard. So they don’t have the opportunity to “make up ground” on those earlier bands.
OK, that was a big giant mouthful for early in the morning. Sorry ’bout that! I just feel strongly about the perceived gender issues in wrock, because as a father to a 9 year old daughter, I’ve always used wrock as a great example of an open, non-judgemental, accepting community with her.
Aww, Russ, I ❤ you. I do the same with my eight year old and five year old, and they love everyone – wrock-wise, I mean – though they do have a definite preference for the boys. I don't know what it is. I mean, they love Roonil Wazlib and SSW and what not, but they know half of HatP's and DatM's catalogs by heart, and I'm sure you know they hear more TatA than anything.
Were I a more scientific sort, I'd offer the conjecture that as a largely female fanbase there's something to the whole genetic imperative here (and in music in general), and offer support, but as it is I can only say that, as a general rule, I too prefer a male voice more often than not.
Could a possible reason be that much of HatP’s and DatM’s catalogs, especially the first couple of albums, were for the most part, very lyrically simple? Just saying, that may be a reason why your youngin’s might have learned their songs so easily.
Also. COME PLAY IN DETROIT, WROCKERS. MICHIGAN LOVES YOU TOO. (See you soon, Whompy!)
Brian’s a tool!
Get off my tier.
I have a tamborine. And a guitar on which I can play five chords. Can I be on someone’s tier?
Stop looking at my ass!
Yea, whompy. Silly non-Slytherin. =)
I dare you to come down to my tier and hang with the vagabonds and rough-neckers. I dare you to peer into the depths of the horseplay and grit that goes down in my tier. I’m a monster. I’m a beast. I am a MACHINE.
We might also want to take into account that Ministry of Magic, at least, has done a lot of collaboration with female artists. Women sing on some of their best and most popular songs: Snape vs. Snape with The Parselmouths, Accio Love with The Moaning Myrtles, Goodbye Privet Drive with Kristina Horner.
Their professional (and fantastic) sound helps, too, of course, and they’re one of my favorite bands inside or outside the wrock universe. Ditto Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls.
As Lauren Myrtle pointed out, I don’t think a mostly female fandom is going to be sexist toward their own sex. And though I’m a bottom-tier wrocker myself (thanks to my having put up an album just before my wedding two years ago and then done practically nothing else), I’m not dissatisfied with the system. The girls that put the effort in are, it seems to me, getting their due. I’ve certainly got some of their work on my shelf. 🙂
When I first heard of The Moaning Myrtles and the Parselmouths back in 2006-07 I gave a good listen as Kristina knows I was one of the first to champion their float ride on parade and Lauren knows that their request for a show was soon met by the Globe shows near my hometown in PA. I am privy to have watched these young talented women blossom into the heroines of wizard rock. I can only thank them at this point for taking a chance on fugly me 🙂
I had similar questions Mr. Wrock Snob and my presentation was poor and the responses actually personally hurt me, cause I didn’t hide behind a false persona. I took a lot of shots under my name and I feel I’m still climbing from my bitter jealous honesty.
Be careful, is my advice. Ideology is one thing, but ruining your own core of inspiration is another. The Moaning Myrtles and The Parselmouths, altho tiers above me in talent, performance, and devotion are real artists and people. I understand what I didn’t and I have a 3 year old daughter of whom is naturally inclined to their type of music. No matter how much Joan Jett I present 🙂
This topic was a minor ruin to my reputation, by far, I still have a lot to make up for:)
Alright, i know im a little late to put forth my opinion as this was published yesterday, but i feel its important i get it out. First and foremost i think Wrocksnob is totally wrong here. I dont think its a matter of sex as much as it is time. Look at the most successful wrock groups
1. Hatp
2. Whompy
3. Datm
4. MoM
5. TMM
6. TPM
now let me touch upon why MoM is very popular. they are amazing. their electronic song was a brand new thing to wrock when they produced it, and thats why they became so famous. Lets face it they are much more talented musically than the other bands, except maybe Datm becuase brad and brian are so musically diverse.
But its really not about male or female performers, its all about who started first. Can anyone name some really famous names that started in late 2009 and are now touring. thats becuase the demand for wrock artists isnt there. When whompy datm TMM and TPM jumped on the train they had a chance to tour before the book releases. But any new bands dont have such an oppurtunity. I know first hand how difficult it is to tour or even come out with CD’s as a new wrock artist. there isnt a fan base, and although we’ve played some far away shows, we dont have anyone reviewing our music, or wizwrocklopedia updates about us. and just because this article exists proves my point that women are just as popular as men in the wrock world.
-Rob
Um… I’m pretty sure I agree with you. Did you look at the picture? This theory I’ve put forward basically says exactly what you saying. However, I do think there is some underlying inherent social sexism, but that’s a topic for another day.
Also, don’t be afraid to comment on any article! Just because it’s the next day (or the next week) shouldn’t mean anything!
Rob said: “now let me touch upon why MoM is very popular. they are amazing. their electronic song was a brand new thing to wrock when they produced it, and thats why they became so famous. Lets face it they are much more talented musically than the other bands, except maybe Datm becuase brad and brian are so musically diverse.”
Electronic music was prevalent in wizard rock from very early on with Dobby and the House Elves leading the way. He mostly did remixes of existing songs, but the remixes were very creative and the Potters, Malfoys, and I were some of his biggest fans. His remix of Crawl Through My Treehole appeared on my first album, which was released in February 2006. There were other electronic bands at the time — even The Hermione Crookshanks Experience took a turn toward electronica fairly early on.
I think the major difference with MoM is that they really aimed for a clean, radio-friendly sound. They are very talented at what they do; certainly, I couldn’t ever match what Luke is capable of with production without significant training. But saying they are much more talented than everyone else is taking it a step too far, in my opinion. Just as I could never produce the kind of music MoM makes with my current skill set, there are a lot of things that MoM couldn’t do with their current skill set. I think you’re placing a higher value on their specific talents because they make music that sounds like it belongs on the radio. I can offer several examples of people who are exceptionally talented at what they do: Stephanie Anderson plays rhythm guitar like a fucking hurricane and her live vocal performances are borderline perfection; Tyler Nicholas is the most talented bass player I’ve ever met in my life, and I’ve been playing in bands for 15 years; Bradley Mehlenbacher can master any instrument he wants – just give him two weeks; etc etc etc. No offense to the Ministry boys, but most of the real talent resides in the ability to construct pop songs and produce them really well. Mark Jennings is a superior vocalist, Luke and Jason are talented songwriters, but I don’t think they exist on a level that’s above everyone else. They’re good at what they do, and what they do just happens to be pretty damn mainstream.
And if anybody finds any of this to be anti-MoM, then you’re simply not in touch with reality. I’ve talked to Luke and Mark about this stuff and our discussions have always been really amiable. 🙂
I completely agree with you with Stephanie and Brad and Tyler about their talent levels. I also think that MoM are arguably the best singers in wrock and i think they are amazing at what they can do with production. Hearing MoM and ALL CAPS just shows how amazing luke is at producing and mixing. it is definitely at a professional level, and that is what i meant by talent and new sound. Electronica definitely existed prior to MoM but no where near at the professional sound that MoM produces. And i will be completely honest by saying that im not a HUGE fan of MoM, i mean i like them but im just not really into that type of music, i like the indie rock music a lot more and thats why im more biased towards bands like Hatp and TWW. I feel very comfortable saying that MoM has the most polished sound in wrock that i have ever heard, and i think Jason Munday has the most wrockin’ guitar solos besides Brian who is basically eric clapton. and the guitar mixed with the production on FL studios mixed with all the boys great voices and polished sound is what made them one of the most popular names in Wrock.
i guess in my last post i made it sound like they are “better” than all the other bands, and i dont think thats what wrock is about, its about accepting everyone. I just was giving my theory about why they became so popular, and i think i went more into depth in this post, and i would love to hear what you guys think, positive or negative 🙂 .
I can’t reply to Matt’s reply to my reply.
But here’s my reply…. heheh
I just re-read what I wrote three times, just in case you were right, Matt… cause that’s been known to happen. 😀
And to me, it seems like I was pretty clear that it was my opinion.
I used terms like “in my mind” and “for my buck” and “as far as I’m concerned”.
Not trying to nitpick, dude… I honestly don’t see what you mean, so I’m not gunna be able to concede on that point. Sorry…
Anyway, this as off topic as I care to go. I have lots of legit things I could say about being a female in something that is historically a man’s world, having been a chef for 10 years.
But honestly, ladies AND gentlemen…. the world’s not perfect. It’s the attitude you have about it that really matters.
I just wanted to campaign for folks to reckognize Steph as a “top female in wrock’, because I feel very strongly (opinion) that she is. But I’m not going to wrestle anyone to the ground if they disagree. She can do that without my help. 😀
I was responding mostly to this: “Personally, I don’t care for folky/cutesy chick music, even when it’s done as well as the Parselmouths and Myrtles do it. Sorry.”
It’s true that you’re stating your preferences in relation to their music, but you’re also classifying it as folksy/cutesy chick music. And that made me wonder if you’ve ever actually given the Myrtles a thorough listen before deciding whether or not you like them, because their music isn’t folksy/cutesy chick music. It’s piano-based rock n’ roll. That was my point. Obviously you stated other opinions throughout your comment, but you also classified a band as something they’re not. 🙂
I love Steph as much as anyone, and I’ve promoted her and praised her as much as anyone. But I don’t think my loving her means that I should speak in hyperbole when talking about her popularity. She’s definitely very popular — probably in the 95th percentile out of all 750 wizard rock bands — but I see why the author of this post chose the Myrtles and Parselmouths as his examples of female-fronted bands that are on the “cusp” of tier-one-ness, or whatever.
(and this next part is directed at the author of this post, not Abby)
That said, who gives a fuck about tiers? Seriously. This topic really has been beaten to death over the past few years. There are a million reasons why some bands get popular and others don’t. It’s a mixed bag of factors. Why did the Ministry get popular so fast? Because they make music that sounds like what 80% of wizard rock fans listen to on the radio, and because they’ve promoted their music well. Why did the Whomping Willows get so popular? Because they had a minor leg up from Harry and the Potters and they’ve played more shows than any other wizard rock band besides the Potters. Why did the Malfoys get so popular? Because they had a major leg up from Harry and the Potters, they’re the perfect conceptual foil to the Potters, and they’re incredibly talented musicians and performers. Why did the Myrtles get so popular? Because they make catchy and accessible music, and because Lauren spent years making friends in the community and being involved in everything she possibly could. Why is Tonks and the Aurors rising to the top of the wizard rock charts at lightning speed? Because she’s undeniably awesome and she works really hard.
There really isn’t one blanket theory to explain how all successful bands are successful. Every band has its own unique story.
I’m calling this “po-tay-to…pot-tah-to”, Matt.
I don’t wanna fill up the comments by splitting hairs with you over what I said.
I’ll just say that I think that even the term “rock n’ roll” is subjective and leave it at that.
Unless you want to go a round of Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock, perhaps?
Late to the party!
This is pretty interesting to me, always has been. FULL DISCLAIMER RIGHT NOW: I’m no longer active in wrock (at least for the moment; never say never) because of many other projects and overriding concerns, one of which is that I’ve become more involved in online feminist blogging/activism. Therefore my opinion on subjects like this is biased as all hell. I’ll try and tone it down though 😉 Another element of bias is that I’m not really into so many of the main wrock bands discussed here, although getting to see the “iconic” ones as a Brit wrocker is always very exciting.
Arguing that “the scene” isn’t going to be sexist because it’s primarily made up of girls and women doesn’t really cut it because society makes it so internalised, especially for teenagers. Not blaming anyone; it’s hard to get out of that mindset. So that and the MoM-as-boyband, Alex-Carpenter-as-sex-symbol stuff I saw in my first year deeply into rock has influenced my opinion that yeah, it IS easier for the guys. I don’t blame the guys for it, they are all very talented people, caught up in a whole wave of attention that must be a bit disconcerting! And I don’t blame the girls either. This culture is so weird in a lot of ways.
An added factor a lot of music is still a male-dominated arena, eg. there’s still a lot of assumptions that men are better at rock although girls can do it if they manage to look “cute” (?!?!) in the process. Another one that’s hard to bust out of.
/serious business
Oh god, that was so incoherent! (A very English) sorry to everyone!
Zoë, you look hot on the cover of The Vashta Nerada album. That’s why I bought it. You have a sweet sweet jawline and cool legs. I don’t know who that beast was next to you. I vote you kick her out and jump a tier or two in the DUNE FREMEN ROCK community. Ditch that sandworm FO REALZ.
“DUNE FREMEN ROCK”
if this was real I would listen to it SO HARD. but I have a hard time imagining a bunch of people writing music about the Fremen without a good chunk of it ending up sounding pretty racist, unfortunately. but still FREMEN ROCK GOOD YES POTENTIAL THERE.
//ahem.
Dude— Sparrowing—
Zoe and I have a project called THE VASHTA NERADA and we’ve already written a Children of Dune song about Leto II and Ghanima. Keep track of us, one of these day’s we’ll put up the Dune stuff, baby! http://www.purevolume.com/TheVashtaNerada
hahaha genius! PS: email me that song sooooon I need a distraction from That Damn Novel that is still creative rather than me playing Dragon Age and seducin’ bard chicks.
some thoughts, some studies show how boys are encouraged to take chances and girls are still taught to seek stability.
it’s funny that everyone’s talking about who they are and forgetting that just over a year ago Stacy from Swish and Flick worked her butt off to form the Witch Rock series in NY that was meant to address this issue with some solutions. I don’t think any of the females mentioned as top tier were able to attend or perform??? I think.
regardless, i agree that the subject has been beaten to death and buried 🙂
yeah… I think (despite my polemic post before) the situation has changed recently. I was more talking about “they heyday” and even though wrock’s still going the dynamic seems very different now. All the work Stacy’s put in is so fantastic, I owe her so much for inviting me to play NYCWRF!
Yeah, I was think in a totally non evil way if people wanna say tiers then they should also say generation. Like Swish and Flick/Mc Kreacher are part of the top tier second generation.
I think Wrock has yet to really realize it’s second coming. There’s a lot of heart that still exists and can be conjured 🙂
I think that the maturity of each performer is different too, I mean all of this experience and at such young ages. I met First Gen top tier when they were barely 17-18 and now they are strong young grown up women, Kristin from the Marauders was 15!
You yourself were very young and I’m happy to read here that you are taking some chances in other realms as well!
What’s gonna be hot bottom tier third gen. That’s what I wanna know!
Abby: Mmmmmm….potatoes.
So, I was just thinking tiers and generations, from my perspective in no tier order puhleez;
Alpha=The Harry and the Potters
1+ Alpha=The Dracos, The Whomping Willows, The Remus Lupins, Maybe Ministry of Magic-altho i kinda secretly don’t count them in a lot they are so about things that irritate me about music, but nice and extraordinary talented guys:) The Moaning Myrtles, The Parselmouths,
First generation; The Cruciatus Curse, The Horntails, me and Ian, The Marauders, Snidget, Fred and George, The Nifflers, Lightning Bolt Scar, Basilisk in you Pasta, Split Seven Ways(there’s more of a list here…please expand)
Second Gen: Hawthorn Holly, Mudbloods, Creevy Crisis,The Bilibbering Humdingers, Madame Pince, Belle and Le Strangers, Swish and Flick, The Chocolate Frogs, The Butterbeer Experience, MC Kreacher, The Gringott Grrls, Tonks and the Aurors( and so many more…please expand)
Third gen? I don’t know, I hear Luna’s Ceiling is something-I took a year off basically, just getting my sea legs again 🙂
Luna’s Ceiling is totes something. Check out “Lestrangelove”, “Obliviate”, “Hide No More”, “Slashkilter”, and “Dances With Thestrals”, among others.
sounds awesome will do, currently logging out to practice for Incendio, are you coming? It’s old school, a firehall 🙂
Unfortunately, no, the wrock snob is a poor snob. Best of luck with it, though!
I tend to think of generations more in terms of time periods in the history of wizard rock. I consider the Founding Generation to be the bands that started before there really was enough Wizard Rock for it to actually be considered a music “scene.” (The Potters, The Malfoys, Whompy, TRL, etc.)
I think of the first generation as being all of the bands that started out when there were still few enough bands to more or less be able to keep up with most of the new music coming out. Basically anyone who established themselves and had a decent number of songs up before the scene exploded in numbers in the months leading up to Deathly Hallows. (Roonil Wazlib, Snidget, HCX, The Mudbloods [whom I feel inclined to point out have been on the scene since 2005–definitely first gen], Thestral, The Bandon Banshees, The Hinky Punks, Bella’s Love, Hollow Godric, etc.)
I consider second generation to be the surge of bands, big and small, that came on to the scene during or around the time of the big surge in 2007. (Catchlove, MoM, The Weasel King, Gred and Forge, JFF, The Butterbeer Experiece, myself, etc.)
And finally, I think of third generation as simply anyone who came after the sudden big surge of new bands died back down again.
I’m not sure exactly how accurate my reckoning of who showed up when is (particularly between founding and first generation) having not discovered Wizard Rock myself until near the end of 2006, and then having dropped in and out of the scene several times since. But I also realize this method of grouping ends up essentially putting things in terms of bands that came to the scene before, around the same time as, or later than my own band originally did, so it may be a biased way of grouping things based on my own perspective.
I would argue that there is a fourth generation on to what you’re listing where bands from the past year-ish fall. That there are cycles of bands that happen, and maybe 10% of the bands from each cycle gain a little notoriety.
I say this because I really don’t think my band or some of the bands with whom I’m friends could qualify as third generation- just because each generation tends to take note of other bands within that generation, and then everyone after them (or a certain time frame after, at least) SEEMS like all one lump of late-to-the-party. (But no less awesome. Did I mention that I eat wrock for breakfast? Mm tastes like an AWESOME start to the day.)
Fifth generation will be hitting the scene soon. I look forward to it.
Tina said: “What’s gonna be hot bottom tier third gen. That’s what I wanna know!”
Favorite comment so far! 😀
totally Matt, high five!
Thanks for the luck Mr. Wrock Snob, but I suspect that your digs in this community are only founded by what you’ve experienced. I mean, gracefully and iognorantly, that you might have only experienced convention wrock, old school wrock at libraries, in someone’s house, or like me securing cafe’s and renting halls are far more of a thrill than that. Take a chance on subbaculcta wrock, where the Whomping Willows and Justin have shined, my suggestion 🙂
In the early days hatp’s played some wickedly underground/homemade spots.
I truly feel these shows have the potential for the best personal experience, but then I grew up visiting punk bands playing in their friend’s basement 🙂
One of prime regrets is missing out on seeing Harry and the Potters play in a donut shop in my hometown. In fact, I haven’t experienced convention wrock at all, though I will this November. I’ve seen plenty of shows at libraries… well, I’ve seen one show IN a library, and two or three outside of a library, because the actual library meeting room ended up being WAY too small. I’ve also been to a house concert, and to two HatP shows in a more “traditional” venue of a ballroom-thingie. Overall, I must say my favorite show was one of the HatP ones in the traditional venue, but I’m the sort of person who lives, breathes, and feeds off of energy – don’t get me wrong, I love the intimacy of house concerts, and the open but laidback feel of library concerts, but for me nothing compares to 200 people jumping up and down, dancing and screaming and ruining their voices.
I assume you mean that you’re going to Wrockstock, I know there are other soul fed conventions this year, but Wrockstock holds a flame for me 🙂 We(the family) are forever grateful to Abby and Paul and the Wrockstock crew for inviting to the first.
You’ll have a blast no doubt, wish we could afford the trip 🙂
Missing donut shop is crime IMO 🙂
I make music and I am not popular and I am a girl. It certainly ISN’T because boys hold me back or I feel overwhelmed or threatened by boys (I actually think it is because I am so muscular and Van Damme-like that it scares most people.)
I don’t think there is “sexism” in this this music. I think it is just NUMBERS. Like, there HAPPEN to be more males living on my block than females. If more girls wanted to move in, that could happen. They’d totally still be included in the BLOCK PARTY with the BOUNCY CASTLE and the sweet sweet summer ice cream man treats.
Every time I’ve smiled while reading the comments here it’s because of you, Ms. Van Damme.
ADDENDUM:
can we just say that Romilda Vane and the Chocolate Cauldrons is first gen, she is heart and soul community. Amy has been a throbbing source for years ❤
Sorry I missed you in my original shout outs-trying to keep my responses simple. Particularly I love that she has taken the personal investment thrice to come to the states from Ireland while in college to play Wizard Rock shows! I feel very thankful that she played our town 🙂 I could have been a better promoter!
I WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree with every part of this comment except for the word “throbbing” which I think should only be used to describe migraines and erections.
But yeah, Amy is the shit and she has been since before I became a whack fan.
*wrock fan. My iPad hates me.
YOU HAVE AN IPAD? Or is it just your ipod hating you? Also, my iPod Touch automatically corrects words like “wrick” to “wrock”. BECAUSE I’M THAT AWESOME.
I love that it auto corrected as WHACK, though. I feel the same way about Amy, she’s brilliant. I also feel “throbbing” about her. In every sense of the word, I suppose.
ha, I was thinking throbbing hearts-like in cartoons 🙂 i like ‘whack’ ha ha ha i totally endorse a sub-sub-sub genre of whack!
Amy’s wonderful in practically every way, I’m no fan of the WRPCAs but she 100% deserves hers!
Thank you, I harp on about this on our podcast all the time!
EUROPE:
Romilda Vane and the Chocolate Cauldrons (female)
Siriusly Hazza P (2 females)
Riddle TM (2 females)
The Deathsticks (2 females, sometimes 3)
Peeved (1 male)
Shrieking Shack Disco Gang (1 female, 1 male)
Lost Diadems (2 females)
Basilisk in Your Pasta: (4 of each)
Quickspell (1 male, 1 female)
Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office (3 guys)
FINAL TALLY: 16 females and 10 males
It’s an off-the-top-of-my-head list; please feel free to add to it.
The main (active) bands in Europe and the UK are mostly female. Thoughts?
Hmmm… really, that seems large consistent with the US as well, just smaller number, but the same percentages. Actually, I just realized, I think Australia has the highest male to female ratio. I mean, there’s Wizards of Death Metal, Wizarding World, Mimbulus Mimbletonia, there was Buckbeak’s Flight, and part of Dobby and the House Elves.
The Black Sisters (3 females now)
The Dark Mark Experience is 2 females, but they’re still trying to get their act together and actually put out songs…
You also left out Zoe, and despite not intending to produce any more music, she’s shown in the last week that she’s very much active in the wrock community here. =)
(Agh! How could I have forgotten them :L) It wasn’t so much about the percentages, but the fact that the main, most popular bands who play gigs in around here are female. All the shows around here recently feature the awesome female UK bands and occasionally an international male band as a guest. I guess what I’m asking is why are there so few all-male wrock bands here when there is a massive slew of them in the USA?
There really aren’t that many male wrock bands in the US, but we have a large population, and the most famous bands happened to be male (see the above article). The wrock scene in Europe started with a pool of fans, and following the demographic of HP fandom and wrock fandom, they were mostly female.