05 - Girl Power by FEMMELDEHYDE Magazine

0724 2013

ART, FASHION, MUSIC & GIRL POWER

FEMMELDEHYDE 1

CONTENTS 04

feature photographer: maya fuhr

letters from the editors

readers’ submissions

sonic entrapment by keaton evans

fashion feature: armed by desiree girlato

art feature: vesna vasanovic

gallery review: expace “i know it’s not enough”

music feature:thebeaches

literature feature: samaneh sadaghiani

what’s next?

photography feature

Maya Fuhr is the creator of the harmonious photographs featured in this issue. Her work takes the viewer on a photographic voyage of the female form where she marries both the bold and intense with the soft and beautiful traits which premise femininity. Perhaps it is the rawness of the final product - often untouched and in its most natural form - which truly exude the quixotic nature of being a woman; and the often blurred exposures are artistically aligned with these equivocal creatures. So as you proceed, please allow yourselves to transcend into this world of women as represented by another. by lindsey omelon *all photos by maya fuhr unless otherwise credited

MAYA FUHR

editor’s note

dearest readers, I was having a conversation with a friend the other day about Feminism, and how widely misunderstood it is. Both of us agreed that the most common misconception is that Feminism is somehow domineeringly anti-male, which I feel is completely counter to the Feminist agenda. For me (and many others), it is celebratory and empowering for femininity in all of its shapes and forms, regardless of gender. Girl power is an extension of this.

FEMMELDEHYDE is a brand that was conceived and put into practice by females, and we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate our one-year than through an expression of the triumphs of women in the arts. Our girl power issue houses a myriad of artistic expression through a feminine and feminist lens, from drawings of girlhood whimsy to powerful social and political statements, and from a distinctly contemporary perspective. This issue, for me, was probably the easiest and most fun to put together because it is so close to home. Girl power in the arts is important because it exists both within and in spite of a previously male-dominated realm, and also because it builds upon and enhances a male-centric legacy rather than negating it – I hope this comes through with the issue. Both Linds and I want to thank you for faithfully sticking with us through our first year, and for helping us to grow and evolve so much from our first issue last summer. We promise we’ve got plenty more in store. xx erika

The purpose of this issue is to be almost a culminating piece, expressing FEMMELDEHYDE in totality. FEMMELDEHYDE the name is enveloped in power - a semantic of strength. And although the works featured over the past year have been from both male and female, we can’t help but be a bit biased in promoting all of those badass babes out there. The pairing of the two words ‘girl’ and ‘power’ offers the appropriate balance of roaring determination and soft femininity; this is precisely what has been created in the making of this issue. During its conception, however, I felt torn by inconsistencies noting the plausible countercultural movement that we know as girl power and the inherent dangers with this ubiquitous term. While Beyonce confidently contends that its us girls who run the world, I believe many still require convincing. So here, in this issue, we hope to create a vessel into the worlds of the wonderful women right here in our own city. The ‘girl power’ issue marks the one year anniversary of FEMMELDEHYDE magazine and what better way than to celebrate girlhood. To centralize an arts and culture magazine around girl power and femininity seems all too appropriate: women are a work of art, and the movement is work in progress and throughout history we’ve only further gained the instruments required to create our own masterpiece. You go girl(s), xx lindsey

READERS’ SUBMISSIONS

Kezia my Goddess How do we escape these Eternal carnal coffins We’ve subsumed Paupers given free refuge My eyes; swarming warm summer Stare through to you Mirroring the kaleidoscope hum A TV edge of calm waters I speak to you In asynchronous slang One predicated on Once preyed upon Large hands of lessons Taught as gold in ‘membrance Our exchange in quiet Sews seamlessly together From twine of soft spoken slurs And unknowable insatiety This blanket of thoughts Each gnarl releasing Words whittled Begets a hidden hymnal

artwork and words by corey venier

Men must realize that we have our own fight in feminism, and one

entirely different from the one women face – we must let go of the notions of superiority that make us feel strong briefly, but truncate

our humanity irreparably. The pieces submitted, which might seem at odds for the girl power edition, were meant as a cathartic expression of what it feels like to be a man, a humanist, and a feminist. It is

entirely too easy to find hate and objectification in the subtleties of

commonplace conversation, and this is a reflection of how I feel in

by corey venier 6

illustration by emma tacq

my own admissions of misogyny. Fragmented, distorted, and selfish.

photography by storm luu and kyle turner

A song barely heard Ushers in the fetish Of Flesh consumed Of the fallacies of phallus My manhood Sisyphus

In every symbol Imagined like you; but risen up like smoke Invading, pulsating from some version of truth Blossoming your garden flowers Foul lips and labia leaves sprouting Petals made of the same real/not real Truth debauchery Your saccharine moans Either from pleasure, or pain A mating call of taxis and neon Elicit in me, conjure me A mental climax, pre-coming physical Kezia my Goddess I see your twitching eyelashes In their convulsions whisper to me Not by voice, but dainty nonchalance You’re a Man

submissions

What Kathy Acker Did to the Way We See Narratives Now and at the Hour of Her Death by matthew walsh she x-posed it ( mind-mapped) & unwrapped the spine bindings x-hausted his great x-pectations, showed where the dick ends come taste her hand. she play-gerized scissored isms. she made isms prism read, she said, with torn eyes, see more sides see what the book hides because you’re bound to find females bound to a canon refusing to move. illustration; “sinner or saint” by sara kralovanszky

she took syntax & hacked it she un-packed she strapped it on she ripped it up it stripped her it cut she cut it up. come scrawl cause black tarantula won’t crawl & text marred her but made no martyr.

left - xeno queen right - ripley; illustrations from the ALL OF THEM WITCHES zine (2013); by sabrina parolin

the woman; illustration; by sabrina parolin

SONIC ENTRAPMENT by keaton evans

There Lizzy was. All alone. Well, not really alone. Rather, there Lizzy was feeling alone. This was not a new feeling

though. This feeling was old. It was dried up, played out, over run, and should have been put out to pasture after

her teens. But she couldn’t ever find the strength to do so. It takes an overwhelming amount of energy to expel such negative thoughts. Lizzy barely had any energy left. The events leading up to this moment in her life were years in the making. She had no control over most of them, but that kind of thought is never re-assuring in this kind of moment.

Lizzy was the only person left in the downtown core with a functioning cerebral cortex. She had never signed the form. Exactly six months prior, men from the “Seven Stars Ad Agency” had canvased the city with consent forms. Lizzy refused to sign.

They were getting ready to launch a new ad campaign,

her loneliness though. If anything it made it worse.

was to run for twenty minutes, and would stretch from

of independent thought. Her cerebral cortex was still

through a whole new way of advertising. The campaign the western borders of downtown Toronto, to the eastern borders. The brain was the medium, and the method was Sonic Entrapment, or, SE.

Knowing that she was the only one in the city capable

motoring along when her body bumped into the lifeless looking face of a man. The man was frozen in time tying

his shoes. For all Lizzy knew, the man was being sold

Lizzy stood completely still listening to the hum of idling

shoes at that exact moment. He had given up the ability

electronic music coming from a vegan restaurant, and

irony was not lost on her.

each other. She knew from the news that this is what

truly individual trait they all had. She couldn’t blame them

diesel engines on the roads, the tinny ping of some

to think or feel, for the possibility of a better sole. The

watching everyone around her sway in perfect time with

She felt disgusted at the idea of anyone giving up the one

Sonic Entrapment looked like. Kind of like a big group

though. Lizzy wished she had gotten the implant. Some

of trained golden retrievers doing a slow dance routine.

SE was invented by a famous sound engineer. His fame stemmed from having written all of the catchy commercial

jingles for a slimy uptown jewelry pawn shop. Now though, he would forever be immortalized as the man who turned advertising into a collective experience.

Lizzy had watched an expose about Sonic Entrapment

the day before on CBC. It explained everything. In 2015

it became very popular to have a bioengineered WiFi implant installed in your brain, so one could access the

internet or make phone calls with a singular thought.

SE took advantage of these implants by broadcasting a varying array of tones via the internet website First.fm.

These tones created images in the visual cortex. But for

anyone to see the images, they would have to opt out of thinking for twenty minutes, once a week, for the rest of their lives.

Lizzy felt sorry for everyone around her, it didn’t quell 11

days she even wished that her brain would just shut off

for a few minutes. Restart, reboot, feel like new without

a care in the world. Only, that would be unrealistic, and if Lizzy was anything, she was a realist.

This felt too real though. Lizzy wished she could be part of the group now. The thoughts and opinions she held on

the matter weighed too heavily on her heart. So, stooping

down beside the man who was tying his shoes, Lizzy

closed her eyes and imagined the world as a big empty void. Sort of like a black hole, but with less Stephen

Hawking and more Neil DeGrasse Tyson. It was idyllic. To be free of choice and to be enslaved to something bigger than herself. This romantic vision was interrupted when she lost her balance and fell over.

Sprawled out on the granite tiles under the TD Waterhouse building, her eyes opened and made contact with a flagpole. Following it up to the top, she saw a flag waving in the wind. Lizzy had an epiphany. Flags had

photo by hannah pruden

it right, humans had it wrong. Why should we even be concerned with our own advancement? We should just

let the wind move us at it’s own discretion. If she could just be an inanimate object, cruising through life ignorant to the world around her, things would be easier.

Life looked rose colored through that spyglass Lizzy had just adopted. She didn’t want to put it down, she wanted

to keep looking through it. Using the vignetting of the tube to blind her from all the lifeless swaying bodies. She

could be a lifeless swaying body. If she had signed that form, she could have been eaten up by the swimming sharks of the “Seven Stars Ad Agency”. Engulfed in

the waves of shoe ads and jean commercials that were undoubtedly populating the minds of the populous.

A shoe landed square on Lizzy’s pale white face.

Everyone was moving again. A man yelled at her, to get

out of the way, then kept walking. Her face was covered

in dirt from the size ten designer oxford shoe. Back on her feet now, Lizzy surveyed the hustling and bustling

downtown core. Toronto had never looked more beautiful. 13

Lizzy’s loneliness was no where in sight. Apparently the gum on the mans shoe had gotten stuck to it, and pulled it right out.

All it took was a shoe to the face, but the feeling was

gone. The thought that was so scary only twenty minutes ago, was no longer an issue. She had envisioned the

comfort that complacency and ignorance can bring, and

she liked it. She felt taller and much stronger. Lizzy could

feel the embrace of everyone around her. For all they knew, she had also taken part in the weekly ad campaign.

Sovereign thinking had brought her here, to a place where she was now regarded as part of the crowd. Lizzy

embraced the dirt on her face, and the welcoming smiles of all the voluntary participants of Sonic Entrapment. As long as she looked like one of them, she never had to

be one of them. Lizzy could continue down her own self determined line, never deviating, but always stopping

to think of the others around her. Life never felt more... adequate. Lizzy was fine with that.

ARMED

model adrianne reynolds; photo by katie sadie; upandarmed.com

fashion feature

DESIREE GIRLATO It was true when they [whoever they are] said good things come in small packages: Desiree Girlato, the tiny jewelry designer and owner of the tiny story ARMED [1024 Dundas W.] is doing anything by tiny things. I met Desiree just one summer ago and had been keeping her on reserve for this very issue. If the name doesn’t make it obvious enough with the root word being girl - she is the embodiment of a forward-thinking female entrepreneur. And she rocks the hell out of all that is girlhood. Her brand, ARMED, is deeply rooted in empowering females where the understanding is that it is okay to want to be pretty; feminism does not necessarily mean the angered stereotype that is often envisioned but can also be found within floral-adorned accessories. So next time you’re in the area, be sure to pop by and say hello because even if you leave empty-handed, you will have at least gained a wealth of positive knowledge as Desiree is always eager to hone in on some girl power. by lindsey omelon LO: So ARMED – what does it mean to you and what were your intentions in branding? DG: Okay, so ARMED started off as a merger of accessory and apparel. I wanted jewellery to be more than just something that is thrown on after your outfit; I wanted it to be what makes your outfit. A lot of people think that ARMED is such a negative word with all of this controversy surrounding gun control. I actually get some flack for my artwork. And I try to remind people that ARMED can actually have a very positive message. I try to push that ARMED is empowerment…ARMED with strength. So, for me, it’s like, wear this jewellery and never be unarmed. It’s about being empowered, being strong, being a woman, and being badass all of the time. LO: When I think of ARMED I immediately go to female empowerment. DG: Yeah! I’m all about girl power. And especially with the 90’s remaining so relevant in fashion right now. Girl power and girls bands were such a thing then. I run this store, and I have two other women who work with me. And I just think that women have so much to offer and it’s cool that I’m part of an industry where I see all of these females being so successful and doing it on their own. My network of women in the industry is just so strong and it makes me extremely proud. LO: Do you only make jewellery for women? DG: Honestly – it’s about what someone is down to wear. I met this badass dude about a year ago and he rocked out this 15

photo by: upandarmed.com

necklace that I totally intended for a woman to wear. He’s like a badass Mr. T. LO: When did you actually start designing? DG: So I started out designing seriously for the store two years ago when I opened. But I’d been doing it for a couple years prior, originally just as another creative outlet. And then my friend Amanda came by and was like “you make jewellery?” and I just said I guess so… and it just flowed from there. It just came so naturally.

DG: There are a few and for different reasons. Like I’m really inspired by how DANNIJO just shot to stardom in like five years. It’s incredible. They’ve really turned jewellery around and made it into a brand: something to follow and be invested in. I love making jewellery now but ultimately I’m trying to make a brand. They’ve really paved the way for going over-thetop in designs. Or like Henry Vendel – I really like what he did with leather a couple seasons ago. But it’s always shifting for me as trends change. And also Jill Goldin. She did a great thing with friendship bracelets. She was able to make a full collection around them and that’s so badass. LO: Do you have a specific kind of customer that shops here? DG: You know what, I find that there is quite a range. I think it’s because my price point is spread out across the board. Like you can come in here and buy a pair of earrings for $25.00 or you photo by: upandarmed.com

LO: Are you self-taught? DG: Totally. I started off in fashion design and for me it just wasn’t clicking. I felt like I was forcing it upon myself for many years. I started to become an angry person. If you don’t love every aspect of the work that you do it can affect your overall life. LO: What’s the concept for these pieces you’re working on now? [shown in image above] DG: I got these flowers in New York – I do a lot of sourcing there, especially for my brass chain. I was extremely drawn to them. And since we did DIY flower crowns at the last event – which cost $5.00 to make and the proceeds go to a women’s charity – it was a really great opportunity to incorporate the pieces into the party. And what I love about brass chain is that it is just so strong. It’s such a statement. And at the end of the day, all women are just really beautiful. So I feel that the flowers are that touch of femininity that all women have. It’s the female form that is just a beautiful thing. LO: If you were a super-jewellery-designing-hero, what would be your mana? DG: There is nothing cooler than putting on a full body chain. You just put one on and you’re like back in the game. You could have the worst outfit on underneath, throw one on, and roll out. I feel because it’s almost a harness and you put it on almost like a bodysuit. And what superhero doesn’t have a sweet bodysuit. Like, Wonderwoman is not rolling out in like Levi jeans. LO: Do you have someone that you’re most influenced by? 16

can buy a necklace for $300.00. And what I like about that is that the same person isn’t buying those $25.00 earrings versus the $300.00 necklace but they all seem to have a similar vibe about them. LO: How did you get into hustlin’ on Dundas West? DG: I was really lucky to get this spot. I think that a lot of retaileers are beginning to recognize that this is a great area. There seems to be a lot more business owners moving here. I also love that my shop is pretty small – it gives me a better opportunity to connect with everyone that comes in. Because they have to talk to me.

...at the end of the day, all women are just really beautiful. So I feel that the flowers are that touch of femininity that all women have. It’s the female form that is just a beautiful thing. LO: I think it’s crazy that right around the same time as the issue you were also doing your own girl power event. Get out of my mind! DG: Yeah! Well, I think it’s really important to find your identity in the market. And I am all about promoting female empowerment. We actually did a partnership with Recycle Hope. So I would create designs and these women in the Dominican, using their beads, did all of the manufacturing of it. The pieces were then sold here. It was so great because there’s this very strong connection: we both love to make jewellery. I understand that I just happened to be born in Canada and therefore more of an opportunity to do what I love to do. So it

photo by: upandarmed.com

was great being able to collaborate, helping one another out – it was a full circle. LO: If you could choose one piece here in your store that could represent ARMED, what would it be? DG: It’s this one with leather shoulders with two chains going across and is connected with vintage chandelier crystals. It’s just like the most badass thing. It’s like you’re going to war but still so pretty. LO: So you did recently graduate from Humber’s Fashion Management program. What’s next? DG: Well, I met a lot of great people from Humber. And one of the girls I met, I had met her through the venture Friendly Fire Live Pitch Competition. She was assisting in running it and has a major background in the accessory world out in New York. So she’s going to kind of show me the ropes in the trade show industry out there. It am hoping to start distribution there as well as Montreal. LO: It must be difficult as an upcoming entrepreneur to not 17

be too hasty in accepting all opportunities of getting your stuff out there. Like, just agreeing to any place that will hold them. I find that can take away from a brand. DG: Yeah, totally. I find that young entrepreneur is that we may undervalue who we are. I think regardless of your age, just go right ahead and aim for where you want to be. And don’t be so concerned with the quantity but rather the quality of things. And I find it’s important to be your brand – live it, don’t fake it. LO: To finish this off, I want you to tell me about one person who really rocks this whole girl power thing. DG: Wendy Davis. Maybe because it’s been the most recent occurrence. But she stood up and spoke on women’s abortion rights for ten hours. First of all, can you imagine speaking for that amount of time? No washroom, on your feet, not eating or drinking? This woman is just absolutely beautiful and she’s just standing up there owning it in an arena of like business white men who are really opposed to what she’s speaking about. That is badass.

photography by krystina plante

art feature

VESNA ASANOVIC

I stumbled across Vesna’s kinda-whimsical-kinda-dark illustrations while absentmindedly navigating through the vast blogosphere, and I was instantly drawn in by their linear quality and bold colour. Her illustrations instantly brought me back to that time of menacing girlhood, where you spent your time hiding from parents, making magazine cutout collages, and losing hours of your day to MSN messenger. Moreover, actually talking with Vesna about her drawings brought back long-buried, hilarious memories from my teen years in a big wave of nostalgia. Her work straddles the border between the fun and carefree side of teenhood and the darker, more angsty side; read on and see what I mean. EB: I wanna start by asking you about your artistic practice in general: what you like to work with, and what kinds of subject matter you like to engage with, that sort of thing. VA: Okay, well, ever since I was young I’ve really always drawn girls. I don’t know. I don’t know if I just see really cool people in my head and I wanna draw them… but I’ve always always drawn girls. Even my mother has told me, “ever since you started watching Sailor Moon as a kid, you only wanted to draw girls. EB: Oh man. I loved Sailor Moon. VA: Oh my god, the best. I recently rewatched it with my friends and realized it was so much funnier now that I’m older. But yeah. I mostly like to work with ink, acrylic and some gouache. It’s pretty simple. And, unfortunately I no longer have access to any screen printing equipment where I am now, but I loved screen printing. It was so much fun. EB: And what typically fuels your artistic practice? Where do you get ideas, and what sort of setting do you like to work in – like your favourite place to make work? VA: I love to just draw on my couch, in front on my TV. I know, not very inspiring, but I love it. I love watching bad reality TV and drawing. Like I said, I think I just see really cool things and I just wanna draw them. Like for my thesis, “Thirteen”, which is all about comparing witchcraft to teenagehood. And when I was coming up with my ideas I just looked at things that I’ve always loved. So I looked at old movies, like The Craft, I looked at Clueless, all of my inspiration is drawn from things I just loved. I think it’s just merged into this sort of girlhood obsession for me. EB: Yeah, so you draw most of your inspiration from pop culture and films and whatnot. 21

VA: Totally. And my friends. EB: Can you talk a little bit more about how yourThirteen series evolved? VA: Yeah, so like I said, I figured the best way to come up with a project that I’d work on for the whole year is to just do something that I enjoy. So I came up with Thirteen, and its kind of about looking at girlhood through the lens of the occult. So the number thirteen is associated with superstition, evil, misfortune, and its coincidentally sort of when you become a teenager. So you can also draw a lot of comparisons between the two things. EB: Very cool. Can you give an example with maybe two of your pieces? VA: For sure. So there’s one with a couple of girls playing with

photography:

indeo // a Ouija board, and I was thinking of like, a witchesrick haven. makeup: diana mejia // model I though about what your own sort of haven is when you’restone claudia

photography by krystina plante

Do you think there’s a reason you’re so drawn to this idea of girlhood? VA: I think its just cause I relate to it, and was younger I loved those types of images. I would love to know that there was a girl in my high school who would have one of those images like, up in her locker.

So with witchcraft you can sort of shapeshift into different creatures and animals, and I was thinking it’s a lot like girls getting dressed...and you know, you can change your whole image with what you wear, and in a way its like a shapeshifter. photography by krystina plante

younger, and realized its your basement, or like, your friend’s basement. So I just kinda have these girls playing with the Ouija in their basement… cooking up some spells. Another one I did was a shapeshifter: so with witchcraft you can sort of shapeshift into different creatures and animals, and I was thinking it’s a lot like girls getting dressed. So I have this illustration of a girl in this mess of clothes, and you know, you can change your whole image with what you wear, and in a way its like a shapeshifter. EB: That’s a really great way of looking at it. Is a lot of it drawn from personal experience or memory? VA: Oh yeah, totally. I just kind of thought back to my own youth – the basement thing for sure, I don’t even wanna total up how many hours I’ve spent in my friends’ basements. And I would speak to a lot of friends and kind of draw from their experiences. EB: Do you have a favourite? VA: I love the Ouija one. And I love the skateboarding one. Cause I was thinking about witches on broomsticks, and thought why not flying skateboards? EB: So I guess girlhood is a recurring theme in your work. 25

EB: So is there a certain way that you would really like your work to be shown in a perfect world? VA: Yeah. In my dream world, I would love to be illustrating for teen magazines. Or like online teen publications. Like Rookie is amazing, or like, Nylon, I just love that kind of stuff. So that’s my perfect medium. EB: And finally, we like to give a heads up on whether you’re gonna be showing any work in the near future, so people can go check you out. VA: Unfortunately I’m not gonna be a part of any shows that are coming up, just cause I’ve been travelling. I am working on a new body of work. I put out a zine in the winter time – its called Bleach, and its kind of about blondes and pot. So yeah, pencil drawings of blondes smoking weed. EB: Awesome, I’d love to see that. And can I know about what youre working on now? VA: Yeah, I kind of wanna do a girls in bedrooms kinda thing – we’ll see. I want it to be a lot more vibrant than Thirteen. Website: http://vesnasanovic.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/vesnasanovic

gallery review

I KNOW IT’S NOT ENOUGH

“ 26

Review: Anni Spadafora’s I Know It’s Not Enough at Xpace by erika balint Xpace Cultural Centre is an artist run center nestled in between Dundas and College on Lansdowne. The gallery shows work by both students and emerging artists, with rich and diverse programming that is always socially and culturally relevant. From July 5th to July 27th, artist and ‘cultural organizer’ Anni Spadafora’s exhibit titled: I Know It’s Not Enough is up in Xpace’s project space. Spadafora’s large-format fiber works immediately command your attention as you walk into the intimate gallery space. The first piece to catch my eye was a huge (like, five feet wide) flesh toned plush buttocks. A big huge butt that really makes you want to reach out and touch it. Above it rests a large sign, draped like a tapestry, which proudly proclaims: “FUCK ASSIMILATION.” This piece for me best exemplifies the ideas that Spadafora is engaging with in I Know It’s Not Enough. In her exhibition essay, she writes: “I want to honour how objects and materials allow for micro moments of resistance, safety, and desirability”. These micro moments are understated and experiential, and yet – for Spadafora – encompass 27 photo by: expace.info

gestures of political agency and resistance. Spadafora’s installation alludes to femininity and the domestic environment through her use of materials: delicately pinned fabric, bouquets of flowers. But the message is anything but delicate, taking previously subjugated symbols of femininity and affording them power and authority. These works seem to reflect her inner political and personal turmoil, and an attempt to reconcile between the grand and the minute. For Spadafora, the everyday and the banal have just as great a potential for resistance as the grand spectacle that we expect to see. I left the exhibition with a lot on my mind, and it took hours for me to be able to feel as though I had properly processed everything. What really cemented Spadafora’s ideas for me was her exhibition essay, which can be found online and I highly recommend giving it a read because the artist’s own dialogue elaborates on the work in a way that description alone cannot. The show is up for three more days, so if you find yourself in the west end its definitely worth going to check out.

music feature

THE BEACHES by erika balint

you wish you were in your teen The girls of The Beaches are the epitome of everything n and Kylie Miller (yes, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re years: determined, assured, and really cool. Meet Jorda the badass indie rockers of The sisters), Eliza Enman McDaniel, and Leandra Earl: and I predict that its only a matter Beaches. These gals are popping up all over Toronto, Just a few short days before they of time before they take the music scene by storm. up at Queen and John to talk skipped off to the UK to do what they do best, we met for horrible MTV reality shows. about their music, their next steps, and our mutual love photo by: alex bruce

EB: Alright, so how long have you guys been doing this together? JM: Umm, Leandra joined in January but we were in a band with another guitar player for about four years. So this is fairly new.

before they get really famous. LE: We forgot about Haim. EEM: We love Haim! They’re a Jewish sister trio band – they’re really cool. It’s a little different from our music, but, we love them.

EB: And did you guys come together through professional connections, or was it more of a friendship thing that evolved into a musical thing?

KM: They sound like they’re right out of the 80’s. And they all look like Stevie Nicks!

JM: Yeah. Kylie and I are sisters, so, out of the same womb. Eliza was a really good friend growing up in elementary school, and Leandra we met at our high school.

EB: So you guys played NXNE this year - how was that?

EB: Cool! And so your name “The Beaches” seems to suggest that you’re all from The Beaches…

EB: That’s awesome!

JM: Yeah! Oh but Leandra’s from the west end. But she’s an honorary Beaches girl. EB: And do you feel like that place as home has any influence on your music? KM: For sure. Definitely with the band name, and we started playing all of our shows in The Beaches… it’s an important place for us, and it kind of reflects in our music in a way. EEM: It’s a constant inspiration for some of our songs. There’s this song we’ve been working on, and part of the lyrics says “run to Woodbine Beach.” So sometimes you’ll hear little hints. EB: I feel like this is a really typical, played-out question but I’m gonna ask anyway: how would you guys describe your sound? EEM: Uuuum, indie- alternative rock. EB: Right, and who are your major musical influences? Who do you think works their way into your sound maybe unconsciously? EEM: We all kind of have different interests, but we do have some that we share. LE: Metric. EEM: Yeah Metric, I like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs a lot, Mother Mother. KM: And Patti Smith and The White Stripes… Elastica EB: And I know you’re all gonna have different answers to this but, who are your favourite musical acts right now? EEM: Kylie’s sorta my go-to musical encyclopedia, she’s always showing me new stuff. And she finds out about these acts just 30

EEM: It was so much fun. I think it was a big milestone for us to be able to say we did that.

LE: My mom got thrown into the mosh pit! EB: So you guys have been travelling around Ontario – what has this initial touring experience been like for you? EEM: Very fun. Especially because it’s the first taste of touring with Leandra, and like, sleeping and living with Leandra. KM: She doesn’t go to bed. EEM: And yeah, in all seriousness, it’s been really fun. I think we’re getting a taste of what it’s gonna be like someday when we get a full-length, headlining tour. EB: In the very near future hopefully! And so you guys have been playing a lot of festivals? JM: Yeah, its been really cool getting to immerse ourselves in the musical world… getting to meet new bands and hear new music, and learning both from how we play and how others play. EB: And in a few days, you’re gonna be heading to the UK – what are you gonna be up to over there? EEM: Well, French Connection UK is using our song “Loner” in one of their ads for their fall line that’s coming out. So, they have a launch party for that ad campaign, and they want us to play it. So that should be fun. And we’re doing a photo shoot with Rankine who’s a very prestigious photographer in the UK. And we’re shooting a new video for “Loner.” EB: Is being an all-girl band something that’s really important for you guys? EEM: Yeah! With being an all-girl band, I think the most empowering thing about it is like, surprising people, and winning over so many people. We’ve had it where people will

photo by:

alex bruce

come up to us after the show and say, “when I looked at you guys before you played I was kind of skeptical, but then I heard you play and you totally kicked my ass” – so that’s my favourite part about it. I love being able to do that. JM: There’s definitely a specific dynamic about being in an allgirl band that you don’t really get with mixed-gender. And it also comes out in the song writing process because you feel like you have an edge. All of the people you’re writing with share your experience and know you like sisters. You just feel like you can write stronger lyrics, and you can be more gutsy with it. JM: And it can be scary because the music industry is so maledominated, but we have each other. KM: Yeah, and we’re hoping that by being a part of this allfemale movement, more girls will get involved as well. That would be really special. JM: Yeah, I feel like we look up to girl bands, and it would be nice to be able to do that for other girls on their way. EB: And so once you guys have achieved success, fame, and total world domination, what’s the first thing you’re gonna do? EEM: Get a private jet. A private jet with cool funky things on it like a chicken wing machine, and a hot tub, and maybe a ping 31

pong table. JM: Apartments all over the world, and a pet shark that I can swim with. EB: What are you gonna name it? JM: Oh, um, probably Shark. Or, I’ve always wanted to name a dog Richard Parker. So maybe I’ll name my shark Richard Parker. KM: Hmm. I think I’d have a personal sushi chef who could like, travel around with me at all times. Or I’d wanna hang out with Scott Disick for a day. EB: A day? You could hang out with him all the time. KM: I don’t know if I could handle that. Just one day of like pure Scott Disick. LE: I would buy a lot of cats. And the Jonas Brothers. And we’d all just walk down the street, walking my cats. EB: Would they be regular cats, or exotic cats? LE: No, they’d be regular… fluffy cats. Website: http://thebeachesband.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebeachesband Twitter: https://twitter.com/thebeaches

literature feature

Name: Samaneh Sadaghiani Age: 27 Live in: Downtown Toronto Place of Birth: Tehran, Iran Occupation: Co-Founder & CFO at Playground, a digital creative agency Linkedin: ca.linkedin.com/pub/sami-sadaghiani/18/831/b52 Blog: samaneh.me My parents moved to Canada when I was thirteen. They sacrificed a comfortable life to provide a better one for me and my brother. Since then, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve encountered countless opportunities in Toronto and wish to create many more for the generations after me. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m passionate about small businesses, supporting female-led ventures, and most of all, telling big stories in as few words as possible.

Sweet Limetta After more than a decade you bring me back to my origin To moments lost in time where everyone I love is taking breaths And that list is much longer than the one I keep today

SHOW ME YOUR UGLY Let me look at you. In the bright morning sun, when your hair falls in all the wrong directions. Let me see you before you are rescued by your tweezers, soap, creams, makeup and hair products. Before youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re ready for both a public and private display of beauty. Let me take away your razor blade. Let me in to see the mucus around your eyes and mouth, your ungroomed hair and body. Let me smell how lazy you are today. Let me be there when no one else is welcomed. Right before you start our journey towards irresistible. Let me examine you as intensely as you examine yourself in your mirror. Let me discover all your flaws. And once I know, let me show you that I, too, expect you to look perfect.

what’s next?

on wednesday, september 18 (at the usual 4:30 p.m.) we will be releasing the sixth issue of FEMMELDEHYDE magazine. in issue05 we celebrated the bold and beautiful; we have decided to change things up with issue06 which is entitled ‘the horror issue.’ be sure to hit us up at submit@femmeldehyde.com