Tag: Indigo Girls

Visible Recognition — Sammie Hershock Honors Diligent Women on “Gold Sticker” Single

Sammie Hershock. Courtesy photo.

Sammie Hershock recognizes diligent women whose valuable contributions often go unnoticed on “Gold Sticker.”

The Marshall, Michigan, singer-songwriter and pianist pays tribute to women who support family, friends, and community behind the scenes on her new indie-folk single.

“That’s really where the song came from, and originally when I wrote it, I was thinking about my mom,” said Hershock, who’s also a mother of three children. “It just put it all in perspective for me, and it came from realizing how much she actually did.”

On “Gold Sticker,” she sings, “But can she get a gold sticker / Can she get a prize / Or maybe a metal around her neck to reflect the light in her eyes / It took me long enough to see / That in the race of humanity / There is no winner / But can we get a gold sticker.”

“When I play this for people, I can’t even tell you how many people come up afterward and say, ‘I needed to hear that,’” Hershock said. “I almost always play that song, and at the end, I have free gold stickers.”

“Gold Sticker” features an A-list roster of musicians, including Dominic Davis on bass, Mike Shimmin on drums, Spencer LaJoye on violin and background vocals, Kyle Joe on background vocals, and producer Chris DuPont on guitar.

“When I started working with Chris DuPont, I already had amazing musicians on it, and the skeleton of the record was perfect,” said Hershock, whose new single will appear on her upcoming album, Wings. “I loved it, but I just knew that I wanted it to be filled out a little bit more.”

Hershock also recently entered “Gold Sticker” in the Grassy Hill New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters, which is affiliated with the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, Texas.

She placed as one of 24 semi-finalists for the competition and is traveling to Kerrville this weekend to perform at the festival on May 24.

I recently spoke with Hershock about her background, new material, and upcoming plans.

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Music Mavens — Katherine Yeske Taylor’s “She’s a Badass” Book Features Conversations with 20 Women Rockers About Feminism and the Music Industry

Katherine Yeske Taylor. Photo – Karen Stackpole

When I was a kid, I used to watch Happy Days.

I remember coming home from elementary school and watching reruns of the show, which featured several episodes of Suzi Quatro playing a musician named Leather Tuscadero.

There was something cool about Leather and the way she carried herself. I liked the idea of a woman fronting her own band, and in this case, it was Leather and the Suedes.

By the time I was nine, I started fronting my own imaginary band called Lori and The Red Hearts. It was inspired by women rockers like Suzi Quatro and Joan Jett.

While Lori and The Red Hearts never came to fruition, I learned later on that Quatro grew up in Detroit and is proud to be from there.

“It’s just a special city. You’ve got your Black and white completely coming together. Musically, it’s joined somehow. You’ve got your energy level. You’ve got your edge. You’ve got this almost desperation. It’s one of the best music cities, if not the best music city, in the world,” said Quatro in an interview with author-music journalist Katherine Yeske Taylor for the book, She’s a Badass: Women in Rock Shaping Feminism.

While she appreciates her hometown, Quatro also said she’s always been a square peg in a round hole and has forged her own musical path in life.

“From the time I started to play bass in a band, I was aware that I didn’t have my own niche in which to fit. It did not exist, so I created my own,” she said.

Quatro is one of 20 women rockers featured in Yeske Taylor’s book, which takes an in-depth look at the talent, determination, and humor they needed to succeed in their music careers. She’s a Badass also profiles Heart’s Ann Wilson, X’s Exene Cervenka, The Go-Go’s Gina Shock, Suzanne Vega, L7’s Donita Sparks, Indigo Girls’ Amy Ray, Paula Cole, and more.

“As I interviewed the women for this book, many of them proudly proclaimed themselves to be feminists—but several others had various reasons to reject that label. In either case, the way these artists have led their lives has turned them into role models (whether they actually intended to be or not), thereby promoting gender equality in the music business—and, arguably, in society overall,” writes Yeske Taylor in the book’s introduction.

To learn more, I spoke to Yeske Taylor about her background, music journalism career, and latest book.

Continue reading “Music Mavens — Katherine Yeske Taylor’s “She’s a Badass” Book Features Conversations with 20 Women Rockers About Feminism and the Music Industry” →