Women rock, but talented female musicians usually struggle in Cape

Music is everywhere when you're Stephanie Fridley.

She works as a music teacher, she plays for others as an acoustic folk/Americana musician and, whenever possible, jams out on folksy tunes with her family at home.

On afternoons when the family is together and feeling it, Fridley and her husband Daryl pick up guitars or a mandolin, while 10-year-old Nathan and 8-year-old Meg join in on fiddle. That is, when the children aren't playing video games or doing homework at the command of their parents, both of whom are educators.

Music is a dominant force in the life of Fridley, but when she picks up her six-string, stands in front of an audience and plays her creations, sometimes with her family joining in, she's taking part in what is primarily a male-dominated pursuit.

"I've played at the Acoustic Open Mic for ages and have pretty much been the only one," Fridley said of her fellow females. "I haven't even talked to that many women who do this."

Women have long been a force in rock and roll and folk music, but always in much smaller numbers than men. The same holds true in Cape Girardeau.

The history of the "low" musical arts is filled with the names of great female performers: Janis Joplin, Patti Smith, Joan Jett, the Wilsons of Heart, Pat Benatar, Stevie Nicks and Carly Simon are only a few.

When they participate, women have a lot to contribute to popular music, said P-Mac Music owner and music collector Paul MacDougall. Or at least they used to, at least on the major label level.

"The problem is that women in rock today are so watered down, their existence is watered down," said MacDougall. "Back in the '70s and '80s they were into the music, and that's it. Today it's more about glamour and what they're wearing to the awards show."

But MacDougall said there are women on the scene today getting it done at the independent level, hanging with the guys and producing some great music.

Some of them can be found in Cape Girardeau, and they can be found in rock and all its cousins -- blues rock, folk, metal -- both original and cover.

Stella Blue is one of those women. Her specialty is in blues rock with a soulful edge. Anyone who has seen Blue live knows of her stage presence, and her quality musicianship on the guitar. Like another blues rock combo headed by a woman, MojoFilter with Jennifer Henderson, the Stella Blue Band plays shows both in Southeast Missouri and regionally.

But Stella says getting the street cred of the male bands can be hard.

"It seems like we play out all the time, and nobody knows who we are," Blue said.

Henderson sees the same reaction when MojoFilter plays.

"It's kind of intimidating, because you don't see that a lot around here, girl singers," Henderson said. "You just hope they'll take to it. Sometimes they don't take you as seriously."

Henderson grew up around music, sometimes singing with her father's country band Neon Nights. Through years of music, most of the musicians she's played with have been men.

The women's male musical counterparts seem to give more respect than the audiences. Bruce Zimmerman, a blues and rock player in Cape Girardeau for decades, knows of the talented women on the local music scene.

"To be honest it's always baffled me, especially why there's a lot of female singers, but there's not that many female players," said Zimmerman. "I think, as a whole, women seem to have a natural music talent more than men.

"I think going back to grade school, it seems like every little girl can carry a tune, and half the little boys can't carry a tune in their pocket."

But Zimmerman doesn't think the phenomenon has much to do with any chauvinism. Like with race, Zimmerman said sex barriers seem to mean little to musicians. More important are attitude and quality of playing.

Mary Ramsey, who fronts the cover group The Mary Ramsey Band as a singer, said she hasn't experienced negativity due to her sex.

"We get in the trap of going home and having kids and getting married, and I don't think we have to do that," said Ramsey, who manages to be a mother of three and a musician, along with promoting other rock bands.

Bar owners often welcome female musicians, at least Dennis "Doc" Cain does. Some of the best performers he books at his club are women, said Cain. Performers like Springfield, Mo., acoustic/electric alt-rock combo The Tiffany Christopher Band and locals Stella Blue and Jennifer Noble are some of the female talents Cain raves over.

Female performers are less numerous than their male counterparts locally, said Cain, but he has a feeling there may be more hiding out under the surface.

"There are probably a lot of talented performers out there who are females who don't have a regular gig or don't have a band," Cain said.

Fridley has some ideas about why so few women play. Her hypothesis is that, as women get older, their priorities turn to family life instead of musical pursuits, and it's hard to make a living playing music only in Cape Girardeau.

She's been lucky, with a job that involves music and a family that's interested in song, especially husband Daryl.

"It's something that she enjoys," said Daryl. "It's a way that she connects with other people, and it helps her grow and that helps us."

The answer to why so few women play rock music and its cousins may not be clear, but MacDougall has an interesting fact to add to the discussion. The audience, at least at his store, is overwhelmingly male.

"When I first got into this business in 1995 or 1996, I was told my customer base was going to be 80 percent men, and it's so true," MacDougall said. "At any one time you look around the store, if I have a dozen customers, I guarantee 10 of them will be men."

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182