Women have always been important in music. In biblical times, women like Deborah and Hannah composed songs of thanks for God. In more recent times, women have consistently been a hugely important presence in the music industry (for the good and bad). Star of Davida had the honor of interviewing Sophie, the lead singer of Care Bears on Fire, a girl group that won't turn their music down. What first got you into music?My mom was a musician when shewas young. She’s not anymore, but that made it an option for me, being a musicianjust seemed really natural. I was always passionate about music.
How did you and bandmates Izzyand Jena firstmeet?Izzy and I have known each othersince kindergarten, and we made the band when we were nine. We met Jena two years ago, whenwe were in ninth grade.
Why did you decide to become aband, especially at such a young age?We had similar taste in music thatwas unusual for nine-year-olds, so we sort of latched onto each other.Izzy went to Rock and Roll Camp for Girls in Portland and learned how to play the drums,and I was learning how to play the guitar, so we decided to make a band.
What inspired the name CareBears on Fire?We were nine when we decided onthe name, and we were going for something different. As I get older and thinkabout it, the names starts off sort of sweet and innocent and then defies theexpectation of what’ll follow, just like young girls aren’t expected to makemusic.
Did you ever anticipate thatyou would sing professionally?Not when we first started. It’sreally exciting.
I understand that the three ofyou decided not to drop out of school, and instead balanced your careers withschool. Why didn’t you just give up on education?Education is important to us. Ilove to learn and enjoy school, as weird as that sounds. We’ve been lucky thatwe’ve had success, and I hope it carries me, but I have non-music aspirations too.
Like what?Writing and journalism, andfeminism.
So you consider yourself afeminist?Totally. I always liked riot grrrlmusic, Bikini Kill and bands like that. My aha moment came when I wasperforming at a tribute show for Kathleen Hanna, the lead singer of BikiniKill, which was an amazing experience. I felt like I had finally found acommunity of people who were interested in riot grrrl and feminism, and whowere supportive of me and of other female musicians. I had been interested infeminism and riot grrrl before, but finding out that I was far from the onlyperson interested in these “dead” topics made me so much more confident in myopinions and in my ability to act on them.
Do you find that a lot ofpeople in the music industry have feminist leanings?We’ve mostly been in the riotgrrrl scene with people who were equally influenced by the movement, so we’vebeen lucky. There are definitely a lot of feminists in music, but there havebeen musicians we’ve shared the stage with that aren’t.
Your music clearly containsstrong girl-power themes. Do you view your music as part of the feministmovement?I hope so! The riot grrrlmovement was in the 90s, but if I can have a role in continuing the movementand being part of the legacy, that’s my dream come true. It’s not a deadmovement, not gone, musicians and activists are still inspired by it.
You recently created Grrrl Beat, an online zine. What inspired it?I had my feminism aha moment overthe past year, and I wanted a place to find other people who are similar to meand share my opinions. I didn’t realize how many girls do similar things andcreate their own feminist blogs. I hadn’t found the community of people withsimilar interests until now, and it was cool for me to bump into that.
Are your friends feministsalso?I’m starting a feminist group atmy school now, but people are mostly afraid of the f word. Some other studentsactually threatened to make a patriarchy club in response, which I thought waspretty funny.
Do your parents support all ofyour endeavors?Definitely. As far as music,they’ve been driving me to shows for six years, they help so much. They’rereally supportive of Grrrl Beat too, they’re really great people to talk to toform ideas.
Who are some of your musicalinfluences?Riot grrrl, definitely. AlexTurner’s lyrics are really beautiful. Conor Oberst and Patti Smith have really influenced me, too.
Do you have any idea what yournext album will sound like?I think it’s too early to saydefinitively, but I do think it will be different. I hope to experiment withnew instrumentation, and see where that takes me. We write all of our ownmaterial, and I think I am more open to writing different types of songs than Iwas on previous albums, and being more direct about feminism and equality in mylyrics.
What inspires your style andfashion?Vintage is cool, punk fashion hasreally inspired me. I go shopping in vintage stores like Beacon’s Closet andBuffalo Exchange. I like going shopping when we travel too, when we were in LAand shopping on Melroselike every other store is vintage. Looking over my clothes is like a chronicleof our journeys.
What advice do you have foraspiring female singers?It’s important to get yourself heard.Don’t let people stand in the way of making whatever music inspires you,especially for girls.
Don't forget that the Star of Davida essay contest is offering copies of Care Bears on Fire's CD Get Over It! as the prize for the three winning essays!
