Laura Lloyd, Jasamine White-Gluz, Ben Rayner, Alaska B., Melissa Auf der Maur

It probably comes as no surprise that an audience for a discussion about women and music would be filled with, well, women. Such was the case in mid-June when Melissa Auf der Maur led a thoughtful conversation at Toronto’s NXNE festival titled “Women in Music: More Than Ever Before.”

Auf der Maur was joined by Yamantaka // Sonic Titan drummer Alaska B. and Jasamine White-Gluz and Laura Lloyd from Montreal shoegazers No Joy. As the only dude on the panel, Toronto Star music writer Ben Rayner rose to the challenge, adding thoughtful responses as a media insider (apparently, many journalists still think it’s amazing that women can play the drums and that it’s OK to waste your story lead describing the various comely attributes of a female singer).

Wearing a cherished Isis talisman around her neck, Auf der Maur came at the subject with positive energy, taking cues from a blog post she wrote for the Huffington Post stating: “Original, talented, independent and self-reliant, women are in the forefront of music today.”

And yet all three original, talented, independent women on the panel shared stories of gender bias, which I’m sure comes as no surprise to anyone, either (read Steph Guthrie’s blog post for a round-up of shit guys say to women musicians). In particular, Alaska B., who as a mixed-race trans woman in a radical (Polaris Prize–nominated!) band, says she feels like an outsider, “whichever way I turn,” describing how her first band in the Montreal punk scene used to receive death threats. It’s frightening that any artist should ever have to face that situation.

Perhaps not wanting to ruin Auf der Maur’s happy vibe, the panelists seemed to shrug  it all off as an occupational hazard, preferring instead to focus discussion on the music itself.

But what happens if your songs aren’t being heard?

Many of my women musician friends (and some members of the NXNE audience that day), have expressed frustrations with the lack of representation in music media and at festivals. Having sat on many juries, I know how the process goes, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard an organizer express concern that there are too many bros on stage.

So what can be done? Self-governing seems to work for literature. This week, Canadian Women in the Literary Arts released their second count of gender trends in Canadian book reviewing. The good news is that there are more women authors being reviewed and more women critics doing the reviews than last year when CWILA first pointed out some of the egregious gaps. It’s hard to say what really motivated some editors to examine the issue (Shame? Ego? Competitiveness? Or an honest attempt to correct the issue?), but as a first step, it seems to be effective.

Imagine if someone were to take on a gender count of reviews (and reviewers) in Canadian music publications, or tracked the number of women bands that appeared at festivals over the course of a year. Of course it doesn’t change the systemic reasons behind the bias, but maybe a few more people would get a chance to hear music created by women. And more women would get paid to play music. And be selected for prize shortlists. And maybe after a few rounds of this we won’t need any more panels telling us how far we’ve come.

Hugh Oliver

Whenever I think about the pursuit of fame (the pre-Kardashian era), my mind automatically tracks back to reruns of the 1980s TV show Fame, and Debbie Allen warning Leroy et al about the price of pursuing your creative dreams. “Fame costs and right here’s where you start paying – in sweat,” Allen warns her students, digging into the floor with her fancy walking stick. But buckets of sweat don’t guarantee success, especially in the arts where changing tastes and technologies have killed more than just radio stars.

And then there’s Hugh Oliver. Born in 1929, the 82-year-old Toronto musician is the subject of a new documentary, The Ballad of Hugh, which premiered at the NXNE movie festival. Directed by musician and newbie filmmaker Marco DiFelice, the one-hour doc follows Hugh as he recorded his album, …And All That Crap, which was also released during the festival.

Oliver, who was born in Epsom, England, had some success as a songwriter in the early 1960s partnering with famed producer Glyn Jones. Although those days are well behind him, the bowtied Oliver enjoys a cult following at the city’s downtown Tranzac Club with his Roger Miller-esque pop ditties that reveal a dark poetic humour and a surprising awareness of pop culture (check out “Justin, Bloody Justin, Bloody Bieber” or “Lady Gaga, You’re a Thing”).

The film is light but maintains some charm because DiFelice is obviously a fan and has no interest in turning Oliver’s story into an artificial outsider-art tragedy (or making him into a hipster icon) and Oliver, who isn’t afraid to be filmed shirtless or without his teeth, is having a grand old time recording with the likes of Mary Margaret O’Hara and Ian LeFeuvre. At its core, The Ballad of Hugh is just a gentle reminder that while music might be a young person’s game, the desire to have people respond to your creative expression—whatever it is—never vanishes.

This Hisses will be performing at NXNE at The Rochester (423 College Street) on Saturday, June 16^th at 8pm. Listen to Gold on Fire here.

Seeing Toronto-based art-folk band The Hidden Cameras perform is a lot like having sex. You never forget your first time. The band’s shows include tighty-whitey clad go-go dancers, unconventional performance venues (churches, porn theatres) and a revolving roster of members whose numbers rival the Polyphonic Spree. And while it’s hard to imagine an album better than their critically acclaimed debut, The Smell of Our Own, with its much-hyped “gay folk church music” sound, Mississauga Goddam is. The album features more of the indie-folk-poetic-pop fans of the debut album fell in love with, and frontman Joel Gibb has returned with more cheeky, sunny songs about sexuality, spirituality, oh, and enemas. You could be having your worst day ever and this album would soon lift your spirits.

Stirling, Northern Light (popguru)

I was lucky enough to catch Toronto-based quartet Stirling’s performance at this year’s NXNE festival. There was definitely a buzz about the band—and there should be. With their Brit-pop influenced sound, Stirling should get some of those column inches NME keeps devoting to the same old Canadian bands. With their debut album, Northern Light, Stirling continues to build on the swirling atmospheric sound found on their two previous EPs, The View From Here and The Idea and The Deed. Standout tracks like “The Art of Burning Bridges” and “Turn up the Dark” perfectly highlight frontman Matt Booi’s expressive voice and the band’s unique melodic sound.

CBC Radio 3 Sessions Vol. 1 (CBC Records)

I have to confess that I’m addicted to all things CBC Radio, so I was happy to have my habit fed with this compilation featuring some of the best CBC Radio 3 sessions from the past few years. The Can-con compilation is like a who’s who mixed-tape of Canadian indie rock royalty. It starts strong with the guitar rock of Sloan’s 1999 song “Losing California” and ends with the folkie twang of Oh Susanna’s “King’s Road.” In between, there’s plenty of good ground covered, including great tracks from the likes of The New Pornographers, Kid Koala, John K. Samson, Buck 65 and Hot Hot Heat.