Kick Out the Jams, Genderfuckers!
By Larry-Bob Roberts
In the frenzy of rock
'n' roll abandon, categorical distinctions are thrown
to the wind. From the dawn of rock, there have been gender
bent figures like Little Richard, dubbed the Queen of
Rock 'n roll. Bobby Marchan of Huey Smith's Clowns ("Rockin'
Pneumonia") performed as a drag queen. Jayne County
(formerly Wayne) fronted a punk band in the 1970s and
more recently released an album with the song "Trnasgender
Rock N Roll."
Almost weekly in San Francisco you can witness a gender-transgressing
rock band. And every stripe of gender represents -- you'll
find everything from drag queens and kings, to trannyboy
rappers and assorted transgender rockers.
Lipstick Conspiracy plays original songs that
sound like lost power pop gems. Though power pop has traditionally
been boys singing in harmony about girls, this band has
changed up the formula by becoming the women they sing
about. The four-person line-up plays live guitars, bass,
and keyboards, with rhythm tracks. There's nothing campy
about their presentation -- they're serious musicians
and serious performers. Guitarist/vocalist Sarafina Maraschino
points out, "there's a |
