Love Cup Articles

Leather, Spandex, and Tie-dye

Diversions story by Jayne Zhang, pg. D3.

Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. Is this how we really perceive guys and girls in rock bands? Let's get the rockers' opinions.

People "associate long hair with playing in a band," said Keith Philps, lead singer for Mistress. He pointed out that some of the other stereotypes that go hand-in-hand with musicians are drugs and promiscuity.

Lynn Canfield, singer for Moon Seven Times, said: "It is much easier to understand the world if you can put it into a compartment. They (people) want to put it in one big genre. It's their way of ordering the universe." "Stereotype is a simple way to avoid thinking about something, a simple way to avoid dealing with people as the complex beings that they are," said Mark Rubel of Captain Rats and the Blind Rivets.

Maybe the tendency to assign stereotypes to musicians has something to do with their type of music. "People who are in heavy metal bands are more prone to dress up," said Love Cup's guitarist Mark Baldwin. Rockers are also associated with "big hair and lots of hairspray," Baldwin said and pointed out that the style of dress "pretty much goes along with the group's music."

Other artists agreed with Baldwin. "Certain heavy metal groups try to identify with the audience they are seeking, and clothing is an important signal for who they want to encode with," said Canfield. "People expect to see hair, spandex, boots with pop/heavy metal bands and tie-dye, paisley pants with alternative (rock bands)," said Mike Hallihan of the country band Centerfield and the recording project Kangaroo Court. He also mentioned that "it's probably what the clientele expects to see." He also told about some criticisms he has received. "When I was hired with a band called e.k.g., I had a few people tell me 'you don't fit the trash metal bass player image.' My hair wasn't that long at the time, so it was a totally different set of parameters I had to deal with. I got a few comments like 'You should of acted this way, and you should of done this (referring to the headbanging motion).'"

But nostalgia rock bands dress differently than their modern-day counterparts. Rubel, whose band Captain Rats and the Blind Rivets play '50s and '60s cover tunes said: "We do a lot of costuming. My trademark has always been orange camouflage pants. We just sort of wear obnoxious colors and silly hats."

And when it comes to alternative bands, it's also a different story. "I don't wear any underwear (when on stage). If I do, it'll be women's underwear," Love Cup vocalist T.J. Harrison said. (This may not be representative of all alternative bands, some may like their fruit of the looms.) Baldwin mentioned that Love Cup's drummer, Jason Milam "wears the hip-hop-look overalls, tattoos, baggy pants."

"There are people who stereotype themselves. They put themselves into one big genre or another," Rubel said and gave an example of such a self-stereotyping. "If we are in a heavy metal band, then we've got to wear leather."

He pointed out that "most bands stereotype themselves because they're basically selling an identity, and people are buying into that identity. To me that's just like some people who are in a Greek fraternity with a symbol on their butt. They are essentially putting a big stamp on themselves so that other people will know how to relate to them."

Hallihan cited another reason for bands allowing themselves to be stereotyped. "There's a lot of talent in this town, but there are less places to play at," he said. Due to this fact, "it's hard to make a buck in this town." Perhaps because of this, bands are dressing up more to gain audience and popularity.

But because of these stereotypes, musicians are often related to differently in their off-stage lives. People "think musicians are irresponsible and flaky, but we are not different from anyone else," Canfield said. "During the week, we are just ordinary, working people with families, cars, pets, and jobs," Rubel said.

Some improvements have been made over the years. People have opened their minds a little more. "A lot of it (dressing up) is fashion. Black leather and boots are fashionable now. People are like 'there's a guy with long hair, big deal'" said guitarist Matt Stewart of Kangaroo Court. "People are used to it."

"People are individuals," Baldwin said, and Stewart agreed. "They have the right to make up their own minds." "People really need to open up their minds because they've got blinders on," Hallihan said.

Stereotypes "are stupid. Why would anybody want to limit themselves. Life is a big smorgasbord, and no matter how much you like a certain food, would you want to eat it every meal, all the time and everyday?"