GRRL019: Working with a record label, objectification, and insecurities with Megan Liscomb of Soft Lions

Year 2 of Grrl on Grrl continues with episode 19 featuring Megan Liscomb of San Diego band Soft Lions. In this episode, Megan and I talk about working with a record label, insecurities as a live musician, and differences in objectification depending on your role in the band. Soft Lions is also a frequent participant of Monica Mendoza’s shows for GRRRL Independent Ladies, which you can hear more about on Monica’s episode of Grrl on Grrl.

Keep an ear out for news on their upcoming album to be released on Velvet Blue Records late October.

Find links to Soft Lions’ website and releases, along with information on the artists featured in the podcast, below. Thanks for listening!

Listen Here

Download episode 19 here [~30 minutes, ~37MB]

Show Notes

• [1:30] “Phantom” by Soft Lions
  • Find the song on Soft Lions’ Spellbreaker EP at Velvet Blue Music
• [5:00] Past and present goals for playing music as Soft Lions
• [7:30] Physical objects (ie vinyl records) as an experience
  • A memento of a band
  • A quick rundown of the process of creating a physical record
• [9:30] “37th Street” by Horrible/Adorable
• [11:15] Working with Orange County record label Velvet Blue Music
  • Production, management, booking
  • “It’s sort of a partnership… He’s a true believer!”
  • How the relationship with the record label started
  • Why bother looking for record label support?
• [15:45] “Chartreuse” by Sharkmuffin
  • Buy the LP on State Capital Records
  • Other releases on Bandcamp
• [17:30] Megan’s experiences as a woman in the music scene
  • “The scene has overall gotten better.”
  • Megan’s phone number is up for sale! (Not!)
  • Feeling safer (as a fan or as a musician) when you see other women on stage
• [20:00] Walking a difficult line between standing your ground and being nice… customer service at its finest
• [21:15] A story about Megan teaching a man about boundaries, with a happy ending!
• [23:20] “FUBAR” by The Fresh Brunettes
  • You can find a previously released version of FUBAR on their website, but stay tuned for a new album soon!
• [27:15] Changes in the past decade (ish) in the music scene
  • Treated differently when “just” singing versus also playing an instrument; more objectification
  • Pop singer culture; being eye candy
• [28:45] QUESTION TO LISTENERS: How can I make Grrl on Grrl a safer, more gender-inclusive space?
  • Since the start of the podcast last year, I’ve made it my mission to make this project as gender-inclusive as possible. But I don’t think I’m doing the best job. How can I make Grrl on Grrl safer for trans men and women, nonbinary folks, and other underrepresented folks to be on the podcast? How can I change my language and mission statement, or anything else, to lift up all of our voices? If you have any ideas, suggestions, or critiques on how to make this podcast safer for guests, listeners, and featured artists, please shoot me an email at grrlongrrlpodcast@gmail.com or message me on Twitter or Facebook.

Links

• Soft Lions website and Facebook page
• Velvet Blue Music: where you can find their latest EP Spellbreaker and their soon-to-be released full-length
• Soft Lions’ Bandcamp for older releases
• Boyking Bandcamp: Megan as vocalist

Thank You!

Thank you to Megan Liscomb for inviting me into her home!

Thanks as always to Gary Hankins, who had to deal with up and down levels for this episode. (INSIDER INFO: We had to move a couple of times during the interview, mostly to watch Megan’s adorable cat be a cat.)

And to Greg Guiliano of Wait Think Fast Productions for paying for audio hosting costs.

You can find the intro/outro song “Drive”, along with other releases by Polish, on the Polish Bandcamp page.