Kalliope Jones’ story about how the local band lost a music competition following a judge’s suggestion the all-female teen band be more “sultry,” was a familiar one to rocker June Millington.
She recalls how one review of a gig called her band Fanny “excellent,” but couldn’t get past its all-female aspect. “Women’s Lib. will kill me,” the 1971 review reads. “But I definitely am prejudiced against girls in groups playing instruments. It just don’t look right.”
Millington, 67, of Goshen says she and her band members were hurt by the review, but they didn’t have an outlet to express their frustration like the girls in Kalliope Jones did.
“We didn’t say anything back then,” says Millington. “We just wanted to play better.”
That’s why Millington — who mentors the girls of Kalliope Jones at her Institute for the Musical Arts, along with And The Kids, Sun Parade, and other female acts — welcomes the online discussion that has ensued in the weeks since the judge’s remark toward Kalliope Jones.
So who is Kallipoe Jones? The local all-girl band recently played an outdoor gig at Tilton Library in Deerfield. In the video they perform “Speak Up.”
“I think it’s good for us to be talking about it because if we don’t talk about it it’s not going to change,” says Millington.
During a Sept. 5 Battle of the Bands competition at the Three County Fair in Northampton, one of three judges for the all-teen competition wrote comments on Kalliope Jones’ comment sheet that sparked outrage over sexism in the music industry. The judge suggested the girls, ages 14-16, use their “sultry” more to draw in the crowd. Points left unearned in that category — crowd participation — landed the girls in third place. The judge also awarded the band a bonus point with “chicks rock” as explanation.
Children of the digital age, KJ band members Isabella DeHerdt, Alouette Batteau, and Amelia Chalfant took to the Web to air their concerns over a critique they deemed “sexist” and inappropriate for their age. The story spread like wildfire, launched by the band on Facebook and then spreading to People, Today, Jezebel, MTV, and countless social media posts.
Millington also takes issue with the female judge’s “chicks rock” comment, likening it to a descendent of one phrase that haunts her professional past: “not bad for chicks.”
“If I had a dollar for every time we’ve heard that I could personally fund [the Institute for the Musical Arts],” says Millington. “ I’ve seen the ramifications of using condescending words to put down young women who simply want to play.”
Three County Fair Grounds manager Bruce Shallcross says the judges are ready for this conversation to end.
“This has really gotten out of hand. I think it’s a big publicity stunt by the band,” says Shallcross. “They took this one word and they’re just blowing it out of proportion.”
Terrified to enter their names into the online firestorm, the judges have remained silent until now, agreeing to speak conditionally with the Advocate. The judge responsible for the questionable comment sheet — who asks to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation — says she did not intend the comment to be sexist, inappropriate or offensive in any way. She says she was trying to encourage the girls to be more engaging on stage. Rather than referring to the girls’ sexuality, she says she was remarking on a “rare quality” in Chalfant’s vocals and urging her and her bandmates to use that more forcefully.
“She had a passionate quality to her voice,” says the judge. “You could tell she felt what she was singing, not just randomly going through the motions with her vocals. It was soulful.”
She and her fellow female judge, Kissy — who speaks under her DJ nickname, wanting her name to remain out of the controversy — say they were asked to assess numerous groups and had little time between acts to gather thoughts, rank performers and fill out sheets with comments designed to help the musicians improve. All three judges were volunteers. The third judge, a man, says he has nothing to add to the conversation as it was not his comment sheet that sparked the issue.
“It’s a lot to expect to happen in a short period of time,” said the judge who wrote the controversial words.
Millington says she understands the judge made a mistake, that the effects of her words depend on “which side of the word you’re on.”
“I’m sure the person who used that word really didn’t understand the impacts,” Millington says.
Members of Kalliope Jones are done with interviews at the moment, saying they are refocusing on their music, but band mother Katryna Nields, a local musician herself as a member of The Nields, offers this statement: “We knew that sexism in the music industry was a big deal, but we had no idea our experience would resonate so deeply with so many people. We are honored to have been the catalyst for this discussion, but feel that we need to shift our focus back to our music.”•
Contact Amanda Drane at adrane@valleyadvocate.com
