I'm In The Band

Sean Yseult of White Zombie has her own book out! How did I manage to find out about this after Christmas....well there's always Valentine's Day (hint, hint). Sean was one of the only women at the forefront of Metal for years and I love that she doesn't shy away from talking about that fact. The book is a collection of her photos, diaries, and accounts by her and her fellow band members of what the experience of being the "chick in the band" was like.











Here it is in her words:
"I’m in the Band”, subtitled “Backstage Notes from the Chick in White Zombie” is the story of my journey from CBGBs to arenas, with the rare female perspective in a guy’s world of heavy metal. It is also the unlikely story of a girl who played the bass and won the respect of millions of male metal fans, as an equal. Our band White Zombie was an unusual punk/metal hybrid that built up slowly over 11 years, eventually selling over 7 million records, touring the world and being nominated for two Grammys. However, I was the sole female not only in the band, but also in our entire world, spanning from 1985-1996: the bands we toured with, the roadies, the managers, etc. This was not the case for female rock musicians after White Zombie, but certainly before and during our existence. To put it in perspective, at the end of our career we played in front of 80,000 people (mostly dudes) at England’s Castle Donnington Fest in 1996: I was not only the lone female musician of the day but the only one in the entire festival’s history besides Doro Pesch years earlier, who was a lead singer. The only females I would see on tour were groupies trying to get backstage. Sometimes, to my shock and amusement – they were trying to get backstage to meet me, thinking I must be a guy!
And although the title of the book is in reference to Pamela des Barres “I’m With the Band”, I did actually have to say those words (“ but I’m IN the band!”) more than once to gain access to my own stage entrance or dressing room – that is how male oriented things still were.

Also if you're interested here is a good interview with her. And her new band sounds pretty awesome.