Interview With Sophie Rae, the Lead Singer/Guitarist of "Care Bears on Fire" and Creator of Grrrl Beat

Photo by Jess Norton

Sophie Rae is the lead singer/guitarist of Care Bears on Fire, a pop-punk band with serious feminist undertones. But when she's not touring or rocking out for David Letterman (how cool is that?), this teen dynamo also operates her own webzine. Recently, one of my gracious associates — Stuck in the Past writer Andrew Jacobs — interviewed Sophie. Check out what she had to say!

Andrew Jacobs: How did you become a fan of rock music?

Sophie Rae: My parents always listened to a lot of rock music when I was growing up, lots of Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, and the Beatles. Eventually, my band-mates introduced me to punk and riot grrrl.

AJ: How old were you when you learned how to play the guitar?  Also, please discuss how you learned how to play.

SR: I was 9 when I started playing guitar. I took piano lessons before that, but I got bored of that pretty quickly. I started out just sort of messing around on the guitar by myself, but I started taking lessons when I was around 10. 

AJ: As a musician and as a songwriter, who/what are some of your influences and why?

SR: I’m really inspired by Le Tigre’s ability to confront really intense, difficult topics in the context of super fun, dance-y songs. I love Sleater-Kinney’s songs and the way they layer the different guitar parts and vocal melodies. And as a musician in a 3-piece band I really admire what a huge sound they can create from three instruments (and no bass!). I’m also really inspired by Bright Eyes right now. I think Conor Oberst’s songs are incredibly well-written and beautiful. 

AJ: How are you successfully able to juggle doing your band Care Bears on Fire and your personal life?

SR: Sometimes it can be tough, because doing well in school is really important to me. There have definitely been a lot of nights of studying for a math test in a dark smelly club between sound-check and our set. But I’ve found that being busy when you’re busy doing something you love makes it a lot easier.  

AJ: Would you be at all opposed to signing with a major record label at some point down the road?  Why or why not?

SR: It’s tough to say. Musicians talk about losing their musical integrity when they go major and feeling like they’ve lost their creative freedom. I think as long as the people I’m working with understand me and my musical goals I wouldn’t rule them out. It depends on the circumstance for sure.  

AJ: You may have already answered this but just in case you haven't, at this point in time in your life, how interested are you in making a living in some capacity (not necessarily as just an artist/musician either) in the music industry?

SR: I think it’s still pretty early for me to say. I have a lot of interests. I love writing, feminism, history . . . Music is just one of the things that I love to do, and I don’t want to limit myself. But I do love playing and writing music and I definitely don’t see myself stopping any time soon. 

AJ: When and why did you decide to become a feminist? 

SR: It’s hard to pinpoint when exactly I became a feminist. For as long as I’ve been playing music I’ve been subject to sexism and I always thought it was really unfair and totally sucked. I’d listened to riot grrrl music since I was about 11, but I really started to identify as a feminist this past December, when my band played a Kathleen Hanna tribute show in NYC, which was being filmed for a documentary about her. At that show I realized that sexism, especially in the music world, doesn’t have to be a given, it is something fight-able. I realized how many feminist artists and musicians there are and what a supportive community that could be. After that I started really getting in to feminism, reading feminist blogs and books and thinking more about issues of sexism and how I could combat them in my own life.

AJ: As a feminist and as a writer, who/what are some of your influences and why?

SR: I just finished Girls to the Front by Sara Marcus, which is about the riot grrrl movement. I loved how beautifully written it was while still being incredibly informative. It really made you feel like you were there — a part of the movement. I also recently read Jessica Valenti’s Full Frontal Feminism, which was amazing. It is very conversational in tone, sort of like just talking to one of your friends about feminism, but at the same time it was smart and educational. I’ve been trying to use that conversational tone in my articles for Grrrl Beat, because I think it makes difficult topics much more accessible.     

AJ: How much of an influence has the Riot Grrrl movement of the 1990s had on your feminist and political views?

SR: Huge! Listening to riot grrrl music when I was younger brought up so many issues that I’d never thought of like rape, abortion, female representation in the media, and sexism in general. Riot grrrl taught me that these issues were ones of equality and had to be confronted, both by individuals and by politicians.

AJ: Discuss your online forum, Grrrl Beat.

SR: Grrrl Beat is my online magazine, which I started in July. It’s been such an amazing experience! I write a bunch of the articles myself, but I also have a ton of submissions from other writers, mostly teenagers, on topics like feminism, music, culture, and fashion. I also post a lot of music from female musicians. I’m always looking for articles and music to post! Email me at grrrlbeat@gmail.com with any submissions/ideas for submissions.

AJ: Feel free to shamelessly plug any of your other musical or non-musical endeavors here.

For all New Yorkers: On August 13th Care Bears on Fire will be playing at the Manifesta loft, at a show put on by Permanent Wave, a super awesome feminist group I just joined. The other bands are Big Nils, Bad Credit No Credit and Shady Hawkins. To kick off the show at 8pm, I’m organizing a Q&A panel about women in music with myself, Amy Klein (of Titus Andronicus) and Mindy Abovitz (of Tom Tom Magazine) and Emmet Moeller (of Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls) as moderator. And the show is a benefit for Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls! Please come out and support! 

Sage Adderley (Sweet Candy Distro) Interview

Andrew Jacobs is a writer for Stuck In The Past, a "90's hardcore webzine" dedicated to reviving (or, at least, blogging about) music that has since faded from the limelight. Recently, Jacobs had an interview with Sage Adderley, a self-made businesswoman, former tattoo artist, and mother. Feeling that this interview didn't quite fit in with his own webzine's theme, Jacobs suggested that the readers of this blog might find it interesting!

I'm of the opinion that women owning and running businesses is one of the many pinnacles of the feminist movement. As the owner and operator of Sweet Candy Distro since 2004, Sage Adderley is a fine addition to that lofty peak. Ms. Adderley is also a 13 year accomplished tattoo artist and she puts her extensive tattooing expertise to good use as the National Tattoo Art writer for Examiner.com. I hope that you enjoy this interview with this extraordinary woman. — Andrew Jacobs

Jacobs: When and why did you start doing zines?

Adderley: I made my first personal zine in 2004. At the time, I was taking creative writing courses at Kennesaw State University in Georgia and I thought it would be wonderful to create an indie publication featuring a variety of literary and visual arts. I began searching online for groups to post submission calls and I found a zine community. I was intrigued by some of the zine descriptions, so I ordered a zine from a writer in Florida. I popped a dollar and a stamp in the mail with a handwritten note requesting her zine. When the zine arrived, it was love at first sight.

J: Who were some of your influences when you first started doing zines?

A: My first zine was centered around my childhood, basically what it was like to grow up with heavily tattooed parents (one of them a tattoo artist) in the '80s and in the Bible Belt. I would have to say I was greatly influenced by my family and my mom's tattoo studio.

J: You own and operate Sweet Candy Distro. For those people reading this who don't know what a distro is, please provide a layperson's description.

A: A distro is a distributor of independent media. Some distros solely carry music, while others carry zines and often you'll find distros that carry a mixture of both. I carry a variety of items at Sweet Candy. The majority of items are zines, but I also stock CDs, DVDs, pins, handmade items, books, and magazines. My mission is to support zine writers and do-it-yourself creators by making their goods available to a wider audience. Some distros do mail order, I prefer to have my distro online but I do receive some mail orders.

J: Are paper zines and distros still viable in the digital/internet age? Why or why not?

A: Most definitely. There is something completely special and magical about paper zines that the internet would never be able to replicate. It's like comparing a book to an audiobook. It's two totally different experiences. For me, the beauty behind the zine is the process in which it was created, by hand!

J: You may have already answered this but just in case you didn't, because you come from the paper zine world, what are your views on digital only zines and the blogosphere in general?

A: I love reading blogs. I follow quite a few but I think there is a huge difference between a blog and a digital zine. I truly don't have an opinion about digital zines because I don't read them. I don't mean to sound like a jerk but digital zines just don't interest me.

J: You were a tattoo artist from the mid '90s until 2010. Do you recall doing very many Straight Edge, vegetarian and/or vegan tattoos during that time? If so, what sorts of those types of tattoos did you do?

A: I tattooed in a small, southern town so it was very rare to get people in the tattoo shop who lived these types of lifestyles. I'm not saying they weren't out there, I just never saw them getting tattooed during that time. I probably tattooed the triple X symbol a handful of times.

J: Was there anything that you refused to tattoo on people? If so, what and why?

A: No, I never felt like it was my place to judge what others wanted to get tattooed on their bodies but I think if someone had come in for a homophobic or racist themed tattoo, then I would have turned them down. Luckily, I never encountered anything of the sort.

J: If you don't mind me asking, why did you decide to stop tattooing?

A: I took a break from tattooing in 2009 when my son was born. I tattooed almost my entire pregnancy with him. It's tough to raise a family in this industry. The hours aren't 9-5, you know? My husband tattoos full time, so I decided to take a break to stay home with my son. I also have two daughters, my hands are pretty full. Whether it is a temporary or permanent break is yet to be determined.

Right now, I am having a blast writing about the tattoo industry and tattoo info articles. I had an interview published in Urban Ink Magazine and I am the National Tattoo Art writer for Examiner.com. It feels great to be able to offer guidance to tattoo clients through my writing. I receive quite a few emails from people who read my articles and ask for tattoo advice or opinions on tattoo artists and studios. I am still a part of the tattoo industry, just in a different way now.

J: Feel free to shamelessly plug any of your other endeavors here.

A: I'm looking forward to releasing my new issue of Tattooed Memoirs zine at the Portland Zine Symposium the weekend of August 5th. I'll be tabling Sweet Candy there! Locals should come out and say hello.