Music & Gender

A person's gender plays a stereotypical role in many aspects of our daily lives. Some people find these stereotypes offensive, others not so much. Some find comfort in these "rules" while some like to bend and break them. Well for me I believe that man, woman, or whatever you identify as, are created equal and should be able to live freely, especially in this country. I'm not a political person, and I will not go into my opinions online, especially on a blog where my fellow classmates get to see how awesome my music taste is. However I will say that gender barriers are indeed an issue that need to be addressed

Now onto the music... that's why you're reading this right?

Led Zeppelin is one of the best rock n roll bands to walk the earth. Well in my opinion at least, as well as the millions upon millions of people around the globe who agree with me. Zeppelin is my all time favorite rock band, they were ahead of their time, inspiring countless musicians. Their mark is still very visible in the rock side of the music world. When I was younger I aspired to be Jimmy Page. I spent so much time learning Led Zeppelin tunes, it got to the point where my dad would bang on my door and say "please play something else son". I would try and learn other riffs, but Led Zeppelin was just intoxicating to me. I fell in love with rock n roll when I learned of the greatness that is Led Zeppelin.

Now what does Led Zeppelin have to do with gender? Well its not so much as the band as their genre. Rock n roll man! This is the a hard but true fact. The mainstream classic rock scene was dominated by males. That is not to hurt anyone's feelings, and no I'm not trying to offend people. It's the truth. I'm not saying that it is a good thing or even an intentional thing. I think there were many factors as to why the classic rock scene was dominated by men. For one we have to think about the time. During the late 60s and early 70s women were still looked at as house wives rather than women. Thankfully that idea is no where near as a relevant as it was during the times of classic rock and I am grateful for that. That whole idea was not a good look for dudes. See how I didn't say man?

Another thing that factored into men being the face of rock was the image. The idea of a bunch of sweaty, sometimes shirtless, dudes playing gritty guitar, screaming vocals, and smacking on drums was super cool. And we can all admit that it is. So when you get into the business side of things, the image is what sold the band most of the time. Image is important.

This is where Led Zeppelin comes in. To me they fit that image of rock n roll. Plus they are all insane musicians! 

For me the idea of a woman playing guitar is badass and quite frankly pretty attractive. One, because I myself am a guitar player, and two, it's not everyday you see a girl shredding a guitar, especially to a large audience. 

So here is a collection of videos from an insanely talented female guitarist who helped break the gender barrier that has had a hold on rock music since the days of Led Zeppelin.

This is Orianthi. She is an insane guitar player, and in my opinion is the guitar heronie we all needed. She proved that it doesn't matter your gender and has paved the way for young and aspiring female musicians trying to make it in the cruel yet rewarding music business,.Anyone can play the guitar or any other instrument, it all comes down to how bad you want it. And how far you are willing to push yourself to be the best you can be.

Here is a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child", a staple song in the list of legendary rock songs that everyone should listen to or play at least once in their life time.

Oh did I mention that she was Michael Jackson's lead guitarist? Yeah she did that too!