Rockbitch
Encyclopedia
Rockbitch was an expat
, British
, mostly female
, Celtic punk
/metal
/goth
band, best known for performing nude
and incorporating sexual acts and Pagan
rituals into their performances.
Musically, Red Abyss drew on jazz
, funk
and rock
influences dominated by singer Julie's Janis Joplin
-influenced vocals. In time, its music took on harder punk and metal edginess. Red Abyss switched to the Rockbitch name when the lineup changed: a male drummer (Steve) was replaced by Jo. The line up varied over time with other characters such as 'Luci the Stage Slut', 'The Haema-Whore', Kali and Erzulie the Sex Magik Priestesses all making appearances.
The former two were primarily a combination of sexual performance artist and gonzo-camera team; capturing closeups of stage action to be displayed on the projection screen at the rear. They were also responsible for the cued playing of prepared art videos of subject matter relating to the songs. These included child clitoridectomy, public stonings of adulterous women, binge/vomiting models, etc.
The latter two were primarily sexually explicit performers, described as 'Archetypes of the Dark Feminine psyche' personifying Kali
, the Hindu Goddess of death, and Erzulie
, the Voudoo Goddess of Love.
At its intended last gig (at a biker festival), the decision to incorporate the orgiastic, pagan sex from its home life into the stage act gave birth to Rockbitch.
The band toured Germany, France, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, the UK, (but were banned from venues in Scotland), Italy, Spain, Finland, Slovenia, Czech Republic and Estonia and did a promotional tour that involved Canada (but were eventually also banned from the intended venues without having played), while instituting its new theme of liberation through sexual freedom.
Rockbitch became infamous not only for performing live sex acts, but also doing so with audience members via "The Golden Condom". At a point during its show, a condom was tossed to the crowd and whoever caught it (male or female) was taken backstage for sexual relations with one or more band members.
This led to critics saying they tried to use sex and paganism
to sell bad music; however, fellow musicians from disciplines as varied as jazz (bassist Jonas Hellborg
) have voiced their appreciation.
Rockbitch toured widely from approximately 1998 until 2002, meeting increasing resistance from authorities, particularly English, German and Norwegian town councils who often banned its concerts.
Because of the banning in Almelo in the Netherlands, Dutch TV producer TVAmsterdam caught attention on the band, and was forced by a non-Dutch "manager" to arrange a concert in a town outside Amsterdam (Zaandam), to record the show as it went, adding some extra footage to complete the documentary "Bitchcraft".
It was local authorities, not the public itself, who caused a struggle. Babe stated in the program Anna in Wonderland : "Rockbitch had no problem with lads out for seeing breasts, as they were a component of the audience, there were always others seeing the deeper meaning and both groups had a good time. They generally made up for a great combined atmosphere".
Outside the UK (and censorship problems it also encountered in some states of Germany) audiences were sympathetic, particularly in Holland, where they drew vast crowds of men and women from all walks of life.
The Rockbitch lineup became entirely female in 2000. Original lead guitarist Tony (known as 'The Beast') retired, taking over management/production. Alexandra (known as 'Babe') moved into lead guitar duties (from rhythm) while Luci, previously a "Stage Slut" (one of the nude dancers and sexual band/crowd liaisons), instead strapped on a rhythm guitar.
, openly voiced their admiration for sexual politics icons such as Annie Sprinkle
and Betty Dodson
, and generally put in a good word for open female sexuality as a healthy part of human nature.
Via the Rockbitch website, on which members could also view their community life, the band had contact with straight/bi/lesbian women reaching as far as Borneo, Chile, Japan, India and the US, all of whom expressed a sense of empowerment and justification by the stated beliefs of Rockbitch.
A second, goth-influenced album called Psychic Attack, which featured the song "I Wish I Were" written by American poetess Erzsebet Beck, was never released.
Following continued pressure from British Interpol about its sexually driven themes and performances, Rockbitch ceased performing in 2002 and was the subject of a 30-minute documentary on BBC Choice
the same year. A further, hour-long documentary was broadcast on Channel 5 in the UK in 2003.
In 2005, the entire latter-day Rockbitch lineup emerged under the name MT-TV. This was a music-only project—no sex or nudity of the Rockbitch days—but it incorporated stage theatrics. After a UK tour in summer 2005, they performed throughout the United States.
Expatriate
An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing...
, British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, mostly female
Female
Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces non-mobile ova .- Defining characteristics :The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male...
, Celtic punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
/metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
/goth
Gothic metal
Gothic metal or goth metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that combines the aggression of doom metal with the dark melancholy of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music...
band, best known for performing nude
Nudity
Nudity is the state of wearing no clothing. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic. The amount of clothing worn depends on functional considerations and social considerations...
and incorporating sexual acts and Pagan
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
rituals into their performances.
History
Rockbitch was originally formed as Red Abyss by bassist Amanda, who drew other band members from the matriarchal, polyamorous, pagan, feminist community of which she was the prime founder.Musically, Red Abyss drew on jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
influences dominated by singer Julie's Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
-influenced vocals. In time, its music took on harder punk and metal edginess. Red Abyss switched to the Rockbitch name when the lineup changed: a male drummer (Steve) was replaced by Jo. The line up varied over time with other characters such as 'Luci the Stage Slut', 'The Haema-Whore', Kali and Erzulie the Sex Magik Priestesses all making appearances.
The former two were primarily a combination of sexual performance artist and gonzo-camera team; capturing closeups of stage action to be displayed on the projection screen at the rear. They were also responsible for the cued playing of prepared art videos of subject matter relating to the songs. These included child clitoridectomy, public stonings of adulterous women, binge/vomiting models, etc.
The latter two were primarily sexually explicit performers, described as 'Archetypes of the Dark Feminine psyche' personifying Kali
Kali
' , also known as ' , is the Hindu goddess associated with power, shakti. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" . Hence, Kāli is...
, the Hindu Goddess of death, and Erzulie
Erzulie
In Haitian Vodou or Vodou, Erzulie is a family of lwa, or spirits.-Maîtresse Mambo Erzulie Fréda Dahomey:Erzulie Fréda Dahomey, the Rada aspect of Erzulie, is the spirit of love, beauty, jewelry, dancing, luxury, and flowers. Gay men are considered to be under her particular patronage...
, the Voudoo Goddess of Love.
At its intended last gig (at a biker festival), the decision to incorporate the orgiastic, pagan sex from its home life into the stage act gave birth to Rockbitch.
The band toured Germany, France, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, the UK, (but were banned from venues in Scotland), Italy, Spain, Finland, Slovenia, Czech Republic and Estonia and did a promotional tour that involved Canada (but were eventually also banned from the intended venues without having played), while instituting its new theme of liberation through sexual freedom.
Rockbitch became infamous not only for performing live sex acts, but also doing so with audience members via "The Golden Condom". At a point during its show, a condom was tossed to the crowd and whoever caught it (male or female) was taken backstage for sexual relations with one or more band members.
This led to critics saying they tried to use sex and paganism
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
to sell bad music; however, fellow musicians from disciplines as varied as jazz (bassist Jonas Hellborg
Jonas Hellborg
Jonas Hellborg is a Swedish bass guitarist. He has collaborated with John McLaughlin, Ustad Sultan Khan, Fazal Qureshi, Bill Laswell, Shawn Lane, Jens Johansson, Michael Shrieve, V. Selvaganesh, Mattias IA Eklundh and Buckethead....
) have voiced their appreciation.
Rockbitch toured widely from approximately 1998 until 2002, meeting increasing resistance from authorities, particularly English, German and Norwegian town councils who often banned its concerts.
Because of the banning in Almelo in the Netherlands, Dutch TV producer TVAmsterdam caught attention on the band, and was forced by a non-Dutch "manager" to arrange a concert in a town outside Amsterdam (Zaandam), to record the show as it went, adding some extra footage to complete the documentary "Bitchcraft".
It was local authorities, not the public itself, who caused a struggle. Babe stated in the program Anna in Wonderland : "Rockbitch had no problem with lads out for seeing breasts, as they were a component of the audience, there were always others seeing the deeper meaning and both groups had a good time. They generally made up for a great combined atmosphere".
Outside the UK (and censorship problems it also encountered in some states of Germany) audiences were sympathetic, particularly in Holland, where they drew vast crowds of men and women from all walks of life.
The Rockbitch lineup became entirely female in 2000. Original lead guitarist Tony (known as 'The Beast') retired, taking over management/production. Alexandra (known as 'Babe') moved into lead guitar duties (from rhythm) while Luci, previously a "Stage Slut" (one of the nude dancers and sexual band/crowd liaisons), instead strapped on a rhythm guitar.
Activism
Members lent their voices to female and sexual issues, were winners of the yearly prize at the Sex Maniacs Ball (now Night of the Senses) founded by Tuppy OwensTuppy Owens
Tuppy Owens is a British sex therapist, consultant, campaigner, and writer.Tuppy Owens was born in Cambridge. She gained a degree in zoology from Exeter University, and then worked in ecology in Africa and Trinidad during three years...
, openly voiced their admiration for sexual politics icons such as Annie Sprinkle
Annie Sprinkle
Annie M. Sprinkle is an American former prostitute, stripper, pornographic actress, cable television host, porn magazine editor, writer and sex film producer...
and Betty Dodson
Betty Dodson
Betty Dodson is an American sex educator, author, and artist. Dodson held the first one-woman show of erotic art at the Wickersham Gallery in New York City in 1968. She left the art world to teach sex to women...
, and generally put in a good word for open female sexuality as a healthy part of human nature.
Via the Rockbitch website, on which members could also view their community life, the band had contact with straight/bi/lesbian women reaching as far as Borneo, Chile, Japan, India and the US, all of whom expressed a sense of empowerment and justification by the stated beliefs of Rockbitch.
Dissolution
After the release of its first studio album, Motor Driven Bimbo, which received critical acclaim in many countries (OOR Magazine in The Netherlands, the UK, and Japan), Rockbitch was dropped by its record company.A second, goth-influenced album called Psychic Attack, which featured the song "I Wish I Were" written by American poetess Erzsebet Beck, was never released.
Following continued pressure from British Interpol about its sexually driven themes and performances, Rockbitch ceased performing in 2002 and was the subject of a 30-minute documentary on BBC Choice
BBC Choice
BBC Choice was a BBC TV station which launched on 23 September 1998 and closed on 9 February 2003. It was the first British TV channel to broadcast exclusively in digital format, and was the first new channel from the BBC since BBC Two launched in 1964...
the same year. A further, hour-long documentary was broadcast on Channel 5 in the UK in 2003.
In 2005, the entire latter-day Rockbitch lineup emerged under the name MT-TV. This was a music-only project—no sex or nudity of the Rockbitch days—but it incorporated stage theatrics. After a UK tour in summer 2005, they performed throughout the United States.
Personnel
The personnel were as follows:- Julie Worland: Vocals
- Luci: Guitar (from 2000) (previously appeared on stage as 'Stage Slut')
- Amanda (aka 'The Bitch'): Bass
- Nikki: Piano, Flute
- Joanne Heeley: Drums
- 'Babe' (Alexandra): Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals (also Webmistress)
- 'Beast' (Tony): Guitar on Motor Driven Bimbo and producer of both studio albums
- Chloe: Sex Magick Priestess
- Kali: Sex Magick Priestess
- Erzulie (Martina): Sex Magick Priestess
Discography/Videography
- Luci's Love Child (as Red Abyss) (1992) (EurockEurockEurock is a worldwide music promotion company founded by Archie Patterson in 1971. The name "Eurock" is short for "European Rock" although the scope of the company quickly expanded worldwide.There are over 2,700 bands profiled in Eurock's index....
) - Rockbitch Live In Amsterdam (1997) (Crystal Rock Syndicate – doCD)
- Bitchcraft (concert and documentary video, 1997, subsequently released on DVD) not available in countries like USA, Japan
- The Bitch O'Clock News (reports and clips video, 1998) made for audiences in USA and Japan
- Motor Driven Bimbo (1999) (SteamhammerSPV GmbHSPV GmbH is an independent German record label.Founded on January 1, 1984, it has slowly grown to be one of the largest independent distributors and record labels worldwide....
) - Psychic Attack (unreleased) (2002)
- Sex, Death and Magick (concert/documentary video, 2002)