The Feminists were a really, really good band. In the summer of 2001, I saw Keith Grief perform with his band Hunter Gracchus and was immediately blown away by the depth of his songwriting and stage presence. I invited him to come and see a little prog/rebel/jazz trio I had. We had a chat the next day I think, and at the end of it Keith agreed to join forces with (myself) Alison Mara, drummer Mike Zobac and bassist Cory Curtis. By October 2001 we were rehearsing and recording together. We made "I'll Just Have A Salad"(2002) and the "Dim Light" EP (2003) with this group. In 2004 bass player Ferdy Belland joined the band to replace Cory Curtis. The Feminists made three more albums "Anything You Can Do" (2004), "She Could Be" (2005), and "Can't Scream Loud Enough" (2008). We also completed three national tours, accumulated many great reviews from music writers across North America, made a live DVD, made some videos, performed on television, charted repeatedly on national radio playlists and were distributed worldwide on iTunes.
The Feminists had an electrifying live show, beautifully catchy melodies, compelling lyrics, thoughtful arrangements, and uncompromising musicianship. We were unique. I never saw another band that resembled us. We were versatile. We were able to play with metal bands, prog bands, folk bands, punk bands, jam bands, rock bands - and win over all those very diverse audiences. In short, this was a fantastic band to play in. For six years it was my labor of love. It was very satisfying to work with such talented bandmates.
The best part for me, always, was standing onstage with these guys and hearing those incredibly loud, incredibly beautiful songs swirl around me while playing my keyboards and singing with every single ounce of strength and passion I possessed.
