The Stranger has a second installment to their “Men Who Rock” series, the first of which came out in 2012. These awesome feature stories are written by Bree McKenna and Emily Nokes of pop-punk band Tacocat. “Men Who Rock” finally puts the focus on up-and-coming male musicians, a much needed breath of fresh air in an industry constantly sidelining and infantilizing men’s work. Super-hot, talented guys answer all the big questions: “Who does your hair?” and “How on earth did you learn to play an instrument?”
We get the scoop on some huge rockstar secrets. Kenneth Piekarski of Slashed Tires discusses his bedtime ritual: “Right before I go to bed, I fill my orca-whale patterned pillowcase with quartz crystals, burn some sage, and then go into the bathroom and rub scorpion oil into my hair for about fifteen minutes.”
Bree and Emily ask Daniel Enders of MTNS, “I’m fascinated with male drummers. How on earth did you get into drumming? Did it take a while to figure out how to set up the drums?” To which Enders adorably replies, “It was tricky to figure out all those stands, and the hi-hat clutch was a bit baffling, but I think I have the hang of it now. I can’t tune the damn things, though— I’m just a boy [laughs]. I leave it up to the professionals.”
Complete with a sexy photo spread, Men Who Rock II proves that these guys are—at last—doing it for themselves. Emily and Bree ask Frankie Crescioni, “Does [your girlfriend’s] taste influence you? Does she give you pointers?” and they ask Barret Anspach “What’s it like being in an all-boy band? Nonstop underwear pillow fights?” (The answers may surprise you!)
A perfect, perfect skewering of sexism in music journalism, this article couldn’t make us any happier. Read it right this second. You’ll be glad you did.
They only forgot one question: do you plan on having children?
Images via The Stranger
