Thrift Town: It's a Woman's World and it's Free

Tonight at 8pm there will be a free show (BYOB) at Sound Exchange featuring performances by two all-girl local acts: Ms. Sandy & Ms. YET and Strawberry Watermelon (formerly Girl Band). The event will also double as a "vinyl re-issue release party" for Ms. Sandy & Ms. YET's on-going project of recycling unwanted LPs into works of art. The one-of-a-kind, "environmentally-friendly" discs will be on sale during the show.

Houstonist had a chance to catch up with Sandy Ewen, Houston's own prepared guitar virtuosa and member of both groups featured tonight. For the past several years, Ewen has been making a name for herself in Houston and Austin (where she attended UT) as a skilled free-improvisation performer and as a member of the critically-acclaimed Weird Weeds. Now back in Houston, she has been spearheading new projects and organizing events, including her own "February Fest" birthday party which brought together over a dozen diverse local acts.

She began performing with YET (Y. E. Torres) after a similar Sound Exchange show a year ago. When her set had ended, she was showing off the various techniques and materials she uses on her guitar when YET, who was in the audience, began to dance in response to the sounds. They have been working on their duo act ever since and are now working with videographer Chris Nelson to expand the scope of their sonic/visual interplay. It is the video aspect which is going to be pushing them forward this spring, as they enter film festivals (watch an early cut of their submission here) and begin to use multiple cameras and screens to fill up larger spaces with projections feeding back the live performance on stage. Houstonist is keeping their eye open for a possible event in May at Frenetic Theater.

Strawberry Watermelon, who will be going on first tonight, was originally called Girl Band for a reason. It wasn't so much a name as a definition. Realizing that most of her socializing was done through music, and that most of the musical scenes she was involved with were more-or-less male-dominated, Ewen decided to make a change. An all-girl band would allow not only ample opportunity for the creative women of Houston to become closer, but for the women themselves to grow and create an aesthetic of their own. This past August, the thought became a reality and the group has featured a revolving roster of the Houston arts community. There are two rules to Girl Band: you have to be a girl and everyone has to sing. Their pieces are a mix of composition and improvisation that achieve a rich, beautiful, and often haunting texture as the ensemble of various instruments and voices swell in and out. Tonight, which is only their second live performance since coming together, the roster will include: Megan Easely, Sandy Ewen, Anna Maria Garza, Melanie Jamison, Erin Joyce, Rose Lange, and Ruthie Langston. They will also be performing in Austin on April 4 under the name Lemon Lime (formerly Strawberry Watermelon).

Come out and see what this city's women are up to.

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Photo: flickr user yetorres