The Juliettes

'Hooray, You're Gay' - Local musicians pen Gay anthem
by Shaun Knittel - SGN Associate Editor

Lady Gaga isn't the only one with a Gay music anthem. Seattle's fierce and fabulous all-woman rock band The Juliettes have got a lot to say, and they want you to listen. The band's new single, 'Hooray, You're Gay' is an ode to Gay pride and 100% of the net proceeds will be donated to organizations that fight to battle LGBT youth suicide.

Julie Mains, lead singer for The Juliettes, told Seattle Gay News the band has no qualms with making a political statement. 'We are pro-equality, pro-peace, pro-compassion, pro-education, pro-mother earth, and pro-rock 'n' roll,' she said. 'We are anti-hate, anti-poverty, anti-war, anti-greed, and anti-willful ignorance.'

The Juliettes are professional career musicians. 'We have an amazing dynamic because we have a lot of love and trust and we all love the music we are making,' said Julie. 'We want the people of earth to know that women only get better, smarter, and sexier as they get older. The experience, wisdom, and professional expertise gives us an edge and that our age is an advantage - we are relevant, we have a voice, and if you listen, you will really enjoy what we have to say and how we are saying it.'

Liz Aday (guitar, vocals), Lissa Ramaglia (bass), and Eva Dizon (drums) along with Julie make up the local vivacious band aiming to make a difference.

'These women are some of the finest musicians I have ever worked with, and are truly incredible people,' Julie told SGN. 'I am honored to know them. We are in this band because it's fun, and fun is the best thing to have!'

In Seattle, words like 'progressive' and 'straight ally' get thrown around quite often. But those are titles that the women of The Juliettes gladly accept. 'None of us identify as Lesbian,' says Julie. 'We are, however, women who love women.'

'Hooray, You're Gay' is The Juliettes' first big undertaking as a band fundraiser, although Julie says that each band member has been heavily involved with community fundraisers individually.

'The single is intended to be a big, fat offering of love, and as such, proceeds will be donated to the It Gets Better project and The Trevor Project,' she said. 'We are trying to make the 'ask' fun and catchy, so we are launching it with a small request to help us get the word out called '1, 2, 3, Go!'

The 'ask' works like this:
o 1) Download the song.
o 2) Update your Facebook status alerting all of your contacts about the existence of the single.
o 3) Tweet about 'Hooray, You're Gay.'

'We want to raise a giant pile of money and change the tone of the dialogue across the country and beyond,' said Julie. The song is catchy and very Gay. The chorus says, 'Hooray, you're Gay / and Gay is never gonna go away / you're absolutely fabulous and absolutely here to stay / hey, hello, hell yeah, hooray, you're Gay.'

The Juliettes have released the song on their website www.thejuliettes.bandzoogle.com and will shoot the music video at the end of the month. They told SGN that everyone is invited. If you would like to be a part of the fun, e-mail the band at hoorayyouregay@gmail.com for more information.

The Juliettes are hopeful that they will be asked to perform the song at various Pride events around town.

'It is so important for the Queer community to have Gay-friendly bands for a number of reasons,' said Julie. 'Music is the world's true religion. It is the thing that touches all of our souls and one of the most amazing ways to express an infinite number of thoughts and feelings. It binds us as a species.'

'Queer artists break barriers and have the ability to reach more people - even the most extreme bigots,' she continued. 'Today's Queer artists have the opportunity to launch themselves already out, like Adam Lambert did. When the media reported that he had come out, he said, 'I didn't know I was in.' There is more acceptance in artists communi - Seattle Gay News

Julie Mains is Seattle’s Renaissance woman. Raised in Philadelphia, she’s a musical theater veteran. She opened and operated The Mainstage (her very own music and comedy club). She has co-hosted a morning drive-time radio show called The Menage. And she also sings regularly with The Tropics, a local cover band. She’s one of the world’s greatest networkers and a fireball of energy.

Julie’s latest passion is fronting an all-female rock band called The Juliettes. The relatively new four-piece has gotten much attention lately for recording a musical theme for the Rat City Roller Girls, Seattle’s hugely popular roller derby league. I asked this hilarious and busy mom to shed some light on her latest venture.

CD: How did The Juliettes get together?

JM: Two years ago, when my club was still open, I was approached to host a benefit show with some heavy hitter musicians. They turned out to be Jamie Moses and Spike Edney from Queen and Jeff Scott Soto from Journey, as well as Alan White from Yes. I got to sing back-up the whole night and also duet with Jeff, which was so wonderful. It was an amazing night. Last year, Spike held another benefit with Elliot Easton (The Cars), Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters), most of Yes, Nona Hendrix (LaBelle), Shawn Smith (Brad) and Eric Bazilian from my most beloved hometown band, The Hooters. I sang back-up once again.



All these men are still considered relevant and sexy after 30 plus years in the business. I thought, you know, it’s time for a rock band of grown up women (we are all in our 30s and 40s) who can be smart, sexy, fun, with a point of view and great chops. I told Eric about the idea and he was so excited, he started sending me original songs for the project.

I’ve known Liz Aday (guitar/vox) for years and have always wanted to work with her because she is so ridiculously talented. Lissa Ramaglia is known all over Seattle for being a smokin’ bass player and a great lady. Lissa met Eva Dizon at a gig and said she was a great drummer, which she is. She’s also a sweetheart. The first time we played together it all fell into place.

CD: What do you think is unique about the band?

JM: The music makes your heart happy. In addition to being deceptively complex, it is smart and fun. We all get along really well and have a lot of respect and affection for each other. Practice is a pleasure because there are no pissing contests or drama. We also put on a great show.

CD: How did the Rat City Roller Girls theme happen?

JM: Cathy Sorbo is an announcer for the Roller Girls and a great songwriter. I told her I thought she should write a theme song for the league and she did. It was sweet perfection. Liz arranged it to be something the Ramones would cover with whipped cream and a cherry on top.

CD: What has the response been to the theme song?
JM: Overwhelmingly positive. It’s been played on the air on Jack-FM and featured on the Jack-FM website. I made a little sing-a-long movie and posted it on Facebook. We hope to rock it live for them next season.

CD: How many gigs have you guys done so far?

JM: We’ve only done a small handful, but I have 20 people yelling at me regularly to play more gigs.

CD: What else do you have planned?
JM: Our debut CD, more gig and touring. My personal goal is for us to play the Mother’s Day episode of SNL next year.

CD: Any particular message you try to infuse into your songs?

JM: The overriding theme of the band is that women can be smart without being intimidating. We can be sexy and provocative without pandering or whoring ourselves. We like to play on adult themes without all our songs being about some man we are pining for and we like to explore premises that haven’t been touched on yet.

CD: Who does the songwriting?
JM: Eric, Liz, me, and with RCRG, Cathy. Liz and Eric are ingenious with the music. I have so much admiration for the way they produce melodies and ideas.

CD: Tell me about your own musical background.

JM: I grew up in musical theatre. My parents are theatre people and I “turned pro” at age 14. I studied music at Carnegie Mellon, then moved to the west coast and worked for a number of theatre companies. When I had kids, theatre became a prohibitive time commitment, so I auditioned for a dance band that worked a lot (The Tropics) and the rest is history. I’m still singing in The Tropics and that experience has been invaluable.

CD: Are your kids showing signs of musical prodigy?
JM: Yes. My daughter just had one of the leads in her school musical and my son picked up the guitar last year and immediately played it like he understood it from the inside out. Eva’s daughter is tiny, but drums along with her mama like a champ. Eva plays guitar and teaches music also, so her daughter will have constant exposure. Lissa’s dogs and Liz’s cats all seem very musically gifted as well.

CD: What’s the perfect gig?
JM: Playing Radio City Music Hall in our velvet evening gowns and a mirror ball the size of a truck rotating over our heads. We’d have our musical influences in the front row jumping up and down and high-fiving and our families watching from the wings. The world would be a place where women are equal, children are safe, and all people value peace. Well, you did say “perfect.” - OurStage.com