#been thinking abt this 4 daysssssss on end trying 2 unpack it all <- impossible task

[jwowwsboobs]

so im just thinking abt my girlies. artery … i already kind of sort of talked abt how sexism in the metal scene impacted jack in relation 2 her drug and alcohol issues but i didnt go into how it impacted anyone else in the band which like im gonna be honest i think abt jack the most. i will admit im not above favoritism w my “blorbos” (feminine) but thats not the point the point is i totally wanna talk abt the rest of them too! n so im making this random ass post abt it bc i just lovvvvvvveeeeeeeee hearing myself talk. anyway i have no good transition 👍 hope someone out there enjoys this messy delusional ranting :) its like 1.4k words or something sorry not sorry n im not adding a read more. scroll fast or something idc

some background: artery was founded in 1981 by max(ine) kennedy (vox + rhythm guitar) n ronnie young (drums), who l8r enlisted gale barker (bass) n obviously jack walsh (lead guitar). their discography consists of “Dig Yr Grave” (demo, december’81), “Spitfire” (demo, june 82), No Mercy, No Peace (album, feb 83), Total Annihilation (album, jan 84), and Death (album, may 85).

also btw gale is black n ronnie is hispanic (potentially) im still trying 2 figure out if/how racism may fit/fits into the band’s eventual implosion which i will! but bear in mind this is all very much a work in progress n i dont have everything fleshed out n it may change over time etc etc etc. 

okay okay so max was never the most confident frontman (woman? person? whatever). most of her what she wore both on stage n off in the early days/pre- n during the no mercy no peace “era” was baggy band shirts n plain jeans, usually flared but not always (around 84 she sorta shifted 2 skinny/regular jeans onstage but wore flares offstage occasionally). gale prefered 2 be comfortable onstage n off, often wearing tank tops or a band shirt cut into a muscle tee with jeans or combat pants when onstage or pj pants, sweatpants, or other loose pants when offstage. jack wore the same venom shirt n straight leg jeans 4 probably her entire career. they smelled like shit btw but they burried her in it anyway cuz it was 4 sure what she would have wanted. ronnies personal style was a little more feminine than the other girls in the band, preferring halter tops and heels when off-duty and home in california while the other girls stuck with their tee shirts and sneakers, but wore jeans and tee shirts just like the rest of them cuz surprise surprise its so much easier n faster 2 throw on the closest shirt n jeans 2 u than 2 come up with a whole outfit while on tour in a shitty van with four other ppl. 

so ya in the early days when max trying 2 avoid attention 4 being a Girl In A Band(TM) she wore more basic, nondescript clothes. which didnt rlly do much cuz her voice is…idk mezzo-soprano or contralto i think more contralto but that is beside the point the point is she is a girl n when she sings you know its a girl singing. n this stressed her out cuz she didnt want the focus 2 be on the fact that they were an all female band making loud, fast music, she wanted the focus 2 be on the music.

ronnie was less concerned with being taken seriously as musicians than she was with sounding and looking good as a band. her preference was that they have a cohesive, consistent look, she didnt really care what it was as long as they stuck 2 it. 

so in the early days, artery agreed that they thought it would be best 2 keep their image in promotional materials shadowy n vague, often relying on images taken live where their hair mostly obscured their faces, they were in motion. or obscured by drums, in the case of ronnie. 

this didnt really fly when they moved over 2 a major label 4 their 2nd album. they, as a band, continued 2 insist on wearing what they normally wore (jeans, tee shirts, battle vest etc.) in interviews, in photo shoots, on stage, while the label tried 2 push them towards more sexually charged, “feminine” clothes and more glamorous, labor intensive hairstyling (especially 4 gale, who whould have had 2 straighten her hair regularly) and makeup.

nobody was happy with this. max was unhappy bc she felt pressured 2 be something she wasnt n didnt want 2 be, gale was unhappy bc she felt that presenting themselves in a more glamorous way was opposited 2 their sound n roots in punk rock and the image the label was attempting 2 push had racist, eurocentric undertones, jack was unhappy cuz she would have had 2 actually brush her hair and agreed w gale, n ronnie was unhappy cuz everyone else was. luckily the label did eventually give up on trying 2 push their image in a specific way, cuz of the band’s vehement n intensive pushback against changing their image. but while artery was fighting with the label, they were also fighting with interviewers asking them insufferably sexist questions. jack for example, was not allowed 2 be interviewed on her own cuz she would generally physically assault someone who asked her something stupid like “whats it like being a girl in a band?” or “how do u ladies all manage that time of the month?” n etc. just anything that wasnt related 2 the music, tour, album etc shed tend 2 get pissed abt. n while most of the bands they played shows w or went on tour were cool, there was still the occasional asshole in a band they were playing w, asshole fans on tour, asshole security, etc. ronnie once left some stuff in their van on the tour 4 total annihilation n went out 2 get it w/o her backstage pass, n when she tried 2 get back in, was refused entry bc there was a no groupie policy. ronnie spent probably 20 minutes trying 2 convince the dude that no, she was actually in one of the bands playing. eventually the tour manager came out 2 get her after jack (who had her pass but not ronnies) found her n tried 2 get her in (security would not let either of them in and mistook jack 4 a dude). occasionally drunk male fans would find their way 2 the hotel they were staying in n harass, or try 2 harass, the band. max was a particular focus of these fans, n often carried pepper spray when on tour, and became more n more paranoid about her safety as time went on. the band briefly took some self-defense martial arts classes together in late 84 as a part of jack’s first (n only) rehab stint, n 2 help max combat her paranoia n anxiety.

gale got some shit 4 being black n being in a metal band but not much as far as i know cuz she didnt exactly put herself out in the public “sphere” the way ronnie, jack n max did. yeah she played shredding 6, 7 minute bass solos live n chatted w fans n came 2 the parties w everyone else n did the interviews like everybody else (sans jack), but she didnt really want 2 be in the limelight off stage the way ronnie, w her immense love of being interviewed n saying outrageous things just cuz she could, did. max was in the limelight whether she liked it or not (she didn’t like it) which messed her up n was part if why, after artery disbanded early late 85/early 86, she disappeared off the face of the earth (<- exaggeration but kind of accurate.) i think one of the reasons jack jumped intensely into drugs n alcohol was bc she felt ignored off stage, n wanted 2 prove 2 the other ppl that the band was touring w that she was as badass as the rest of them, she could drink as much as/more than them etc etc etc i went over this in the tags of the other post. n also she was just insane w many mental issues 👍 i dunno much abt what in particular i just know she struggled n then od’d n died. max also struggled w alcohol, especially on artery’s tours bc she was trying 2 use it 2 be more relaxed n outgoing when performing. i believe ronnie tried coke during artery’s final tour. gale smoked weed recreationally n 2 this day is a big proponent of legalizing marijuana in the US.

i think i covered just abt every i wanted 2 cover! 🍻🍻 thanks 4 listening or whatever sorry if it makes no sense im not doing super well