POSTED: Friday, January 28, 2011, 7:00 PM
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| photo by Neal Santos |
Talking shop with Sugar magnate Sara Sherr.
If this city can still afford the bronze and concrete when the time comes, you'll see a star on Broad Street with Sara Sherr's name on it one day. Sherr, of course, does Dumpsta Playas and Sing Your Life Karaoke and a bunch of other things, but the jewel in her tiara has got to be Sugar Town, a female-forward music showcase that's been rocking Philadelphia for 10 years. And this Saturday's anniversary gig is a doozy, with members of local bands (KeN, Red Skate Red, The Weeds, The Minks, etc.) paying tribute to their favorite big-time acts (Jefferson Airplane, Electrelane, Liliput, Blondie, etc.).
City Paper: You've done Sugar Town at the Balcony, Doc Watson's, Khyber, Tritone — am I missing any venues?
Sara Sherr: I think I might have done a show or two at the Millcreek Tavern when it first started doing bands.
CP: Any idea how many shows it's been? Or how many bands? Or how many bands got their first real gig at Sugar Town?
SS: When I was discussing flyer ideas with Maria Sciarrino — who started Sugar Town with me and then Plain Parade — I came up with a Sgt. Pepper theme where we had all the faces of all the bands that ever played Sugar Town. When I went back and tried to list all of them, I realized that were far too many for that. Multiply 10 years times one show a month with three to four bands and subtract a few breaks in there... Math is not my strong point, but that's a lot of bands and shows.
As far as first shows for bands, the one that comes to mind is Thee Minks in January of 2002 at The Balcony. Not only was it their first show, but for that same bill, we also snagged The Yeah Yeah Yeahs for their second or maybe third show in Philadelphia.
CP: What's changed about Philadelphia in the ten years you've been doing Sugar Town?
SS: There are more places to play and more different kinds of independent promoters. Obviously, the Internet has changed everything. It is easier for bands and promoters to get the word out. Bands from all over the country blow up very quickly and get booking agents, pricing out smaller promoters like myself. So that Yeah Yeah Yeahs situation is not likely to repeat itself without a lot of tenacity and lot of money, which I don't have. And finally, there are a lot more bands in Philadelphia of different genres with women in them.
CP: Has it gotten tougher or easier to keep the thing going?
SS: The longer you keep an event like this going, the more you have to be on your toes. As your fans age out of going out to shows, you have to continue to reach out to younger and newer audiences. There is also more competition between smaller promoters for acts, so it's important to keep your ear to the ground constantly.
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| photo by Neal Santos |
CP: Have you noticed a new generation coming out to shows?
SS: There is always a new class of people turning 21 and coming out to clubs. It's important to do everything you can do reach out to them. Everything always depends on what bands I book, so I always reach out to new acts. For last year's anniversary, Bells Bells Bells turned me onto The Party Photographers, who have really blown up since then. I've also noticed more bands with underage performers, which is a challenge because Tritone requires that a parent be present for the show. There is also a new generation of queer women looking to see other queer women playing punk rock onstage, so I am always looking out for those kinds of acts too.
CP: I assume there's always a new generation of performers, too.
SS: There are lots of new bands now that I need to reach out to, like Slutever, Cat Vet, Trophy Wife, the list goes on.
CP: I know you've volunteered with Girls Rock Philly. Are you encouraged by the next wave of Philly musicians and music listeners?
SS: I teach a History of Women in Music class and the enthusiasm and confidence in these girls is amazing. It gives me faith in humanity. Attia Taylor, who I've booked a few times, is a GRP alumna. Erica Rubin, one of the members in the Electrelane tribute band, is 16 year-old camper.
CP: If a band wants to play Sugar Town, what should they do?
SS: I require that bands have at least one female member, and I don't do much with singer/songwriters, though I do book them on occasion. E-mail me at sarasherr@gmail.com, send me links to your music, tell me what you're up to, what kind of crowd you expect to bring. If you are super new and are not sure of your draw, I like to know that in advance so I can book you with other acts with a solid draw. Sugar Town is only once a month, so it may take me a while to do a show with you, even if I really like your band.
CP: Way back in 2002, when you were celebrating the one-year anniversary, you observed a "different energy in the room." Does Sugar Town still have a unique feeling compared to other rock shows around town?
SS: I would say that. There are very few events that do things specifically for women that are also punk/indie identified. I also really tried to make it queer-friendly when gay and straight crowds weren't mixing it up as much as they are doing now. Also, Sugar Town's never been the cool kid on the block, so socially, there's no pressure. You can come to a show by yourself and not feel like a total loser. I like to think that my crowds are more welcome than most. And I have had quite a few love connections at my events (gay and straight).
CP: What's been your favorite Sugar Town moment so far?
SS: There are so many of them. It's hard to list them all. I've liked having the opportunity to introduce bands like The Friggs and Baby Flamehead to younger crowds. I enjoyed all the shows I did with the ladies of Fuse, a queer dance party. We did Bitch and Lesbians on Ecstasy and the crowds were fabulous. Although The Shondes played Philadelphia before I booked them, I feel like people really got to know and love them at Sugar Town. Going further back, there was the time Lisa Cohen and I booked Mirah at The Balcony and people were talking so much that she asked everyone to come sit on stage with her.
CP: This anniversary show looks like a doozy — local rock bands playing tribute to their favorite rock bands. Was it easy to enlist people for the project?
SS: It was surprisingly easy. I honestly thought I would get five or six bands if I were lucky, and then I had a woman writing to me from Canada asking to be Regina Spektor. Unfortunately, we had no piano in the club for her. As of about 3 weeks ago, I had to turn people down.
CP: What are you most looking forward to?
SS: Again, it's hard to pick just one. I am looking forward to the projects who formed specifically for this show, since that's the spirit of Sugar Town: the Electrelane tribute, the acoustic Garbage tribute, The B-52's, and Lust 2 Love, The Go-Go's tribute, who are now an active band. I'm also excited about KeN as The Pretenders and The Tulanes doing The Pandoras.
CP: Can we expect you to pick up a mic and sing a little something?
SS: No, I'll be too busy hosting!
Sugar Town is Sat., Jan. 29, 6 p.m., $7, Tritone, 1508 South St., 215-545-0475, tritonebar.com.
Set List:
6 p.m. doors
7-7:15 p.m.
Sinead O'Connor (Emily Ana Zeitlyn of The Weeds)
7:30-07:45 p.m.
Bettie Serveert (The Beloved Infidels)
8-8:15 p.m.
The Pretenders (KeN)
8:30-8:45 p.m.
The Pandoras (The Tulanes featuring Hope Diamond of Thee Minks, Gloria Gee of the Sickidz, Ben Brower, and Tom Connors of Mondo Topless)
9-9:15 p.m.
Garbage (acoustic tribute by Sierra Hurtt, Peter Marinari, and Daniel Dillon)
9:30-9:45 p.m.
Jefferson Airplane (Dear Althea)
10-10:15 p.m.
Electrelane (Nikki Karam of Girls Rock Philly, John Robert Pettit of Make A Rising, Tracy Levesque of Yikes Inc and Girls Rock Philly and Erica Rubin a 16 year-old Girls Rock Philly camper)
10:30-10:45 p.m.
Liliput (The Lopez)
11-11:15 p.m.
Cyndi Lauper (Betty Iron Thumbs)
11:30-11:45 p.m.
The Go-Go's (Lust 2 Love featuring Girl About Town's Carly Marcoux and Royce Epstein, WPRB's Maria T, Fringe Salon's Roberta Briggs and others)
midnight-12:15 a.m.
Blondie (Cris Valkryria & The Opponents)
12:30-12:45 a.m.
Hole (Girls Dressed As Girls featuring Camae Defstar of Mighty Paradocs and host of Tritone's monthly Rockers)
1-1:15 a.m.
B-52's (Jen Rice of Red Skate Red and The Celebs)
