The Trans Music Podcast

Back in October, I went on a little road trip to Washington DC. Whenever I travel now, I reach out to local trans musicians and see if they want to be interviewed for the podcast. Sammy Gagnon, who plays under the band name Sammy Heck and runs the DIY label Deep Sea Records, drove all the way down from Baltimore to meet me for this interview. We talked about how she got into the DIY scene, what Guitar Center is like as a trans woman, and cracking eggs. 

Read more on our website: https://transmusic.org/post/183206262037/sammy-heck-egg-cracker  

More information about Kanautica:

Kanautica Zayre Brown is a Black trans woman who has been denied transfer to a women’s facility. You can read more about her story on The Root. 

I know that most of the people reading this right now are trans, and trans people generally hate phone calls. It’s also scary if you don’t know who’s going to be on the other end. But we’ve gotta stand up for each other y’all. If we don’t, who will? And if you want to send her some money, she and her husband Dionne’s cash app is $007db. 

Example script: 

“I’m calling to demand that you transfer Kanautica Zayre-Brown (inmate number 0618705) to a women’s prison in accordance with her wishes, the Prison Rape Elimination Act, and The U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons Transgender Offender Manual. Kanautica needs to be moved to a women’s facility to affirm her identity and ensure her rights and safety" 

More numbers to call: 

Harnett County Sherriff’s Office: (910) 893 8111 

Harnett Correctional Institution: (910) 893 2751 

NC Department of Corrections: (919) 838 4000 

NC Department of Public Safety: (919) 733 2126

Audrey Ayers used to play lead guitar for emo rockers the Mineral Girls, and has a new solo project called Problem Addict. I got to talk with her recently when I was in Charlotte, NC visiting my dad.

The thing I liked most about this interview is that her whole deal as both an artist and person is facing your mistakes and your power head on. Read the transcript and see the pictures: https://durhambeat.com/2019/02/18/artist-profile-audrey-ayers/ 

I went to visit Sinclair at their little cabin by a creek in Hillsboro, North Carolina. We talked about their bands, their post-graduation plans, and then got really, really deep into a conversation about cultural appropriation in music. 

Read their profile on the Durham Beat: https://durhambeat.com/2019/02/12/artist-profile-sinclair-palmer/ 

Asa Coaxum is a dancer and rapper who lives in Durham North Carolina. I interviewed her recently and we talked about her new album, how she got her start in the local dance scene, and how Azaelia Banks introduced her to Santeria.

This profile is a collaboration with the Durham Beat. Read the interview transcript and see the photos I took of Asa at: https://durhambeat.com/category/artistprofiles/ 

Back in September, before I learned how to properly use my microphone, I got to speak with two members of the HIRS collective, a thrashy grindcore band from Philadelphia, when they came through North Carolina on tour. We talked about their organizational philosophy, tokenization in punk, and using violent music as an outlet in a violent world. 

Read more and see photos on our website: https://transmusic.org/ 

Learn more about the HIRS Collective: http://hirs666.com/ 

Do you know that Robyn song, Call Your Girlfriend? Well for a long time, I thought it was written by this week’s guest, A.W. Weiss, because their cover of the song is just so great.

I’ve listened to A.W.’s music for a long time, so I was so excited that I had the opportunity to interview them when they stopped in Chapel Hill, North Carolina on their living room tour a couple months ago. We talked about their new sound, their new country music project, and transitioning as an already-famous person. 

Read the transcript and see photos over on the website: https://transmusic.org/post/182176837817/aw-weiss-on-living-room-tours-their-dead-name 

If you’ve been to any of Raleigh, North Carolina's queer venues, or a local punk show with more than two women in it, or any Girls Rock NC event in the last three years, you’ve probably come across Kae Diaz. Kae is a singer, a drummer, a ukulele player, a bartender, a photographer, and in general a pillar of the local queer DIY scene. They play the electric ukulele and drums in an indie rock project called Fruit Snack, and as it happens, we are actually currently both in a punk country band called Severed Fingers. I recently went to visit Kae and talk about finding collaborators, what the music scene is like in the Mojave desert where they grew up, and the challenges of creating a space for the art you want to see.

Just a warning, we do mention alcohol and some other, mostly fun, adult topics.

This profile is a collaboration with the Durham Beat. Read the full interview transcript and see photos that I took of Kae at home over on their website: https://durhambeat.com/2019/01/13/artist-profile-kae-diaz/ 

Miira Cide is a death metal musician and producer originally from Wendell, North Carolina. If you’re wondering what the death metal scene is like in Wendell, North Carolina, it’s apparently so terrible that she had to teach herself every instrument in order to get a project going. Since 2012, she has released 19 albums and singles under her solo moniker Codex Obscura, screaming over tracks she produces all on her own.

Luckily, she moved to Raleigh last year and has been able to join other local metal projects like Birth the Wretched and Slipcast. Back in August, I visited her home in Raleigh to talk about her bands, her growth as an artist, and where all the anger comes from.

This profile is a collaboration with the Durham Beat. Read the interview, get streaming links, and see photos of Miira's home studio at: https://durhambeat.com/2019/01/06/artist-profile-miira-cide/ 

Visit our website: http://transmusic.org 

In this episode, Riley talks about the idea behind the Trans Music podcast, what inspired them to start the trans music blog, and all the amazing people who helped them along the way. Plus, at the end of the episode there are funny outtakes from the first season. 

Explore the art, work, lives and politics of your favorite transgender musicians. Don't have a favorite trans musician? This is where you get one. Hosted by Riley from transmusic.org. Episodes on Sundays for the next 12 weeks.