FeMaLe GeNiuS in the recording studio/rehearsal space. L-R: Nikki D’Agostino, Marnie Jaffe, Julie Hair.
East Village band releases new album that
highlights the talents of all three members
BY BOB KRASNER
The band is called FeMaLe GeNiuS,
but Julie Hair, one third of the
group, makes it a point to note
that the ‘female’ appellation can be a
troublesome one.
“For me, it’s a reminder that we
shouldn’t have to qualify something as
a ‘female’ accomplishment,” she opines.
“It should just be ‘genius’. She adds that
much of the world, in particular the music
business, is still male-dominated.”
Also comprising Marnie Jaffe and
Nikki D’Agostino, the group has just
released their fi rst album. Hair is playing
percussion, synthesizer and singing, Jaffe
is on vocals and guitar with D’Agostino
on saxophone and keyboards.
Hair and Jaffe are veterans of the scene,
having played in 3 Teens Kill 4 (Hair) and
Live Skull (both) in the 80’s, two bands
that made a lot of noise (literally, at times)
in the East Village post-punk scene but
did not achieve commercial success.
D’Agostino, an avant-garde composer
who teaches music technology, went from
being a fan of the original FG two-piece
to becoming an integral part of the band,
having seen the group perform as a duo
early on.
“I was friends with Julie when I went
to see them perform,” recalls D’Agostino.
“I was just smiling the whole time! They
were so powerful but fun and loose too. It
was really artistic and emotional.”
Jaffe and Hair later invited her to play on
a number and it worked out so well that she
never left. “Nikki’s sax adds a whole other
dimension to the band,” says Jaffe.
The combo is a three way collaboration
when it comes to writing songs, with
some compositions beginning with one
member’s idea and some generated from
studio jams.
“That’s my favorite way to work,” admits
Hair. “Our philosophy is to function
as a unit, not singling out who did more
or less.”
“These women are so creatively inspiring,”
muses Jaffe. “It’s hard to be doing
something that’s different from everyone
else, but it’s empowering.”
All three members have other projects
going – Julie is in the Isolation Society,
Marnie in Live Skull and Nikki with the
Art Gray Noizz Quintet, Vestments, And
the Wiremen and Ohm Slice, but FeMaLe
GeNiuS feels like it may be the most personal.
Raw lyrics delivered with restrained
cool blend with minimal keyboards, drum
machine beats, spooky guitar, insistent
PHOTOS BY BOB KRASNER
bass and atmospheric sax in a way that is
accessible but uncompromising.
“Our own experiences are going into
these songs,” explains Hair. “We’ve chosen
to do something that is more personal
and feminine. What we’re trying to do is
give people something that they might not
know that they need or want but leaves
them fulfi lled.”
Some things have changed for Hair
since she fi rst picked up a drum machine
in the scrappy early days of 3TK4 – a pioneering
post-punk experiment that didn’t
easily fi t into any established genre – and
some things have stayed the same.
“FeMaLe GeNiuS is all very DIY,” she
explains. “This record was recorded in
my basement studio and I still feel like we
don’t fi t into any specifi c genre.”
While the city and its music scene is a
different place than the NYC of the early
80’s, Jaffe notes that “what remains the
same is fi nding clarity of purpose with
your music.”
Jane Friedman, director of the Howl!
Happening gallery and the new Howl!
Arts/Howl! Archive, apparently didn’t
have enough to keep her busy, so she
decided to start a record label – Howl!
Records. The fi rst release, recorded in a
basement studio/rehearsal space, is the
limited edition FeMaLe GeNiuS album,
with 300 hand-numbered red vinyl lp’s
available.
“I love Julie, her vocals and her compositions,”
notes Friedman. “And I think
it’s a great record.”
D’Agostino feels the same.
“I’m thrilled that the record is being released!”
she exclaims. “It really captures
our personalities – It’s very true.”
Jaffe, who is very proud of her work
on the project, knows what it takes to
succeed on the artistic front: “You have
to be good, and you have to do the work.”
“It’s really hard to be objective about
my music,” admits Hair, but she knows
that she’s on the right track when a
woman came up to her crying after a
performance. “Although we want to make
music that women will relate to, we do
want to appeal to everyone. We want
people to stop, take a breath and listen.”
Follow the band at @female_genius_
nyc on Instagram. A record release party,
including a performance by the band,
will be at the Howl! Gallery on Saturday,
Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. You can listen to the
new lp on Spotify and Bandcamp.com
In the window of their rehearsal space, with a cross that was reclaimed
from a destroyed church. L-R: Julie Hair, Marnie Jaffe, Nikki D’Agostino.
Schneps Mediia November 11, 2021 19
/Bandcamp.com
