With her new single Next To You being met with airtime success from the likes of Radio 1, Misty Miller is using her music to pave the way for women in the punk scene. Her Campus interviewed the 21 year old and no topic was off-limits: from armpit hair and girl squads to why women need to be acknowledged in the industry. Hi Misty! From listening to your music, you are definitely more Joan Jett than Avril Lavigne. How would you personally describe your sound?
It’s quite difficult to describe your sound as a musician as I feel it can kind of pigeon-hole you. I don’t know any band that is just one genre. All I can say is that it has elements of punk, blues, rock, quite poppy in some places – it’s music!
So you don’t aim to create a specific sound, then?
I write the songs on my acoustic guitar and the sound just come from the ethos I have, which is quite pop-punk – I guess! I like to talk more about my ethos and the kind of person I am and that comes through in my music, but it definitely varies depending on what the song is about. Style and genre come once the music has happened, and my style will keep changing as I keep changing. Having watched some of your older videos on Youtube, I noticed how different you looked and sounded. In what ways have you changed artistically from the girl you were at 15?
At 15, I didn’t really have any idea what I wanted to do; I can’t think of any 15 year old who does!, When I recorded my first album, I felt that it didn’t represent me and so I started moving on immediately. When the labels and managers started noticing me, they loved this ‘tweed’ little folk musician, and so I just ended up becoming that. As an artist I have definitely become a lot more confident in my own skin – that has helped me make the music I really want to make. A lot of people say I should go back the way I was. But, I was always that girl who has the same strong beliefs I have now. I just wasn’t fully grown – I am more ‘me’ now.
In an interview, you stated that you didn’t want to be ‘just another girl playing a guitar’. There is a stigma that girls who play the guitar simply strum along to a Taylor Swift song. How do you feel about that stigma? Is there truth in it?
Yeah, totally. I know that there are a lot of girl out there playing rock music, but as soon as a label gets there hands on them, they (the record label) don’t know what the fuck to do. Labels do the only thing they know and that is to make a girl Pop with a ‘pretty’ or ‘sexy’ image. Long gone are the days of Patty Smith and Christy Hynde – I want to bring that back. There needs to be a girl with some balls. I have made this album my way and have put my foot down. Being so firm does take its toll – I think it’s something that women face much more in the music industry than men. Why do you think that is?
Men can get away with being a lot more disheveled, and can be opinionated without ever being called a bitch. The way feminism is portrayed by female artists – such as Beyoncé – is still sexualised. Although you can call it feminism, it is still presented in a way men can understand, and doesn’t challenge perceptions of how women can look and act. So, when I go on stage and I’ve got hairy armpits, people really can’t deal with it; I want to keep challenging those people. But, at the same time, I don’t want it to be a ‘statement’ – I just want it to be more accepted by everyone.
We have heard the term ‘girl squad’ being thrown around in the entertainment industry. Do you feel that there is this need for female artists to stick together with the intention to ’empower’ one another; is that feminism in action?
Yes and no. You can’t forget the nature of being in the entertainment industry, and that is competition. Of course I want more female punk musicians! But I’ll admit that, as soon as I see one, I feel that competition – which is a natural and positive thing. Being a girl doesn’t mean that I’m going to like and be supportive of all girl musicians – I’ll judge them in the same way I would judge a guy. In saying that, I am all for emphasising women in the rock and punk music scene, such as ‘only-female nights’. People say if we want equality then we shouldn’t be treating women differently, but the fact of the matter is we have had centuries of only male artists. We need to put a magnifying glass on female rock musicians until it’s the norm. But, I’d like to think that, in 20 or 30 years’ time, we won’t need to anymore and it will just be accepted as producing equal work.
So, onto the final question, what do you have planned for the rest of this year, and what can we expect from you next year?
I’ve just finished my tour around the UK, and, in the new year, I will be releasing my album Sweet Nothing, which I’m really proud of. I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing, and not be changed and pigeon-holed by this industry. You can find Misty on:
Official Site: www.mistymiller.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mistymillermusic
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MistyMillerVEVO/about
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Misty_Miller
Edited by Helena Kelly
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