For the longest time, women have been criticized for their femininity. Since pre-k, the “girly girls” have been made fun of for choosing pink as a favorite color, because “all girls like pink.” We’ve pushed to differentiate ourselves from the so-called “other girls,” because there we’ve found some inherent weakness in natural femininity. This push for differentiation caused a mass of women to put down other women for doing the things that they enjoy, just because these things are stereotypically girlish.
But things have shifted to change.
The first instance - at least that I can recall - is Elle Woods in Legally Blonde. She proved that a woman can be smart, strong, and worthy of greatness, while still embracing a divine feminine; adorned head to toe in pink, and utilizing her knowledge of both cosmetology and law to solve a case. She broke the mold, befriending the girl who initially put her down for her femininity, proving herself as both feminine and strong.
Elle Woods was before her time teaching young women to embrace themselves as “like other girls,” and feel no shame or weakness in the things that they love.
Since then, we’ve made slow steps toward finding power in femininity. Music and movies have been geared more towards female empowerment - with artists like Doja Cat and Cardi B creating masculine styles of rap with feminine lyrics that empower women. Female artists as a whole have started to acknowledge that other women aren’t the root of their problems and that we all deserve to experience love and celebration. In Taylor Swift’s new release All Of The Girls You Loved Before, she thanks her current lover’s exes, acknowledging what they were able to teach him instead of putting them down.
The overall mindset has changed. We are being taught by each other to uplift, instead of convinced by the male-dominated media to bring each other down. The body positivity movement has been largely important to this change, as we’re taught to see beauty in everyone instead of latching onto insecurities and bringing other women down because of them.
We’ve learned that we find strength and greater accomplishment in a web of women who are empowered by what connects us, instead of all using our differences to separately tear each other apart to try to get ahead.
Reggaelar People: (From L to R) Garret Grube, Brandon Gratta, Justin Gratta, Vinny Dragonette by Cody Williams
Reggaelar People are a band that brings the sounds of reggae music to life with their soulful melodies, groovy beats, and positive messages. Their music has captivated audiences around the city with their infectious rhythm and catchy lyrics. With a unique blend of traditional reggae influences and an alt-rock musical style, Reggaelar People are making a name for themselves as their song, "Shawty Left Me", has amassed over ten thousand streams on Spotify. The group has released two songs with a few more in the making, and has performed at numerous venues, winning over fans with their authentic sound and dynamic live performances.
But what sets Reggaelar People apart is their commitment to spreading a message of love, peace, and unity through their art. The tunes serve as a beacon of hope for people of all ages and backgrounds, inspiring them to come together and celebrate the power of music.
Enjoy as we take a dive into the world of Reggaelar People, and get to know the band members behind the music that has touched the hearts of many.
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What's the story behind the band forming?
Brandon: It started with just having the desire. We joined a pop punk band in high school called Anything Goes. I didn’t even play an instrument then. I just tried to sing because I always admired the frontmen in rock acts. I started to play a bit of guitar and as we got older, we toyed around with different genres, and I found a home with reggae-rock after Justin introduced me to some bands. That lit the fire for us to pick up our instruments and develop our songwriting more which turned into the first song we ever made together, “Shawty Left Me”. Justin and I had played in some other side projects around the same time in 2015 and realized we weren’t interested in making music that we didn’t love anymore, so we doubled down on playing Reggae. We haven’t looked back since.
How is it being in a band with your brother?
Justin: Yeah, Reggaelar People always kind of existed. It’s a band that was formed over many years playing stuff with my brother, Brandon, and then we started writing little hooks and verses and they just kind of lived in our minds for 3+ years before we ended up playing any of our stuff for people regularly. Something is rewarding about making something out of nothing with another person whose goals and tastes are almost perfectly in line with your own. Post lockdown we just didn’t have any excuse to not be playing for others and getting better at our craft. We moved in together and that’s when Garrett came along and Vinny jumped on board – the rest is all still happening.
(From L to R) Justin and Brandon Gratta by Cody Williams
What's the story behind your new single coming out, Bonfire?
Brandon: We really started coming into our own musically during lockdown, playing and practicing religiously. It didn’t feel like a stretch to call ourselves musicians anymore. This was our first attempt at composing a song after all the hard work. Channeling what we learned musically with positive energy, the idea of having a party on the beach with all our best friends suddenly took over, and we started thinking of some of our nights having bonfires and stumbling home with friends and family in Montauk. We’ve been visiting yearly since we were in diapers, so we definitely took from personal experience there – but really, we feel like everyone can relate to hanging together with all the people you love, partying around a fire.
How would you describe the music you’re working on now?
Vinny: I would describe it as emotional and relatable. The stuff we write comes from a real place in each of us and ends up forming something awesome when we all bring those pieces together.
Justin: I’d call it real, I guess? I just feel like times are hard all around, so we try to play our party songs about celebrating with as much intensity as the songs about mental illness or having to work through difficult things in our lives.
Garrett: In one word: fun. To me, our music is about realizing the best things in life are free and they should be enjoyed. Spend more time with your family, and friends and if you just happen to be on a beach somewhere, with the tunes cranked up and a case of cold Narragansett, well you’re doing something right.
(From L to R) Garret Grube, Brandon Gratta, Justin Gratta, Vinny Dragonette by Cody Williams
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Garrett is right. A while back, I reached out and asked to take pictures at their show. They agreed, and Brandon was nice enough to pay for my ticket, so I knew I had to do a good job. Let me tell you; they killed it.
The atmosphere was amazing. The crowd was super engaged and dancing along to the music, and it just felt like the perfect mix of a house/bar show. The lively show went on for around an hour and played their classic songs, iconic hits, as well as their new single, Bonfire, which the crowd could not get enough of. In fact, they played one more song after the crowd screamed for an encore.
Reggaelar People at the Cutting Room by Mark Bluemle
Their next show is taking place April First at Bowery Electric, and I would highly suggest going if you are looking for something fun to do.
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Who or what is your biggest music inspiration?
Brandon: Alt-Rock baby, Reggae-Rock adult. Linkin Park and The Killers inspired me to get behind a microphone and to pick up a guitar. Right now though, I’d have to say The Dirty Heads. They got me hooked on the Reggae-Rock genre and renewed my love of playing music.
Garrett: Travis Barker (pre-Kourtney Kardashian era). He treats the drums like lead guitar and isn’t okay with just taking a backseat which is a mentality I bring to my playing.. The drums on Enema of the State specifically always inspired me. I learned, and ripped-off, a lot of those parts over the years. They are just so straightforward and yet creative at the same time. He really hits the drums, man
Vinny: I take everything I’ve ever heard as an inspiration. Sometimes it can sound like other bands or artists but I just try to sound like me and play what’s in my head.
What movie or show would you want your music in?
Vinny: A remake of Weekend at Bernie’s called Weekend at Vinny’s where I’m dead at a beach house but Justin, Brandon, and Garrett try to keep an awesome party going. We can play our music in every scene, plus it would also be hilarious.
Garrett: The inevitable beach volleyball scene if they ever make a third Top Gun.
Justin: The Last of Us. I’d probably want them to play like 9 seconds of “Bonfire” at a pretty intense part and make no mention of why they decided to do that, and see if it could drive more traffic towards us as we release more songs.
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As you can see, these guys have such a positive energy surrounding them, and I can't wait to see what's in store for this crew and hear the new music coming out. Their new single, Bonfire,will be out tomorrow, March 17th, just in time for your Saint Patricks Day celebrations.
In the fictional world of Taylor Jenkins Reid and Prime Video, Daisy Jones & The Six were taking over the music industry, but even the biggest band in the world has to start from somewhere. At the end of episode one of Daisy Jones & The Six, we see The Six packing up their things and moving from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles to make their dreams come true. The Six consists of Billy Dunne, Graham Dunne, Karen Sirko, Warren Rojas, Eddie Roundtree, and Camila Dunne, who is not actually in the band, but she is Billy’s wife and does a lot for them. We also see Daisy Jones already in L.A., who has just found her voice and is ready to make herself known.
Episode two starts out with The Six appearing on Rod Reyes’s doorstep in L.A. asking for help to get them off the ground. Reyes is a prominent figure in the music industry and becomes Daisy Jones & The Six’s tour manager later on. Rod gets them a residency at a bar on the Sunset Strip, but even after months of playing shows at this bar, they still don’t get anywhere. At the same time, Daisy Jones performs a song at her friend Simone Jackson’s concert, where Teddy Price takes notice of her. Teddy Price is a very popular record producer in this world, and everyone wants to work with him, especially The Six. While Daisy rejects Teddy’s offer to work together, Billy runs into Teddy at a store and begs him to give The Six a listen. Teddy eventually agrees, and when he comes into the studio to check them out, he is blown away and immediately starts working with them. Things are going great for a bit, but then Camila gets pregnant, and Billy starts spiraling. He is not ready to be a dad, so he turns to alcohol, drugs, and sleeping with other people. All of this starts affecting his performances negatively, and when Camila is in labor, he refuses to go meet his daughter because he doesn’t want to meet her while he is in a terrible state. At the end of the episode, we see Teddy driving him to rehab, and the whole band takes a hiatus from performing.
At the beginning of episode 3, we see Billy coming home from rehab, and he reveals to Graham that he doesn’t want to be a part of the band anymore because he has to be with his family. As the rest of the band tries to find a replacement for Billy, Camila convinces Billy to not give up on the band, and he ends up rejoining the band and continues writing songs. Billy shows one of the songs to Teddy, but since it has been a while since they released any music, a lot of bands have the same sound as The Six now, and he isn’t sure if the label will like it. Teddy was correct – the label didn’t like it – and they kept saying that there is something missing from the song. Teddy plays the song for Daisy and asks what she would do to make it better, and Teddy realizes that the song needs Daisy on it to make it better.
The next scene is a pivotal moment for all book readers; this is the scene where Daisy and Billy meet for the first time to record the song, which is titled “Look At Us Now (Honeycomb).” I especially love this scene because the music grows in a crescendo when Daisy and Billy are about to meet, and it comes to a stop when they lock eyes for the very first time. However, they do not get along right away. Billy wants to do the song one way, and Daisy wants to do the song another way. Eventually, they agree to do the song Daisy’s way, and it works perfectly, but Billy is too stubborn to admit that her way is the better way. At the end of the episode, we see Billy telling Camila that this day was a nightmare, and then it cuts to Daisy telling Simone that this was one of the best days of her life.
Sam Claflin (Billy Dunne) and Riley Keough’s (Daisy Jones) chemistry is off the charts. While they are singing “Look At Us Now (Honeycomb)” together as Billy and Daisy, you can feel the tension between them through your screen. They are so perfect for their characters, and it blows my mind that they couldn’t sing before this show because they are extremely talented. I loved these two episodes because all of this build up has been leading up to Daisy and Billy meeting, and you know that from now on, everything is going to change.
The first six episodes of Daisy Jones & The Six are now streaming on Prime Video, and the next two episodes will premiere on March 17th, followed by the last two episodes on March 24th!
Written by Emily Savona
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