Top 20 Badass Frontwomen in Indie/Underground Music

Top 20 Badass Frontwomen in Indie/Underground Music
Mark E. Ortega
Grimygoods.com
March 24, 2016

There’s an almost infinite amount of killer women fronting bands these days. We’ve done our best to put together our list of our 20 favorite bad asses that currently front their own bands, while also including some of our favorite lesser-known acts that have the potential to grow into being some of the better known ones. We got some good insight from our readers via social media, as well as from our own staff. Here’s our list in no particular order.

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Hot Band Alert: No gimmick — Teenaged rockers Regrettes are completely for real

Hot Band Alert: No gimmick — Teenaged rockers Regrettes are completely for real
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
November 18, 2015

A couple of months ago, I saw a teenaged rock duo called Regrettes open up for Kate Nash at the Echo and was surprised at how competent and legitimate they were – even more-so after learning they were just fourteen years old. A gimmick guitarist Lydia Night and drummer Marlhy Murphy definitely are not.

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Burger A-Go-Go packs Observatory with girl power old and new

Burger A-Go-Go packs Observatory with girl power old and new
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
September 8, 2015

Saturday, I got to see a half-dozen female-fronted musical acts perform at Burger Records’ second-ever Burger-a-Go-Go at the Observatory in Santa Ana. The bill featured rock icons like Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth — but also featured a number of rising female musicians that are taking the baton and running with it, like Cherry Glazerr, Bleached, and Kate Nash.

I arrived at the Observatory around 5:30 PM, enough to catch the end of the Summer Twins‘ set. I had previously seen them open for Jenny Lewis at this same venue a few weeks ago and enjoyed them just as much this time. They turned in a very well-timed cover of No Doubt’s “Just a Girl” to wrap up their set before Kimya Dawson took the stage.

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Kate Nash shakes the Echo's 'Foundations' with killer set

Kate Nash shakes the Echo's 'Foundations' with killer set
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
September 4, 2015

Thursday at the Echo was the fourth time I’ve seen Kate Nash perform live and I have zero shame in that.

Though she’s known by most for the pop album she released eight years ago Made of Bricks, Nash has evolved as a musician into something entirely different altogether. She’s fused her catchy pop lyrics with rock ‘n’ roll and has an extremely talented band behind her that gives her even more credibility as a punk rock princess.

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The 20 Hottest Women in Indie Music (and then some)

The 20 Hottest Women in Indie Music (and then some)
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
February 18, 2015


As we noted in our 20 Hottest Men in Indie Music feature last month, it’s hard not to fall in love with a talented musician when they’re on stage giving you a memorable performance. Now it’s time to give the accomplished ladies their shine.

The 20 Hottest Women in Indie Music:

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Top 20 Favorite Shows of 2014

Top 20 Favorite Shows of 2014
Mark E. Ortega
Medium.com
December 27, 2014


Not counting music festivals, I managed to see exactly 100 live concerts in 2014. Previous to this year, I had seen in the ballpark of 25 concerts, I think? I couldn’t have ever expected to see this many shows, but thanks fo relocating to Los Angeles as well as picking up freelance work writing about music, I was able to make it to a shit ton of concerts. In August, I saw live music for seven straight days, something I wanted to do my whole life. I upstaged that by seeing shows 10 straight days in October, and all of a sudden in December, 100 seemed a realistic goal. I hit that mark with the Dec. 20 Saves the Day & Say Anything show at House of Blues on Sunset.

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Ten Best Live Cover Songs of 2014

Ten Best Live Cover Songs of 2014
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
December 1, 2014

Having been fortunate enough to see around 100 concerts in 2014, not to mention a good number of music festivals, I had the opportunity to see some musicians pull out some pretty bad ass covers during their live sets. After much deliberation, I’ve broken down my Top 10 for the year, which was no easy feat.

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M.I.A. brings house down with shimmering performance at The Shrine

M.I.A. brings house down with shimmering performance at The Shrine
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
May 30, 2013


Last night night, London’s M.I.A. brought the house down at the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall, overcoming the venue’s notoriously bad acoustics as she had the crowd moving their feet from the first moment.

The crowd started a chant of “M.I.A.! M.I.A.!” as they waited patiently. Finally, the British star made her way to the stage around 10:20 p.m. Dressed in what from a distance appeared to be a track suit spray painted in gold, M.I.A.’s stage had it all. From male dancers who were losing their sh*t to a crazy light show on stage, it felt like a big EDM DJ set without the overflow of “bros”. There wasn’t pushing and shoving to get to the front but rather everyone enjoying the moment together and dancing their asses off.

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Kate Nash makes new friends Friday at Coachella

Kate Nash makes new friends Friday at Coachella
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
April 19, 2014


Though her set started about five minutes late and also included a three-minute music video of sorts, once young Brit rocker Kate Nash got things going Friday early evening at Coachella, she hardly looked back.

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