L.A. ROCKERS TARAH WHO? – INTERVIEW & ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
L.A. Rockers Tarah Who? on Making the Cathartic, Angst-Ridden ‘Push Me,’ and Calling out Sexism and Bias Within the Music Industry
Sitting in front of her arsenal of instruments — at least a dozen electric, bass, and acoustic guitars — Tarah Carpenter, LA rock duo Tarah Who?’s frontwoman, is fired up about the sexism and elitism that’s rampant within the music industry.
I’m hanging on her every word, nodding my head throughout the three-way Zoom call with Tarah and her bandmate, drummer Coralie (Coco) Hervé. The conversation is taking me back to the second-wave feminism of the’90s, an era that fueled the careers of Alanis Morrisette, Courtney Love, and other outspoken, unapologetically loud women rockers.
“We want to be heard and raise awareness,” Tarah, who grew up in Paris, tells me. “We want to tell the listener, ‘hey! Go out and listen to other artists. Just because major artists are getting all the attention doesn’t mean you aren’t supposed to listen to independent artists at local shows.”
Her angst is the connective tissue that runs through much the band’s more recent material, including the punk standards like “Pay to Play” and “Swallow that Pill.” But her biggest frustration is with the American Recording Academy, and the lack of female nominees in the ‘Best Rock Album’ Grammy category. Although guitar slayer Nita Strauss recently hit #1 on Mediabase Active Rock Chart with her song “Dead Inside,” and bands like The Pretty Reckless and Evanescence are churning out epic rock songs every month, the most recognized music awards institution doesn’t seem to notice.
Unfortunately, the Grammys diss is reflective of a larger problem. It’s 2022, yet still next to impossible for female artists to break through the rock n’ roll glass ceiling. Rarely do rock-radio stations feature more than one female-fronted act per 30-minute time block. Tour organizers and promoters also exhibit internalized sexism. Think about it: How many female-led or women-infused acts headlined the Warped Tour? How many are asked to tour with Green Day?
The more I chat with Tarah and Coco, the more I feel the bubbling desire smash things like Tarah does in the video for “PANTOMATH,” wielding a bat in the desert before riding off with a biker gang. It’s glorious and so cathartic. Watching it reminded me of seeing The Lunachicks, my favorite NYC all-women punk band, in the early ’00s.
Tarah Who?’s “Push Me,” video with Yur Mum is even more badass. It starts off TW’s signature guttural guitar-and-drums assault, then segues into a trippy pre-chorus, visually awash in hot pink lighting, tropical vintage décor, and a symbolic Hollywood sign in the backdrop. But just when you think it’s all fun and games, the smashing commences. As it should! We’re sick of the establishment elevating already-famous dudes. We’ve been pushed too far.
But Tarah and Coco can say these things better than me. Here’s what they recently shared about their music, and their hopes for independent artists everywhere.
AMP: I can’t believe I’d never heard Tarah Who? until now. How did you get started?
Coco: We are both from France, but we met in LA on Facebook. I messaged her and I said, ‘hey, do you have tips for me living in LA,’ and in June 2017, Tarah was like, ‘I’m doing the release of our new EP,’ so I went and she actually told me she was looking for a drummer.
Tarah: I’m originally from Paris and I started as a drummer, actually. Also, I play the bass too. The guitar is just a tool for me to write.
AMP: How is the LA music scene different than Paris?
Tarah: French rock — French rock, punk and metal — is a very different sound than what people are used to hearing in UK punk and California punk. I was more attracted to English-language punk.
The culture in France, in Paris, is very different, too. So when I’d say, ‘I want to play music,’ people would say, ‘yeah, but what do you really want to be?” And in my experience, as a woman — and keep in mind, Coco and I have 10 years age difference, and she had a different experience — when I would go into a music store, it was like, ‘where’s your boyfriend?’ When I moved to LA it wasn’t like that.
Coco: It was really different when I arrived here and started playing gigs. So my music life is mostly here in the U.S., I never had any problem really.
AMP: Can we talk about your gear?
Coco: On stage, I play a PDP drum kit, I love it. I use TRX cymbals, and an Axis kick pedal. The snare I play is a Maypex Black Panther, and I use Los Cabos drumsticks.
Tarah: I use Blackstar amp — and what I love about them is their amps have a natural distortion. I have pedals but I just want to plug in and play, and it has a lower end and it’s pretty aggressive for what we do. I love my Fender Jaguar … and when I do palm muting it has great. I also have a Fender Telecaster with custom pickups.
AMP: I love ‘Push Me,’ your new song and video with YUR MUM. It’s like listening to L7. Can you tell us the story of how you produced that one?
Tarah: Basically, the song is about how there are so many female players, but we’re not being represented, still, after how hard we work! Look at the Grammy nominations of 2022… there’s women like Olivia Rodrigo in pop, but the Grammys don’t reflect the reality that there are ton of women in music, and especially rock music. ‘Push me’ is about independent bands working really hard to fit the music criteria of today, but still not being noticed for their music.
It came together because YUR MUM was playing South by Southwest in 2018 and contacted us because they were playing there for the first time. And the second they met us, we felt like we’ve known them for a long time. It’s not my first instinct collaborate with anyone, but I really wanted to work on something with them, so I said, ‘hey do you have any ideas?’ They had a few tracks they didn’t know what to do with … and we combined our ideas and that’s ‘Push me.’
AMP: What’s your hope for the song?
Tarah: We want to be heard and raise awareness. We want to tell the listener, ‘hey! Go out and listen toéè other artists. Just because major artists are getting all the attention doesn’t mean you aren’t supposed to listen to independent artists at local shows.’ We work so hard and we try to do the things the right way — have a decent music video and a decent recording … and when no one wants to listen, it’s very frustrating.
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