Gritty Girl Power

By: Adam Grant

To check the Sinkin' Ships track "Breakdown," press CTRL + the link below:

http://www.sinkinships.com/music/sinkin%27ships-breakdown.mp3

"After our ears started hurting, we'd leave and go to the bars and hang out," explains Sinkin' Ships front woman Naomi Allan when reflecting on her band's 2005 recording experience for the album All Signs Are Wrong.

 Having been a veteran of the punk rock world since the age of 20, Allan, now 31, has been working a long time to get to this point.  After dissolving her previous band, 2 Pump Louie, Allan, as well as fellow former 2PL member/guitarist, Jamey "Cactus" Vella, would set their sights and sails toward what would become Sinkin' Ships in 2002.

 After a limited edition EP called No Time made its way to the public in 2004, the band would put forth Mayday shortly thereafter.  So when it came time to put together All Signs Are Wrong, they enlisted elite Toronto area producer Rob Sanzo (who has worked with such major label artists as Sum 41 and Danko Jones) to turn the knobs on this particular project.

 Not only did his presence allow the quintet the opportunity to have a true professional working on their behalf, but it also allowed them to build a punk rock sound that while still accessible in dirty rock clubs, could eventually do well within some radio formats.  So while that may not fit in with what some critics or fans may consider to be 'punk rock ideals,' Allan is secure with her own musical motives, as well as her band's.

"I know who I am, so I don't worry that I'm going to compromise anything - I would rather be open to more people," she believes.  "We all work shitty jobs here and there, so who am I selling myself out more for?  Getting up to work at 6 o'clock in the morning and putting a smile on my face for 12-15 hours, or when I get up and do what I want to do everyday?

"There are a lot of really good bands out there, and I don't feel like you really have to compromise that much to get heard.  I think it's a question of luck, and people putting themselves behind you."

 Now surrounded by, Vella, guitarist Mark Harpur, bassist Mike Hawco, and drummer Mike Kearns, Allan has a solid, male, punk rock band that's got her back - but it hasn't always been that way.  Growing up within the GTA, and gigging around that area as well as New York, she has seen the ups and downs for women within a scene known for mohawks, tattoos, and toughness. 

 However, with the recent emergence of mainstream female fronted acts like The Distillers and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the tide is slowly turning in an effeminately encouraging kind of way.

"In terms of being a girl, I've always found that there weren't enough strong, female singers or writers - I want the girls to have someone to look up to, or to have them come out to a show and feel like they're not a coat hook or something," says Allan.

"That was the way I felt when I first started hanging out around a lot of punk guys in the '90's, and when I was in high school.  When I used to get up on stage, (the crowd) still actually did say, 'take off your shirt.'  They don't do that anymore, there's a lot more girls in the audience and those throw back guys aren't around, and (shows are) a more welcoming place for girls."