Punk has been dominated by men since it first got introduced to society. The women who partook in the lifestyle were viewed as unruly, due to the gender normality that was broken. In a world that has many restrictions as to what women can and can’t do, the rebellion seen in art has become penetrable.
With a government that seems to hate us, and many house show venues in the Philadelphia scene becoming more unsafe for community members, now is the time to stand up and fight. Artists, both big and small, have been using their art to represent those who are not.
Despite being new to the scene, the Philadelphia-based band Pieces of Pluto are a force to be reckoned with. Their Valentine’s Day show at the West Philly venue, Silver Age, was packed shoulder to shoulder, bodies moving everywhere in the pit. By the end, their merch table was nearly wiped clean.
Consisting of singer Nyah Khan, guitarists Gabi Ruiz and Alaina Martin, bassist Liv DaSilva and drummer Mia Nagy, the quintet is navigating a male-dominated rock music space as a female and queer group.
Being sophomores at Drexel University, now was their time to explore their passions and interests. Music was always a prominent part of their lives, making it an easy decision to get involved in the DIY community. Prior to the formation of the band, many of the members experimented with other bands.
“All the guys I was talking to in the music industry at Drexel were not fun to be around, and it dulled my sparkle,” Khan states. Something that once brought enjoyment and allowed Khan to have fun and express creativity slowly became unappealing.
After the realization that working alongside men would not allow her to achieve her goal, Khan found herself at an event alongside DaSilva. The idea of creating their own band came up in conversation, and, shortly after, a Canva flyer was posted to their social media accounts. Martin and Ruiz, two of the many who were interested in the flyer, were quick to join because of their familiarity with a wide range of instruments. After their first few practices, their now ex-keyboardist introduced Nagy to the group, which led to them finalizing their lineup.
From loving riot grrrl and rock music to performing in School of Rock in their hometowns during their teen years, it was easy for the group to figure out which direction they wanted to go. Adding elements from each member’s musical upbringing and collaborating helped Pieces of Pluto find their grungy, instrumental-heavy sound with campy lyrics. Their energetic and explosive stage presence is similar to many other rock bands in the scene, yet the view the audiences have of them is completely different. The band has jumped numerous hurdles to get where they are now.
The early shows in their career had given them a name for themselves. Being the outlier, many people took notice quickly, and although there were mixed reviews, a few were open with their negative opinions–to the point where some would try to tamper with their performance. “There was this show we played with three other bands that had two sound people,” Martin said. “All of the other bands got the more experienced guy, and then for some reason we had the guy who was less experienced.”
Throughout that performance, the audience and the band members realized that their vocals were significantly lower than they should have been compared to the other bands playing.
“The thing is that this kid is notorious for fucking up the mixes for bands that he doesn’t like,” Nagy said.
Instead of letting the negativity get the best of them, Pieces of Pluto has come to embrace it. “At this point, it’s kind of fun. I don’t know if that’s crazy, but it’s kind of fun to be a standout,” Khan confessed.
The band knows that they are something many people don’t often see.
From Sabrina Carpenter to Charli XCX and Chappell Roan, the music scene is currently dominated by women claiming their femininity and society is loving it. Seeing fellow queer artists be successful in mainstream music drives the band to keep going. As a queer people of color band, they hope to have a similar effect on other women in the music scene.
“We have gotten a comment [on TikTok] saying that seeing a South Asian lead singer meant a lot to them,” Khan said. “We are just this college band and it’s really cool.”
But being a group that stands out sometimes leads to attention for the wrong reason. After one of their shows, a member of the audience took to Fizz, an anonymous chat log for users in a nearby area, and posted, “Pieces of Pluto killed it tonight.” Another user commented: “I need the guitarist and the drummer so bad.” It gained a total of 593 likes.
“I’m in another band with three men, and I’m the only girl,” Ruiz said. “Every time we perform live someone will come up and be like, ‘Oh my God, you are like Paramore, you are like Hayley Williams.’”
The group agrees that people never seem to want to talk to them about their music. Often, they simply get off the stage and carry on with their night. Though as time went on, and more performances were done, that changed for the band.
Sexism is still alive and will always be alive. The only thing that can be done is for people to continue to be shamelessly themselves and engage in the passions that ignite a spark. Aside from criticism, navigating the scene as self-taught rock musicians has opened the door for pride. If being the only rock band at Drexel University with more than one female presenting member is what they are known for, why not embrace it?
With the underground rock scene being so big and the band being based in a small part of a small corner in the community, it is unknown if they will see a real difference in the treatment of women. Compared to last year, the comments they received from others had improved, causing Pieces of Pluto to feel more comfortable and enjoy performing more.
Pieces of Pluto agree that they got lucky. Something that started as an idea turned into a close group of friends. The band knows that their journey has been crazy and difficult, but they could not imagine doing this with anybody else.
