OUTFOXING THE CRITICS WITH STYLE
Vulpynes have been kicking up a glorious racket on the local music scene for just over four years now. Drummer Kaz Millar and singer/ guitarist Maeve ‘Molly’ McKernan are a two-piece powerhouse playing hard rock music nodding to punk, grunge and the riot grrrl bands of the nineties.
They play the Extra Sessions on Extra.ie this Thursday and that is just the latest milestone in a career, which, so far has been marked by constant forward momentum. They hit the ground running with the singles O.C.D., Silica, Two Cents and Bitches Are Like Waves. The Dye Me Red EP featured on many 2019 Best Of lists.
The name Vulpynes came through Molly’s love of foxes.
They are both vegetarians and one of their songs, The Hunt, voices their abhorrence of fox-hunting.
They have played festivals all over Britain and Ireland and were due to play the Reading and Leeds festivals where two of their influences, Nirvana and Hole, featuring Courtney Love, delivered iconic performances.
Their single Sister was taken from their latest EP, the title of which could sum up the Dublin duo’s attitude to the music industry, Us Against Them.
However, the 20-something musicians (they avoided giving their age) are anxious, as Molly puts it, not to ‘feed into this narrative that we have been disadvantaged because we are women’ more that the music business is a hard, ruthless environment where the artist must work with players who respect their music and them as individuals and sustain those relationships.
‘Peter (Jones) from Paranoid Visions was very supportive of us from the beginning and we release our music on their label Advance Records,’ Molly says.
‘Some other labels, including a couple in the UK were interested but we thought, no we will stick with our friends.’
‘They’re people we trust,’ Kaz says.
‘The punk scene has been incredibly loyal to us,’ Molly continues.
‘They come to our gigs, buy our merch, they big us up online. It’s like a community and we didn’t want to drift out of that.’
Vulpynes formed in 2016 after Kaz placed an ad looking for a singer for her band.
‘We met through an ad on a website (Boards.ie). It might sound weird now but four years ago that was the go-to place if you wanted to find band members,’ Molly says. ‘I wanted to sing. Kaz’s ad was just looking for a singer and I liked all the bands she named (Hole, Garbage, Alice In Chains) and I thought, yeah, I’ll reply to that. I’d never replied to anyone’s ad before.’
The four-piece band which Molly joined dissolved but the two continued to work together.
‘We thought, how do we make this work? I had a guitar but I didn’t really want to play guitar to be honest,’ Molly says.
‘I kinda made her,’ Kaz says. ‘I thought if I have to play guitar, I’ll do it,’ Molly continues.
‘Initially she was shy about playing,’ Kaz recalls
‘Then the amp went up to 11 and I was like, “Wow OK!” .’
Like The White Stripes, Royal Blood and The Black Eyes such is the quality of Kaz and Molly’s musicianship, you never feel
‘I’ve had guys take the drumsticks off me and say “play like this”‘
watching them that they are lacking another element; the songs suit the dynamic, their dynamism sells the songs. However, they admit that a tiny number of less-enlightened beings have suggested ways to improve their abilities and approach.
‘Being a female drummer – and in a tiny minority of that number – I sometimes come up against other musicians, drummers, both male and female watching and listening really intently to decide if I can really play the drums,’ Kaz says.
‘I’ve actually had guys take the drumsticks off me and say, “no, you should play it like this.” ’
‘You will always experience sexism, no matter what you are doing; it’s not just in the music industry,’ Molly says.
‘I don’t feel we’ve ever been at a disadvantage because we are women. People think that women in music have each other’s backs, that there is some sorority but there isn’t. You will get scrutinised more by other women. We get dolled up to play.
‘We are feminine. Before we play, we get looked up and down. Often, they will come up afterwards and say: “J****s I didn’t expect you to be that heavy”. ’
■ Vulpynes’ EP, Us Against Them is out now.
■ Vulypynes play the Extra Sessions on Extra.ie on Thursday from 8pm