DANGER CAKES
The Danger Cakes are ready to rock your world with a fistful of doowappin, old school, heart pounding rock n roll with a slant six of riot grrl power charging their sound that will have you shaking to their beat. The Austin band have been tearing up the music world for seven years heading for a new year and more action with their energetic music having released two albums (Dessert First (Deep Eddy Records, 2012) and Quarter Life Crisis (Sugar Skull Media, 2015) and playing in most every major festival and event around including touring back and forth accross the United States and in Europe.
The Danger Cakes formed in 2010 with Jamie Bahr, Vocals/Upright Bass, Suna Wakem, Guitar/Backing Vocals, and Sarah Schiff on Drums.
There is also more to Danger Cakes than meet the eye and ears. For the last seven years, the ladies of Danger*Cakes have also been deeply involved with Girls Rock Austin, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to empowering women, girls, transgender, and non-binary, gender-fluid youth from all backgrounds and abilities, the band is organizing and leading the three Girls Rock Austin’s 2018 summer camp sessions.
Giving the inside dish on the band, Bahr said, “Danger*Cakes is an independent all-female band from Austin, Texas that defies clear cut genre labels. We just blew out the candles on our eighth year of rockin’ and we’ve accomplished quite a bit since our first show in 2010. Two albums, four EP’s plus the countless adventures touring through the United States and Europe, have given us more stories than we could have ever imagined. Being an all-female band in a man’s world isn’t easy. We’re constantly questioned as to why we choose to define our music by our gender. In comparison to how many bands are comprised solely of men, there are very few all-female bands out there. You hear fewer women’s voices in music in general on the radio and on TV. Female musicians and recording artists don’t get the same amount of opportunities, airplay, or even the same earnings as “all-male bands,” a term you might not be familiar with since most people just call them bands. And we’ll continue to identify ourselves by our gender as a badge of honor until we inspire as many female musicians to get out there and make some music together so that it’s no longer something out of the ordinary.”
“Danger*Cakes is a blend of Riot Grrrl soul, doo-wop and old school rock ‘n’ roll, seasoned with a little Swing and a dash of Rockabilly to taste. Some call us Psychobilly, others say Swing-Punk. Whatever you want to call it, our sound is quite the eclectic recipe.”
You can be sure that there is plenty in the works with Danger Cakes and to look forward to in the New Year. “We’re working on some new songs right now and would like to put out a few music videos to support the “Gloomy Girl” EP. For the song “Not Your Doll” we’re planning to enlist the help of some of our Girls Rock Austin campers and volunteers. I’m a little on the claustrophobic side, but I’m kind of excited to try and bust through a fake barbie doll box. The song “Lovebites” is an homage to werewolf movies so we’re working on having some sort of wolfman for the shoot. We want our fans to really be a part of our production so we’ll be announcing a call for submissions of clumsy moments caught on camera for the song, “Bruise Blues” in the upcoming months.”
“As long as I’m performing, making music and having new adventures, I’m happy. Danger*Cakes is still chugging along after eight years and just finished a short tour through New York for the O+ Festival in October. I’ve been playing upright bass with a few different bands in Austin to try and expand on my skill set. I’ve really enjoyed playing in Brand New Key, an LGBTQ bluegrass/folk band. They have some great songs and I absolutely love their spirit. And it’s been a new experience playing upright with the irish punk band, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead. We play loud and fast, but those guys are real gents. I’m excited to put a little time into more of my own projects in 2019 including my solo project, Jamie Bahr and the Big Decisions. I initially wanted to call it the Bad Decisions but then I thought it might be harder to get wedding gigs. Besides, Jamie B and the Big D’s has a certain je ne sais quoi, don’t you think? I’m also hoping to finally finish my first cookbook which will include some funny stories and anecdotes about my recipes. Last Spring I took some improv and sketch writing classes at the Fallout Theater here in Austin. It inspired me to get out there and try my hand at stand up comedy. I was excited to perform with the all-female comedy troupe, the Coven over the Summer. I’m also hoping to write a screenplay for a sitcom based on my experiences with Girls Rock Austin and Danger*Cakes. And I still have hopes of someday winning a grammy, but that’s just my ego talking. It’s more important to me to be able to do the things I love and still be able to support myself than it is to be recognized for my art. But it sure would be nice. And of course there’s always work to be done with Girls Rock Austin.”
As for Girls Rock Austin, Bahr said, “2018 was dubbed the year of the woman. But it’s only the beginning. For too long women have been seen and not heard. The first few waves of feminism definitely made their mark on society, earning us the right to vote, allowing us in the workplace and giving voice to issues such as domestic abuse and reproductive rights, but it seems that many women of color were left out of these conversations. Women were thrust into the workplace without the promise of equal economic gains. Access to proper reproductive and medical care seem to be restricted to areas with large populations of white women and not given to the under served communities who needed them most. We believe in inter-sectional feminism, the nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender are interconnected, creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage. By adding the idea of internationalization to feminism, the movement becomes truly inclusive allowing the voices of women of all races, economic standings, religions, identities and orientations to be heard.”
Danger Cakes offers a great wealth of music for your music fix and plenty more for women rockers to get involved with. Be sure to find them and experience their great sounds and energy that will always keep you coming back for more. And for those ready for some solid inspiration in music to follow…be sure to join in on their Girls Rock Austin project.
“Our music is available on Amazon, iTunes and CD Bandy. To add Danger*Cakes’ songs to your playlists, take a look at these lovely links!”
On Spotify. . . “Gloomy Girl” https://open.spotify.com/album/5mpmGbsPjTiJaYzG7RpPA0
“Quarter Life Crisis” https://open.spotify.com/album/4kzrtXSTET93PhRdD446fJ
“Dessert First” https://open.spotify.com/search/albums/Danger%20Cakes%20dessert%20first
On iTunes. . . “Gloomy Girl” https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/gloomy-girl-single/1309954628 “Quarter Life Crisis” https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/quarter-life-crisis/1110109104 “Dessert First” https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/danger-cakes/579520693
For the latest news on Danger*Cakes, check out www.dangercakes.net. And if you’d like to get involved, donate or just learn more about Girls Rock Austin, you can check out www.girlsrockaustin.org.