011 / June Millington (Fanny) on Breaking Through Outsider Status and Being a Lick Librarian
Mid-Riff
English - July 01, 2020 09:00 - 1 hourMusic Interviews Music Business Homepage Download Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Hilary talks with June Millington of Fanny (the first all-female rock band signed to a major label in 1969) about the Institute for the Musical Arts, how playing guitar is like being a nun, and music as a tool for overcoming shyness. Plus, the socioecological model for making change.
BIO
June Millington “one of the hottest female guitarists in the industry” (Guitar Player Magazine) has been making music since she was a child playing ukulele in her native Philippines. Having moved from Manila to California in the early sixties, she and her sister, bassist, Jean, turned in their folk guitars for electric and formed a succession of all-girl bands. By ’69 they were in Hollywood with their band, Fanny, which was one of the first all women’s rock bands to be signed to a major label (Warner Brothers*). As David Bowie said of the group in an interview in Rolling Stone: “They were one of the finest fucking rock bands of their time… They were extraordinary: They wrote everything and they played like motherfuckers… They are as important as anyone who’s ever been, ever.” (January, 2000)
Fanny played with major artists like Chicago, BB King, Dr. John, the Kinks, the Staples Singers, Ike & Tina Turner, & Chuck Berry- and recorded at Apple Studios with Geoff Emerick, the Beatles’ engineer. June left the band in 1973 and continued to record and perform both with her sister and on a number of solo albums. She has also produced many artists including Cris Williamson, Holly Near, Mary Watkins, Melanie DeMore, Bitch and Animal, and Joel Zoss. She is the co-founder and Artistic Director of the Institute for the Musical Arts (IMA), a non-profit organization for women and girls which hosts Rock ’n Roll Girls Camps in the summer.
June released her autobiography “Land of a Thousand Bridges: Island Girl in a Rock ’n’ Roll World” in June of 2015 resulting in articles in Pitchfork, MS Magazine, Newsweek, and NPR. She continues to perform, write, and record and teaches at the IMA, as well as colleges and universities in North America.
JUNE’S MENTIONS
IMA / Angela Davis / Roma Berin / Laurie Anderson / Leslie Ann Jones / Skywalker Sound / LeeAnne Ungar / Kathryn Willmore / The Svelts / Fanny / Sister Rosetta Tharpe / Gibson / Fender / Richard Perry / Jeff “Skunk” Baxter / Lowell George / Sneaky Pete Kleinow / Elliott Randall / Steely Dan / Kent Henry / Stepphenwolf / Holly Near / Cris Williamson / Bonnie Raitt / Maria Maldar / Isis / Birtha / May Pang / John Lennon / Pete Seeger
JUNE’S LINKS
Jean Millington Go Fund Me
June’s Podcast
Institute for the Musical Arts
MID-RIFF LINKS
Website
Instagram
Facebook
Email Newsletter
Changing Our Tune Workshop Registration
Socioecological Model
Thanks for rating/reviewing on Apple Podcasts!
CREDITS
June’s Bumper Track: “Play Like a Girl” by June Millington
Theme Music: "Hedonism" by Towanda
Artwork by Julia Gualtieri
Hilary talks with June Millington of Fanny (the first all-female rock band signed to a major label in 1969) about the Institute for the Musical Arts, how playing guitar is like being a nun, and music as a tool for overcoming shyness. Plus, the socioecological model for making change.
BIO
June Millington “one of the hottest female guitarists in the industry” (Guitar Player Magazine) has been making music since she was a child playing ukulele in her native Philippines. Having moved from Manila to California in the early sixties, she and her sister, bassist, Jean, turned in their folk guitars for electric and formed a succession of all-girl bands. By ’69 they were in Hollywood with their band, Fanny, which was one of the first all women’s rock bands to be signed to a major label (Warner Brothers*). As David Bowie said of the group in an interview in Rolling Stone: “They were one of the finest fucking rock bands of their time… They were extraordinary: They wrote everything and they played like motherfuckers… They are as important as anyone who’s ever been, ever.” (January, 2000)
Fanny played with major artists like Chicago, BB King, Dr. John, the Kinks, the Staples Singers, Ike & Tina Turner, & Chuck Berry- and recorded at Apple Studios with Geoff Emerick, the Beatles’ engineer. June left the band in 1973 and continued to record and perform both with her sister and on a number of solo albums. She has also produced many artists including Cris Williamson, Holly Near, Mary Watkins, Melanie DeMore, Bitch and Animal, and Joel Zoss. She is the co-founder and Artistic Director of the Institute for the Musical Arts (IMA), a non-profit organization for women and girls which hosts Rock ’n Roll Girls Camps in the summer.
June released her autobiography “Land of a Thousand Bridges: Island Girl in a Rock ’n’ Roll World” in June of 2015 resulting in articles in Pitchfork, MS Magazine, Newsweek, and NPR. She continues to perform, write, and record and teaches at the IMA, as well as colleges and universities in North America.
JUNE’S MENTIONS
IMA / Angela Davis / Roma Berin / Laurie Anderson / Leslie Ann Jones / Skywalker Sound / LeeAnne Ungar / Kathryn Willmore / The Svelts / Fanny / Sister Rosetta Tharpe / Gibson / Fender / Richard Perry / Jeff “Skunk” Baxter / Lowell George / Sneaky Pete Kleinow / Elliott Randall / Steely Dan / Kent Henry / Stepphenwolf / Holly Near / Cris Williamson / Bonnie Raitt / Maria Maldar / Isis / Birtha / May Pang / John Lennon / Pete Seeger
JUNE’S LINKS
Institute for the Musical Arts
MID-RIFF LINKS
Changing Our Tune Workshop Registration
Thanks for rating/reviewing on Apple Podcasts!
CREDITS
June’s Bumper Track: “Play Like a Girl” by June Millington
Theme Music: "Hedonism" by Towanda
Artwork by Julia Gualtieri