LAUREN + THE GOODFIGHTS is a Boorloo-based queer-punk band creating heady political works. They are a trans + gender-diverse presenting group promoting safe spaces in the scene. Their live set is a mix of loud, powerful tunes, comedic commentary + celebration of queer community.
We chatted with the band ahead of their slot at Badlands Bar for ALT//FEST this Saturday, November 12.
Would you like to say a bit about what Lauren and the Goodfights is about?
We started the band with the belief that transgender and non-binary people deserve a space in which to freely find celebration, catharsis and humour in the experience of being trans.
We seek to create a place, both online-and-off, where people who have been marginalized, hurt, cast aside and traumatized can feel safe and free of petty judgments by those who hold transgender people to often unreasonable moral standards. In the words of Sadie Switchblade of G.L.O.S.S.: "This is for the outcasts”.
There’s a pretty long history of women and queer people making punk music. But local punk and hardcore scenes are places dominated by machismo. How do you feel that impacts you and your place in the punk scene?
To be honest, we don’t find myself giving two shits about much of what all-dude hardcore bands are up to. Though we have found small recognition at times within that dude-dominated scene, we are actively attempting to speak to those who do not find themselves at home within those spaces. Disabled folks, BIPOC, and queer folks often find such spaces uninviting, intimidating and hostile. Creating an alternative environment can find power instead of fear is incredibly important. Part of our existence is somewhat in opposition to the cis male-dominated hardcore scene. We dig it.
How do we go about creating scenes that are more inclusive of women and the LGBTQIA+ community?
This is a big question and one you could write a book about. But briefly; we believe building a community, and maintaining solidarity within that community is essential. Get your queer friends together and start a band, book some shows at supportive venues, and find other like-minded organisers within your community who can help you. Start more bands, and book your friends' bands. There are people out there like you who want to create art and support other queer folk. Sometimes it takes a group of people willing to carve out a space where there may not have been one before. We believe there is much more good you can do in creating inclusive pockets of the music scene than trying to change those that are entrenched in their ways.
I feel like there’s this tension in punk at the moment between the edginess and on-the-nose attitudes, and aesthetics of the genre and creating a space where all people feel safe. Something exemplified by phenomena such as crowd-killing, but also just in the imagery that a lot of bands use. Is this tension something that can be resolved for you?
We like to think that this band invites people into our anger and allows them to share in the catharsis. We try to limit how much we place ourselves in opposition to our community, seeking instead to focus our ‘edginess’ toward systems of oppression. Abrasiveness, being edgy and crass can be used effectively to break down taboos and uncertainty within a community. It can say ‘…hey, look at this thing that inspires dread, fear and anxiety within us. Let’s take it and laugh at it’. In that way, we can diffuse tension, but the audience has to be invited into that dialogue.
Inspiring solidarity with rage is one of the true transformative aspects of punk music. But rage without solidarity, without the foundation of mutual respect, without a sense of collective responsibility to one another can create callousness to those whose needs and abilities are different to your own. We deserve better than those who seek to take out their inner rage on others in the community without consideration or consent. Basically, just don’t be a dickhead.
The band aims to create and promote safe spaces. What makes a space safe and how do we go about achieving that?
We believe one of the first steps in creating safer spaces is helping people understand first and foremost that they do not have to accept this idea of the inherent risk of being out at live music venues. When you experience a space that feels truly safe, it is such a transformative feeling. Agitating toward venues for safe space policies is a major step toward safer spaces, but everyone in a community has a responsibility toward each other. As musicians, we have the attention of punters, and we can make it clear what isn’t acceptable at our venues. As people who enjoy watching live music, we can raise our voices together and say no to certain types of harmful behaviour.
Creating safer spaces requires a holistic approach. We cannot simply agitate toward venues and then rest on our laurels. We cannot rely on this alone. It requires consistent work, at all levels of involvement in the scene.
On a lighter note, do you have any new music in the works?
We are writing new songs pretty much constantly, but excitingly we are recording our first album. We think it’s turning out to be a modern classic. We know our parents will love it.
ALT // FEST is on Saturday, November 12 at Badlands Bar. Tickets available now here.