Leading Ladies

We’re thrilled to announce the addition of two more badass women lined up and confirmed – Whitney Petty and Kaki King! There’s no secret the pedal world has been a  boys club, but we’re recognizing and highlighting the women who are challenging that by breaking stereotypes, an inspirational feat. Stay tuned for our upcoming blog post about women and pedals featuring an interview with Sarah Lipstate of Noveller. Check out her instagram @lipstate and you’ll see why she’s a self-proclaimed “gearhead.”

Kaki King has been hailed as a “guitar god” by Rolling Stone, a heroine alongside many guitar heroes. This awesome She Shreds interview with King brings her to life and is a great read to get a taste of what King is all about. Her recent project The Neck is a Bridge to the Body proves how much of a creative and innovative force King has become, pushing boundaries and expanding the limits of what a solo instrumentalist is capable of. The project is a multimedia performance alongside the soundtrack album. As if the show isn’t enough of a project and accomplishment, King just launched her own label Short Stuff Records, introducing her first signed artist Treya Lam. We are stoked to include her innovative energy and music-making in the project and can’t wait to see what she does next.

Whitney Petty of Thunderpussy is a master of tone and badass shredder. Thunderpussy’s self-titled EP Thunderpussy which came out this year has proved the group to be a force to reckon with. Maybe at some point, talent will stand on its own, but female rockers are still having to prove themselves as more than an act. Thunderpussy has succeeded, “carving out a space for themselves in a dude-centric scene” (Baebel Music).

This Earthquaker Devices interview with Petty delves into her journey with pedals going deep into gear talk. Interviews like these are changing the way we think of the gear community, exposing some of the incredible talents that aren’t considered due to gender and other factors. Shoutout to Earthquaker Devices for spearheading this. Check out Thunderpussy’s recently released “Show Your Colors” track, a co-write by Whitney and bandmate Molly Sides with Mike McCready of Pearl Jam which appeared on the Sadie film soundtrack. 

Check out this cool interview with Petty from our friends at Digital Tour Bus.

Don’t be fooled by the classic “dude-centric” images the industry puts forth, King and Petty are two of these lady rockers who are disrupting the scene. We encourage more women and nonbinary artists to get on board with our project and hope to add more women to our growing list of confirmed artists.

Photos: Simone Cecchetti (Kaki King) & Ian Bardecki (Whitney Petty)