Annabel Liddell (Miss June) Photo: Jordan Wilson-Grell
Annabel Liddell started playing guitar in primary school and spent about 8 years making up tunes of her own using the handful of basic chords she knew. When she was 18 she moved to Auckland and joined her first band, Grrlfriendz, expanding her repertoire to include a bar chord copied from the Kurt Cobain poster in her bedroom, positioned in different spots on the neck of her guitar.
"You get harassed a lot if you’re a female guitar player. I would play shows where we were too young to get into the venues so we were being snuck in, and you’d just get bombarded with these men
“[They’d] want know what kind of amp you’re using and how come you’re using that pedal and not that pedal and ‘oh what model is your guitar?’ and ‘oh is that really all your equipment?’ … I really felt like I needed to know everything about everything in order to be taken seriously as a musician.
"At one of my gigs I played recently [a female musician] who I have admired for such a long time … came up to me and was like, ‘You know what? I’ve always thought you were amazing! And I’m just gonna say it, you know! F*ck it! I’m just gonna say it! You’re great! Why can’t I say that?’ And I was just like, ‘Oh my god it’s true!’
“This thing I’ve been feeling that’s been happening underground in the scene where people have felt shy and anxious to talk to each other and like we all need to be competitive … other people feel that pressure as well!
"The only thing that matters if you are playing in a group is to play with people that you trust and feel comfortable with. And don’t worry about external things or opinions … if you’re enjoying it, other people will feel you’re enjoying it and it will be organic."
Music details
Artist: Miss June
Song: I Don’t Wanna Be Your Dog,
Composer: Miss June
Album: Unreleased
Artist: Miss June
Song: Student Loan, Drool, Matriarchy, Average Joe
Composer: Miss June
Album: Matriarchy
Label: Self released
