Laina Dawes is a music and cultural critic and opinion writer from
Toronto, Canada. She is an active public speaker and contributor to
CBC Radio, current affairs columnist for Afrotoronto.com, and
contributing Editor (for race, ethnicity and culture) for
Blogher.org.
Skin formed Skunk Anansie in 1994, releasing the albums Paranoid
and Sunburnt, Stoosh, Post Orgasmic Chill, Wonderlustre, and Black
Traffic. She has provided vocals for albums by Sevendust, Tony
Iommi, and a number of soundtracks. Skin is also a DJ, and she
currently resides in London.
"In her debut book, music journalist and hardcore metal devotee
Laina Dawes uncovers black women s voices and stories of
participation in punk and metal.""Vice"
"How exciting is this? The book tackles the good, the bad and the
ugly sides of being a black woman in the metal and punk
scenes."Afropunk.com
"A fantastic book"AOL Noisecreep
"Thoughtful and inspiring""Publishers Weekly"
"As journalist Laina Dawes has investigated in her 2012 book "What
Are You Doing Here?," women of colour have been especially
marginalised by heavy metal's hyper-masculine, white-dude
culture.""The Guardian"
"Dawes uses her sociological smarts to remind us that metal isn't
just disenfranchised white dudes' music... it's a way for all of us
on the outside to feel the power.""Revolver" [4/5 stars]
"Excellent"About.com
"Essential reading for those who have never felt the blow of
intolerance, and for those who have felt it far too often...its
themes are universal"PopMatters
"As the title suggests, Dawes has a compellingly idiosyncratic tale
to tell about cultural identity and personal passion[her]
understandable difficulty is precisely what makes her struggle
interesting.""The Atlantic"
"Dawes has done the metal scene a great service...an important
addition to every metal fan s bookshelf"MSN.com
"Laina Dawes "What Are You Doing Here? "is a strikingly more
powerful, penetrating, and passionate look at metal than the one
written by the guy [Tony Iommi] who arguably invented the
genre...brave, engaging, and unique""The Onion A/V Club"
"While the book is extensively researched and brings in a broad
array of opinions from musicians, fans and academics, the most
resonant moments can be found within Dawes' own
history."Spinner
"Insightful and provocative.""NOW Toronto"
"The book is half love letter to both black women who have paved
the way and continue to pave the way, as well as the music that
brought them there, and half unflinching real talk of the all
unfortunate actualities of the casual to the not-so-casual racism
that is embedded with the scene."Persephone Magazine
"This book needs to be mandatory reading for every new metal
head."Metal Army America
"A wonderfully intimate memoir...critical insight
abounds""Philadelphia City Paper"
The women presented in "What Are You Doing Here?" are courageous,
honest and without pretensejust like the best metal that ultimately
unites them. Albert Mudrian, editor-in-chief, "Decibel"
"An intriguing reminder of how much we all want, need and deserve
to belong to something that stimulates and validates
us.""Terrorizer"
"Dawes tells an important story well and gives voice to the many
black girls and women who are brave enough to let themselves be
different.""LEO Weekly"
"She presents metal as a source of joy, an outlet for negative
emotions, a physical release and catharsis. It is also an
opportunity to embrace something that Dawes, and the women she
interviews, love intensely, and therefore is also the narrative of
the triumph of truth and happiness over the pressure of public
perception.""Toronto Standard"
"Dawes brings a lot of experience, clear and concise writing and
good journalism, and while she doesn t have any long-term solutions
for bridging these deep and unfortunate valleysthrough no fault of
her ownshe has still introduced the first step, which is opening
our eyes and starting a dialogue.""SLUG"
"Jimi Hendrix is a god of rock guitarists, Living Color s Vernon
Reid is considered the elder statesman of guitarship, and Laina
Dawes is the cool-ass aunt of heavy metal."Racialicious"
"Courageous, honest, and without pretense"--Albert Mudrian,
"Decibel"
"Laina Dawes' What Are You Doing Here? is a strikingly more
powerful, penetrating, and passionate look at metal than the one
written by the guy [Tony Iommi] who arguably invented the
genre...brave, engaging, and unique"--"The Onion A/V Club"
"What Are You Doing Here? is essential reading for those who have
never felt the blow of intolerance, and for those who have felt it
far too often."--PopMatters
"As the title suggests, Dawes has a compellingly idiosyncratic tale
to tell about cultural identity and personal passion...[her]
understandable difficulty is precisely what makes her struggle
interesting.""--The Atlantic"
"Dawes has done the metal scene a great service, showing everyone
that there's still a lot of work to do towards making metal truly
welcoming to anyone who's interested in the music. We're not quite
there yet, but What Are You Doing Here? is an excellent start, an
important addition to every metal fan's bookshelf."--MSN.com
"Thoughtful and inspiring"--"Publishers Weekly"
"Dawes uses her sociological smarts to remind us that metal isn't
just disenfranchised white dudes' music--it's a way for all of us
on the outside to feel the power."--"Revolver" (4/5 stars)
"Though focused on metal, these insights are relevant to anyone
interested in how racism and sexism can impact any
micro-community."--"Philadelphia City Paper"
"Has the force of a powerful, eloquent typhoon... What Are You
Doing Here? is fearless."--"Toronto Standard"
"The good, the bad, and the ugly sides of being a black woman in
the metal and punk scenes."--"Afro-Punk"
"Excellent"--About.com
"In her debut book, music journalist and hardcore metal devotee
Laina Dawes uncovers black women's voices and stories of
participation in punk and metal."--"Vice"
"A fantastic book."--AOL Noisecreep
"In her debut book, music journalist and hardcore metal devotee
Laina Dawes uncovers black women's voices and stories of
participation in punk and metal."--"Vice"
"A fantastic book."--"AOL Noisecreep"
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