Attention women, girls, ladies: Start a band now. Too long have the men of society been the fair minstrels of every generation. It's time to stick the vein of our contemporary culture with a hard jab and inject a hefty dose of X chromosome-fueled rock and roll. If you enjoy attending shows, listening to musicand buying band merch, it's time to break out of your shell and buy an axe, learn some songs, find some friends, get on stage and ROCK OUT. It's easy, fun, and a great way to meet people. Fuck knitting. Learn the guitar. Now there's some string play I can get into. If you're still unsure about taking that fateful step into a blissful rock utopia, look to the gals in Cougar Party for inspiration.

HAVE YOU ENCOUNTERED ANY YOUNG HORNY FAN BOYS THINKING THAT YOU'D BE THE STEREOTYPICAL 'COUGARS' SO FAR?
No, but we did have a group marriage proposal but that was from a woman.

DO YOU THINK THERE'S A STIGMA IN ROCK WHERE WOMEN HAVE TO SING ABOUT SEX OR THEIR SEXUALITY IN THEIR MUSIC IN ORDER TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY?
We don't think anyone, whether they are male or female, can just sing about sex. How can you be taken seriously if you only sing about one theme? It would be very one-dimensional. However, we do think writing about sex and sexuality is a good topic because it leaves lots of room for discussion and it widens people's perspectives.

CAN YOU COMMENT A BIT ON THE LONGEVITY OF FEMALE BANDS IN UNDERGROUND ROCK TODAY? IT SEEMS THERE'S A SHORTER LIFESPAN.
The ratio of men to women in music is still very unbalanced. With that in mind then of course there is going to be fewer longer-standing female bands than male bands. Maybe women just don't stand for the bullshit that can come along with being in a band'¦who knows? There are still bands like Sleater-Kinney, people like Kathleen Hanna, plus many more who do stick it out. Our song 'œ1,2,3, Go Circle Pit!'? is about women sticking around in music long after their early twenties. We all plan on being around for quite some time, whether it's in Cougar Party or with other projects.

THERE'S A HEAVY ELEMENT OF FEMINISM IN YOUR MUSIC, BUT THAT CAN'T BE ALL, CAN IT? WHAT ELSE IS COUGAR PARTY ALL ABOUT?
Feminism isn't a bandwagon to be jumped upon. It's a way to live your life. Our varying individual views of feminism infiltrate all aspects of our lives. So anything we write about there's going to be a hint of feminism because that's where we coming from. So yes, we definitely sing through a feminism perspective but about other things like relationships, loss, sex, oppression, abuse, etc.

HAVE YOU GOTTEN BETTER AT DEALING WITH CAT-CALLING MALE FANS YET SINCE THE BAND FORMED? WHAT ARE SOME STANDARD COUGAR PARTY TACTICS (OR CLASSIC CP VS. DRUNK GUY MOMENTS)?
We've only had one incident where that happened. It was recently when we played Peterborough. A drunk guy wanted us to show him 'œsomething else'?. We just told him he wasn't being very nice and Amanda motioned that he should kiss her ass. That must have worked because he walked up to the bar and bought us some drinks.

IF YOU COULD INVITE THREE FAMOUS COUGARS TO YOUR SHOW, WHO WOULD YOU INVITE?
BeBe Neuwirth's character from the film Tadpole, Ellen DeGeneres and Julianne Moore.

CAN OLDER MALES BE CALLED COUGARS? IF NOT, WHAT ARE THEY CALLED?Cougar is a term that we're very sure was coined by a man. It's a pretty sexist and ageist term so no I don't think a man can be called a cougar if you are talking of it in its 'œliteral meaning'?. Like how it's acceptable if an older guy dates a younger woman or if a guy is 'œeasy'?, but it's not viewed in the same way for women. We like the idea of removing & destroying these ridiculous stigmas. Cougar Party was named very tongue-in-cheek, trying to take the negativity out of it. Age difference doesn't matter (as long as it's legal!).

By Mike Perreault