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MUSIC I’ve been in a number of bands, one of which, Bone of Contention, made an album (on vinyl!) called 48 Points of View (see the Purple Lady’s page), and two CDs named Stay Calm and Fun. Bone of Contention had a number of lead guitar players over the years, but three of us were always in it. We were Mike Shanley (bass), Barb Madaus (drums) and me, Lila, (guitar). We all sang, and all played various other instruments on some songs. 48 Points of View was recorded at Audiomation in Pittsburgh. Sean Lally was the lead guitar player then. Our first CD was recorded at Pittsburgh Sound Productions by Steve Cunningham, and was called Stay Calm. Rob Rayshich did the cover art. Bart Wise played lead guitar. |
| The Mutettes were mostly Pat Marterer (guitar), me (guitar), Elaine Craddock (bass), and a number of different drummers. (Our first bass player was Shari Alexander, but Elaine was in the band much longer.) Pat and I did most of the singing. Our first drummer was Sue Sneddon, who is a professional artist now, and paints some of the most beautiful pictures I've ever seen. She is also a great percussionist, and plays with the Mobile City Band (mobilecityband.com) in Durham, NC. After Sue left the Mutettes to pursue her painting, Lesley Webster (pictured on the single cover above, far left, standing up) played drums with us for a while, and then Jan Hanks (a man!) played drums with us for the last year the band was together. Here is a picture of the Mutettes playing live at the Cat’s Cradle in Chapel Hill, NC: |
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| Fun was our swan song CD, and in my opinion was our best work. It was recorded at Noise New Jersey by Kramer. Rob Rayshich, who is multi-talented (as well as my husband), played a lot of beautiful lead guitar solos on it. |
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| Many, many, many years ago, I was in the first all-female punk band in North Carolina. We were called the Mutettes. We made a single (as they called them in those days) on vinyl. The two songs were called “Leatherette Heart” (written and sung by Patricia Marterer) and “Shark on the Beach” (written and sung by me, Lila Shaara). It was recorded at Mitch’s Drive In, Mitch Easter’s studio in Winston Salem. REM had recorded there, which impressed us a lot. Mitch was very nice, and did a good job for not too much money. |
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Someday, when I understand the technology better, we’ll have some sort of music files on this page. In any case, I suggest that you support your local music scene in whatever way suits you best. Go see shows, buy the CDs your hometown bands make or download their songs from their websites, and demand local music from radio stations. Every city, every town, every village or crossroads in this country has lots of local talent, doing all different kinds of music, so find what you like, and let the bands (or orchestras or crooners or whatever) know that you like them. Contrary to popular belief, poverty, starvation or feeling misunderstood are not the best fertilizers for creativity. At least I don't think so.
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