Welcome to the Sister Spit Northampton Home Page!

Our next event:

November 9th, 2003

8pm-midnight, 21+, $5-$10 (sliding)

at Harry's, corner of Pearl and Pleasant Streets

Featuring Anne Heaton

with special guests

Jerree Small

and Evelyn Harris

Our last event:

Sister Spit Northampton

Volume 2: Full Throttle

Sister Spit Northampton Volume 2 brought to the stage:

a straight woman, some queer women, some lesbians and a dude; a woman in her fifties, a woman in her forties, a woman in her thirties, and some women even younger than that; an African-American; a Haitian-American; a couple of white girls and some Canadians; a divorcee, a recovering addict, a Christian, and a metaphysician or two; a vegetarian, some vegans, an MFA candidate, a college dropout; a painter, some poets, a writer, some singers and a Grammy-award nominated songwriter; some activists, some survivors, a fiddler, a playwright, women from the north, a woman from the south, and a woman who comes from New Jersey.

The First Event:

Sister Spit Northampton made its debut on June 30th 2003 at Harry's on Pleasant Street in Northampton, MA. The show was 21+, $5, 8-10pm. Michelle Tea headlined, with special guests Sara Seinberg, Arjuna Greist, Evelyn Harris and others. 100% of the proceeds went to the artists involved.

It was a night of great fun, great words and great music, and the Daily Hampshire Gazette wrote a very insightful piece about it. Attendance was phenomenal. We were hoping for 60 people and 135 showed up!

We have some great photos, compliments of Bunty Burgin. Click here to visit the Sister Spit Northampton Photo Gallery.

Sister Spit Northampton would like to thank these businesses for supporting the first event by making donations to our raffle:

Food For Thought Books in Amherst

Heather E. Ayers, LMT in Northampton 413.585.0345 for an appointment

Sylvester's Restaurant in Northampton

What is Sister Spit Northampton?

Our Motto: Got something to say? Spit it out!

Our Unofficial Motto: No mean ladies.

Our Mission Statement: Sister Spit Northampton (SSN) is a collaborative effort initiated by female artists in order to bring about change, enlightenment and joy by creating a safe, positive place where independent feminist singers, poets and other artists can perform or present their art. We are part of a grassroots, do-it-yourself movement which encourages women with something to say to stand up, open wide, and spit it out.

Sister Spit Northampton is committed to promoting feminist, independent art of all kinds. We believe in diversity, opportunity and fair pay for all artists. We are queer-friendly, and we offer our stage to any independent, feminist performer who was, is, or lives as a woman.

Sister Spit Northampton was inspired by the original Sister Spit, which was invented in the mid 1990s in San Francisco by Michelle Tea and Sini Anderson. SSN is born with their blessing. You can find out more about what Sini and the original Sister Spit are up to at www.sisterspit.com.

Envisioned February 28th, 2003 by co-founders: Antara, Naomi Graychase

Created June 30th, 2003 by Naomi Graychase with the help of volunteers.

Who should come?

Everyone! Yes, please. Even though we are a spit for sisters, we cordially invite every person of every gender and every perspective to come and listen and enjoy our performances and the atmosphere we create. That means men are welcome. In fact, we're thrilled to have you. Especially feminst men. There are too few of you in the world, and we want to know you--so come. And bring your feminist friends.

How do I get there?

Harry's is located on Pleasant Street in Northampton, Massachusetts. It's about two hours from Boston, three hours from New York City, and four hours from Portland, ME. To get there, find your way to Interstate 91. Take Exit 18 (either from the North or the South). Turn left off the exit onto Pleasant Street. About one mile down on your right is Harry's (it's attached to City Cafe.) If you get to a major intersection with a traffic light, you've gone too far.

If you're coming from somewhere in town, Harry's is just after the corner of Pearl Street and Pleasant, right next to City Cafe.

How do I get on the mailing list?

To join the mailing list (through Yahoo! groups) click here.

More questions? send Naomi an e-mail at Naomi@graychase.com.

How can I perform at Sister Spit?

You or your booking agent should contact Naomi directly at naomi@graychase.com.

There are three ways to perform at Sister Spit. 1)As a featured act. 2)As the opener for the main featured act. 3) in an unpaid 5-7 minute open mic spot.

All performers must be feminist women. By this we mean that you must either have been born as a woman, or live as a woman now, and you must believe that persons of all genders deserve to be treated equally. We embrace performers who are transgendered and welcome them to our stage, so long as they are feminist. We are a safe space for queer women, although women are welcome regardless of the way in which they express their sexual or romantic desires. Love is love, we say. Sex is sex. Art is art. We don't care who you screw. As long as you are true to yourself and don't take advantage of children or animals--come, join us.

Featured performers are compensated by a percentage of the door charge and by their merch sales. Performers keep 100% of their merch sales. Because our income is determined by door sales, we are unable to make guarantees, but we promote our events heavily and have a loyal following of people who support our events.

For more detailed information about the facilities, the PA, the payment structure, our politics, or anything else, please contact Naomi Graychase via e-mail at naomi@graychase.com.

The open mic slots are booked before events and are open to poets, authors, musicians or performance artists. The spots are 5-7 minutes in length and are unpaid, but you are welcome to sell merch at the merch table. If you would like to get booked for an open mic spot, get in touch with Naomi at naomi@graychase.com and tell her who you are and what you're up to.

We look forward to hearing from you.

I'm a member of the press and I'd like more information, an interview or to attend the event. Who should I contact?

To request a press kit, an interview or anything else, contact Naomi at naomi@graychase.com. Guest list requests should arrive no later than 24 hours before the event.