We were lucky to catch up with Anya Rose from Ants on a Log, a social justice band playing music for children and families recently and have shared our conversation below.
Anya, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
I learned to perform music in front of others by asking my high school piano teacher and family to turn around and face the wall while I played. I told them not to listen, even though of course I knew they were listening. But then I could be free to make mistakes, and they could turn around when I said I was ready. I grew up in a family of artists. My parents, aunt, and parents’ friends were all experts at giving feedback. They would say things like, “I think it would help if you left more space after that one note, to let it sink in for the audience.”
One of my favorite skills I’ve learned over the years is how to conceptualize song structures. My grad school piano teacher often told me to “think in chunks.” I wasn’t sure what that meant, and frankly it sounded a little weird, until many years later when I joined a samba drumming group. Understanding where each interlocking rhythm began and ended made me feel like an engineer– It suddenly all made sense! I realized that “chunking” the music into phrases immensely helped my process. When I’m not picking up a rhythm or a song right away, I rely on this skill to reimagine the song and listen to it in a new way.
Anya, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
When I met Julie Be in 2014, we instantly bonded over our love of quirky songs with political messages. I was raised on Tom Lehrer and jazz standards, and Julie grew up listening to Ani DiFranco and They Might be Giants. We began writing together, collaborating on driving harmonies and song topics that were silly, serious, environmental, feminist, gender-bending, and just plain fun. Now, almost a decade later, Ants on a Log is a trio: I am a science teacher, and Julie and Miles are music therapists. Our collective backgrounds make us well-positioned to look at music through educational, therapeutic, and political lenses.
We have released 3 full length albums, and our songs and music videos have been featured on radio stations and at film fests around the globe. Our latest album “Make it Myself” includes the first song with exclusively nonbinary pronouns to be played on national radio stations, another song that comes with a companion anti-racist discussion guide, and the world’s only song (so far) about the EPA, which uses kid-friendly scenarios to illuminate how we decide what is safe for our air, water, and bodies. We are proud to provide a soundtrack to social justice education and progressive parenting. While our music is silly and fun, it also offers families launch points for meaningful dinner table conversations.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
It’s very rewarding when we see that our music has affected strangers, and when we see that children who have been listening since they were small are still listening as they get older. In addition to being full of humor and harmony, we want our music to contain Easter eggs that children will learn to listen for as they grow. One of my major influences was Tom Lehrer. I was singing lines about Hubert Humphrey and Gustav Mahler before I even knew who those people were. It makes all of our efforts worth it when a family shares a story about a time when they rocked out to our songs. To be known by children is a huge honor. It has also been fulfilling when older people share their experiences of listening to our music. We’ve received especially poignant comments from older women about how meaningful and validating our song “Air and Space” – a song about mansplaining– is for them. We help people feel seen!
One of the most incredible Ants on a Log moments was watching a group of middle schoolers perform our musical, “Curious: Think Outside the Pipeline!” The show is about children who are fighting climate change while bumping up against caricatures of politicians, mansplainers, and businessmen. Watching youth understand those concepts and embody those characters was unforgettable. It reminded us that the youth climate justice movement is strong, and art can help fuel their education and action.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
The music industry is a male dominated field and I have found that cisgender men have been socialized to hoard information instead of sharing it generously. For many men, information is power and if they share it, they feel they are giving away some of their power. When talking to “the sound guy” at a venue, I am often ignored, or it’s assumed that my desire to collaborate and be friendly means I don’t know much about my own instrument. I’ve also had many frustrating interactions when joining a male-dominated jam, which often seems to be men showing how quickly they can play, and playing over each other. Once in Western Massachusetts, I came across three young men playing bluegrass and folk on the side of the road. It took all my guts, but I worked up the nerve to ask to join. One of them generously handed me a guitar. I called out a song and led it, but it didn’t go well. The rhythm was all off. I kept thinking it was my fault and tried to adjust my playing. It still didn’t work. About halfway through the song, I realized I wasn’t the problem and I gave myself an internal pep talk: “You are a samba drummer and an expert at rhythm guitar. You know how to jam. It’s not you, it’s them!!” I had this overwhelming, automatic feeling of shame before I realized it was actually someone else’s mistake that was throwing off the rhythm. I’ve learned to cultivate this positive self-talk so I can be resilient in these moments and remind myself of my confidence and extensive skills. I’ve also learned to be more discerning of the jams I will join. When participating in jam sessions with women and other marginalized genders, I feel much more welcome and included, and I don’t question my ability. When I lead a jam, I make sure to shout out the chords and share the stage to make sure everyone has a positive experience.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.antsonalogmusic.com/
- Instagram: @antsonalogmusic
- Facebook: @antsonalogmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@antsonalogmusic
- Other: https://www.patreon.com/AntsonaLog
Image Credits
Vivien Wise, Suzi Shelton