Zoe FitzGerald Carter Premieres 'I Wanna Be a Teenage Boy'

Author and songwriter Zoe FitzGerald Carter premieres the Josh McClain directed video for, "I Wanna Be A Teenage Boy," via Americana Highways. The song is the first single off of her upcoming debut solo LP, Waterlines, due out March 26th. Of "Teenage Boy" Americana Highways enthused, "Boy, what a sentiment. We all envy the confidence and abandon with which at least most teenage boys 'do their thing.' But there's so much more behind the song's story; more that is less admirable. Listen and contemplate."

"Teenage Boy' was written during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings," says Zoe. "The hearings happened to coincide with a weeklong songwriting blitz with my musician pal, Hindy Bare. The two of us were holed up in a cabin in Colorado, taking breaks to watch snatches of the hearings. Brett Kavanaugh was, to us, the quintessential entitled man-boy. Taking what he wanted from the world and from the women unfortunate enough to be caught in his sphere, then literally sobbing when he was called out for attacking the then-16-year-old Christine Blasey Ford. And the kicker, of course, was that he was rewarded with the highest judgeship in the land!"

"It made us think about the messaging boys like Kavanaugh get growing up - all that indulgence and encouragement, even when they act like entitled jerks. And, by contrast, the self-limiting messages girls receive growing up. Like be thin, be pretty, don't talk too loud or have too many opinions. And, sadly, even as grownup women, we still get these messages from the culture - work for less pay, stay youthful at any cost, and don't admit you're afraid to get out of your car alone at night. Oh, and don't expect to be listened to, which is really the worst insult of all for someone like me who lives by words, both on the page and in conversation. (And, in fact, the song ends on an angry expletive.)"

"So, yeah, there is a little bit of anger in this song. But there is also some snap and humor, because there is something funny about a grown woman looking over at a bunch of half-naked carefree, burger-and-fries-eating teenage boys with their physical swagger and confidence and wishing she could have some of that. Plus, that bass line is just so damn catchy!"

"To underscore the message of the song, the videographer, Josh McClain, and I looked for exaggerated images of retro femininity to play alongside the parts of the song that talk about the girls' messages ('the secret is Brazilian waxing/Don't you worry girl, it's relaxing'). During the chorus and bridge -which are the boy parts - we found images of uber masculinity, like a shot of King Kong. And throughout we used all these sun-saturated shots of boys surfing and riding skateboards to create a fun Beach Boys vibe. Shooting it was a blast. To get into character, I put on a leather jacket, drank some beer, played a friend's acid green electric guitar and channeled my inner teenage boy!"

"One funny thing about this song is how many men have said to me - you're crazy to want be a teenage boy! It sucked! And I hear that. But the song is about a kind of platonic ideal of teenage boyhood (confident, athletic, freewheeling, privileged) and how appealing that was for me as a self-conscious teenage girl. If only I had been able to rip around on a skateboard without my shirt on or eat a damn hamburger without feeling guilty. And frankly, even if a boy wasn't athletic or popular, he was usually still encouraged to 'rule the world, stay on top' while girls like Christine Blasey Ford were told things like 'don't be so emotional' and 'you're confused it wasn't him."

"Until we start changing the messaging and tearing apart the current cultural programming, we will continue to live in a misogynist world where men like Kavanaugh are lauded and rewarded and women like Ford are ignored and dismissed. In the meantime, we plan to keep the music coming."

Waterlines ranges in style from folk to funk, the tracks share a vivid sense of language and a lively, literary approach to storytelling. Zoe's background as a journalist, essayist and author (Imperfect Endings), is reflected in the album's intimate, autobiographical feel. The title of the album, Waterlines, refers to writing itself, she says. "It also evokes the way we look for clues from the past. Like tracing the watermarks after where a river has flooded or been depleted."

The album features a rich array of top Bay Area musicians, including drummer Dawn Richardson (formerly of 4 Non Blondes and Tracy Chapman's touring band), keyboardist Julie Wolf (Ani DiFranco), trumpet/flugelhorn player Erik "Mr. Tasty" Jekabson (John Mayer), bass player Paul Olguin (famed Bay Area sideman), and guitarist extraordinaire Michael Papenburg, who soars on the album's funk-infused feminist anthem "I Wanna Be A Teenage Boy."

"My musical roots are firmly planted in Folk and Americana," Zoe says, "but the last couple of years I've been exploring new musical terrain, including Brazilian and jazz. The stylistic arc of the album reflects that evolution, which was beautifully handled by the musicians involved. Recording the album was collaborative and absurdly fun. It also provided a much-needed distraction from this terrible year. It's my fervent hope that the political and pandemic-related horrors of 2020 will be firmly behind us when the album drops -- and we will once again be able to play and listen to live music!"

Zoe began playing guitar and singing as a teenager in Washington D.C. where her father was a well-known jazz drummer. In addition to her career as a writer, she's played and performed with numerous Bay Area bands. Her first album (Waiting for the Earthquake) featured Sugartown, an Americana string band. "The album's direct and piercing lyrics pull no punches and it's haunting melodies are perfectly suited to Zoe's rich and evocative voice," said award-winning producer, Monica Pasqual. Zoe teaches memoir and songwriting and has recently taken up the drums.

Listen here:

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