Carla DeSantis Black is the nation’s leading advocate for women in music.
A former musician and music industry veteran, Carla rose to prominence as the founder, publisher and editor-in-chief of the ground-breaking and award-winning ROCKRGRL (1994-2005), the only national publication for female musicians.
Carla also created and produced two highly successful and critically-acclaimed ROCKRGRL Music Conferences which took place in Seattle in 2000 and 2005 respectively as well as ROCKRGRL Day at Musicians’ Institute in Los Angeles in 2003.
The diverse line-up of speakers and performers at the ROCKRGRL Music Conference included such musical luminaries as Patti Smith, Bonnie Raitt, Courtney Love, Ronnie Spector (Ronettes), Amy Ray (Indigo Girls), Ann Wilson (Heart), Johnette Napolitano (Concrete Blonde), Cris Williamson, June Millington, Kathy Valentine (The Go-Go’s), Wanda Jackson, The Gossip, Exene Cervenka, Eliza Gilkyson, Jill Sobule, Sara Hickman, Brandi Carlile, Vicci Martinez, Kim Richey, Rosie Flores, Tania Elizabeth, Sara Hickman and hundreds more.
ROCKRGRL Music Conference 2005 from Carla DeSantis Black on Vimeo.
OTHER NOTABLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Carla has written for publications as diverse as Rolling Stone, Spin, Bass Player, Gig, Experience Hendrix, MSN, Media Inc, Bitch, The Rocket and the Seattle Times. She was also co-founder of the short-lived Women Who Rock magazine, published by Cherry Lane.
- She was selected as the kick-off keynote speaker at the very first Rock ‘N’ Roll Camp for Girls held in Portland, Oregon in 2001.
- In 2006, Carla was named one of the “50 most influential people in Seattle music” by Seattle (Sound) Magazine.
- Twice nominated for a Lifetime Achievement Award by Seattle Weekly.
- Elected three times as a member of the governing board of the Northwest Chapter of the Recording Academy (Grammy organization)
- Member of the advisory board for the capital campaign of the Vera Project, Seattle’s all-ages music/arts organization.
- Currently on the advisory boards of Bitch Magazine and the Institute for Musical Arts.
- Judged KING-TV’s American Idol style talent contest, Gimme The Mic for two seasons alongside iconic rap star, Sir Mix-A-Lot.
- Frequent “talking head” on cable networks VH1 (Behind the Music and True Spin), E! (True Hollywood Story), MuchMusic and WE: The Women’s Network.
- Music correspondent for the Lisa Birnbach Show and Women Aloud (Mo Gaffney and Shana Wride) on the Greenstone Radio Network.
- Produced a Women of Valor event at Berklee Performance Hall (with Berklee College) to honor and reunite pioneering all-female band, Fanny.
- Executive Producer on two ROCKRGRL Discoveries compilation CDs.
In 2008 the ROCKRGRL archives were acquired by the Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute (Harvard University) as part of their vast collection on American womens’ history.
Now based in Austin, Texas, Carla DeSantis Black wears many hats. She is a highly sought-after life coach and music business consultant. She mentors up-and-coming bands and consults with companies on effectively marketing to female musicians. As the founder of MEOW (Musicians for Equal Opportunities for Women), she updates a web site daily with news for and about women musicians and is planning the first annual MEOW Con featuring Suzi Quatro for October 24-26, 2013.
Carla also continues to write and lecture.
Her mission is empower female artists, educate the public about the ever-present evils of sexism within the music business and level the “playing” field – once and for all.
