In an era when female voices are still too often talked over, dismissed, or commodified, Gun-Shy Butterfly offers a thrilling counterpunch.
The Philadelphia based band – anchored by Julie Exter and Andrea – channels frustration, resilience and radical honesty into anthemic charged rock.
Their latest single, “Manchild,“ was born out of a group chat-turned call to arms where real stories of patronizing encounters and exhausting gender dynamics became the spark for a blistering piece of feminist catharsis.
With guitar driven hooks and pointed lyrics, Gun-Shy Butterfly unpacks what it means to be a woman creating art in a world that doesn’t always make room for women’s anger, ambition or complexity.
But Julie and Andrea don’t just make space – they also take it. “Manchild” is an example of this. It’s a song for anyone who has ever been underestimated, spoken over or told to calm down. It’s also a song that started with one frustrating story and which grew into a collective release, a shared middle finger and a beautiful scream into the void.
In this exclusive interview, Julie and Andrea talk about the artists who helped shape their sound (from Veruca Salt and Liz Phair to Indigo Girls and Kim Deal), the joy of finding your voice – and your people – and the emotional landscapes that fuel their songwriting.
What have you been working to promote lately?
Julie
Our band Gun-Shy Butterfly just released “Manchild,” the second single from our debut EP.
We’re so excited to finally be releasing the music we’ve worked to hard to write and produce over the last year! In many ways, “Manchild” is the thesis statement we formed this whole project around. Born out of a group chat with a former bandmate who was letting off steam about a male acquaintance who was being particularly immature and condescending, the song turned into a “yes, and” exercise where all the women in the room chimed in with lines from their own similar experiences.
The song became an angry vessel for catharsis, a mirror reflecting all the things we knew were messed up in a.world that remains inhospitable to women in so many ways. It cemented our “bandhood” and inspired us to continue making music together.
What is a song written or produced by a fellow woman that inspires you?
Julie
One track I’m obsessed with right now is “That’s Cool (Good 4 U)” by a Philly band called Kelsey Cork and the Swigs. It’s everything I love about music – high-energy, tons of personality, hooks for days. I just love the attitude of this song and I love that they’re a small local band just like mine, doing exactly the same thing we’re doing – writing and releasing music they believe in. This song makes me believe in the power of excellent songwriting. I believe that if your music has spirit, it’s going to find an audience. I love that this song found me.
Andrea
This is such a hard question! Like Julie, I know so many talented, local female artists, who write absolutely amazing music. But one of my all-time favorite songs in general, that also happens to be written by a woman, is “The Wood Song” by the Indigo Girls. I think I love it so much because it’s a spiritual song about resilience and friendship. I’m also a sucker for intricate harmonies and poetic verse. I’ve been listening to that song for the majority of my life and I think it summarizes the struggle I experience and also the hope I feel. (When I feel hope.) I’m so grateful for all the meaningful friendships in my life, especially those with other women, and this song reminds me of that feeling.
What does it mean to you to be a woman making music in the music business today?
Julie
I think women’s voices demand to be heard across all creative mediums, and I consider it a gift and a privilege to be able to use songwriting as an outlet where all the things that have shaped me as a human being and especially as a woman can be turned around and shaped into something that might resonate with someone else.
I try not to think too much about the music industry as a rule, because it’s easy to get discouraged by a commercial engine that pumps out a lot of machine-produced pop-flavored sameness. So I’m not doing this with the goal of having music become my primary source of income. I’m doing it because it’s a compulsion; I’m going to do this no matter what. So I’m starting with my heart in the right place and wherever this journey takes me is a delightful bonus.
Andrea
Making music as a woman feels like a chance to share and express the very universal experience of exhaustion, depression, and anger that comes from living in a society that doesn’t really care about people. In the sense that all the women I know are caregivers, and because the women are giving the care, and giving it freely, no one else has to be bothered. It’s not just the women, but the women are expected to do more, with less, and don’t often have the option to say no. But also, making music as a woman is a reclamation of power, especially the kind of music we make.
Lately a lot of the music I write is about my reaction to how I’m treated as a woman, because that’s just what’s very prevalent for me personally.
With Gun-Shy Butterfly, I definitely feel a responsibility to create art that speaks to the feelings that so many women are experiencing right now, but also, I just can’t help it.
Who was the first female artist that made you want to make music/be in the business?
Julie
For me this is an easy one: Louise Post and Nina Gordon from Veruca Salt. They changed the whole trajectory of my creative life with one song.
Veruca Salt was opening for Bush on tour in 1997, and I went with my best friend who was a huge Bush fan. I was about 14 at the time, hadn’t picked up a guitar yet. I’d never been to a concert before. I’d certainly never heard of the opening band. Then Veruca Salt took the stage and played “Shutterbug” and I had what I can only describe as one of the most spiritual experiences of my life.
As I watched Nina and Louise fill that arena with those blistering guitar tones and rich, haunting vocal harmonies, I knew that this was exactly, EXACTLY what I wanted to do. It was the most incredible and moving thing I’d ever seen. I wouldn’t be the musician I am, making the music I make, without Veruca Salt.
What is the most personal thing you have shared in your music or in your artist brand as it relates to being female?
Andrea
I think just how angry I feel all the time. A therapist once told me that “depression is anger turned inward.”
I used to be VERY depressed. But now I just can’t contain how mad I am at the state of things, especially with how women are treated, and have been treated forever.
And I guess that’s important because I think I used to be gaslit into thinking that everything was my fault, and I wasn’t allowed to be angry at how I was being treated, I DESERVED to be treated that way, and ONLY that way. But now instead, I’m mad as hell about it, which feels like a much healthier choice.
What is the most challenging thing you’ve had to face as a female artist?
Julie
Oh, I’ve definitely had the all-too-common experience of being immediately written off as a musician because I’m a woman. Or being given the age-old backhanded compliment “hey, you’re a pretty good drummer…for a girl,” usually delivered by some boomer dude in a Maiden shirt who doesn’t even play music. As if they’re the gatekeepers of who gets to be creative and how. I’ve had insecure men call my music “silly.” All the usual bad actors that chase women around in all other the forums of our lives are absolutely present in the music scene. Unfortunately for us all.
What female artists have inspired you and influenced you?
Andrea
So many people, but I’ll start with Liz Phair and her album “Exile in Guyville.” That was the first time I heard a female artist who both played electric guitar and sang in a deeper register with more of a rock vibe, which I absolutely loved.
Before then, I listened to a lot of male artists because I prefer singing lower, it’s where I feel that my voice has more strength. Not only that, but I loved that she sang about relationships, but in a real way. I’m also super inspired by Kim Deal, Alanis Morisette, and Gwen Stefani.
Who is your favorite female icon, dead or alive?
Julie
I might have to go with Madonna. She is just the ultimate in fearless female energy for me. I remember her video for “Human Nature” absolutely blowing my mind as a teenager. It was so inspiring to see a woman in control of her own narrative and sexuality in that way. Absolute legend.
Do you consider yourself a feminist? If so, why or why not?
Andrea
I never considered myself a feminist before because I haven’t done all that much specific advocacy. But nowadays I think I’m a feminist by default. Just because I’m a woman who sings about what it means to be a woman, and it’s my personal stance that the way women are treated is not okay and we don’t need to put up with it anymore. Which I think is the definition of a feminist.
Which female artists would you want to collaborate with?
Julie
My dream collabs these days are probably Momma, Dead Pony, and the Beaches. Probably my three favorite women-led bands these days. Veruca Salt, of course, will go without saying!
If you could collaborate with any other female artists, who would you choose?
Andrea
Julie Exter. Not kidding. She is my favorite!
