“I’ve chased this dream for so long.”

“There is magic and power in creating with others that have the same body, and experience the same societal pressures,” Exter says. “Until now, I never found people with the same level of musicianship, desire, and goals,” White chimes in: “I feel the same. Julie is like the magical unicorn I never thought I’d find.”

White and Exter are both formidable singer-songwriters and multi-instrumentalists active in a variety of bands on the Philly indie rock scene. Today, their Philadelphia-based two-piece band steps forward with its debut EP, Uncomplicated.

The band’s evocative name embodies an abstraction of raw female energy. “I wanted a name that represented transformation. That showed getting through the hardest shit and turning into a beautiful thing, like a butterfly,” White says. While rhyming and riffing, she added Gun Shy to represent meeting the same challenges over and over again, distrusting the outcome, but going for it anyway. Which is sometimes what it feels like to be a woman.

White and Exter have garnered critical acclaim and toured regionally with other bands. White’s previous band, the pop-punk band Stewart, placed a song in Rock Band, and played CMJ twice. Exter currently sings and plays guitar in the sad girl rock band, Sacred Monsters, and co-hosts the popular Philadelphia music and comedy scene podcast, Rock N LOL.

Outside of creative pursuits, White and Exter are mothers in their 40s, and, in that sense, the pair are challenging preconceived notions of what it means to be a devoted mother who is also a dedicated artist. “I get judgement from other people, like ‘why are you still out there doing this?’ This is my primary outlet. I can do what I love and still be a present and loving mother,” shares Exter. White adds: “I’m always juggling having a full-time job, scheduling everything for the family, and doing music. I don’t sleep very much.”