When the Holy Sisters of the Gaga Dada was named “Best Underground Band” by LA Weekly in 1987, then-bass player/singer-songwriter and current Jewish Studies program coordinator and professor Dr. Jill Fields had little interest in leaving her post-punk band behind to pursue a career as a historian and professor. But through fateful synchronicity, Fields was guided down an academic path and is currently one of the longest-serving female faculty members in the College of Social Sciences.

As the opening act for bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jane’s Addiction, Fields was enmeshed in the music scene, playing gigs with her band in clubs from San Diego to Vancouver. However, the road was rougher for female rockers in the mid-1980s. The manager of the Holy Sisters, who had worked with reggae bands before taking on the Holy Sisters, explained, “all-white boy bands” were much easier to book.

After a major label A&R guy saw the band at the Whiskey and decided the label would sign only one all-girl band at a time, Fields began exploring alternatives.

Visit the College of Social Sciences blog to read more.