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(From L to R) The poster for the first Femme Fatale Productions show, by @kayapapayyaa; Femme Fatale's first logo, by @kill3r.kraft; Event poster, by @staceyfromrussia

Event poster, Rhuby Noriyuki; Femme Fatale's new logo, by @lonedyke; Event poster, picanteperosabrosa

12/29/2019

Killer, Badass, Edgy: Femme Fatale Productions leaving Oregon

By C. FRANCIS O’LEARY // Femme Fatale Productions is leaving Eugene after almost a year of uplifting and centering marginalized voices in the Eugene area, but founder Rhuby Noriyuki plans to continue the Femme Fatale mission in her new home in the Bay Area.

Femme Fatale Productions is much more than a promotional organization for underground shows. For the past year, it has been working in Eugene to connect marginalized artists from disparate genres and mediums with one another to create a community of people lifting each other up, rather than competing for space. Femme Fatale is moving to Berkley, but founder Rhuby Noriyuki hopes its mission lives on in Eugene.

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The idea for a new kind of production company sprung fully-formed into Noriyuki’s mind in the middle of the night: A group administered by and for marginalized people in the Eugene music and arts scene. Noriyuki had been working with Eugene production company Blue Plant for some time, but as the only woman and person of color, she felt ignored and pushed to the edges. She vowed to create a space where people like her could take center stage. In an interview she said she wanted to name that was “killer, edgy, badass,” something that summarized the group in a single phrase ─ Femme Fatale Productions.

The first Femme Fatale show took place Jan. 11, 2019 at Noriyuki’s house/venue, The High House. Noriyuki’s plan was to throw a few raging house shows under the name Femme Fatale to get the organization’s name and mission out into the Eugene DIY zeitgeist ─ and if the goal was a rager, she was successful. “I thought the house was going to crack in half,” Noriyuki later said of the event.

That first event was a shitshow, according to Noriyuki. It made two things clear: The High House wasn’t equipped to host the type of shows Femme Fatale was going to be having and that there would need to be a few rules to keep everything on the rails.

Those two goals came together in the development of Femme Fatale’s morals, which were posted on the group’s Insta. The development of the group morals provided a standard of behavior for event attendees and gave Noriyuki an elevator pitch she could use to convince homeowners to open up their living rooms and backyards for events.

The rules are simple: Respect the space, recycle, be kind in the mosh, get to know the people around you; Respect each other; Practice safe sex, condoms and menstrual products are available for free at every event; Drive sober, Noriyuki has paid for more than one drunk attendee’s Uber out of her own pocket; and Femme Fatale has the right to refuse anyone access to events.

Employing these rules helped Femme Fatale make a name for itself as a fun, inclusive group. More people began attending shows and that brought in more door donations.

Noriyuki isn’t a fan of the “starving artist” myth. One of the central tenets of the Femme Fatale ethos was that everyone got paid. Door donations were used to pay the bands, hire sober drivers to bring folks home after the show, pay for photographers, videographers and graphic designers as well as bouncers and crowd monitors to make sure no one got too aggressive or handsy in the audience.

By Summer 2019, Noriyuki felt Femme Fatale was ready to lean more into its mission to center and heal marginalized communities. The group partnered with Second Hand Groove, a group of local artists who upcycle thrifted clothes for bodies of all shapes and sizes. As a self-proclaimed expert networker, Noriyuki directed Femme Fatale to host networking events for local artists of any medium to meet others and collaborate. Femme Fatale also hosted a discussion group for Queer people to discuss family related trauma.

Of all the events Femme Fatale presented, Noriyuki’s baby was Build-a-Band. Like the artist networking event, Build-a-Band was an event for musicians from disparate genres, skill levels and backgrounds to teach and learn from one another. Noriyuki hand-picked the artists to invite to ensure the group was diverse and ready to grow together. Noriyuki wanted to be clear with this event. “I’m here to uplift POC, Queer people and artists. Give a voice to the voiceless. You’ll always have a place with Femme Fatale for your voice to be heard,” she said later in an interview.

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After just under a year of activity in Eugene, Femme Fatale Productions has moved with its founder and sole continuous-member to Berkeley, CA. Noriyuki moved with her fiancé in early December. She hopes to embed herself within the Bay Area artist communities and continue the Femme Fatale mission.

Currently, Femme Fatale is preparing for a fundraiser in support of Oakland-based collective Moms 4 Housing. The event, tentatively scheduled for March 22, will take place in Berkeley’s historic People’s Park and feature four California bands.

One think Noriyuki knows for sure is that she won’t let her talents for uplifting others and centering marginalized voices go to waste. “This is what I was born to do,” she said of her work.

To keep up with Femme Fatale follow the group’s Insta. If you’re looking to perform in the Bay Area, reach out to Noriyuki for booking.

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