by Hilary Stohs-Krause

I knew maybe five facts total about Cass Brostad before she and friend/touring partner Mandy Rowden poppd by for a visit last Thursday. 

She was a musician from Omaha who had recently moved to Austin. She was a woman. Becky of All Young Girls Are Machine Guns likes her music. And she would be in town on a Thursday, when the X-Rated: Women in Music radio show airs.

When we arranged for her and Mandy's in-studio several weeks ago, that was enough. The morning of, however, I panicked slightly when I realized I barely knew her music and didn't know her (or Mandy) at all. 

Turns out, my anxieties were wonderfully unfounded. They were not only stellar musicians, but hilarious, feisty and charming women.

For example, when asked to name favorite female artists, or female artists who've influenced them, Cass promptly responded with, "As for Austin [musicians], I'm pretty much in love with Mandy Rowden."

Mandy laughed, saying that on the road Cass mentioned I was going to ask that question. 

"As far as we got with the whole preparation thing was that we said we were just going to name each other, and then we started giggling, and then saw something shiny, or I don't know what, and got distracted," she said, laughing.

One of the big topics we discussed was differences between the Omaha and Austin scenes. 

"I am the first person to say that Austin is kind of just like a big Omaha," Cass said. "But … it seems like the bars a little more generally and genuinely appreciate musicians."

"I feel like house shows are really coming up In Omaha, especially because the number of venues is going down," she said. "When I first started playing Omaha in the 5150's, I could play three or four times a week and maybe hit the same bar twice a month. And if I were playing now, I'd just be in the same five bars constantly."

They described their music as trash-folk, breakup, whiskey, feelings, raw, fearless, fun, energetic, vulnerable and saucy-brawds.

For more about going to church on Easter, crocheting capes for war ponies and what the future of Omaha Girls Rock! camp could look like, listen to the podcast below. 

Photo by Hilary Stohs-Krause: Cass Brostad and Mandy Rowden