NEWCASTLE punk stalwarts Bitchcraft received a lesson this week in the indiscriminate power of Facebook when their band page was temporarily banned from the social media platform.
On Sunday night the all-female four-piece discovered their page of 1100 followers had been suspended due to breaching community standards, presumably because of their name.
Bitchcraft guitarist Kylie Rowsell described the ban as "bit of a pain" and lodged a submission to Facebook on Monday requesting the page be restored.
The page was restored on Tuesday without an explanation.
"It's been odd and kinda emotional for us," Rowsell said.
"Why? They don't give very good information and rightly or wrongly, artists invest a lot in the Facebook pages to connect with their community and audience."
In recent years Facebook and other social media platforms like Instagram have become the dominant method for musicians to promote their music and shows due to the decrease in traditional music media like street press.
Since first forming in 2001 and returning to the Newcastle music scene in 2018 after a hiatus for study and family commitments, Bitchcraft have become a popular and influential act.
Younger all-female bands like Boycott, The Mild Times and Boudicca, in particular, have followed the lead forged by Bitchcraft's Rowsell, Simone Price (bass/lead vocals), Janice Escano (drums) and Kate Adamson (guitar/vocals).
"We're all about lifting up other women in bands because we find line-ups are lazily put together and we try really hard to curate really interesting line-ups with other women," Rowsell said.
Last year Bitchcraft released the double-sided single He's Not OK and Hot Socialist on vinyl and music streaming service Bandcamp and they've continued to build their live reputation, regularly selling out venues like the Hamilton Station Hotel.
You can catch Bitchcraft on Easter Sunday April 4 at the Hamilton Station Hotel with support from The Mild Times and Sydney's Rubbernecker.
