A soundtrack for your life. A life soundtrack, if you will.

Chely Wright ignited a media frenzy when she came out last month, but lesbians have had an out country/rock star to call their own for years — Jennifer Corday. With 3 albums and her music featured in films and on TV, Corday is on a roll as she completes her upcoming record. She talks to Autostraddle about being gay in country, why lesbians love girls with guitars, and tells tales of the trouble her Gretchen Wilson “Redneck Lesbo” parody has gotten her into.

In her Audiostraddle debut, contributing writer Corey Crossfield chats to Kiyomi McCloskey, lead singer from the Toronto-based female rock trio Hunter Valentine. Fresh from showcasing at New York’s CMJ, Kiyomi talks about the band’s beginnings, their upcoming EP “Lessons From The Late Night”, and how she writes the songs that can tear your heart apart or help you piece it back together.

Remember record stores? The ones built of bricks and mortar? They didn’t disappear the day you bought your MacBook. Your local record store continue to be a pivotal part of the music landscape and to celebrate, there’s Record Store Day – an international event happening on April 17. To celebrate, we’re reminiscing about the first record we ever bought, you should too –

Jess talks to polarizing musician Elizabeth Ziff: “Honestly, I’m queer more than I am gay. I’m peripheral. I’ve never been conformist, I’ve never been status quo, it’s never even entered my brain. I’ve been in a band for 25 years, that’s what I’ve done. Traveled the world, fucked, got wasted, been political, and created.”