The Pheromones performed onstage for the Rock n’ Roe fest on Friday. The Pheromones is an all girl rock band that started in April 2022 on UCF's campus.

The Pheromones performed onstage for the Rock n’ Roe fest on Friday. The Pheromones is an all girl rock band that started in April 2022 on UCF's campus.

The childhood dream of being in an all-girl rock band seemed far-fetched for junior theater major Madilynn Crown, until she met other women with the same mindset at UCF.

“Some of my favorite singers are girls, like Pat Benatar and Heart,” Crown said. “I've just always wanted to be like them and sing that type of music.”

That’s how The Pheromones were born.

The Pheromones are an all-girl alternative rock band founded by UCF students in April 2022. The band consists of five juniors: entertainment management major Nicole Carbajal on the drums, health sciences major Peyton Higgs on bass, Mayumi Porto, a marketing and hospitality management major and nursing major Juliet Ndubuisi on guitar. Crown was the last member to join the band, becoming the vocalist.

Ndubuisi said one of the best parts about The Pheromones is how easily everyone collaborates to improve the band as a whole. She said everyone brings new music to the table, and with each practice in the parking garages on campus, the band builds up its set list.

“Sometimes it's hard for people in a band to be on the same page, but I feel like with them, I'm always on the same page,” Ndubuisi said. “We rarely argue, and we all get each other. Maybe because we're all girls.”

On Friday, The Pheromones played their third show ever at Henao Contemporary Arts Center for the “Rock n’ Roe” benefit concert. Organizers said all proceeds from ticket sales and donations were sent to Florida Access Network.

FAN is a nonprofit organization and abortion fund that advocates for reproductive justice and provides practical support for abortion care, according to its official website.

Alyx Carrasquel, the network building coordinator for FAN, said the organization provides funds for approximately 60 clients across the state per month. She said client needs vary from person to person, with some in need of money to Uber to a safe abortion clinic and others in need of the full cost of an abortion procedure.

“Our goal is always to make sure that, like, safe abortions are always going to be an option,” Carrasquel said.

Due to the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June, Carrasquel said FAN has faced an influx of clients in need of funds. Abortion may not be fully banned in the state of Florida, but surrounding states such as Alabama and Georgia have stricter laws. Carrasquel said a large percentage of clients FAN helps are people traveling into Florida from other states.

“There has been a major need in the past month and a half, and a lot of it is for travel costs,” Carrasquel said. “Requests have gone up through the roof. It's been at least doubled.”

Carrasquel said all of the proceeds from Rock n’ Roe Fest will be put into the pool of funds used toward clients seeking abortions. For the girls in The Pheromones, Higgs said each member of the band wanted to play in the festival not only for their own rights, but for the reproductive rights of others as well.

The Pheromones performed a set at Rock n’ Roe fest on Sept. 16 at the Henao Contemporary Arts Center. Junior theater major and singer for the band Madilynn Crown said The Pheromones featured some of their favorite female singers, from Pat Benatar to Britney Spears. 

“As a queer woman, it's important that we have reproductive rights too,” Higgs said. “It’s not just for women; it's also for trans and nonbinary people too. I think a lot of people forget that."

Carbajal said students at UCF and individuals in the greater Orlando area should be aware of the fear that comes with the overturning of Roe v. Wade. They said the overturning of reproductive rights affects much more than the person in direct need of an abortion procedure.

“If you don't have a vagina, you at least know people that have vaginas,” Carbajal said. “And if you really care about them, then you should be educated about their rights.”

Being involved in the punk music scene comes with more than just the eyeliner. Porto said punk history has always been associated with politically driven movements, so The Pheromones felt it was important to be vocal about politics as well.

“We are putting ourselves out there making a statement about this, but I feel like it should be a given when playing punk type music and calling ourselves a punk type band,” Porto said.

The band pulls inspiration from other punk rock legends such as Bikini Kill, PVRIS and Destroy Boys to create their own style. Crown said she has seen other bands hold themselves to a certain genre without allowing new artists to serve as inspiration. She said The Pheromones set themselves apart from these bands by learning to play what each girl enjoys and learning to put their own punk flair to it.

“We don’t hold ourselves back with a specific genre,” Crown said. “We don’t really care about that stuff; we just want to do what we like and what sounds good.” 

As the band hits month six of being together, Crown said there are big plans ahead. The Pheromones have already written their first song, and more are in the works. Their inaugural single “Play It Like A Girl” centers on the lowbrow remarks the band has received as they find their footing in the music scene.

“We kept getting musicians in other bands, specifically male musicians, telling us we should play a certain way or change our style into a specific genre,” Crown said. “I was just so sick of men telling us what to do."

Crown said the Orlando punk rock scene is dominated by men. She said she and the rest of the band believe their performances will bring more girls into the genre and empower women to break into such a male-centric world.

“We’re one of the only ones in the Orlando punk scene right now,” Crown said. “I just hope we can keep performing and inspiring other girls to get on that stage together too.”

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