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Housewives on Prozac — and Mamapalooza One theme running throughout the women's movement is that of resilience, especially when it comes to rearing children and dealing with illness. Joy Rose, lead singer of the rock band Housewives on Prozac, took a slightly rebellious and irreverent approach to both.

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Housewives on Prozac — and Mamapalooza

Heard on All Things Considered

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Kim Kokich

Housewives on Prozac — and Mamapalooza

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One theme running throughout the women's movement is that of resilience, especially when it comes to rearing children and dealing with illness. Joy Rose, lead singer of the rock band Housewives on Prozac, takes a slightly rebellious approach to both.

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Housewives on Prozac Kate Perotti hide caption

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Kate Perotti

Housewives on Prozac

Kate Perotti

In her own case, Rose says she turned to music after a three-year bout with the debilitating autoimmune disease lupus forced her to slow down and contemplate her life. She decided to write songs again, and when her health returned, Housewives on Prozac was born.

Rose, a pretty, suburban, 47-year-old mother of four who once fronted a punk parody band, Peter and the Girlfriends, tapped into the pool of women who, like her, felt the urge to return to performing.

As the band played in local clubs, word got around, and Rose began hearing from women all over the country who were eager to join what she calls the Movement for Domestically Themed Music. The result was Mamapalooza, a music and arts festival held each spring, now in its fourth year.