Nov 13, 2021
Ph.D., professor, vegan, wife, dog mama, animal advocate and punk rocker only begins to describe Lisa Barca.
As the lead singer of Scarlet Rescue, an all-vegan punk rock band, Lisa can be found raising awareness about the vegan philosophy whether at the front of a room full of college students, caring for rescued pigs at a sanctuary or on the stage at a punk rock concert.
Lisa’s passion for writing songs and singing has spanned decades. She played in bands in Boston and New Haven on the East Coast. But her music was put on the back shelf when she attended graduate school and entered a career of academia.
Currently, Lisa is a professor at Arizona State University, in the Honors College.
Her passion for music was reignited in 2017 after watching a documentary about animal agriculture specific to calves being stripped away from their mothers shortly after being born.
Turning Point
Even though she had been vegetarian for years, the film woke Lisa up to the incredible exploitation of the female reproductive system, the separation of families and depraved violence within the dairy and egg industries.
“I went vegan on the spot, and never looked back. That's when I started playing music again in earnest and started writing songs about becoming vegan,” Lisa reflected.
Soon after, Scarlet Rescue released their album Animals and Other People. Songs include their most popular song, Barbecue Protest which tells the story of how may feel when invited to gatherings where others minimize the fact they are vegan.
A unique aspect of the band is all members are vegan.