Feminism, Pop-Culture | Posted by Shelan O on 09/13/2009

GR!C: Day 6…Final Performance at The Metro!

Seeing your show on the marquee of a venue that’s hosted bands like The Ramones, Sonic Youth, Veruca Salt, The Smashing Pumpkins, and The White Stripes is pretty thrilling.  And seeing people line up around the block for it is unbelievable. 

The Metro

Inside, we all converge on the balcony, chatting while waiting our turn for the sound check.  Everyone is nearly bursting; you occasionally hear shrieks of ‘I’m soooooooooooo NERVOUS!!’ but it’s always said with a smile, no one looks like they’re going to faint.  Some girls are dressed with a theme – Homecoming Riot are all wearing prom-like frocks, The Black Tie are wearing ties, save for one girl who has drawn a neck tie on a T-shirt. Whether they’re…

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Feminism, Pop-Culture | Posted by Shelan O on 09/12/2009

GR!C: Day 5

Xenia and I are a few minutes late today, and when we get to the cafeteria, everyone has paper taped to their backs and are running around with markers. We soon learn that you’re supposed to write on these pieces of paper what you like about the person who wears them. Everyone is fluttering around, giggling at the imagined reactions to their kind words. It was nice seeing so many girls become so excited and eager to say nice things about their fellow campers and counselors. Everyone I passed offered to write something on me, and I did the same. Then, in unison, we removed our papers and read them. Here were some things that had been written on me,…

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Feminism, Pop-Culture | Posted by Shelan O on 09/10/2009

GR!C: Day 3

designing a logo. photo cred: Amanda Barbato

Our band finally has a name and a logo, which will be screened onto shirts, so each band has merch. Sweet!  It had been down to Electric Field Trip or On The Fritz, but fate…took another course…(dun dun daahhh!).  We hadn’t been able to decide, so we asked some counselors and campers which they liked better.  Electric Field Trip emerged as favorite, but there was a problem: we already had artwork for On The Fritz that we were really happy with.  So yesterday at lunch we decided to come up with a completely new name and insert it into the old logo I’d drawn.  We struggled to think of something.  “Wayward something might be good. …

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Feminism, Pop-Culture | Posted by Shelan O on 09/9/2009

GR!C: Day 2

instrument lessons. photo cred: Amanda Barbato

I’ve been moved to a new bass class, which is awesome because now I have Allison as my teacher! Allison was my drum teacher last year, and has been with the camp since the beginning, so we’re old pals.  She moved to Boston a couple of years ago, but comes back every summer to participate.  She’s a great musician and a really fun person to be around.  Her passion for music and sharing knowledge is sincere, not over the top or grating.  I’ve never met anyone who is so enthusiastic and so laid back at the same time, which creates the perfect learning environment.  Playing drums is fun, but playing drums with Allison is brilliant!  Learning…

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Feminism, Pop-Culture | Posted by Shelan O on 09/8/2009

GR!C: Day 1

I woke up at 5:40 am, raring to go. My sister, Xenia, who has been pretty low-key in expressing her enthusiasm, literally danced into the bathroom singing “Good morning, good morning, good morning to yoooooooouuuu!” in mock opera. She’s ready. We have to travel across town to get there, but boy is it worth it. Ninety minutes and three modes of public transport later, we arrive. Girls Rock! Chicago 2009 is on!

We check in and are assigned our instruments. I get drums, but Xenia gets bass. When she’s told, her face visibly falls. She’s been talking about playing drums all year, and has even worked on some beats to try out. We later learn that forty of the eighty girls…

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