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 dressed up or down, everyone has laid out their rock finery.  Some match, some don’t.  The Maudlynns are definitely the latter; Ruadhan is wearing a Death Cab For Cutie shirt, Erica is wearing a cut up tee with shorts, Darnitrea has on a plaid tunic over jeans, and a funky new do just for the occasion.  I’m wearing a vintage-y black and white sundress and a pillbox hat with a veil.  “You look like you’re going to a funeral!” says Darnitrea.  I’ve unintentionally worn the perfect outfit for a band called The Maudlynns. 

Yesterday has been cast aside, the tension replaced by a strong sense of camaraderie and joyful expectancy.  When doors open at 3:00, the audience files in, and a cacophony of cheers and shouts rain down in greeting.  By 3:15, the lights have dimmed, the chatter amongst us has simmered to a hum, and the show begins.  Here’s the line-up: Interruptions, Cute But Deadly, Bear Crossing, Pink Slip, Pen vs. Paper, The Laceups, The Black Tie, The Hip Hop Girls, Circular Convention, Black Skittles, Mourning Glory, Rockin Sea Monkeys, DML, Hott Dynamite, Doh Re Mii, Leaking Battery (Xenia’s band!), The Maudlynns, The Ravens, Homecoming Riot, and The Wiggins.

 The founders of the GR!C are on stage too, balancing amp levels, untangling cables, adjusting mike stands and guitar straps, making themselves useful in any way they can, for they are not passive women.  Everything that happened this week they’ve had a hand in, from organizing snacks to organizing workshops, from setting up drum kits to setting up the show.  It’s amazing just how much they do, and gladly. But I guess that’s what happens when you pursue something you love; everything that’s involved becomes a joy, every aspect, every moment—worthwhile.

When Leaking Battery is up, Xenia asks her bandmates if they’re ready to rock, then gives the count off.  “Thoomp.  Thoomp thoomp, teeshhhhhh!  Thoomp.  Thoomp thoomp, teeshhhhhh!” sings the kit.  It’s so loud I can feel it in my chest, like a second heartbeat. She owns those drums – a girl who had hoped to blend into the background now thoroughly rocking out.  As my awesome sister leaves the stage, I give her a big hug, and my bandmates and I take our places.  I learn just before we start that it’s Erica’s birthday.  What a great way to turn 15!  Ruadhan introduces us, and the music begins.  Each one of us takes to the stage in their own way, me beaming to myself and dancing a bit, Darnitrea hitting her symbols with an assurance and playfulness I’ve never seen in her before, Ruadhan with just the right amount of lead singer swagger, Erica strumming with a relish that would suggest years of touring and gigs.  At one point Erica and I face each other, nodding our heads with satisfaction as if we have pulled off the most awesome solo in the world.  Then, barefoot, she jumps up onto the drum platform.  Ruadhan and I look at one another in astonishment, but then simply shake our heads and smile.

the stage at The Metro

All through the show, there is much dancing, fist pumping, and screaming, at times it’s deafening.  The audience is unrestrained in their enthusiasm and appreciation.  They’re blown away, just like they are every year.  They go in expecting a novelty, a school recital with an adorable twist.  It is cute to see an eight year old behind a drum kit, or strumming a bass that is nearly as big as she is, but I don’t think anyone can anticipate just how inspiring it all is, or just how much it totally, truly, rocks.  I can’t really pick out a favorite band; there are some whose songs are tighter, whose members are more experienced musicians, but every single band plays their hearts out and their energy and sheer joy is unmatched.  The experience is unparalleled and indescribable, something you have to be a part of to fully understand. 

 So go check it out for yourself.  Form a band with your friends, or try writing some lyrics the next time you’re on the bus.  You don’t have to know how to play an instrument, or be an amazing writer, all you need are your own thoughts and feelings. Whatever you create will be invaluable to you and whomever else you share it with.  If there’s a camp in your town, join up.  And if there isn’t one, start one.

“AMAZING everything—related—to—music—ist” “Your very talented” “Great base prayer!” “Cleo says ‘hi’ ” “Great Band Namer” “Good Bas Play!” “I love your clothes!” “Good bass player and drumer” “U ROCK!” “You are very pretty and nice!” “Your very funny” “Great!” “Last year, you were in one of the best bands. I’ll bet you’ll be in an awesome band, too!” “You are very cool!” and “I Love You.” (I think I know who wrote the last one)

my sister, Xenia. photo cred: Amanda Barbato

For our last bass lesson, we’re going next door for a three-class jam. It all started a few days ago, when Allison was teaching us how to play the bass line for Shut Up and Let Me Go by The Ting Tings. Xenia’s class, in the room right next to us, heard us playing it a million times, and liked it so much that they learned the drum beat. Pretty soon, a guitar class was in on it too. And so, here we are with nine amps, four drum kits, and now that some other classes have come to watch, about 25 people, in one classroom. 38 strings resonate in unison, 120 fingers work together in some way or another. It’s magical.

group jam. photo cred: Amanda Barbato

I walk over to Xenia’s kit so we can play together, and am surprised by how well she’s holding her beat. In one business week of lessons, she’s playing better than some adult drummers I’ve seen. I am proud. And I am rocking out. All at once. I am in the middle of an “everything falls into place” moment. Every year I know a moment like this will come at some point; it’s been hiding in every tentative idea, every new melody, every time you and your band mates understand one another perfectly, but I find it sudden and moving, regardless. When the music is just right, when everything fits, it’s a wonderful feeling. You are calm but almost breathless with excitement. Everything is new, yet seems familiar. You feel that you are exactly where you need to be and wonder where you will be next, without fear, only with crisp and refreshing curiosity. You take a deep breath in, and a smile slowly unfolds and blooms on your face. Your neck is shivery and cold, but not uncomfortably so. You bob your head and maybe play your notes with just a bit more flourish, a bit more pride. This is why I love to play music, especially with other people. I’ve done my best to describe what it’s like, but I can’t really. You’ll just have to go out and try it yourself.

During band practice, there is a similar feeling of harmony and excitement. We’ve finally got the transitions down, and there are joyful shrieks of how great the show will be tomorrow. We decide to run through it one more time, just to be safe, and…mess up the transitions yet again. Then Darnitrea’s kick pedal breaks, and within seconds everything unravels. Ruadhan has ripped out her earplugs and thrown them to the ground, Darnitrea is yelling, and I’m in a state of bewilderment. Erica keeps her head down and strums on her guitar, killing time till things blow over. Pre-show melt-downs are not that uncommon, camp is over, tomorrow’s a big deal, it can all be pretty nerve racking. I know from experience that it’ll all come together and be fine, more than fine, it’s going to be fun, but there’s no way for a first-time camper to know this. Nothing I say seems to help turn this around, words of encouragement just make them even more angry.

(I think my bandmates kinda hate me. That’s a first! Oh well…)

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.  Like ‘wayward’ and then some sort of textile…Velvet? Linen?  Something really flow-y.”  We liked this idea, but couldn’t think of something really great to go with wayward.

 I suggested we name some of our favorite words.  “Ok, what are some that you like?” Erica asked me.  “Well, hmm…I like cacophony, morose, maudlin…The Wayward Cacophony?  Or maybe The Maudlins.”  We all like the last one a lot.  “We could play around with the spelling too, if we wanted.  It could be l-y-n-n-s instead of l-i-n-s.” I said.  “I like that, then it’ll sound like a family band!” said Erica.  So now we’re The Maudlynns.  Now that I think about it, this is the fourth year I’ve come up with the band’s name.  The Jagged Tulips was the first, something I had thought of before camp started.  Then there was The Mango Lassies, which came into being while poring over the menu at an Indian restaurant.

rockin the drums. photo cred: Amanda Barbato

 Jessica Hopper, the author of The Girls’ Guide to Rocking, paid a special visit to camp during lunch and spoke with us about her book.  I really wanted to interview her for my post, but there were two problems. 1: I didn’t have any questions ready; 2: I’ve been having a hard time interviewing people at camp, for the simple reason that I can’t write down what they’re saying fast enough.  For example, yesterday in bass class, my teacher Allison was saying something really cool on her habit of dissecting songs so as to better understand them: “Like, Love Song by The Cure?  I know how to play the drum beat, the bass line, the guitar part, everything.  If I can own it in my head, then I feel like I really know the song, that it’s really in there.”  My thoughts after scrambling to write all this down?  “So that’s why reporters use tape recorders!” 

After speaking with Jessica for a few minutes, she agreed to do an email interview, which you can read in tomorrow’s installment.

We also had the camp’s first ever Self-Defense workshop. “If someone is attacking you, you are no longer the victim.  When you’re defending yourself, they should become your victim,” the instructor tells us.  We were shown some moves to practice with our band mates. They ranged from poking someone in the eyes (simple and effective no matter what your age or level of strength) to a move that could kill someone if you do it hard enough (and that we had to swear not to tell — or use — on anyone).  We also learned the importance of being aware of your surroundings and how to avoid situations that require the use of these skills in the first place. We ask a lot of questions, which she happily answers.  I’ve finally satisfied my long burning curiosity on how to properly head-butt someone!  At one point she says that being loud is all you need, and encourages the 80 girls to scream at the top of their lungs.  Bracing myself, I plug my ears and look over to see several counselors reach for their earplugs.  At the end, I overhear a counselor say, “And, armed with this information, bands of furious eight year olds took over the world!!”

self defense. photo cred: Amanda Barbato

 A band called The Locals performed today.  there was yet another dance party (I think it would be hard not to have one!).  Whenever their bassist played, she would shake her head from side to side, her face obscured by a blur of black hair.  The lead singer/guitarist was barefoot! They all seemed to be having a great time, which made watching them even more enjoyable.

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 bass just got a lot more interesting.

My band is made up of Ruadhan, a first-time camper from Milwaukee; after dabbling in harp, trumpet and Irish tin whistle, she discovered guitar and fell in love with it.  Erica has played guitar since she was eight; her interest in marine biology led her to a two-week expedition in the Bahamas with The Shedd Aquarium.  Darnitrea has played drums before, including for her church, and she loves to sing, but says she’s too shy to sing in the band.

During lunch, my bandmates are talking about Twilight, so naturally I turn to my band counselor for conversation.  Paulette has volunteered since the beginning, so I ask her why she thinks something like GR!C is so important.  “It’s such a contrast to the day to day world girls are usually in at school.  Girls are socialized to follow the rules and be quiet, to conform.  Here, there are so many different representations of femininity, some of which many girls have never encountered before.  It’s kind of like, ‘Oh. I can have full sleeve tattoos if I want to.’”

Today, those different representations are on full display, in the form of T-shirt alterations. The first day, it should be noted, is the sole day of the week you will find the counselors’ signature red t-shirts in pristine condition.  Today they’re ripped, slashed, shortened, sleeves cut into strips and made into bows and whatever else you can think of.  The looks are as diverse as the volunteers themselves, and quite fun to compare and contrast.  My favorite last year was one that had been slit open at the side seams, then re-laced with the collar and sleeve remnants, creating a sort of corset effect.  It was awesome.

effects pedals. photo cred: Amanda Barbato

Next up is DIY Sound & Recording Basics.  The ladies running the workshop talk about effects pedals and 4-tracks. We learn the best way of recording drums, how to take mikes apart, and even get a chance to record something on the 4-track.  Two girls play The Moldy Peaches’ Anyone Else But You, of Juno fame, one on guitar and the other on vocals.  Instantly, the entire group is singing along, even the counselors.  It’s quite the moment.  The kind that would be a scene in a film about camp.

Compared to the non-stopishness of yesterday, today seems pretty low-key!

Back at home, Xenia sat down and cranked out some lyrics.  There were no edits, no angst over whether they were good enough, or if her band would like them.  She thought they were great, and that was all that mattered. Her band loved them, but when the lyrics had to be cut down, she was totally fine with it.  That got me thinking about just how different the 9-11 year olds are from the 12-16 year olds.  Older girls often give their ideas the bum’s rush before they’re even fully formed, or feel that their opinions aren’t worth voicing, habits which GR!C helps shake off.  There’s a lot more to learn here than just how to put on a good show.

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 picked drums as their first-choice instrument. For the first two years of camp, there weren’t enough drummers to fill every band. Could this mean that girls are becoming less afraid to make noise and rock out? Maybe. But what I do know is that Xenia has her heart set on drums, so I swap with her. I’ll be learning bass this year.

girls get crafty! photo cred: Amanda Barbato

After signing in, we head to the cafeteria (GR!C doesn’t have it’s own space yet, so they rent out a school; this year it’s at Pritzker Elementary, in the Bucktown/Wicker Park neighborhood) where dozens of girls chat, craft, draw, read and get to know each other. I spot sisters Macy and Zoe, who enjoyed camp so much last year that they’re back for more. “I loved it!” says Macy, “It’s so cool and fun. And I just really loved making music.” I ask Zoe what kind of music she likes these days. “Uh, I don’t really know. Whatever Cake is.” I start talking to a nine year old in neon knee-highs about why she decided to return. “It’s the funnest thing I’ve ever done. And I do a lot of things. I came in third place at a triathlon on Saturday.” 

We head to the gymnasium, and spend some time getting to know our counselors and each other. With over a hundred people and the energy that first day excitement brings, it’s chaotic and fun and super interesting. Then there are workshops for Hearing Protection and Women in Rock History. We’re given pairs of high quality earplugs by Earlove, then take a whirlwind tour of women who have had an impact on today’s female rock musicians. Not all of the women in the presentation could be filed under “rock music,” but all of them had a role in kicking the doors open for today’s female artists. For example: Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s music was gospel-based, but her guitar playing and passionate singing style turned audiences and their ideas of women in music on their heads.

Feeling inspired, we’re off to form our bands. This is the moment that shapes your whole week. Some girls know each other from past sessions or they’re friends outside of camp, so they join up quickly. For others, the process can be accidental; you wind up with someone because you just complimented them on their awesome shoes or because a girl looks about your age or simply because you find yourself standing next to someone that needs a drummer. No matter how many ways GR!C tries to quell the chaos and help you, i.e. by grouping you into genre preferences, age groups, using questionnaires about favorite foods, colors etc., it’s still kind of random, you’re forming a band with total strangers in under twenty minutes. The outcome is always unpredictable.

3/4 of my band. photo cred: Amanda Barbato

One year a bassist and I teamed up and somehow wound up without a drummer or second guitarist, so we were the camp’s first ever duet. And it was great! Last year I wound up being the last girl standing without a band at all. It was awful! It was like that pitiful scene in a movie where the kid is the last one picked by the team, which I said through tears to the very comforting ear of Kate Walsh, an awesome volunteer who started with the original Rock ‘N’ Roll Camp for Girls in Portland. We laughed about it much later, but that day? So. Not. Hilarious. I had no way of knowing then that it would actually turn out to be my favorite year and that I would fall in love with drums and be in a great band. You just never know, whether it’s your first year or fourth, how it’ll turn out, and that’s what makes this part of the day so unique.

At the end of every day, there’s a performance by a local act; today it’s Tyler Jon Tyler, a band with a unique style that’s just as fun to watch as it is to listen to. Counselors and campers alike got up and danced. We all were drenched by the end of the set. And so, sweaty and smiling, girls said their goodbyes and headed home.

dance party! photo cred: Amanda Barbato

Julie:

Every day this week, Shélan is going to be chronicling her experience at camp for us, letting us into the world of girls who aren’t afraid to rock. And now…Shélan! 

Shélan: 
It’s finally happening. You’re onstage, rocking out in front of an enthusiastic crowd. The song you’re performing is composed of your own words and music, written just days ago by you and your band mates, some of whom just learned to play the guitar (or bass, or drums) this week. But the audience can’t tell, because your hearts are in it, full throttle. Your band owns the stage. Welcome to Girls Rock! Chicago, a week long rock camp for girls age 9-16.

The camp was started by a group of women who wanted to encourage girls to be active participants in the rock music industry, rather than just consumers of it. You can read more about their swell mission here. Girls Rock! Chicago is not-for-profit and run entirely by volunteers: counselors, band coaches, instrument instructors, workshop leaders, etc. are all women who donate their time and awesomeness to make this week happen.

small girls, big dreams. photo cred: Amanda Barbato

The task seems impossible. In one week, girls form a band, take instrument lessons (from absolute beginners to advanced classes), write a song and perform at The Metro, a rock venue that is dedicated “to bring a cross-platform of the best local, regional and national emerging artists to Chicago.” The days are pretty long; in addition to all things related to your band’s performance there are workshops like Women in Rock History, Hearing Protection, Band Management, Touring, Silk Screening, etc.

This is my fourth year with the camp. I’ve been attending since the first year, when there were less than twenty girls and only five bands. Our first rock venue was Schuba’s, another really great space in Chicago. By the second year we’d grown to fifty girls and the lineup outgrew Schuba’s stage and room capacity. This year we’ll have over eighty girls, one of whom is my little sister, who is finally old enough to attend. We’re both hoping to play drums. I’ve played guitar for six years, but last year decided to try something new and loved it. My sister thinks she’ll be pretty good at it too; she says she already has some great beats and likes the idea of being at the back of the stage. She’s quite shy, but she’s not letting that stop her from rocking out.

I’ll be making daily posts this week, from band selection to performance and everything in between. Or at least as much as I can, between Button Making, band practice, Careers in Rock Music and Self Defense. It’s gonna be a great week.