And I get that everybody was pissed off on behalf of Taylor Swift. I mean, what a terrible situation. There you are, thinking this is a great moment in your career, and then this asshole comes on stage and not only insults you, but leaves you in front of an audience of millions, just standing there. I mean What. The. Hell. Kanye, that sucks. 

But I mean, Kanye has proven that he’s a jerk before. Remember in 2006 at the EMAs when his ‘Touch the Sky’ video lost Best Video? He crashed the stage during the winners’ acceptance speech as well, and told people that his video “cost a million dollars” and “had Pam Anderson” in it, so it deserved to win. The video of that lovely moment’s right here. (fast forward to about 1:06).

And that’s when I started to wonder. Is this Kanye being an egotistical jerk again? Or does this have deeper implications about gender? 

I really liked Jessica Hopper’s take on this whole situation. As she put it, this is another instance of: 

That guy who pops up and unsolicited, tells you YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG, MISSY. I have seen it happen at shows–some other bands manager or sound guy or another guy in a band will–not even knowing your band’s situation, values, training–pummel you with advice and an opinion about the right way to do what you are doing.

I do think that at the very least, what Kanye did was douchebaggery at its finest. But beyond the basic asshole behavior, I think it was a masculine, egotistical thing. Of course there are women like this too, who like to tell you what to do and how to do it. But I think more often than not guys have that inherent reassurance that their opinion is correct, and that you obviously want them to impart their pearls of wisdom. Girls definitely doubt their opinions more. At least enough to NOT share our opinion on what JUST happened with millions of people at a completely inappropriate time, humiliating someone who in reality had no control over what happened. No…not many girls would go there, I don’t think. 

So I must admit, I am torn. Did Kanye do this because he is a douchebag influenced by the way society makes it more appropriate for men to share (ahem, force) their opinions on others…or just because he’s a douchebag? Truly a question for the ages.

But then Taylor Swift’s response on The View. Another reason why I seriously like her.

And this is completely unrelated. 
But all together now: 
LADY GAGA: WHAT THE !@#$@#%#$???????

song writing. photo cred: Amanda Barbato

Our song is nearly finished! Yay! We pretty much had the music down since day one, except for the last minute bass solo/bridge I added yesterday. The lyrics, on the other hand, were only finalized today. First we had no lyrics, then we had some really good lyrics, but also some doubts as to whether they would fit with the music. After that came some lyrics that fit with the music as far as rhythm and melody were concerned, but seemed to completely lack meaning—and not in the cool Talking Heads “Stop Making Sense” sort of way, more in the lack-of-feeling department. So, we decided to take the really good lyrics that Ruadhan wrote, change the melody and tempo, alter the phrasing a bit, and…Voilà! Great song. The transitions still need tightening — right now it sounds like we’re playing two different songs — so there’s still work to be done.

Band practice is one of my favorite parts of the day. Everyone is so happy to be there, so happy to be playing, that melodies and beats come quickly and easily. You play something you like, and if your mates like it, it’s in. If it doesn’t quite fit, you change it. Suggestions are freely given in a positive and enthusiastic way. This isn’t always the way songs come together at camp, though. It varies from year to year, from band to band. In fact, my very first year, our band decided two days before the show that we didn’t care for the direction our song was heading in, and rewrote it completely. 

We had a music video workshop today. Larissa Zageris, the woman leading it, told us that some of the best music videos are made with little to no budget. She showed us some examples, one of which she directed and filmed herself, right here in the Wicker Park neighborhood. Pizza for the crew was their only expense! Here they are, for your viewing pleasure:

Larissa and her friends filmed this in just one day:

Created by a 19 year old fan, with nothing more than time, sharpies, and a great idea:

Again, time and ideas are really all you need. OK Go are the masters of this:
A Million Ways Music Video (embedding was disabled)

Here it Goes Again

Jessica Hopper: author of Girls Guide to Rocking

And now for the promised interview with Jessica Hopper!

Could you start out by talking about yourself and your book?

My name is Jessica Hopper. I live in Chicago, where I am a music and culture critic. I write for the Chicago Reader, Chicago Tribune, and help pick the music for This American Life. I’m the author of The Girls’ Guide to Rocking, which is a book for girls and young women on how to start a band, play music, put on shows, buy instruments—with a lot of encouragement and women in rock history thrown in. I’m currently on tour with the book and two all-female bands, Katie Stelmanis and The Ghost Bees.

So, how did you acquire all of this useful information?

My whole life has been about music, making it, working with it, writing about it—so a lot of it was culled from my life, but I also have a lot of cool and resourceful musician friends and managers, agents, historians, enthusiasts, producers, sound engineers, etc., who helped fill it all in.

You mentioned that many places you visited during the book tour did not have girls rock camps. What was that like? Are girls’ reactions to your book affected by the absence or presence of a rock camp in their town?

Towns with camps definitely have a community of younger musician girls who are tied together and know one another, which I think is so great. The reactions are about the same everywhere, but in the cities without rock camps girls often say they are the only girl they know who plays or is obsessed with music like they are.

Why do you think it’s important for girls to rock out?

Making music and being in a band and touring are the most fun I have ever had, so I wrote the book to encourage women and girls to pursue it for themselves. And also, so that nothing stands in their way. I‘ve always wished more women were making music. It can give a sense of purpose and an outlet that can be incredibly fulfilling.

You’ve been covering GR!C since the beginning. How do you think the camp has evolved over the years, and what direction do you hope it to take in the future?

They have become bigger and more organized and widespread. I just hope there are more and more and more and more until every city that needs one has one. Or three.

I’ve had some people ask me why there isn’t a rock camp for boys. Have you ever been asked this? If so, what did you say?

There are rock camps for boys, though not exclusively boys, but if you go to rock summer camps everywhere, boys are very much in the majority. I think it’s really valuable for girls to have a supportive female environment, find peers, have something that is just for them. Boys don’t need that per se because they are rock’s/music’s/the world’s dominant paradigm—they already own it, so they don’t need the same kind of permission and encouragement—they can simply continue with their existing privilege rights.

You’re a rock critic; if you were reviewing the End-of-Camp Extravaganza, what would you have to say about it?

There is not a more inspiring show I’ve attended all year—I love being part of so many girls inaugural foray into the music scene.

What are you listening to right now? Are there any new acts that you think deserve some attention?

Well, I‘m on tour right now and so I listen to a lot of podcasts—Chance Dances mixes, cooking shows, NPR shows. I really love Screaming Females, Katie Stelmanis and Dominique Young Unique as new faves.

At amazon here

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.

she's Nikki Darling and you're not

Nikki Darling is a feminist music critic who writes for the LA Weekly and was the former interviews editor at LA Record. She also worked for Jessica Hopper on her book the Girls Guide to Rocking. If it wasn’t evident from this description, she is a really, really cool person. 

Here are some highlights. You can read the whole version here.

What would be your goal or hope for the state of teenage girls who have perhaps fallen into old misogynistic traps? I.E Girls who have bought into the lie, how do you hope on reaching them?

Through my website I’m hoping to spread awareness. My goal is not necessarily to get every teenage girl in this country to identify as feminist — I’m not as concerned about that label as I am about helping girls to see the world through a feminist lens, realizing that there are so many ways in which women are still not equal to men, and also that there are many societal factors that constrict men. I want girls who have fallen into misogynistic traps to realize that they have, and try to find a solution. The way the fbomb does this is not only through posting about these issues in a relatable tone (we’re all peers, after all) but also through the community that has grown there. So many intelligent and interesting girls have posted on the fbomb, and even more have commented.

What advice do you have for feminist young people like yourself on reaching girls your own age who might be scared of being associated with the word “feminist’?

I’ve known so many girls who are scared of the word “feminist.” When you already do identify with that word, it’s hard to remember how alien it can be and how intimidating the stereotypes that are associated with it are. What I usually do is I go through the check list: “Do you believe that men and women should be equal?” “Do you believe that violence against women is unacceptable?” Etc. Almost always, the answers are all yes. Most girls believe in feminism, they’re just not willing to use the word. And to me, having other teenage girls call themselves “feminist” is important, but it’s not the only thing. Having them understand feminism and at least exposing them to it is. So, ultimately, patience. If you help other girls understand why you are a feminist, you’re taking a huge step in helping them realize why feminism is important.

Do you believe teenage boys can be authentic feminists?

I do. I think feminism, and sexism, involves men, and that they should have a say. If we’re talking about equality, we need to acknowledge that that includes men. There are so many feminist issues that men need to be involved in. For example, domestic violence. If we want to stop domestic violence, we need to educate and reach out to men, especially young men, and these young men need to be involved. I understand when feminists say that this is “our fight.” But equality is not one sided.

Explain in your own words why feminism is love and not hate.

Feminism is the love for all people, it is caring so much for your sisters and brothers, that you want the best possible reality for them. Feminism tries to rid the world of hatred, of violence, and tries to create more loving relationships. If people don’t see feminism as love, maybe they’re the ones producing the hatred.

I say some other stuff – some about fashion, music, fav books and albums, the fbomb…I’d love to hear your answers to the questions, too, my brilliant feminist friends!