Rock and Roll Camp for Girls

Last updated
Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls
FormationSummer 2001, Portland Oregon
PurposeTo empower girls through music
Region
Brazil, Canada, Europe, UAE, US, Argentina
Membership
Over 60 camps world wide
Websitewww.girlsrockcampalliance.org

The Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls is both the original Rock n Roll Camp for Girls non-profit organization based in Portland, Oregon, United States, and the common name associated with the Girls Rock Camp movement of youth organizations for girls inspired by the original camp in Portland. The camp in Portland gives girls ages 8–18 the opportunity to learn rock instruments, form bands, write songs, and perform. The mostly volunteer and female staff strives to inspire self-esteem and mutual support among diverse campers within this rock band framework. The first camp was held in August 2001. [1] [2]

Contents

The camp grew out of founder Misty McElroy's 2000 project as a women's studies major at Portland State University. [3]

Inspired by the work from the original Portland project, there are now Girls Rock Camps all over the globe. The mission of the Rock n Roll Camp for Girls has become a DIY global movement that seeks to empower girls through music. Girls Rock Camps now take place in more than 40 American cities including New York (Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls), Austin, Texas (Girls Rock Austin), Charlotte, North Carolina (Girls Rock CLT), Atlanta, Georgia (Girls Rock Camp ATL), Las Vegas, Nevada (Girls Rock, Las Vegas), Washington, DC, (Girls Rock, DC), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Girls Rock! Philly), Seattle, Washington (Rain City Rock Camp), Indianapolis, Indiana (Girls Rock! Indianapolis), Los Angeles, California (Rock n Roll Camp for Girls, Los Angeles), Athens, Ohio (Athens Girls Rock Camp), and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Rock 'n Roll Camp for Girls, OKC) and globally in places like Dubai (Rock Camp for Girls, UAE), Germany (Ruby Tuesday Berlin), Brazil (Girls Rock Camp Brasil), Canada (many, see below table for locations), Sweden (Popkollo), Finland (Girls Rock! Finland) and Australia (Girls Rock! Australia). Each camp is independently run, but organizers exchange ideas and share approaches by way of the international Girls Rock Camp Alliance. [4]

Camps around the globe

The Rock n Roll Camp for Girls mission is expanding as people become inspired to start chapters in their hometowns all over the world. Each camp is put together by the community it represents, and because of this many camps offer different versions of similar programming.

CanadaUnited StatesEuropeAustralasiaSouth AmericaUnited Arab Emirates
MississaugaJacksonville, FloridaBerlin (Ruby Tuesday)CanberraBrazilDubai
MontrealNew York, New York (Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls)ParisBrisbaneBuenos Aires, Argentina (Chicas Amplificadas)
PeterboroughAustin, Texas (Girls Rock Austin)Sweden (Popkollo)Melbourne
SaskatoonLos Angeles, CaliforniaIceland (Stelpur Rokka!)Wollongong
TorontoBoston, MassachusettsHelsinki, Finland (Rock Donna and Girls Rock! Finland)Sydney
VictoriaSeattle, WashingtonLower Austria, Austria (Pink Noise Girls Rock Camp)Auckland, Aotearoa
VancouverPortland, OregonMunich, GermanyWellington, Aotearoa
Dawson CityBoise, IdahoStavanger, Norway (Loud!)
WhitehorseVermont www.girlsrockvermont.org
St. John's, NewfoundlandRhode Island
WinnipegRochester, New York
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Girls Rock! Philly)
Roanoake, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia (Girls Rock RVA)
Washington, DC
Athens, Ohio
Columbia, Missouri (Como Girls Rock Camp)
Columbus, Ohio (Girlz Rhythm and Rock Camp)
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Madison, Wisconsin
Twin Cities, Minnesota (Girls Rock n Roll Retreat)
Chicago, Illinois
Indianapolis, Indiana
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Warren, Ohio (Girlz Voices)
Oakland, California (Bay Area Girls Rock Camp)
Anchorage, Alaska
Las Vegas, Nevada
Santa Barbara, California (Girls Rock SB)
Orange County, California
Denver, Colorado
Omaha, Nebraska
Athens, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Columbia, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Durham, North Carolina
Orlando, Florida (Rock n Roll Camp for Girls Central Florida)
Dallas, Texas
Houston, Texas
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Knoxville, Tennessee
Charleston, West Virginia (Rock Camp for Girls Appalachia)
Murfreesboro, Tennessee (Southern Girls Rock Camp)
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Rock 'n Roll Camp for Girls OKC)
Seattle, Washington (Rain City Rock N Roll Camp for Girls)
Bellingham, Washington (Bellingham Girls Rock Camp)
South East Los Angeles, California (Chicas Rockeras)

Girls rock camp alliance

The Girls Rock Camp Alliance (GRCA) is an alliance of music camps who share the same mission of empowerment through music. The purpose of the GRCA is to create a physical and a virtual space for camps to share ideas and resources, as well as a space for organizers of camps to meet in person and gain inspiration from each other. The GRCA holds one conference a year where organizers from individual camps gather to skill build, resource share, build community, and talk about different camp philosophies as well as movement building. [5]

Girls rock camp in culture and media

In 2006, the Rock n Roll Camp for Girls was the subject of Stacy Lynn Singer's dissertation at Georgia State University, entitled I'm Not Loud Enough to be Heard, Rock n Roll Camp for Girls, and Feminist Quests for Equity, Community, and Cultural Production. [6] In 2008, Girls Rock! was released. It is a documentary that follows the stories of three young girls through their week at the Rock n Roll Camp for Girls in Portland, Oregon. [7] Also in 2008, a book was written by the Rock n Roll Camp for Girls to encourage girls to play music, which featured illustrations by Graphic Artist Nicole Georges. This book contained a short history of women in rock music, and featured contributions from former volunteers of camps such as Nicole Georges, STS, Carrie Brownstein (Portlandia/Sleater Kinney) and members of The Gossip. [8] In 2012, the documentary Hit So Hard (about drummer Patty Schemel from the band Hole) featured a portion about the Rock n Roll Camp for Girls.

Other programs

Many Girls Rock Camps offer programs other than a summer camp, but with the same ideology. Programs that are offered by some Girls Rock Camps include but are not limited to: Ladies Rock Camps, after school programs, and special events. Ladies Rock Camp (or in some places Women's Rock Camp) is usually a 2-3 day program where adult women are exposed to similar workshops and musical instrument instruction that girls receive during summer camp. After school programs differ depending on the location, but range from totally music driven programming to community and school focused programs. Many Girls Rock Camps offer special events during the year ranging from movie nights to concerts. [9]

Queer Rock Camp in Olympia, Washington, is a week long summer camp program for queer youth ages 12–21 that was inspired by the Rock n Roll Camp for Girls program. Like Girls Rock Camps, they seek to empower queer youth through music, creativity, expression, and workshops that aim to foster those goals.

See also

Related Research Articles

Queercore is a cultural/social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of the punk subculture and a music genre that comes from punk rock. It is distinguished by its discontent with society in general, and specifically society's disapproval of the LGBT community. Queercore expresses itself in a DIY style through magazines, music, writing and film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathleen Hanna</span> American musician and feminist activist

Kathleen Hanna is an American singer, musician and pioneer of the feminist punk riot grrrl movement, and punk zine writer. In the early-to-mid-1990s she was the lead singer of feminist punk band Bikini Kill, and then fronted Le Tigre in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Since 2010, she has recorded as the Julie Ruin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punk zine</span> Fanzines of punk rock

A punk zine is a zine related to the punk subculture and hardcore punk music genre. Often primitively or casually produced, they feature punk literature, such as social commentary, punk poetry, news, gossip, music reviews and articles about punk rock bands or regional punk scenes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4ZZZ</span> Radio station in Brisbane, Queensland

4ZZZ is an independent community radio station operating in Brisbane, Australia at the frequency 102.1 FM. As a community radio station, 4ZZZ is a member of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA). The station broadcasts to much of South East Queensland, parts of northern New South Wales and web streams from its website.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaia Wilson</span> American musician

Kaia Lynn Wilson is an American musician from Portland, Oregon, best known as a founding member of both Team Dresch, a revered 1990s queercore punk band, and The Butchies, a pop-rock spin-off from her solo work. In addition to singing, songwriting and guitar, Wilson co-established and operated Mr. Lady Records from 1996 to 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">June Millington</span> American musician, songwriter, and producer

June Elizabeth Millington is a Filipina-American guitarist, songwriter, producer, educator, and actress.

Women's music is music by women, for women, and about women. The genre emerged as a musical expression of the second-wave feminist movement as well as the labor, civil rights, and peace movements. The movement was started by lesbian performers such as Cris Williamson, Meg Christian and Margie Adam, African-American musicians including Linda Tillery, Mary Watkins, Gwen Avery and activists such as Bernice Johnson Reagon and her group Sweet Honey in the Rock, and peace activist Holly Near. Women's music also refers to the wider industry of women's music that goes beyond the performing artists to include studio musicians, producers, sound engineers, technicians, cover artists, distributors, promoters, and festival organizers who are also women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock Against Sexism</span>

Rock Against Sexism (RAS) was a political and cultural movement dedicated to promoting women in music, and challenging sexism in the rock music community, pop culture and in the world at large. It was primarily a part of the punk rock music and arts scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Dougher</span> American singer-songwriter (born 1967)

Sarah Dougher is an American singer-songwriter, author, and teacher. Dougher began her musical career playing the Farfisa organ in the Portland, Oregon based band The Crabs, and later joined Cadallaca with Sleater-Kinney frontwoman Corin Tucker. She has also released multiple solo albums.

<i>Girls Rock!</i> 2007 American film

Girls Rock! is a 2007 documentary film that follows four 8-18-year-old girls at the Rock and Roll Camp for Girls in Portland, Oregon, United States.

<i>Not Bad for a Girl</i> 1995 American film

Not Bad for a Girl is a documentary on women musicians of the 1990s from the indie rock music genre grunge and riot grrrl and celebrates madness, creativity, and gender play. It was written, directed, produced and shot by rock phenomenologist feminist Lisa Rose Apramian, edited, shot and co-produced by drummer Kyle C. Kyle and co-produced by Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain. A DVD, with a booklet, was available for purchase at the official website and a release date for the sequel book is still in the works as of 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicole Georges</span> American illustrator, writer, zinester, podcaster, and educator

Nicole J. Georges is an American illustrator, writer, zinester, podcaster, and educator. She is well known for authoring the autobiographical comic zine Invincible Summer, whose individual issues have been collected into two anthologies published by Tugboat Press and Microcosm Publishing. Some of her other notable works include the graphic memoirs Calling Dr. Laura and Fetch: How a Bad Dog Brought Me Home. In addition to this, Georges creates comics and teaches others how to make them, produces the Podcast Sagittarian Matters, and illustrates portraits of animals. She currently divides her time between Los Angeles, California and Portland, Oregon.

The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus was founded in 1998 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization "committed to reaching youth through music and video". While corporately based in New York City, the work is carried out through a traveling bus, an audio and video recording studio on wheels.

Musicians Without Borders (MWB) is an umbrella organization working with local organizations and musicians to bring social change and peaceful, liveable conditions to their own communities. It was founded in 1999 by Laura Hassler, an American peace activist and musician. From their projects and programs, MWB has developed its training program, sharing skills and knowledge with musicians around the world, in support of their continuing work in their local communities.

Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington and the greater Pacific Northwest and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. Riot grrrl is a subcultural movement that combines feminism, punk music, and politics. It is often associated with third-wave feminism, which is sometimes seen as having grown out of the riot grrrl movement and has recently been seen in fourth-wave feminist punk music that rose in the 2010s. The genre has also been described as coming out of indie rock, with the punk scene serving as an inspiration for a movement in which women could express anger, rage, and frustration, emotions considered socially acceptable for male songwriters but less common for women.

da Vinci Arts Middle School

da Vinci Arts Middle School, also known as da Vinci Middle School, is a public middle school in the Kerns neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, in the United States. It is an arts-focused school in the Portland Public School District. The building was originally used as a high school called Girls Polytechnic High School, then renamed James Monroe High School in 1967. The school closed in fall 1978 when its student body was merged into Washington High School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in punk rock</span> Womens music history


Women have made significant contributions to punk rock music and its subculture since its inception in the 1970s. In contrast to the rock music and heavy metal scenes of the 1970s, which were dominated by men, the anarchic, counter-cultural mindset of the punk scene in mid-and-late 1970s encouraged women to participate. This participation played a role in the historical development of punk music, especially in the US and UK at that time, and continues to influence and enable future generations. Women have participated in the punk scene as lead singers, instrumentalists, as all-female bands, zine contributors and fashion designers.

In the United States, LGBT youth of colour are marginalized adolescents in the LGBT community. Social issues include homelessness; cyberbullying; physical, verbal and sexual abuse; suicide; drug addiction; street violence; immigration surveillance; engagement in high-risk sexual activity; self-harm, and depression. The rights of LGBT youth of colour are reportedly not addressed in discussions of sexuality and race in the larger context of LGBT rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hilken Mancini</span> American singer-songwriter

Hilken Mancini is a US female singer, songwriter, musician, author, co-founder of Punk Rock Aerobics, and Girls Rock Campaign Boston. She has been a member of the bands Fuzzy, The Count Me Outs, Shepherdess, The Monsieurs and Band of Their Own, and starred in a Green Day video “Here Comes the Shock” doing her Punk Rock Aerobics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crystal LaBeija</span> American drag queen, trans woman, founder of the House of LaBeija

Crystal LaBeija was an American drag queen and trans woman who founded the House of LaBeija in 1968. The House is often credited as starting the house system in ball culture. She became a mother figure for homeless LGBTQ youth.

References

  1. "History". GirlsRockCamp.org.
  2. "Rocking Out, No Boys Allowed". New York Times . 13 July 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  3. Lamberson, Carolyn (March 6, 2005). "Girls rock! A Portland program puts young musicians in the spotlight of rock 'n' roll" (PDF). The Register-Guard. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 23, 2007.
  4. "Girls Rock Camp Alliance" . Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  5. "The GRCA Conference". girlsrockcampalliance.org. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  6. Singer, Stacy Lynn (July 2006). "I'm Not Loud Enough to be Heard, Rock n Roll Camp for Girls, and Feminist Quests for Equity, Community, and Cultural Production". GSU Scholarworks. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  7. "Girls Rock! The Movie". www.girlsrockmovie.com. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  8. Georges, Nicole (2008). Rock n Roll Camp for Girls: How to Start a Band, Write Songs, Record an Album, and Rock Out!.
  9. "What is Girls Rock Camp" . Retrieved 29 December 2014.