The day camp,
held at Pawtucket’s JamStage practice facility, also included
one-on-one time with female instrument instructors, performances by
local musicians and workshops on topics such as self defense, media
literacy and body confidence.
Fourteen-year-old Lucy Patterson couldn’t believe how well she could play the bass after just a few days.
“I
feel powerful,” said Patterson explaining what it’s like to practice
with her band, Strawberry Basket Upside Down. “I’ve never played an
instrument this loud.”
Despite the strides women have made in
the music industry and female adolescents’ increased sense of gender
equality, girls are still more often encouraged to sing in slinky
dresses rather than rock out with instruments, said Jones.
“Oftentimes,
when female musicians are in the media, the attention is focused more
on their appearance than their abilities,” said Jones.
Not only
that, but most music magazines are directed at a male audience; women
who do play rock instruments tend to start later in life than men; and
less than 20 percent of the bands performing at last year’s South by
Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas, had one or more female members.
“We
want to instill in them the notion that girls are capable of expressing
themselves through music in any format they want,” Jones said.
First
inspired by all-male bands such as Nirvana, then the feminist Riot
Grrrl movement of the early ’90s, Jones, 30, began playing guitar and
bass at age 14. In music, she could channel her emotions in a positive
way. “Instead of feeling bored or sad, I could just go play guitar.”
As
she got older and started playing in bands and working in music shops,
Jones said she began to realize that not all women feel welcome in the
industry. So when she discovered Rock ’n’ Roll Camp for Girls –– which
began in Portland, Ore., and has since spawned local versions
everywhere from Philadelphia to Sweden –– she had to get involved.
Two
years ago, on the heels of finishing a doctorate in psychology, Jones
volunteered as a bass instructor at the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls
in Brooklyn, N.Y. The experience inspired her to start planning and
raising money for a Rhode Island camp. (The Rhode Island State Council
on the Arts and the City of Pawtucket, among others, have lent
support.)
Last year, the organization began by hosting a Ladies
Rock Camp for adults. That initial camp and a subsequent one this past
March served as fundraisers for the girls’ camp. Many of the
participants in the Ladies Rock Camp were among the 35 volunteers at
the girls’ version. They served as instrument instructors, workshop
facilitators and band coaches.
Jane Hesser of Providence, who has
been a band coach for both the girls’ and women’s camps, found working
with adolescents more challenging than coaching adults.
“The
girls have a lot more to overcome than the ladies,” she said. “They’re
much more preoccupied about what their peers think of them, and they’re
not as comfortable in their own bodies.”
Reba Mitchell, of
Providence, a volunteer vocal coach, said girls aren’t often encouraged
to form a community and, in this “Mean Girls” era, simply to be nice to
one another.
“They aren’t given a model that says it’s OK for
females to try things and make mistakes,” she added. “Just the ability
to get loud is really undernourished in women.”
By day two,
Nico Jones, is already echoing that sentiment. Wearing a lavender
Ramones T-shirt, denim cutoffs and black ankle warmers, the 11-year-old
belts out “don’t forget to scream and shout,” lyrics to the song she
wrote with her band, the Oreo Crew. “Singing gives me butterflies, but
in a good way,” she said.
In the practice room next door,
13-year-old Emma Corbin is all smiles as she plays rhythm guitar with
her band, 2 x 2 Loud. She’s always wanted to be in a band but didn’t
have many friends who shared her interest in rock music. Corbin said
she thinks girls are often deterred from participating in rock because
they’re intimidated by the male-dominated industry. And things would
have played out much differently if boys had been allowed in the camp,
she said.
“I don’t think we’d be as inclined to spaz out,” she
said. “I’d probably be a lot more self-conscious. Most girls think a
lot about how they look and what guys think of them, but this camp
teaches girls to be proud of themselves for who they are and what they
do.”
Jones couldn’t have said it better herself. For more
information on the next Ladies Rock Camp, scheduled for October 8-10,
or the 2011 summer camp for girls, visit www.girlsrockri.org.
By Jenna Pelletier
Providence Journal Staff Writer
