Girls Rock Camp Austin develops real-life skills for women in music

Today’s story is a guest post from past contributor to The Cosmic Clash, Heather Forrester. Heather is so passionate about the mission of Girls Rock Austin we couldn’t say no to her submission this week. It’s that good. And it’s empowering. We cannot think of a better way to begin the week than by being inspired by this organization and their clients.

The finale of the week long Girl’s Rock Camp by local non-profit, Girls Rock Austin ended with a showcase at Barracuda in Austin August 3. Parents, family, friends and kids shuffled into the well-loved Red River institution on a sunny Saturday afternoon to see what six days of hard work and dedication had achieved. The campers formed their bands at the beginning of the week and had been practicing their instruments and performing rehearsals with each other the entire seven days. This finale was the pinnacle of all this hard work. Everything was about this moment.  But was this the only thing that Girls Rock Camp was all about? We learned a few things volunteering at the camp and observing the day-to-day activities campers experienced.

I’d been volunteering for Girls Rock Camp since the beginning of the week and had been there when the girls first came together, before they had band names, before they hand band logos, and before many of them knew each other very well. Some were past year’s campers and were familiar with playing instruments.  Some had never picked up an instrument before.  All were eager to learn. One of the first principles that Girls Rock Camp staffers taught new campers was to “be a croissant, not a bagel”.  This meant to be open, meaning open to new ideas and new people. Some of the campers may not get their first pick instrument, and some of the campers may not get to be in a band with their friends.  Girls Rock Camp is all about expansion of the self while using creative expression to get there. 

This embracing of openness of expression extends not just to music but to the interactions the girls had with each other. Girls Rock emphasizes tolerance, so if you come into camp and your name is Belle, Scarlett or Celine but you prefer to be called Tom, Frank or Sam that is perfectly acceptable.  In addition, all campers are encouraged to share their preferred pronouns, and wear name tags with buttons showing off the preferred terms. More than anything, Girls Rock Austin was a deep learning environment, where you learn to play music, you learn about other artists, and you learn about each other. The camp this year had settled on Griffin school in Hyde Park as their location, a preparatory learning academy who embraced Girls Rock with open arms.

I found myself struck by how warm and inviting this acceptance culture that Girls Rock Camp was. There were no stupid questions. Any conflicts were to be resolved with playful compassion. When some campers decided to have fun splashing and playing in the gender-neutral bathroom instead of getting back to work an intern made a humorous sign for the door explaining, “It’s not party time, it’s potty time!” and henceforth the bathroom disco parties ceased. Girls Rock was about fun and acceptance but also about getting down to business. 

As a result, of that work ethic, each day had a specific schedule of projects to accomplish.  There was the practical matter of learning your selected instrument and coming up with a band name and songs to compose.  The hallways of Griffin school would be filled with a cacophony of musical sounds all day as ideas and learning came to fruition.  “This is so cool!” I said with wide-eyed wonder on day one as the sounds of “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes filled the hallway.  I was fresh blood for this second session of camp. Most of the other volunteers, staff and interns had already been there the previous week. It was like they weren’t even hearing the music! I couldn’t understand their disinterest. By the end of the week I began to hate the White Stripes with a passion as the guitar chords and drum beat of “Seven Nation Army” filled the halls for the ten millionth time.  Yet this repetition was part of the process, part of how the campers became musicians and better people.

The inspiration extended to not just playing cover songs of famous artists but also being inspired by local acts.  Each day during lunch an Austin band would come and play for the campers.  There would be spontaneous dance parties while the bands played. Afterwards, campers got to take the mic and ask the various bands plenty of important questions.  In addition, the campers had one afternoon to make posters of other famous artists, with the focus being on females. These hand drawn masterpieces would then line the hallways, the trash cans, and the doors of the school, with uplifting and interesting facts for each artist, and sometimes reminders like the poster that proclaimed, “Nina Simone recommends you BE PROUD of who you are”. 

Why so much brouhaha on empowerment? Why a music camp focused on “girls”?  The reason is because womxn (the ‘x’ to emphasize intersectional emphasis) are, in general underrepresented in music. Case in point, there is only one woman on Rolling Stone’s list of 50 Greatest Guitarists (Bonnie Raitt).  But this isn’t just about more female faces being put on stage. Girls Rock Camp is about acceptance, first and foremost with each other.  Women experience a lot of shame in daily life. It is common for women repeat the words “I’m sorry” or just simply “sorry” multiple times throughout the day whether it be when bumping into someone, walking down a hall or perhaps are just simply coming through a door a little loudly.  Girls Rock has zero tolerance for this.  From the beginning everyone is taught that instead of saying “I’m sorry” you are to replace this phrase with “I rock!”.  If somebody else says to a camper, “I’m sorry” you are to say, “no you ROCK!”.  The first time this was explained to me I had to stifle an eye roll.  This seemed super cheesy and over the top.  But as I found myself constantly saying “I’m sorry” throughout the week (who knew how conditioned we are to say this all the time??) I realized that the energy in the room changed for the better each time “I’m sorry” was replaced with “I rock!” or “No, you rock!”.  This was a real game changer. I started plotting how to employ this technique into my everyday life. And I’m a grown woman.

Ultimately Girls Rock is here to teach their campers how to be better humans.  What does this mean? I asked one of the teenage interns, who had spent years as a camper, how Girls Rock helped to equip her with life skills beyond its summer camp and after school programs.  An intern identified as queer. She explained how in her year-round school there is an understanding of queer on a basic level but that the environment was never open to explore exactly what that meant in-depth.  At Girls Rock Camp she was safe to explore the different meanings of queer on a deeper level, and find community of queer, straight, and non-binary peers who supported her no matter what label was applied.  She also explained the campers learned tolerance as band mates and how to manage their emotions and various expressions as a band.  This helped not only in performance but after the curtains were drawn and everyone had gone home.

The finale took place at the conclusion of the week at Barracuda.  Each one of the bands had a chance to perform. Each performance was met with cheering, support and joy.  The entire venue was packed. Enthusiasm was at peak levels.  The final act of Girls Rock Camp was for all the bands to get up on stage and sing the official Girls Rock Camp song.  The opening lyrics of the camp song intones, “Gonna meet my new friends, somewhere we can be free”.  As the campers sang this song, they were projecting, in that moment of youth and turbulence, a freedom of expression they’d perhaps never experienced. 

After the song finished, they would head back into a world where attempts would be made to reduce, or ignore, or demand them to conform to antiquated standards, but ultimately, they had been taught a new set of rules and ideas that went beyond the chords being played. This newfound freedom and knowledge could not be taken from them ever.  As a fully-grown, adult woman just volunteering on the fringes looking in, I too felt the change.  I’d never been a camper or full-time staff but the stuff that Girls Rock was teaching was powerful enough to make a big difference in me too. And why not? Even badass local guitarist Jackie Venson is an alum of the camp and look where she is now… headed to the top of her profession.

All photos: Mike Cosmic