Girls Rock
Posted: Tuesday, July 17, 2007 5:00 PM by Jen Brown
(From Curtis Vogel, TODAY producer)
As a producer on the Today Show, you get to meet a lot of people who leave a lasting impression on you long after your story is shot, edited and aired on the show. Such is the case with 11 girls I followed for six straight days at the Girls Rock Camp in Portland, Oregon. WATCH VIDEO
The Girls Rock Camp is a week-long music camp during which girls aged 8 to 18 learn a new instrument, form a band, write an original song, then perform that song in front of 900 people at the end of the week. In a camp that tries to break all the rules where girls are concerned, there are two main directives – no boys allowed and be as loud as you can be.
I spent most of the time watching two bands throughout the week as they prepared for their performance in the Saturday Showcase. The younger band was The Geodes, five girls between 8 and 10 years old. The older band was a group of six girls between 12 and 17 called Won Ton Destruction. All of the girls grew as budding musicians throughout the week, but it was more impressive to watch them grow as young ladies.
The Geodes spent a lot of time hashing out arguments over creative differences. I have never been a member of a rock band, so I had no idea how tricky the band dynamic could be. Now I know why bands like The Police and Van Halen were not able to stay together forever. Each of the singers wanted to make sure they had their own solo parts in their song, “My Time.” The drummer was so impatient with the constant discussion between the singers that she would start banging on the drums even when no one else was ready to play. Eventually, they worked out their differences and learned a lot about conflict resolution, listening to other people’s ideas, and apologizing for hurt feelings.
By comparison, Won Ton Destruction had an easy time of it throughout the week. They had the basic components of their song laid out by the end of the first day on Monday, so by Friday, it was just a matter of fine-tuning their parts and practicing their solos for their song, “Once More With Cowbell”. These girls had instant chemistry together on the first day of camp, and the buzz among the camp counselors was that Won Ton’s song would bring down the house on Saturday Night. I found myself humming their catchy tune after I left rehearsals every day.
By the end of the week, the girls’ parents and counselors weren’t the only ones nervous for the girls. After spending five straight days with them, I was nervous for them too. As the crowd started arriving at the sold-out venue in an old theater in Portland on Saturday night, I could see the excitement in the parents’ eyes, and the enormous support these girls were getting from the crowd, and I realized the girls had already won before they played their first note of the evening.
At the Girls Rock Camp, you hear the word “empowerment” a lot. The counselors (known as coaches at the camp) teach the girls how to play their instruments and get along with their bandmates, but some of the most important moments at the camp happen when the counselors sit and observe and allow the young girls to work out their problems for themselves. This camp is about more than just music. The girls learn about screenprinting, publishing magazines, and self-defense. Self-defense? At a rock and roll camp? It actually makes sense when you look at it as another way to allow girls to stand up for themselves.
Without any boys around to intimidate them or make fun of them, the girls at Rock Camp found their creative voices during the week and learned how to express themselves not only through music but also through discussion and the sharing of ideas with no fear of ridicule. Most of the girls didn’t tell their parents what had been happening in the sanctity of the Rock Camp during the week, so Saturday night was their chance to show mom and dad what they had learned.
Because of random luck, it turned out that my bands were the bookends of the Saturday Showcase. The Geodes would be first, and Won Ton Destruction would close out the show.
After a week of arguing and bickering throughout rehearsals, The Geodes gave probably their best effort of the week on stage. The drummer kept the beat steady throughout the song, and the two 10-year-old singers made it all the way through their lyrics with no mistakes. To the average listener, their song probably didn’t sound like much of anything, but for the parents of those kids, it was a triumphant moment to watch their daughters perform like that in front of an auditorium filled with 900 people. For me, who had been watching them all week and knowing how hard they had worked to get to that point, I couldn’t have been prouder of their feat.
After 16 more bands performed with varying degrees of success, it was time for Won Ton Destruction to take the stage for the final song of the night. From the moment the drummer hit the cowbell to kick off their song, Won Ton had the crowd on their feet. Campers and parents rushed the front of the stage to dance under the band, and Won Ton played together like they had been on the road for six months, not at a camp for six days. Won Ton truly rocked the house.
Whether any of these girls go on to become professional musicians or not, they will never forget that night at the Saturday Showcase. I know I will never forget the week I spent with them, and I just want to thank Siena, Molly, Ellie, Olivia, Gaia, Ashley, Aspen, Zoe, Hanna, Maddie and Amelia for letting me follow them around for a week. It was a pleasure and a true privilege.
If you’re interested in sending your daughter to Rock Camp, please go to the organization’s website at www.girlsrockcamp.org. It’s a great experience for them, and I would highly recommend it.
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