LADIES ROCK CAMP BOSTON! (Day One)
A few weeks ago I had this amazing opportunity and I'd like to share it with you all.
(BACKGROUND INFO ON LADIES ROCK CAMP:The Ladies Rock Camp (LRC) is a weekend day camp that provides an opportunity for ladies 19 and over to let loose for the weekend and play rockin’ music together. Programming for LRC is similar to what girls do during our summer camp: learn an instrument, form a band, write a song, and perform it - in just three days! You’ll start to learn and/or practice your instrument of choice on Friday, then keep receiving instrument instruction all weekend. Also, you’ll form a band and work together to write an original song that you will play together on stage on Sunday. In addition, you will have the opportunity to attend a variety of workshops with topics related to being a lady rocker. All proceeds from Ladies Rock Camp go directly to the Girls Rock Camp Boston(GRCB).)
DAY ONE!!!
Everyone meets up at Spontaneous Celebrations in JP. It is a cute area, and the house we will be spending most of the next 3 days in is adorable. We are greeted by some our coaches/counselors and given a lanyard with our name and instrument on it. Also a bag of goodies like a water bottle, a harmonica and prezzies from Guitar Center, including a $20 gift card! Breakfast was waiting for us, and this was when i had the last cup of coffee for (now counting 5) days. We are encouraged to mingle, chill with our possible band mates. The first person i meet is Deanna, a fellow vocalist. We talk and hit it off well, she being my age we had a lot in common. We meet more people, all of us are nervous but excited. Then Hilken, one of the leaders of Girls Rock Camp, announces it is time to head up to the ROCK ROOM for our morning assembly!
We all head up to this amazing room. On one end is the stage. The bar is set up to be the place where you would go to get sticks, pedals, strings, picks, mikes, cords. On every wall there are awesome photos of so many amazing female musicians. Every type of music was represented. With each photo was a little bio, so you could learn about new women you may not have heard of! Also placed around the room were posters that listed different types of music. SO assembly starts, and Hilken and Nora (another awesome leader) give us a rundown of our day, and then we go through some ice breakers. During these i meet a really nifty chick who is part of a library themed band. She’s so funny and sparkly. Once this is done, We do a set of Punk Rock Aerobics. I want to do this EVERY DAY FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!
http://www.punkrockaerobics.com/index1.html
After we are done sweating and giggling Hilken instructs us to head over to any of the music genres. I go to Metal. Because i know that will be fun. Then she tells us to make up a fake band name and hit single. The group I am with decide that our band is MOTHERS BLOOD and our single is WRATH OF THE MOTH!!! :D
Next, it is time to form our bands. Once again we are asked to stand in front of one of our fave genres. I stand in Punk Rock land. Then i go stand in the Emo area, then rock. After the 3rd switch we were told to go to the area we felt strongest about at that moment...so i strolled over to punk again. I see the cool librarian band chick, Tanya, hanging with three other ladies who seem pretty awesome and after a moment all 4 of them ask ‘how would you like to sing in our country punk band?” i said hell yes and we sit down on the floor, thus cementing our band formation. Then Tanya (our drummer) pulls out her iPhone and shows us her list of band names she’d been compiling. We all agreed Citizen Jane was perfect. Along with Tanya is our bass player, Libby and two guitarists - Jersey and Katie. I feel at ease with them so quickly and once again realize what an amazing experience this is going to be.
Once all bands are formed, we are assigned a coach. Ours in Emily, is one of the guitar coaches and a member of local band Shepherdess. She gathers us together, we chat for a bit and then we are sent for a three hour instrument instruction. I wave buh bye to my new band, and go to Studio A.
In the studio we are greeted by our vocal coaches, who gave us amazing instruction and encouragement. We learned how to properly warm up, great exercises, and songwriting ideas. At one point, the whole group wrote a song together by singing out lines we just pulled out of our heads. I was so inspired by everyone in the room. Our couches were so helpful and fun and wicked nice, and my fellow vocalists were amazing. Each of us were so different but on the same page and i loved learning with them.
Following this was lunch and a songwriting workshop with the fabulous Juliana Hatfield. She shared some great stories and played examples of each little lesson she gave. She showed how two songs were so similar and even had a similar harmonica solo in them (Middle of the Road by the Pretenders and What I Like About You by the Romantics).
Another part i enjoyed was when she spoke about the holiday themed episode of My So Called Life she wrote a song for. I teared up remembering that episode as she played the song and I saw it effected others as well. :)
After lunch we had Loud Band Practice. This is when we would take what we learned in our instrument instruction and put it all together. I was happy to be band with the ladies of Citizen Jane again. IN our studio, everyone was getting set up and when they were done, they all started jamming together. For people who had just learned these instruments, they were playing SO DAMN WELL!!! We noticed that there was no mike set up for me and then once set up it was not working properly. One of the drum coaches, Alison turned out to be a kick ass tech person as well and she set to work getting me a mike. As all this was going on, Jersey suggested that i write the lyrics to our song, that i might be more comfortable singing my own words. I really liked that idea and took a line in my little journal i had written down after using it as an exercise in vocal instruction.
“Slept til noon yesterday”. As the girls played and the mike was not ready i started scribbling words down. It felt like 21 year old Jenne was sending me a song from 20 years ago, getting angry at my mom, affectionately known as Bad Patty, and the words flowed. It was not prose, it was not pretty, it was angry and silly and fun and grrr. And I did it. after years of wanting to write a song, i had written some lyrics and as soon as that mike was ready, we tried it out. We practiced and enjoyed ourselves and got used to working as a band.
By the end of Loud Practice, we had a song. “Ode to Bad Patty (Leave Me Alone)” had been born by 5 ladies who’d only met that morning, and were just learning these instruments.
We had our Quiet Practice where Emily coached us on what was happening and how to go about the next steps we’d be taking. I was so damn happy. I felt a part of something so fun and cool and kickass. No one was looking at me like i was crazy. No one made me feel stupid or weird for loving music so much. No one looked at me like i was old or fat or a freak. I didn’t want it to stop. My band mates are amazing and i am so thankful i decided to take this journey.
Afterward there was a fun party with food and music and dancing and greatness. I stayed for a while but at one point i was overcome with fatigue and knew i needed to head out. I floated to the T stop, with a Perma-Grin across me face, singing the song over and over again in my head and feeling so high i never wanted to come down...and that was only Day One.
Thanks for reading!
Jenne
(BACKGROUND INFO ON LADIES ROCK CAMP:The Ladies Rock Camp (LRC) is a weekend day camp that provides an opportunity for ladies 19 and over to let loose for the weekend and play rockin’ music together. Programming for LRC is similar to what girls do during our summer camp: learn an instrument, form a band, write a song, and perform it - in just three days! You’ll start to learn and/or practice your instrument of choice on Friday, then keep receiving instrument instruction all weekend. Also, you’ll form a band and work together to write an original song that you will play together on stage on Sunday. In addition, you will have the opportunity to attend a variety of workshops with topics related to being a lady rocker. All proceeds from Ladies Rock Camp go directly to the Girls Rock Camp Boston(GRCB).)
DAY ONE!!!
Everyone meets up at Spontaneous Celebrations in JP. It is a cute area, and the house we will be spending most of the next 3 days in is adorable. We are greeted by some our coaches/counselors and given a lanyard with our name and instrument on it. Also a bag of goodies like a water bottle, a harmonica and prezzies from Guitar Center, including a $20 gift card! Breakfast was waiting for us, and this was when i had the last cup of coffee for (now counting 5) days. We are encouraged to mingle, chill with our possible band mates. The first person i meet is Deanna, a fellow vocalist. We talk and hit it off well, she being my age we had a lot in common. We meet more people, all of us are nervous but excited. Then Hilken, one of the leaders of Girls Rock Camp, announces it is time to head up to the ROCK ROOM for our morning assembly!
We all head up to this amazing room. On one end is the stage. The bar is set up to be the place where you would go to get sticks, pedals, strings, picks, mikes, cords. On every wall there are awesome photos of so many amazing female musicians. Every type of music was represented. With each photo was a little bio, so you could learn about new women you may not have heard of! Also placed around the room were posters that listed different types of music. SO assembly starts, and Hilken and Nora (another awesome leader) give us a rundown of our day, and then we go through some ice breakers. During these i meet a really nifty chick who is part of a library themed band. She’s so funny and sparkly. Once this is done, We do a set of Punk Rock Aerobics. I want to do this EVERY DAY FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!
http://www.punkrockaerobics.com/index1.html
After we are done sweating and giggling Hilken instructs us to head over to any of the music genres. I go to Metal. Because i know that will be fun. Then she tells us to make up a fake band name and hit single. The group I am with decide that our band is MOTHERS BLOOD and our single is WRATH OF THE MOTH!!! :D
Next, it is time to form our bands. Once again we are asked to stand in front of one of our fave genres. I stand in Punk Rock land. Then i go stand in the Emo area, then rock. After the 3rd switch we were told to go to the area we felt strongest about at that moment...so i strolled over to punk again. I see the cool librarian band chick, Tanya, hanging with three other ladies who seem pretty awesome and after a moment all 4 of them ask ‘how would you like to sing in our country punk band?” i said hell yes and we sit down on the floor, thus cementing our band formation. Then Tanya (our drummer) pulls out her iPhone and shows us her list of band names she’d been compiling. We all agreed Citizen Jane was perfect. Along with Tanya is our bass player, Libby and two guitarists - Jersey and Katie. I feel at ease with them so quickly and once again realize what an amazing experience this is going to be.
Once all bands are formed, we are assigned a coach. Ours in Emily, is one of the guitar coaches and a member of local band Shepherdess. She gathers us together, we chat for a bit and then we are sent for a three hour instrument instruction. I wave buh bye to my new band, and go to Studio A.
In the studio we are greeted by our vocal coaches, who gave us amazing instruction and encouragement. We learned how to properly warm up, great exercises, and songwriting ideas. At one point, the whole group wrote a song together by singing out lines we just pulled out of our heads. I was so inspired by everyone in the room. Our couches were so helpful and fun and wicked nice, and my fellow vocalists were amazing. Each of us were so different but on the same page and i loved learning with them.
Following this was lunch and a songwriting workshop with the fabulous Juliana Hatfield. She shared some great stories and played examples of each little lesson she gave. She showed how two songs were so similar and even had a similar harmonica solo in them (Middle of the Road by the Pretenders and What I Like About You by the Romantics).
Another part i enjoyed was when she spoke about the holiday themed episode of My So Called Life she wrote a song for. I teared up remembering that episode as she played the song and I saw it effected others as well. :)
After lunch we had Loud Band Practice. This is when we would take what we learned in our instrument instruction and put it all together. I was happy to be band with the ladies of Citizen Jane again. IN our studio, everyone was getting set up and when they were done, they all started jamming together. For people who had just learned these instruments, they were playing SO DAMN WELL!!! We noticed that there was no mike set up for me and then once set up it was not working properly. One of the drum coaches, Alison turned out to be a kick ass tech person as well and she set to work getting me a mike. As all this was going on, Jersey suggested that i write the lyrics to our song, that i might be more comfortable singing my own words. I really liked that idea and took a line in my little journal i had written down after using it as an exercise in vocal instruction.
“Slept til noon yesterday”. As the girls played and the mike was not ready i started scribbling words down. It felt like 21 year old Jenne was sending me a song from 20 years ago, getting angry at my mom, affectionately known as Bad Patty, and the words flowed. It was not prose, it was not pretty, it was angry and silly and fun and grrr. And I did it. after years of wanting to write a song, i had written some lyrics and as soon as that mike was ready, we tried it out. We practiced and enjoyed ourselves and got used to working as a band.
By the end of Loud Practice, we had a song. “Ode to Bad Patty (Leave Me Alone)” had been born by 5 ladies who’d only met that morning, and were just learning these instruments.
We had our Quiet Practice where Emily coached us on what was happening and how to go about the next steps we’d be taking. I was so damn happy. I felt a part of something so fun and cool and kickass. No one was looking at me like i was crazy. No one made me feel stupid or weird for loving music so much. No one looked at me like i was old or fat or a freak. I didn’t want it to stop. My band mates are amazing and i am so thankful i decided to take this journey.
Afterward there was a fun party with food and music and dancing and greatness. I stayed for a while but at one point i was overcome with fatigue and knew i needed to head out. I floated to the T stop, with a Perma-Grin across me face, singing the song over and over again in my head and feeling so high i never wanted to come down...and that was only Day One.
Thanks for reading!
Jenne