Friday, February 22, 2008

Women rock, too.

Reading Libby’s blog this morning made me nostalgic for playing the guitar. It’s been over a year since I played mine with any regularity, which is sad. Here are my guitars:

































They’re all shuttered up in their cases and stuck down in the basement these days; I haven’t had any time to play them and I’ve figured the loud music would bug Eeyore. Maybe I should pull out my Les Paul and learn to “rock” like Laurie Berkner, that chick who sings for the toddler crowd. Before that, though, I’m tempted once again to go to Ladies Rock Camp. I heard about this last year and thought seriously about going, but I was too scared to perform in front of other people so I decided not to go. This would be yet another of those opportunities in life that I’ve screwed up because I am too scared to try anything new.

For those of you not in the know, Ladies’ Rock Camp is actually a fund-raising arm of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls, which is a summer camp in Portland, Oregon for girls who want to rock. The idea behind it is that the world of rock has been traditionally male-dominated, and so girls should have the opportunity to learn to make music, express themselves and generally rock out in an all-female environment. Obviously, this has a broader social goal of encouraging girls to embrace their individuality and to be comfortable with themselves, as well as to provide an all-female environment where the girls are taught to support each other (as is not always the case with day-to-day female adolescent life).

A few times a year, the camp sponsors weekends for grown women who wish that THEY could have gone to rock camp when they were girls, and the fee for the weekend funds the summer camp for the girls. For $350, you get a full weekend of musical instruction, form a band with other campers and write an original song, then perform it at a showcase on the Sunday night (the part I struggle with).

The October camp still has a bunch of spots open. I really want to do it, and yet I still feel that weight pushing against me about the live performance…

2 comments:

Libby said...

You actually own not one but two electric guitars?! Camp or not, Kate, you totally rock!! (But I do think you should go to camp in October- think how proud it will make Eeyore to someday tell his friends that his mom is a bona fide rock star.)

Broady said...

You really ought to go-- what a cool opportunity. As for the live performance, it brings to mind that famous Eleanor Roosevelt quote about how we must do the thing we fear we cannot do. I'm paraphrasing (badly), but I've always liked the sentiment. My husband plays bass guitar, and would do most anything to attend a similar camp. Go for it : )