{"id":239339,"date":"2017-07-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-07T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/where-the-girls-run-the-show\/"},"modified":"2017-07-07T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-07-07T07:00:00","slug":"where-the-girls-run-the-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/where-the-girls-run-the-show\/","title":{"rendered":"Where the girls run the show"},"content":{"rendered":"

House of Blues sets stage for another Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll camp for girls<\/strong><\/p>\n

Por Joyell Nevins\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

S-A-N Diego, wuh oh!<\/em>
\nWhere the rock meets the roll<\/em>
\nS-A-N Diego, wuh oh!<\/em>
\nWhere the girls run the show<\/em><\/p>\n

Damn right. As a girl, I might be slightly biased. As an aunt, though, and a female member of society, I am justifiably ecstatic by the presence of a \u201cRock \u2018n\u2019 Roll Camp for Girls\u201d in San Diego, of which the above is part of their theme song.<\/p>\n

\"Where
A band from last year\u2019s camp, Strange November (l to r) Audri Castelli, electric bass guitar; Sydney Palmer, drums; Parys Townsend, vocals; Charlotte Coppo, electric guitar (Courtesy Melissa Grove)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Melissa Grove and her dedicated team of volunteers have taken a concept started by Girls Rock Camp Alliance and made it thrive in San Diego.<\/p>\n

Forty girls from the ages of 8 to 17 come to the camp for one week. With the help of band coaches, mentors and \u201croadies\u201d (the camp support team), they get an instrument, form a band, get a name, a logo and a song. Then at the end of camp, they get to perform that song live on stage at the House of Blues, located Downtown, just one block north of the Gaslamp Quarter.<\/p>\n

Seeing the power of music and how it moves and changes the girls is one of the reasons band coach Laura Payne signed up.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started learning music at age 7 and found it to really fill my heart and soul like nothing else,\u201d Payne said.\u00a0\u201cI was a shy kid, so music was my preferred way to express myself.\u00a0To this day, I simply could not live without it in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Payne \u2014 who plays bass with four local bands, including The Resizters, Ingenue, Rhythm and the Method, and Big Band Ambassadors \u2014 is grateful that her employer, Live Nation, also sees the value of the camp, and gives her the time off to mentor the girls.<\/p>\n

\"Where
This band\u2019s name is Sunset; (l to r) Jessica Bell, band coach; Chanel Davis, electric guitar (behind); Kaitlyn Castelli, drums; Galilea Gomez, vocals; Jadyn Spiwak, electric bass guitar; Dawnielle Davis, keyboard; Dawn Mitschele, band coach (Photos courtesy Melissa Grove)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cKnowing how powerful this type of inspiration can be, I\u2019d like to pay that forward to the next generation of female musicians as best I can,\u201d Payne said.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s more than simply teaching chords and stage presence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a dream pusher,\u201d Grove explained.<\/p>\n

Because while music is the vehicle \u2014 and what a rockin\u2019 vehicle it is \u2014 the point Grove and the volunteers are driving home is one of strength and confidence. The camp also includes workshops about self-defense, image and identity, and even a female music course called, \u201cHerstory.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an empowerment camp using music as a structure,\u201d Grove said. \u201cI want to show the girls that anything is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Check out the song titles from last year\u2019s camp \u2014 bands such as Funky Munkies, The Flaming Pop Rocks Sunset and Xtreme 5 wrote songs called, \u201cStay Strong,\u201d \u201cCapable,\u201d \u201cSuper heroes,\u201d and \u201cTake a Chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Where
Another photo of Strange November (l to r) Sydney Palmer, drums; Charlotte Coppo, electric guitar; Audri Castelli, electric bass guitar; Parys Townsend, vocals<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In \u201cStay Strong,\u201d the lead sang, \u201cThey push you down, I get back up. They do it again, I fight for the love. I will stay strong. Even when it\u2019s tough, I get back up. I know who I am, without a doubt. Baby, make the sun come out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTake a Chance\u201d has now been adopted as one of the band members\u2019 fight songs, with lyrics like \u201cI want to be who I am, don\u2019t want to be afraid\u201d and \u201cI am unbreakable, nothing can get on my mind.\u201d The camper\u2019s mother, Melissa Mitchell, blogged about her daughter\u2019s transformation over the week:<\/p>\n

For her to go all day <\/em>\u2014<\/em> all those days <\/em>\u2014<\/em> without being sick, anxious or having to call mom was a true miracle<\/em>\u2026<\/em> Friday night, after the last day, I took her to dinner. She told me she got to write her own fight song. She told me she<\/em>'<\/em>s brave now. She<\/em>'<\/em>s strong now. She won<\/em>'<\/em>t be scared of school now, and if she is, she knows she can get through it. <\/em>\u2014<\/em>threefixedhearts.blogspot.com<\/em><\/p>\n

That metamorphosis is what first gave Grove the drive to found San Diego\u2019s Rock n\u2019 Roll Camp for Girls. She took part in a \u201cLadies Camp\u201d version up in Los Angeles through her friends in the band Raining Jane.<\/p>\n

\u201cI walked in there, never having played more than three notes in my life,\u201d Grove said. \u201cI was all uncomfortable and insecure, but by [the end] I\u2019m on stage rocking those three notes in an original song in front of 200 people. It was transformational.\u201d<\/p>\n

She came back to San Diego and for several years kept bringing up the idea of a camp here to her friends who work in nonprofit \u2014 Grove herself works in the marketing and nonprofit field.<\/p>\n

\"Where
Elli Rachimi, who plays electric guitar with The Funky Munkies, gets some mentorship<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Being the aunt of seven girls who are now women, and the great-aunty of 12 still growing girls, Grove could see the value in such a camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see what challenges they have and what they\u2019re going through,\u201d Grove said. \u201cI wanted to shift that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finally, those same friends turned it back on Grove.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey said, \u2018who\u2019s going to start a San Diego version? Why, you are!\u2019\u201d Grove recalled.<\/p>\n

\"Where
Melissa Grove, founder of the Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll Camp for Girls, on guitar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once Grove made the decision to go for it, people came out of the woodwork to help. Parents, both mothers and fathers, friends, family \u2014 she said the support she\u2019s received has been \u201coverwhelming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grove recruited San Diego musicians Megan Combs, Veronica May, Jessica Bell and Angela Trone to come up with the aforementioned theme song. The women spent two days in a room to create something remarkable \u2014 and they did it without catfights or egos.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat [session] set the tone for the camp,\u201d Grove said. \u201cThere\u2019s really no room for drama in this camp. We learn to be advocates for ourselves and advocates for each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the camp is pushing capacity, Grove is still looking for female-identified volunteers to help with set-up, food, check-ins and other camp activities.<\/p>\n

Plus, the public is welcome to the Rock n\u2019 Roll Camp Showcase at noon on Saturday, July 29 at the House of Blues.<\/p>\n

For tickets or more information, visit rockcampforgirlssd.org<\/a> or email rockcampforgirlssd@gmail.com. Go to the \u201cRock \u2019n\u2019 Roll Camp for Girls San Diego\u201d YouTube channel to see performances from last year\u2019s camp.<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/em>Joyell Nevins is a freelance writer who can be reached at <\/em>joyellc@gmail.com<\/em><\/a>. Find her blog <\/em>\u201c<\/em>Small World, Big God<\/em>\u201d<\/em> en <\/em>swbgblog.wordpress.com<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

House of Blues sets stage for another Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll camp for girls By Joyell Nevins\u00a0 S-A-N Diego, wuh oh! Where the rock meets the roll S-A-N Diego, wuh oh! Where the girls run the show Damn right. As a girl, I might be slightly biased. As an aunt, though, and a female member of […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":239340,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"Where the girls run the show","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11549,11547,11600],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-239339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-features","category-sdnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239339\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}