I just wrapped up my first year as a volunteer with GirlsRock! DC, and what an experience!

About 70 campers from all over the District, Maryland and Virginia put on an unforgettable showcase on Saturday morning at the 9:30 Club. As a girl, I had recitals for flute, violin and voice. I performed in plays and musicals. But nothing I ever did before college was like this.

These girls were so confident on stage, all performing original songs or DJ sets. It was really overwhelming, especially after spending two days with them earlier in the week as a workshop teacher. I’d seen them just learning to get along, just meeting each other, and here are all these great cohesive bands up on stage looking just as good as any college band. (Sometimes better…)

If you didn’t get the chance to attend the show on Saturday, I encourage you to click around the GirlsRock! DC website. See what they’ve done and check out some of the stories that have been written on them. (Donations would be appreciated, I might add!) This is really a super opportunity for families that rock to take in together, and for girls 8-18 to take part in.

For older girls like me, I encourage you to follow my lead and volunteer some time. It is all kinds of inspirational and FUN!

If you have been wondering why I’ve been so quiet lately, it’s because I found this great volunteer organization to donate some time to.

On August 14th at 11:00am, more than 70 Washington area girls will take to the stage at the 9:30 Club, just as many legendary rock stars have done before them. Girls Rock! DC (GR!DC), a volunteer-run, non-profit organization, is launching its third annual, week long rock camp for girls ages 8-18.

During the week of August 9th – 13th, a volunteer staff of female educators, musicians and community organizers provide campers instruction on electric guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, vocals and turntables. The campers form bands and are coached by counselors to write, collaborate and perform original songs and DJ sets before a live audience at the 9:30 Club.

The aim of Girls Rock! DC is to create a supportive, inclusive and creative space for girls to build community, stand up and rock out! With a base in music education, the camp will focus on building girls’ self-confidence, leadership and cooperation skills.

Campers also attend workshops on team building, performance and body confidence, songwriting and other skills young women need to take over the world of rock. I’m on the media literacy team. Whee!

I encourage you to join us (bring your kids!) at the showcase on Saturday to see these girls rock out. I can’t wait!

The girls will showcase their original works at Washington’s 9:30 Club on Saturday, August 14th at 11:00 am.
The showcase is open to the public.
Tickets are $10 at the door.
Free admission for youth 12 and under.
More information is available at the Girls Rock! DC website: www.girlsrockdc.org.

Girls Rock! DC is part of a national Girls Rock Camp Alliance. There are Girls Rock camps all over the world.

UPDATE: We got some coverage from NPR’s The Kojo Nnamdi Show (check out the video)

I find the passion of music people contagious. People in the music biz are in it for the love of music. I also love music, (My personal passion is promotions/marketing, but that’s another story.), and the more time I spend near musicians and music people, the more I love them.

One big irony of the music business is that the more successful you are, the less certain your life can become. Someone with a garage band can plan on Saturday rehearsals with their friends, but if you are in a hugely successful band, your workplace changes each night, and you often sleep in a hotel and hang out in restaurants or backstage at nightclubs. Of course big rock stars make tons of money, which makes this kind of schedule worth it in a way.

But it’s not that easy to make money being a musician. Even selling CDs is getting harder. There are only a handful of artists that get to the top and stay there. More likely even successful artists have only one album that gets some notoriety, and going on tour costs a lot.

Still, musicians keep on rockin. There are songs to be sung, there is music to be made. Musicians do it because they love what they do. I’ve seen bands play in parks, and on stages only three inches above the crowd. Bands give out free CDs and play free shows just so people can hear their music. Musicians stand by each other and support each other. They know full well that there is only a chance in a million that they may get discovered or signed, and yet they keep keepin’ on. [Don't believe me? Watch the Anvil documentary, an excellent story of persistance, passion and rediscovery.]

Just recently, the rock family lost Malcolm MacLaren, who created and managed the Sex Pistols, and we lost Peter Steele, a musician I really enjoyed seeing. He sang for Type O Negative, a metal/goth band that had been around for a long time, and I had the pleasure of meeting him and the rest of the band in person a couple of times. The band often argued amongst themselves, but always came back together even through the very worst of personal tragedies. The music world is showing its support with a number of kind tributes coming out about both Malcolm’s and Peter’s talent and personality.

April 17 is Record Store Day, which was formed “as a celebration of the unique culture surrounding over 700 independently owned record stores in the USA, and hundreds of similar stores internationally.” I used to be co-owner of a record store, so it means a lot to me. I’ll be heading to a record store in Baltimore to shop for some of the special releases and enjoy some in-store performances. I encourage you to do the same.

And, on a side note, there will be an awesome retrospective in this week’s Sunday Washington Post Magazine by J.Freedom du Lac on the 9:30 Club, often called the best nightclub on the east coast, and one of my personal favorite places in the world.

I hope that you love what you do. Life is way too short to spend your day doing something you don’t enjoy, and we can’t judge our talents by money alone.

Rock on! \m/

We lost some big names in entertainment this year, I just wanted the chance to say one last goodbye to some of my favorites.

• Actor Patrick Swayze, 57 – I really enjoyed Dirty Dancing and many more of his movies.
• Director John Hughes, 59 – His films were some of the first that I rented from video stores and watched over and over again.
• Actress Farrah Fawcett, 62 – What a courageous documentary she made at the end of her life.
• Actor Dom DeLuise, 75 – Always made me laugh.
• Actor Ricardo Montalban, 88 – I still want to visit Fantasy Island.
• George Michael, sports broadcaster, 70 – I watched his ‘Sports Machine’ show for years in DC.
• Vic Chesnutt, singer/songwriter, 45 – Just an amazing talent.
• Actress Brittany Murphy, 32 – I loved her voice work for King of the Hill.
• Ed McMahon, 86 – I’ll remember him from Star Search, way before American Idol.
• Pitchman Billy Mays, 50 – He could sell me the shoes on my feet, what a guy.
• Walter Cronkite, 92 – Sad to see him go, but that’s the way it is.

There were many more notable deaths, as The New York Times notes in their annual review.

Someone on Facebook asked me to recall 50 concerts I’ve been to. I do remember the first. I was a late bloomer in my eyes. The first rock concert I was allowed to go to was my junior year of high school: Sting’s Nothing Like the Sun tour.

Before that, my parents had certainly taken me to concerts. I vaguely remember seeing Itzhak Pearlman in a college arena as a kid. I was very attached to the Boston Pops, from all the times my family watched them on TV, so much so that when Arthur Fiedler died, I cried.

But after seeing Sting at GMU’s Patriot Center, I saw the Sugarcubes at Georgetown U, then New Order at Merriweather Post Pavilion. Then I got to school at American University and joined the radio station.

Soon I was going to shows 3-5 times a week. Generally for free, often at the old 9:30 Club on F Street. Sometimes at Lisner Auditorium, D.C. Space or the Bayou. (Those last two don’t exist any longer.)

So when I was asked to recall 50 concerts, my problem was narrowing my list down. I realize not everyone is so lucky to have this experience, so here follow some basic survival skills for concert-goers everywhere, from someone who has been to hundreds of shows in venues large and small:

1. Select a designated driver. It is SO worth it to save yourself the stress and possible legal difficulties. Perhaps you can pay for your driver’s gas & parking or food & beverages during the show, or maybe a bunch of folks can pitch in and buy their concert t-shirt as a thank-you.
2. Dress for comfort, not style. Wear shoes that can sustain some beer from the top and the bottom. If you’re wearing a jacket, be sure it can be tied around your waist or sat upon if you’re at an outdoor venue. Any bag you are carrying should be of the backpack or waist-slung varieties. Don’t worry about being ‘that guy’ wearing the band’s shirt to their show. You might just get called up on stage, who knows?
3. Bring cash. All that you plan to spend, no more or less. ATMs are hard to find at concert venues, and the access fees are often over the top. Credit cards aren’t always accepted.
4. When you first get there: Pick out the t-shirt you want (if you care for one at up to $45 each) and buy it at the beginning of the show, to be sure they don’t run out. Eat before you do any serious drinking. Corrective eating afterwards to sober up is not very effective, and food at concert halls gets worse as the night goes on. (With a few exceptions where they actually make the food fresh.) Ladies: stop by the restroom at the beginning of the night and stash some TP in your pocket.
5. Wear earplugs to prevent a day of ringing in your ears. This ringing signifies permanent hearing damage. You can buy them at most venues, or at a drugstore before the show.
6. Want to sneak a camera in? Photos taken at concerts rarely come out very well. You are much more likely to be kicked out for bringing a camera, or have your camera confiscated, and you’ll miss the music in the meantime. That said, ladies generally get more contraband by gentlemen guards.
7. Don’t forget to drink some water, especially during those long all-day outdoor shows. It is hard to stay hydrated when you’re in a crowd in the middle of a field, especially if you opt to drink yards of beer all day.
8. Bring a Sharpie and a notepad. If you’re lucky enough to get close to a band member, an autograph is much cooler than a photo any day.
9. Respect the bouncers. They may not look pretty, but they could save your life one day. Generally, they’re looking out for you, so be nice to them and do what they say.
10. Don’t say no to a free ticket. Ever. I can’t remember ever having a bad time at a free concert. Music is a great invention, and people are generally at their best when they’re listening to music they enjoy.

Thursday July 30

• Title Tracks
• Casper Bangs
• Grendel Babies

This is the last show of the season!

FREE, 7:15 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Tenleytown AU Metro station on the Red line.

No glass bottles, no drugs, no alcohol.

Full schedule and info on how to keep Fort Reno concerts going available at: fortreno.com

Monday July 20

• Meredith Bragg
• Hey Arbore
• Troll Tax

Thursday, July 23rd – Night of a Thousand Cakes!

• Soft Power
• Benjy Ferree
• TBA

This year’s season will be short, so don’t miss any shows!

All shows FREE, 7:15 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

No glass bottles, no drugs, no alcohol.

Full schedule and info on how to keep Fort Reno concerts going available at: fortreno.com