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In an industry and genre dominated by men, Girls Rock Camp aims to give a new generation of young girls and non-binary youth a warm, fun, and educational welcome.
The Vancouver branch of Girls Rock Camp has been around since 2009, but their show here on Co-op Radio is relatively new, having just premiered in March 2018. The show has a rotating cast of hosts, all of whom are involved in the organization, including Dusty Chipura, Audrey Wolfe, Kizzy Bottino, Larissa Loyva, Jonelle Aspa, Amy McDicken, and Emily Morgan. Two of the hosts and camp organizers, Amy and Larissa, explain what Girls Rock Camp is all about.
As the name would suggest, the organizers of Girls Rock Camp put on a week-long camp every summer that’s open to girls and non-binary kids from ages 8 to 17, where they form bands, play instruments, write a song, and even design merchandise. The week culminates in an hour-long showcase where the campers get to perform the music they created on a real stage at the Rio Theatre. But even after the camp ends, the fun certainly doesn’t: Girls Rock Camp also provides year-round after-school programming where kids can learn instruments, do crafts, and listen to music.
“It’s not just about learning how to play guitar,” says Amy, who has been a camp organizer for two years now. “There’s learning about sound, merch, touring, stage presence, confidence, all that kind of stuff. And it’s fun! We don’t want an environment where you feel intimidated, because women in music are made to feel intimidated all the time. … I want kids to see their communities represented. We try to get a diverse group of people to help with the camp because it’s important for younger kids, or even teenagers, to see people they can relate to performing with confidence and having fun.”
“Especially in rock and roll,” adds Larissa, who is camp director for the first time this year. “There are so many male role models but it’s really hard to find female role models.”
So when one of the organizers suggested that they should translate the mission of Girls Rock Camp into a show on Co-op Radio, the rest of the team “just kind of took it and ran,” according to Larissa. “We realized we actually had a lot of stuff to talk about every other week. We have segments on things like our ‘Rad Person of the Week,’ where we go around and talk about someone who did something amazing. It could be our friends or our cat or a famous person, and then we talk about current events. Then we have a featured interview with a musician or someone in the arts community, usually a female, and just talk about what they do and how they do it. And there’s lots of cool music!” Of course, that music also includes the big database of songs that were created by campers.
For those who want to get involved in Girls Rock Camp, there are ongoing opportunities at all levels of time commitment, from organizing the camp to assisting with fundraisers. In fact, one of the former campers is now a camp organizer herself and is involved with the production of the radio show.
Campers will sometimes go on to make their own bands and music after participating in the camp, but regardless if they choose to pursue music further or not, the organizers of Girls Rock Camp hope they will always carry with them the experience of being in the tight-knit and supportive community of women in music.
“I feel like sometimes the music community isn’t a place where women get to brag very often,” Amy remarks. “Men can brag all they want about their accomplishments and never get called out for it. I feel like it’s a good place for these kids to feel proud of what they’ve done and actually have a place where they can talk about those feelings without people telling them that they’re going too far. They can promote what they’re doing and the music they’re making and feel super proud of it. And that’s really cool.”
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Tune into Girls Rock Camp from 7 to 8 PM every other Monday, and be sure to check out their website at girlsrockcampvancouver.ca!
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Co-op Radio : How did you discover Co-op Radio?
Kimit Sekhon, Terrestrial FM host : I discovered Co-op Radio about four years ago, I just finished going to University Victoria and I was really interested in CFUV, their campus station. I just tried to find a way to reconnect with that and I went to the station orientation. Then, a couple years later, I started radio school at BCIT, and found this job opportunity for summer internship.
Co-op Radio : When did you decide to become a member?
Kimit : I became a member the initial time I came to the station orientation. I agreed with the values they had. I had ten Bucks in my pocket, and I was like “all right let’s put it to the station”.
Co-op Radio : You created the show Terrestrial FM. How did you have this idea?
Kimit : I got the inspiration to create Terrestrial FM from the fantastic music scene in Vancouver. I’ve seen so many other people making music here, starting their own online. I was inspired to create something similar to that. Just try to give an opportunity for people, underrepresented people, to LGBTQ community, racialized people, new immigrants, to perform electronic music who might not have such an easy time to get into the scene otherwise.
Co-op Radio : What is your show about?
Kimit : I started Terrestrial FM in August. Our focus in on electronic music, but electronic music can encapsulate a lot of stuff. There is a lot of hip-hop that uses elements of electronic sounds, pop music that use electronic sound too, even singer’s songs writer’s acoustic music which can have crossover an electronic element. So, if there is a synthesizer somewhere, or a digital computer-based noise, I’ll count it as something in electronic region.
Co-op Radio : How have you been interested in electronic music?
Kimit : When I was in Highschool. I started going through random blogs and I found Justice, Busy P, Ed Banger Records… French filter house and disco house. And then from here, I just keep going deeper and deeper, and darker and darker.
Co-op Radio : Do you play music?
Kimit : I’m DJ for corporate event, in night clubs, and I DJ on the air. I also produce music under the moniker Paperwave. Footwork, Juke, a little bit of house and techno… Really whatever I feel like.
Co-op Radio : What are your projects for next weeks?
Kimit : We have an Instagram, a Twitter and Mixcloud but everything is looking a kind of empty right now. I’d like to fill those with content. I also really want to work on getting a live stream a bit better with higher quality camera, better mics, so people can get that visual aspect. And then the focus is always on the guest of the week, so just bringing more gest. We have people who play classic rave techno and darker ambient things. Exploring new genres week by week is my goal.
Co-op Radio : How do you choose your gest?
Kimit : Our collective has now three main hosts. We rotate for the host each week for whose is going to bring the guest. But usually the guests are people who we know in the community. These are people that we go out dancing with, who are making music that were playing in our DJ set. The main ways to find guests are go out in the community and meet people. I also have people messaging me or reaching out. I’d give in opportunity to anybody who shows a good attitude.
Co-op Radio : Who are the other hosts?
Kimit : We have Emerencz Merkle, also known as Nomad Black, for the production. Head of Obskurmusic and Obskur radio. We also have Kev McGrath. He is an Irish man, and he plays some amazing dark bangin’techno. And myself Kimit Sekhhon, Paperwave.
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Terrestrial FM every Friday from 10pm to midnight. https://www.mixcloud.com/TerrestrialFM/