a different kind of space. “We want campers to see all of those roles fulfilled by someone who looks like them and feels like them and talks like them,” Campbell explains. After forming and naming bands on the first day, much of the week is devoted to musical instruction, songwriting and practicing. There are also daily workshops on subjects ranging from the theoretical — like gender and body image, and the representation of women in media — to the practical, including recording and screen-printing (every band makes its own merch, which members sell at the final show). Local female artists also stop by for daily lunchtime performances.
“WE’RE REALLY TRYING TO INSTILL CORE LIFE SKILLS WITH MUSIC AS A VEHICLE.” For one camper, 9-year-old Tellie, the guest artists were a major highlight. “I could see the energy in her when she spoke about them,” her dad, Ryan Keene, says via email. The other benefits were clear as well. “[Girls Rock strives] to develop in these girls a voice to express their ideas [and] opinions loud enough to be heard above the stereotypes that are so abundant in our culture,” Keene wrote. “I saw this in my own daughter. … We saw her gain confidence in her voice and beliefs. She grew strong friendships with other girls [who] supported each other and helped
[to] overcome barriers they struggle with every day.” Parents of Girls Rock participants are asked to sign an agreement saying that they will not censor their daughter for the week. “Whatever their child wants to talk about or write about, they’re not going to try to persuade them in either direction, which really adds to the idea that we’re trying to create a safe space,” Campbell says. That safety and freedom leads to some interesting artistic developments. While working with the two guitarists of one Girls Rock band, “one of them got so frustrated with chords, she grabbed a drumstick and started rubbing it up and down the neck of the guitar,” Campbell recalls with a laugh. “I was like, ‘I feel like Thurston Moore did that decades ago,’ but [this girl had] never seen that before.” Ultimately, the idea is to show campers that that there are no mistakes or wrong notes, which is a philosophy Campbell — as a classically trained cellist — is happy to be reminded of in her own life. “I have a degree in music, and I’m still getting myself back in the frame of mind of like, ‘I want to play music for fun with my friends,’” she says. “Sometimes I feel almost guilty because I’ve taken so much from Girls Rock — it’s helped me, and I’m a quasigrown person.” Rock School’s Brockschmidt agrees that the benefits goes both ways. “These kids have kind of an eternal hope and eternal joy and eternal love for life. Or,” he adds with a laugh, “you get these kids who have these attitudes because they don’t trust anyone. And the teachers can kind of relate to that.” And really, isn’t that what rock ’n’ roll is all about?
GET INVOLVED The City of Pittsburgh invites you to provide input on an action plan for transit improvements and community development in the corridor between Downtown and neighborhoods east. Tuesday, May 5, 2015 Uptown/Downtown, Noon – 2:00 pm Duquesne University, Power Center Ballroom 1015 Forbes Avenue. Wednesday, May 6, 2015 Oakland, 6:00 – 8:00 pm William Pitt Student Union, Kurtzman Room, 3959 Fifth Avenue. At these upcoming public meetings, the City of Pittsburgh will provide an overview of coordinated planning efforts in the corridor along Fifth and Forbes Avenues, including the Downtown, Uptown, Oakland, and other east end neighborhoods. This will involve a review of ongoing planning for transit improvements, including bus rapid transit (BRT), and upcoming planning for an EcoInnovation District in the Uptown neighborhood. Per the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, which govern transit planning, the environmental scoping process will include the opportunity for the public and agencies to provide comment on the purpose and need for transit improvements, as well as environmental issues that should be considered. Participants will also be able to provide preliminary input on possible station locations for proposed BRT alignments. The goal of the Uptown EcoInnovation District is a revitalized Uptown community, which is both environmentally and financially sustainable while promoting equity, and public and private sector innovation. The City of Pittsburgh has undertaken an effort to coordinate multiple complimentary planning projects in this corridor. The purpose is to capitalize on the community and economic development potential of the neighborhoods in this corridor while better connecting them, to each other and the region, through improved mobility. The City will knit together neighborhood-based planning projects, which will influence planning for improved transit service and infrastructure underway by Port Authority of Allegheny County.
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For more information, contact Patrick Roberts, Department of City Planning, Principal Transportation Planner at 412.255.2224 or patrick.roberts@pittsburghpa.gov The meeting locations are accessible to persons with mobility disabilities, a sign language interpreter will be available and the meeting document will be available to attendees in Spanish and Braille. Both meetings are accessible via Port Authority service. For more transit schedule information, go to PortAuthority.org or call 412.442.2000.
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