A summer camp for girls that rocks

At Carolina Friends School, there are plenty of summer camps where kids can have fun and learn something valuable in the process. One new entry this summer aims to provide life lessons for girls via rock music. The "Rockin' Camp for Girls," designed for girls aged nine to 14, runs July 26-30. Inspired by a camp held in Portland, Ore., local musician Amelia Burch (Roxotica, Clok Lok, Ready) designed coursework to teach basic skills lessons on various instruments, do-it-yourself promotion ideas in zines, screen printing, band photography and other production work, a history module on women in punk and rock music, and tech classes with work in four-track recording and sound-checks. The camp also features music workshops in guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion and vocals, as well as workshops on having a healthy body image and stage presence aimed at giving a sense of what being a woman performer can be cracked up to be.

The women assisting Burch--Triangle musicians, photographers and DJs--should know. They include Alison Martlew and Kaia Wilson of the Butchies, Aimee Argote of Des Ark, Micro-East Collective member Carrie Shull, WXDU DJ Christa Wessel (host of weekly show Divaville), and composer Jennifer Fitzgerald.

"I'll be teaching every day and all the other women will be working either one or two days during the week, giving the young girls a variety of mentors to learn from," Burch says of the cooperative nature of the camp.

At the camp's end, the students and instructors will rock out together in a concert. The camp, as you might imagine, has really caught on, and after being announced a few months ago, filled up by mid-spring. There is hope of another next year, and for this great opportunity for young women in our area to become an annual event. Ladies first indeed!

Anderson recording
Durham-based acoustic songwriter Jamie Anderson is hard at work on her seventh CD. Anderson has quietly become an artist familiar to many in the Triangle and afar. Her sardonic, humorous songwriting has helped her sell more than 20,000 CDs over the years.

She's a mainstay in the Bull City and has toured nationally since the '80s. Anderson just hit the recently opened Ooh La Latte, and she performed at the Eno River Festival earlier this month. She occasionally teaches songwriting at Duke, Carrboro ArtsCenter and elsewhere. Check out her Web site for updates and her next appearances at www.jamieanderson.com.