Girls Rock Camp: Start Them Young

On Friday March 6, the first taste of a rock revolution was offered to Miami at Churchill's Pub. Hosted by Emile Milgrim of Other Electricities and Steph Taylor of the band The State Of, several local bands brought their enthusiasm and energy to the Miami Girls Rock Camp Benefit Show. This camp is going to occur at the end of July 2015, a week-long workshop for young girls all over Miami to come meet a diverse group of peers, create a rock band, learn an instrument, and perform an original song at their first show bookending the camp. The transpiring goal of the camp is to offer a healthy outlet of expression and a channel of self-confidence for these developing ladies. A $10 cover that night from each patron will fund the camp so that the girls don't have to pay to attend. Learn more about this organization and how you may be able to help at miamigirlsrockcamp.org, facebook.com/MiamiGirlsRockCamp, and on Instagram as @miamigirlsrockcamp. You can also find videos of each performance on the Instagram as well as Facebook. Please enjoy my brief Snapchat videos of a few performances.

A few minutes after 9pm, Steph started the night with four original songs on two keyboards. Lovely electronic sound bite meditations filled the pub with great volume. Raffa Jo Harris and her guitar from Raffa & Rainer performed next, with leisurely folk-blues compositions. These women both couldn't stop smiling as they threw their energy in between electronic beats and poured their joy into the easy rhythm of strumming. This is the kind of assurance they hope to inspire in the girls who will eventually join the rock camp. Find Steph and her bandmate Nabedi at facebook.com/thestateoffanpage.

Up next was gospel-noir group Quarter Horses, who got one of the best-sized and attentive crowds of the evening. This was the first band to thunder into the pub that night with a piercing tumult of electric guitar sounds, bass that galloped through time, and a complex cascade of percussion pieces. The main vocalist's bellowing voice sung of analog angels, digital devils, sleep paralysis, sea sirens, union in matrimony, and the audacity to hope. Unlike their last previous performance - at Miami International Book Fair in October - their closing song was not cut off by a power outage, but they were able to finish with a two-minute instrumental buildup and a melodic rendition of an old Southern hymn by all three voices. Find Novy, Emile and Jon at facebook.com/quarterhorsesmia.

Photos by the author, and videos by SFBANDVIDEOS on YouTube.

Bonnie Riot, a five-piece band from Lake Worth, literally slammed into the faces of Churchill's patrons with a wall of cymbal sound and invigorated angst in the vocals of Milly La Madrid. With Andrea Salomone on bass, Josh Pono on drums, and Luis Sanabria on keys and guitar wearing an X-men shirt, the gang did an excellent job of bringing the "in your face" vibe they proclaim on their Facebook page. They had several copies of their new album Backbone, which I picked up within 2 minutes of them beginning their set. I suppose I didn't get a video or photo of them because I was literally gobsmacked by their performance and couldn't be torn away from it. Find them at facebook.com/bonnieriot and @bonnieriot. 

Album cover taken from bonnieriot.com.

Holly Hunt attracted a smaller pensive crowd of observers mostly nodding their heads to the flow of the wordless, extended, droning metal compositions. Gavin Perry stood tall and calmly in front of a tower of amps as he played, and Beatriz Monteavaro gave her absolute all, with the same confident smile as Steph and Raffa, excelling at steady powerful percussion using only one arm. I know their physical music is sold out or selling out, but I plan to purchase at some point. Find them at facebook.com/HOLLYHUNT.LTD, hollyhunt.bandcamp.com, @beatmyguest and @hollyhunt_band. 

Bleeth, a 4-piece band; Haochi Waves, with 3 members; then Sadie Hawkins closed out the show at around 1:30pm. I unfortunately was occupied at this time and did not see these groups perform in their entirety, but you can find them at facebook.com/bleethband, facebook.com/haochiwavesmusic, http://haochiwaves.bandcamp.com/, and facebook.com/sadiehawkins305. Each band included at least one female musician, as a tribute to the upcoming rock stars this camp will help nurture. If you were at the show, thank you so much for your support!