A Sept. 19 fundraiser for Ottawa’s Rock Camp for Girls will celebrate women in rock and support a local program that uses rock music to promote confidence in young girls.
The ORC4G is a three-day non-profit camp in the Centertown area for girls ages 13 to 17. During the camp the girls form a band and, with the help of local female musicians, learn a song. On the last day, they perform the song in a showcase concert. The camp strives to empower young girls to take their place in the music industry, which can be an unwelcoming place for women.
“We’d go to shows and… it was a big deal if I saw a band and there was a girl,” says Maxime Brunet, a local sound technician and organizer of ORC4G.
“We just want to show them that there is a strong community of female musicians in Ottawa and that they can do this, they can take up space,” says Brunet.
In 2013, New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde became the first lead female in 15 years to make the Billboard alternative top 10. On top of that, a 2011 Salon article reported that women make up less than 14 per cent of those inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Odds like that can make it hard for young girls to feel they belong in the world of alternative music.
The history of Ottawa’s rock scene is no exception, according to Luke Martin, owner of popular local music venue Gabba Hey.
“Ottawa had a really bad reputation for not being welcoming to women in the music scene.” says Martin.
“From the mid to late ’90s until five or six years ago, there weren’t all that many women in rock bands in Ottawa.” he says.
While he believes it has gotten better, Martin still thinks there’s lots of work to be done in order to make the rock music scene welcoming to women.
Events like the ORC4G fundraiser and camp help to achieve that.
The fundraiser, which takes place at Gabba Hey in the City Centre complex near LeBreton Flats, is chock full of female musicians.
The deejay, former rock camp attendee Alanna Yaraskavitch, 19, will also be spinning strictly female artists between the sets.
“We don’t really have access to a lot of older female musicians as role models,” says Yaraskavitch.
By providing a space filled with such role models, the night promises to be an inspiring event for young girls interested in rock ’n’ roll.
“Before rock camp I would’ve never thought I’d have been able to go on stage,” says Yaraskavitch, who will be deejaying for the first time at the fundraiser.
She attended rock camp two years in a row and, as a result, “this light bulb went off in my brain that was, like, I’m allowed to take up space at shows if I want to.”
The proceeds from the fundraiser go toward keeping the camp accessible for young girls. The camp charges a $20 registration fee, which can be waived if necessary for those who can’t afford it.
The camp is run entirely by volunteers who rent the three separate spaces used, provide all the instruments, and provide food for the girls during the full days of the camp.
Registration for the camp, which runs Oct. 24 to 26, is open now.
While the fundraiser promises to be a hit — according to the event’s Facebook page, more than 125 people are planning to attend — it’s also a reminder that the rock music world has been slow to welcome women.
“In a perfect world, this would just be an all-girl lineup and nobody would be saying it was an all-girl lineup,” says Yaraskavitch. “But we don’t live in that world yet — so this is a start, at least.”