The women of Girls Rock! DC are hardly the Spice Girls, though the girl power theme does reign supreme. A group of local rockers and activists have gotten together to start the area’s own chapter of Girls Rock Camp, a phenomenon that’s already succeeded in New York City and Portland, Oregon, among other places.

The Portland version has morphed into an entity that now offers a year-round after-school program and a Ladies Rock Camp for adults. As far as D.C. goes, the pilot year will feature 40 girls, ages 8-18, gettin’ down with their bad selves in a large space that accommodates lots of noise.

Here’s how it works: 35 of these young women will form into bands, and the other five will focus on flexing their DJ skills. On Saturday, August 16, after a week of practice, there’ll be a performance showcase where each band will perform their own original, soon-to-be rock hit and the DJs will spin a set.

The empowered organizers of this venture come from all walks of life in D.C. Their day jobs, musical endeavors and skills vary, but they all have one thing in common: they all want the girls to leave at the end of the week with “more confidence, strength and a better self image,” said Jeanni Centofanti, one of the organizers and the lead singer and keyboardist for local band Mess Up the Mess.

“I think it’s really exciting to teach rock ‘n’ roll to teen girls who realize that they can play music loudly and powerfully. I studied the violin and piano and didn’t play electric guitar until last year … and it was an incredible experience,” said Diane Foglizzo, the “non-profit guru” of the group.

Foglizzo is good at grant writing and will help fundraise for the camp. So far, the ladies have had a booth at the Black Cat’s annual Rock ‘n’ Shop event and will hold their first benefit show at the same venue with Girl Loves Distortion and Shame Girl on Jan. 6.

And what would a D.C. rock event be without some allusions to the D.I.Y. punk ethic? Megan Sheils, who works at the State Department during the day, is a librarian and a certified media specialist. Her musical training is limited to the flute in her high school band days, so she’s hoping to get a media literacy seminar going and to  teach the girls about the importance of ‘zines and how to make them.

A lot of the women were involved in Ladyfest D.C. in 2002, which put the bug in organizer Michelle Rush’s ear.
“It’s about feminism, equality and anti-oppression,” she said. “It’s really important to show girls that women can run a soundboard and be a guitar tech and a roadie – very traditional male roles.  Women can shred on guitars just like men can.”

Just physically being at the camp and participating is going to help these girls by seeing women in typically male-dominated roles, Rush explained.

“They don’t have to be quiet, they can be as loud as they want and express themselves however loudly they want,” she said.

The women also plan to teach the girls anti-bullying tactics and direct training on how to combat oppression, how to not feel small and how to be “all of themselves, all of the time.”

The camp doesn’t have a solidified location yet. They’re looking for a university or music school space where it all boils down to practice rooms. There are eight different bands participating, and one thing’s for sure – it’s going to be loud.
The participants will be divvied up by instrument practices and skill level at first, and after the first day, they’ll have a chance to pick their bands.

According to Centofanti, the camp will also focus on collaboration, conflict resolution and communication – i.e., no band drama.

In order to make sure the camp gets a very diverse group of girls to participate, “we plan to offer plenty of scholarships and a sliding-scale pay arrangement to campers,” she said.

The group also includes local visual artist Lisa Marie Thalhammer, who has created a T-shirt image to help raise funds, and all-around D.C. rock diva Angela Melkisethian from Hott Beat and Partyline, who will focus on web exposure.

“I’d say nearly all of us identify as activists and/or feminists,” Centofanti said. And there’s no one better than a fiercely empowered woman to tell young girls that yes, they do indeed, rock.

To learn more about Girls Rock DC Girls Rock Camp, visit www.williemaerockcamp.org or www.girlsrockdc.org