Dad's Day at the Girls Rock & Roll Camp

Dad joined daughter at summer camp today-- and it was way cooler than I could have ever expected.

When I first heard the Indigo Girls "Closer to Fine," I was instantly moved. That was 1989, and I was 21. But I never thought I'd hear the song quite like I heard it this morning--with a small crowd of truly unique teenagers & college students.

Back then, I never imagined being the father of a dedicated 11-year-old artist. And I certainly could not fathom that young person--already so interested in reading, drawing, & dance--being an aspiring drummer at the Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp (on the campus of MTSU in Murfreesboro, Tennessee).

Always passionate for the kind of politically & spiritually-charged folk ballads that the Indigo Girls have made their living from, the chills, goosebumps, & tears still took me by surprise this morning.

But what moved me even more than the four song-set by Amy Ray & Emily Saliers were their words without guitars, the passion in their eyes, their obviously sincere & strong commitment to inspiring & empowering the next generation of grrrl warriors. And they inspired--not just with music, but with their independence from corporate clone music culture & their queer, feminist, youth, environmental, & peace activism.

That Ruby wasn't a drummer or a rocker--until yesterday--and is now filled with energy & enthusiasm--testifies to the down-to-earth, supportive community cultivated at rock camp. The volunteers & campers combine in creating the scene with a full day of learning & fun grounded in fierce DIY ethics--to make it the kind of place one camper has described as her "tribe."

On the campus where I've been a graduate student in English, adjunct professor in gender/Women's Studies, & an anti-war activist, dozens of creative & rebellious young women are converging to change the world one song, one riff, one patch, & one 'zine at a time. And this makes my now permanent southern home--at times alienating to this now middle-aged motor-city boy--feel much more like home.

All props to the many visionary organizers & volunteers I know & admire, some as former students & all as fellow revolutionaries. Thanks! Courtney, Kelley, Anna, Sean, Sarah, Liz, Kelly for all you are doing this week for Ruby & the other rockers.