Yeah Yeah Yeah

This week, Girls Rock!, a documentary about the Rock & Roll Camp for Girls in Oregon, debuts at The Belcourt (see the review on p. 53), and this weekend, founders of the Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp (SGRRC) in Murfreesboro host an all-ages show to celebrate securing office space for their newest venture, the Youth Culture & Arts Center (YCAC). The nonprofit parent of both organizations has finally found a home in downtown Murfreesboro, where it will offer after-school workshops that ought to get teens to drop the Wii for a second and hone an honest-to-God creative talent.

SGRRC will hold its sixth camp this year in July, but for camp founders Kelley Anderson, Courtney Sharpe and Anna Fitzgerald, empowering young ladies through rock ’n’ roll only addresses one aspect of the problem Murfreesboro’s teen community faces.

“The girls were walking away from the camp continuing to perform in their bands and staying in touch with each other, but finding they had no places to play,” says Anderson, who started the rock camp in Murfreesboro when she was just 18. “And even at fundraisers and benefit shows, the participants themselves couldn’t attend. So it was kind of a dismal state of affairs.”

Some two years ago, Youth Empowerment through Arts & Humanities (YEAH), the parent organization, began envisioning a space where girls could keep the spirit of camp going, but where pinks and blues could also collaborate and participate in co-ed workshops. But Murfreesboro hasn’t had the best luck sustaining all-ages spaces. The closing of the Red Rose in 2004 and Grand Palace’s loss of venue status at the end of 2006 weren’t just a buzz kill for the music scene, but a cautionary tale for any would-be arts- and music-minded entrepreneurs.

“Now that the Red Rose is gone, it’s left a huge gap,” says Anderson, who also plays in local trad country trio Those Darlins. “But it’s difficult everywhere to run all-ages spaces. On paper, it just doesn’t work. It doesn’t make money, unless the artists aren’t making money.”

The Red Rose sold beer and food, while Grand Palace brought in dough from screen-printing, a record store and recording studio, though it wasn’t enough to bring the space up to the fire marshal’s venue codes. YEAH hopes to straddle that middle ground: They envision a full-time arts facility akin to the YMCA with workshops, a coffee shop, media center, venue space, recording studio and more. MTSU’s Recording Industry Major program and a still homeless underground art scene ought to provide ample volunteers for the effort, though they always need more.

“We started doing surveys with kids and asking them what classes they would want to take, but mostly we look for volunteers in the community and see what they’re good at,” says program director Fitzgerald, whose degree in art education connects her with the art community. Anderson’s involvement in the music scene has helped her to understand the larger picture of what the community’s needs are.

“It’s built on a lot of the workshops we do at rock camp that we see as supplementary to music and the music community,” Anderson says. “One thing we stress at camp is that you don’t have to be the lead guitarist to be part of the community. We need music journalists, photographers, people to make merch, people to book shows, people who are savvy on the business end. And the more you can instill those DIY ethics, the more sustainable your music and arts community will be. It’s not about shows. Shows don’t just happen in a void.”

Currently, the space they share downtown with Tall Grass dance studio means students can record a band at the School of Recording workshop, then help put on an all-ages show running sound for the same act they recorded. Students can take workshops in photography, stand-up comedy, filmmaking, songwriting and painting, then perform or show their art in the space—free from drunk people, smoky bars and shady parking lots.

Though there are no set office hours yet, YCAC plans on having all-ages shows on Saturdays, and monthlong programs that vary based on volunteer availability. They plan on launching a fuller program in the fall.

This week, Girls Rock!, a documentary about the Rock & Roll Camp for Girls in Oregon, debuts at The Belcourt (see the review on p. 53), and this weekend, founders of the Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp (SGRRC) in Murfreesboro host an all-ages show to celebrate securing office space for their newest venture, the Youth Culture & Arts Center (YCAC). The nonprofit parent of both organizations has finally found a home in downtown Murfreesboro, where it will offer after-school workshops that ought to get teens to drop the Wii for a second and hone an honest-to-God creative talent.

SGRRC will hold its sixth camp this year in July, but for camp founders Kelley Anderson, Courtney Sharpe and Anna Fitzgerald, empowering young ladies through rock ’n’ roll only addresses one aspect of the problem Murfreesboro’s teen community faces.

“The girls were walking away from the camp continuing to perform in their bands and staying in touch with each other, but finding they had no places to play,” says Anderson, who started the rock camp in Murfreesboro when she was just 18. “And even at fundraisers and benefit shows, the participants themselves couldn’t attend. So it was kind of a dismal state of affairs.”

Some two years ago, Youth Empowerment through Arts & Humanities (YEAH), the parent organization, began envisioning a space where girls could keep the spirit of camp going, but where pinks and blues could also collaborate and participate in co-ed workshops. But Murfreesboro hasn’t had the best luck sustaining all-ages spaces. The closing of the Red Rose in 2004 and Grand Palace’s loss of venue status at the end of 2006 weren’t just a buzz kill for the music scene, but a cautionary tale for any would-be arts- and music-minded entrepreneurs.

“Now that the Red Rose is gone, it’s left a huge gap,” says Anderson, who also plays in local trad country trio Those Darlins. “But it’s difficult everywhere to run all-ages spaces. On paper, it just doesn’t work. It doesn’t make money, unless the artists aren’t making money.”

The Red Rose sold beer and food, while Grand Palace brought in dough from screen-printing, a record store and recording studio, though it wasn’t enough to bring the space up to the fire marshal’s venue codes. YEAH hopes to straddle that middle ground: They envision a full-time arts facility akin to the YMCA with workshops, a coffee shop, media center, venue space, recording studio and more. MTSU’s Recording Industry Major program and a still homeless underground art scene ought to provide ample volunteers for the effort, though they always need more.

“We started doing surveys with kids and asking them what classes they would want to take, but mostly we look for volunteers in the community and see what they’re good at,” says program director Fitzgerald, whose degree in art education connects her with the art community. Anderson’s involvement in the music scene has helped her to understand the larger picture of what the community’s needs are.

“It’s built on a lot of the workshops we do at rock camp that we see as supplementary to music and the music community,” Anderson says. “One thing we stress at camp is that you don’t have to be the lead guitarist to be part of the community. We need music journalists, photographers, people to make merch, people to book shows, people who are savvy on the business end. And the more you can instill those DIY ethics, the more sustainable your music and arts community will be. It’s not about shows. Shows don’t just happen in a void.”

Currently, the space they share downtown with Tall Grass dance studio means students can record a band at the School of Recording workshop, then help put on an all-ages show running sound for the same act they recorded. Students can take workshops in photography, stand-up comedy, filmmaking, songwriting and painting, then perform or show their art in the space—free from drunk people, smoky bars and shady parking lots.

Though there are no set office hours yet, YCAC plans on having all-ages shows on Saturdays, and monthlong programs that vary based on volunteer availability. They plan on launching a fuller program in the fall.