Benefit Time: Help Girls Rock Out, Tonight

Okay, so I fibbed a little; there is another especially cool, neat thing going on tonight, namely a benefit this evening for Girls Rock Camp Houston up at Boheme (307 Fairview from 5-10PM. The shindig’s being put on by the always-cool Spacetaker (with whom we sometimes flatteringly get confused) doing their “Cultured Cocktails” thing to raise money for the first-ever, absolutely awesome-sounding Girls Rock Camp here in our fair city.

Since I happen to be the proud dad of a budding rock star myself, this one’s kind of near & dear to my heart. I’m a big fan of the Girls Rock Camps elsewhere, so I’m pretty psyched to learn that Houston will soon have its own.

The thing will be held on the U of H campus from August 9th-13th, and here’s the general gist of it, courtesy of Rosa Guerrero (who some may know from her time as pseudo-Scene Mom around Montrose, not to mention her photozine Ditch Water and spinoff record label, and who’s the new Camp’s Media & Events Coordinator):

Girls Rock Camp Houston is an intensive week long summer day camp for young girls ages 8-18 years old. Qualified instructors will provide lessons in guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and vocals. The campers will form bands and learn to write original songs which they will perform in a live music showcase at the end of the session. No musical experience is necessary to attend the camp. Workshops in body image, team building, zine making and silkscreening will be provided to encourage and explore self expression, critical thinking and leadership skills.

The Press also has a nice piece with Anna Garza, ex-Hands Up Houston crew member and now the Director of the soon-to-be GRCH, so go check that out, too. The camp doesn’t look too bad, price-wise — the total cost is $275, which is probably less, all things considered, than we paid to get our six-year-old into karate classes she didn’t give a shit about a couple of years ago.

Oh, and Rosa says they’ll be handing out movie “goodie bags” for the new flick The Runaways, chronicling the early life of the influential all-girl band; the bags will go to anybody who donates $50 or more and include a shirt, a copy of co-founding Runaway Cherie Currie‘s memoir (on which the movie was based, apparently), Neon Angel, a Joan Jett greatest hits CD, a poster, and 2 movie tickets. Not bad for $50, honestly, although I’m kinda meh on what I’ve seen so far of the movie. Extra-special bonus points to the MyCityRocks folks, btw, for offering to match all donations of up to $500 — very cool, y’all…

So, there you go. Anyway, If you’ve got a kid between the ages of 8 and 18, sign ’em up on the Camp Website, then get out tonight & help raise money to make it happen.

(And yes, the timing & location of this means you’ll be able to go and still catch mr. Gnome at Rudz, just up the road a bit.)