What's Up! Magazine

RHOMBUS will perform during the Girls' Music Workshop

RHOMBUS will perform during the Girls' Music Workshop

Whaam (Whatcom All-Ages Music) is hosting a Girls Music Workshop on Feb. 13, for females of all ages to learn, discover and play music, according to organizers Katie Rismondo and Jenn Hartman.

The idea behind the workshop is for girls to understand what’s involved in making music, and that it’s actually much easier than many girls realize. “So many girls think that making music and being in bands is much harder than it actually is,” Katie said. “We hope that this event will show girls what’s actually involved in making music that they can do it and it’s worth the effort.”

Jenn added, “We want this to be an opportunity for girls who are interested in playing music and being in bands to meet other like-minded folks, share ideas, maybe form bands and ask questions of women who have been doing this.”

According to Jenn it doesn’t matter the age – there are always less girls playing music than boys, making it more difficult for girls to meet other girls who play music. Both women cite their past experiences as a motivation for the workshop Jenn played guitar in her bedroom, alone, while Katie never felt good enough to play with other people, much less be in front of an audience. “Showing the things you create to other people can be intimidating for anyone,” she said.

While the duo hope to provide information and understanding, they are also looking to encourage girls to play music. “It takes a lot of encouragement and positive peer pressure to get over these barriers. Learning to play music (and learning to do anything, for that matter) is a messy process,” said Katie.

“We want to give girls a space to be messy and to discover, to make things that aren’t perfect- to have fun! We want things to be better for the next generation of girls and for ladies, women, and girls of all ages,” Jenn added.

The organizers also hope to help girls learn more about looking at and buying equipment how to avoid and deal with the typical stereotypes. “When we walk into music stories, we encounter dudes who try to sell us pink guitars,” said Jenn.

“If we go up to those same guys and ask them, ‘so, what does this knob do?,’ that would just confirm stereotypes about girl musicians. We want to make a space where girls can ask those questions without being self-conscious,” Katie added.

The event kicks off at 3 p.m. when participants will hang out and get to know each other, followed by a question and answer session with a panel of local female musicians and women involved with the music scene. “They’ll be there to share their experiences and create a dialogue about how to get involved with music,” stated Katie.

There will also be a resource list of female music instructors in Whatcom County, as well as a workshop on what to expect when you play a show, including stage set-up, microphones, amplifiers and sound engineers. At 8 p.m. Thimble vs. Needle, Party Thighs, RHOMBUS and Chamber Maids will begin the show portion of the workshop.

This isn’t the first time Jenn and Katie have been involved with local women and music both were on the planning committee for the first Ladyfest Bellingham. “The creative female energy around us was a huge catalyst,” Katie says of last year’s Ladyfest. “Once we started playing music, we realized how easy it was to play music and how much fun it is and everything else just kind of fell into place. Both of us feel like being in bands has been the best decision we have made in a long time.”

Jenn chimed in, “We really want other girls to discover that joy too and not feel intimidated.”

According to Jenn and Katie, they’re seeing an explosion in girls making music locally. “Oh my god, there are so many good bands it’s AWESOME! There are ladies who have been making music for a while who are trying new things, there are gals who have never played instruments before who are learning them,” Jenn said. She noted Femme Uke, Hoot Hoot, Cumulus, Rhombus, Party Thighs, Cora Anne Glass, Council of Lions, Chelsey Weber-Smith, Allison Vincler, Golden Hair, Chamber Maids as just some of the bands making music in town.

For Jenn and Katie, they have a simple hope for the workshop. “We want to help them (girls) get to the business of making music sooner than we were able to – because it took both of us years and years to get over our hang-ups.”

The free Girls’ Music Workshop takes place on Feb. 13 at 3 p.m. at the Old Foundry. Female bands perform at 8 p.m. for $5 per ticket. All ages welcome. The day-long event encourages girls to make and learn about music an effort to get girls involved with music who might not, under normal circumstances and through typical avenues, play music. You don’t have to play music or be in a band to attend!