Six weeks ago, I met up with a couple strangers to play music together for the first time. This Saturday, we’re making our debut on the Hangar 9 stage.
If you’re thinking that sounds like an awfully quick turnaround, you’d be right. Are we foolish? Maybe a little, but that has nothing to do with it. We’re participating in an annual fundraiser called Rock Roulette, which raises money for the Y’all Rock Carbondale summer camp.
Y’all Rock Carbondale started in 2014 and is open to girls, transgender and nonbinary young people in Grades 3 through 12. Campers — some of whom have no musical experience — have one week to learn an instrument, form a band, write a song, and perform in a showcase at Hangar 9 on the Strip.
To cover costs associated with the camp, Y’all Rock hosts its annual Rock Roulette fundraiser. It’s pretty similar to the camp, except the grown-ups take the stage and hit up their friends and family for donations — sort of like a walk-a-thon. A rock-a-thon, if you will.
People are also reading…
We signed up in January, then in February were grouped randomly with other Rouletters and turned loose into basements and garages around town to learn instruments, write three songs, practice, practice, practice, and fundraise.
What are we fundraising for? Y’all Rock camp tuition is offered on a sliding scale — no one is turned away for lack of funds — gear and instruments are provided by the camp and Y’all Rock even has its own space on The Island in downtown Carbondale, as of a couple weeks ago.
Why’s this a camp only for gender-marginalized people? Well, what comes to mind when I say rock ‘n’ roll? The Rolling Stones. The Beatles. Bruce Springsteen. Elvis. Chuck Berry. Led Zeppelin. Sense a pattern here? Not to knock those rock gods, but how far down the list ‘til we get to rock goddesses?
Stevie Nicks, Joan Jett and Kathleen Hanna were trailblazers, not the norm. For a long time, rock ‘n’ roll was a man’s game. Women shrieked, fainted, fawned, gyrated on muscle cars, danced in the background or occasionally provided an “ooh” or “ahh.”
As a teenager, my musical awakening opened my eyes (and ears) to punk rock, hardcore and metal — the harder, the better. I often found myself one of a handful of chicks at shows. And if a woman took the stage? A rarity!
I jammed with a few girls — playing my brother’s drum set — but we were told our voices were too “churchy” and we weren’t encouraged with the same gusto as when we sang in the choir or played flute in the school orchestra.
We were told rock ‘n’ roll wasn’t for us. We weren’t in “real bands.” Kathleen Hanna and her band Bikini Kill — and the riot grrrl movement that upended the rock scene with it — demanded that a woman’s place was in the mosh pit and fronting a punk band. In a lot of places, even more than 30 years later, that’s still not a given.
Y’all Rock is giving those kids a chance to take the stage, to take amplified sound for a spin, to experience the freedom and empowerment that comes with making noise.
I wrote about Y’all Rock a few times during my tenure as a Southern Illinois journalist. And now that I’m out of the newspaper game, I thought — it’s time. Joining Rock Roulette was a risk. I’m glad I gave it a spin.
Let me introduce the band: Nan plays guitar and keyboard, has a singing voice that’s just as at home screaming as singing a tender harmony, and is always encouraging us to build one more layer into a song. Hannah is our drummer and artist and embodies the idea of “above and beyond,” practicing daily while crafting band merch and commuting a considerable distance to a new job she started the week Rock Roulette started. I’m playing keyboard and ukulele. And we’re SQUIDWHIP.
Our first practice was nerve-wracking. We’d all had a little bit of musical experience, but it was tough to know where to start. We jammed on two chords — I don’t even think we were playing the same two chords, to be honest — with a hi-hat tick-ticking to keep time. By our next get-together, we threw a few more chords in the mix. Nan strummed her guitar, I picked the chords out on the keyboard, Hannah added a bit of snare and kick drum, and suddenly — we had music! Pretty soon after that, we had lyrics. Then, we were having fun.
Our band manager, Y’all Rock fundraising chair Makenna Baxter, made buttons with little cartoon squids Hannah had drawn playing instruments. We took photos fit for an album cover. Hannah created a squid stamp that she printed on shirts we tie-dyed. We offered them up as merch to anyone who donated more than a certain amount.
And a lot of people donated! Our friends and family — both local and far-flung — gave to the cause, stepping up to support the next generation of rock-n-rollers. And of course, we’re not the only band taking part. Each of the seven bands is closing in on its fundraising goal. So far, Rock Roulette has raised more than $4,000 this year.
This Saturday, March 18, those seven bands will take the stage at the Rock Roulette showcase. Doors open at 8 and the music starts at 9. There will also be a raffle – the prizes, donated by local businesses, are fantastic — and a photo booth. And DJ HA plays an after-party.
For complete details about this weekend’s showcase and this year’s Rock Roulette bands, visit facebook.com/yallrock618. To donate, visit mightycause.com/team/A1by3g.
Alee Quick is a former editor for The Southern, trivia host at Hangar 9 and member of Carbondale Rock Roulette band SQUIDWHIP.
