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Monday we just sat around and got to know each other and talked about what a zine is. We had a whole stack of sample zines to check out and I gave everyone a copy of Fertile Ground. Then I tried to explain why a mom might want to make a zine without mentioning words like homebirth, breastfeeding, or circumcision that might freak them out. Luckily the latest issue is the Memphis issue and I was able to convince them I was semi-cool with the details of breaking my leg in two places in the derby.
Tuesday we busted out the box of art supplies and started making collages. Everyone was a little more relaxed and we had fun discussing what we wanted to put in the zine. I talked to Chuck, the photography teacher, about getting some pictures of the bands that the girls were forming for the zine.
Wednesday I was a bit panicked about not having any content, so I asked the girls to do some writing before we busted out the art supplies. I talked to Kelley, the founder, to see if she could get the band names, members names, bios, and lyrics for me to include. No small task! No one could come up with a name for the zine so I shyly asked my group of budding hipsters in Ramones and Go-gos shirts if they had ever seen the movie American Pie. They nodded. "Remember how that girl was saying, 'One time at band camp'?" They nodded. "Want to call it that?" They looked around at each other and giggled in approval.
"Maybe we could cross out the word 'band' and replace it with 'rock-n-roll'," one of them suggested.
"Yeah, we could cross it out with red lipstick!" another one said.
Now we were getting somewhere!
Hoping to have a stapling party Friday I told the girls they'd have to work on a few things at home so we could get everything laid out on Thursday. At lunch it occurred to me that everything we were doing was in color and that when I gave the girls free reign to pick out the style of zine they wanted to do, I never asked Kelley what our budget was for printing! Uh-oh.
Thursday I came in to find all of the volunteers looking very sleepy and hungover. Kelley, Jessi (my assistant), and one other girl are in an old time country band called Those Darlins and they played at Murphy's Wednesday night. Chuck had stayed up late too. But it wasn't too bad--Kelley had most of the band info and Chuck had all of the pics I needed on his computer. Once we got all of the band info together--there were eight total--we suddenly had lots and lots of content for the zine. And best of all, one of my girls made an amazing cover collage.
We ran out of time, so Jessi and I ate a quick lunch and then finished the layout ourselves. Even though she is totally laid back and awesome, she agreed with me that we needed a table of contents and page numbers. I was very worried about coming off as totally anal!!
Kelley said she'd get a few color copies for the class and do the others in black and white. A good compromise.
Friday is our last day of camp and I anticipate a rowdy stapling and folding party. With the one exception of having the Mothersville gang help me out after Jiro was born, folding and stapling has always been a very solitary act. I'm looking forward to sharing the experience with five future zinesters.
This is Kelley, who founded SGRRC in Murphreesboro five years ago when she was 17 (!!) and Chuck, the photography teacher, at the check-in table.
Here are my girls putting on the final touches today.
Here's Hustlin' Flow, a derby girl and volunteer drum teacher, and one of my girls admiring the almost finished product.
The eight bands that the girls formed on Monday will be performing in a showcase on the roof of the Gibson Guitar Factory this Saturday night at 7pm. All of the girls are playing their own instruments and almost all of them are singing original songs. It's going to be AWESOME. If you have a daughter (or a son) you should definitely come! Tickets are $7 at the door.
Read The Commercial Appeal article from Thursday for more info!
Those Darlins will be playing at the Buccaneer after the showcase. (Midnightish)
1 comment:
That's so awesome! I really hope these camps are still around when my girls are old enough to go!
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