On tour. Finding wi-fi and sparetime at the same time is hard. Pics forthcoming. I have sooooo much to tell you.

This is a guest blog from Erica Rubin who is 15 and lives in Philly and is pretty much the coolest. I am so excited to hear all the bands she starts in the future. I asked her if she would write a blog about going to the Philly Girls Rock Camp and what she got out of it.

Hi, I’m Erica.
I met Jessica while she was on tour supporting her fabulous book- the book reading in Philadelphia, where I live, was part of the Girls Rock Philly meet-up for campers and staff- I being a part of the former.
Girls Rock Philly could be considered one of the Rock and Roll Camp for Girls’ younger sisters. Like its big sister in Portland, Girls Rock Philly is a place where girls and women come together for one week to well, rock out. This was my second summer attending the camp; this summer was just as fun, if not more fun, than the first. There’s just something about being in an all-female environment that is truly inspiring and empowering.
Last year when I went to Girls Rock Philly, I had been playing guitar for mere months and had taken a total of three lessons (from a 30/40 something Pink Floyd-obsessed man who had never even heard the [Pixies] song ‘Where is My Mind’- a shame, really). But somehow, after the first day of camp I was moved to the “advanced” guitar class from the beginners’. This was probably one of the first occurrences that made me feel mildly competent in the art of guitar-playing, even though all the “advanced” class pretty much meant was that you had to know how to hold the guitar and play a G chord. Still, my morale was boosted.
The song my band wrote was simple; it probably used four or five basic chords. Our band had a strange Asian name that turned out to not actually be a real word. Our performance was a bit crazy: the other guitarist’s guitar didn’t work at all, leaving me as the only guitar playing which, of course, terrified me. The singer started dancing strangely and did weird hand motions and sang about hair-clogged drains.

And the audience loved it.

And we, the band, loved it. And I loved it. It was my first time ever playing on stage with a band, and it was amazing.
After Girls Rock Philly ended last year, I pursued the guitar with great gusto. I now pretty much had the basic skills down thanks to my awesome guitar instructor at camp. The rest of the summer I practiced like crazy- more than I ever had for all of the other instruments I play combined (piano, drums, marimba). At the beginning of the school year I got a new teacher who, besides being a fabulous guitar player, shared my great love of Sleater-Kinney, among many other bands. I had found the perfect guitar teacher. Something that is great to have but hard to find.
I also got my first electric guitar a few months later, for Christmas- an American Fender Telecaster, one of the most beautiful guitars I had ever seen. It was my only Christmas present, though I still had to pay for half of it. Obviously, it was worth it.
Now I’ve been playing guitar for around a year and a half, pretty much all thanks to the fabulous girls rock camp that I’ve attended these past two summers and will keep on attending, possibly branching out to the big, original camp in Portland also. I’ve gotten to perform for an audience a few times, record in a studio, and meet so many amazing people. It has completely changed my life, in the best way possible. If you or anyone you know ever has the opportunity to attend one of these camps, DO IT/tell them to DO IT. Because it will change your life.

Here’s an interview from a British website with one of my favorite solo ladies, Ramona from Nite Jewel, she created, recorded and produced her own album in her dorm room in LA.

So, surely, by now, we have all examined the footage of Miley at Teen Choice and maybe gossiped about it. I talked about it with a reporter from the LA Times, and it’s in her article today–I don’t know if you can tell from the quotes they use, but I am trying to give her a fair shake. We expect Miley to be a kid, but also a pop star. Last year, she was the biggest grossing concert artist under the age of 35. While my parents would have grounded me for even thinking I could leave the house in shorts that short and heels that high, I was never leaving the house to perform on national TV.

What Miley was wearing is no different than what Madonna or Britney or Beyonce might wear on stage–though it’s def more of a “sexy” look than Taylor or Hayley or Demi wear on stage–so what you think of her outfit or her performance kind of depends on whether you are going to compare her to other 16 year olds, or whether you compare her to other pop stars.

I didn’t put much in the book about stage wear or what not to put on when you play a show, because I don’t think there are rules. Part of the fun of being in a band is getting to be wild and ostentacious on stage, or playing the character of “rock star”. Perhaps to Miley, what she was doing was a costume/character no different than
David Bowie
or Grace Jones

or

The Village People.
Maybe what she was wearing was 100% her, that short shorts and an exposed bra are an expression of her soul–and maybe she is tired of being a kid and she wants to be a grown up girl, since she does grown-up girl things like support her entire family, own her own horses and support a multi-national Disney empire with her talent. I think it’s not as simple as “she looks slutty”–you know?

This is my cat Wyatt, who has spent allll day napping next to me in the mail box.

Women in rock, cats in tubs. That’s what I am into.

Earlier this year, I went to see Lykke Li and got there early to see Wildbirds & Peacedrums, on the advice of a friend. As much as I loved the Lykke record, Wildbirds BLEW HER OFF THE STAGE. It was like this:

I know it’s not a competition, but she was good, and Wildbirds were just incredible. A vocals and drums duo from Sweden, their record is coming out in the US this fall and I thought Mariam would be a perfect lady to interview for the blog, because her band is non-traditional and her talent is huge. I think Wildbirds & Peacedrums are really good example that you can have your band be whatever you want it to be–it doesn’t have to be three guitars and keyboards and all of that. No one would hear a Wildbirds song and say “something is missing”.

When did you first think you wanted to be in a band? How long between when you first dreamed of being in a band and when you started playing in a band?

I liked to be by myself a lot when I was a kid so when I first started singing I didn’t think that much about having a band. I liked more to sing by myself in the shower or when I was out walking :)  But when I was 12 I got asked by some classmates to sing in their band and that opened up a whole new way for me at looking on how to make music! I really started to enjoy creating it with others; the feeling of being united is just something so great.

Was it hard to find people to play with?

I’m from a small town in the middle of Sweden so there weren’t  too many musicians hanging around there really. So it was a bit hard finding the right people that I could really connect with. But when I finished high school and moved to a bigger city it became so much easier, just as long as you’re not afraid to try to and play with a lot of different people you eventually find the ones that you can make the music you want to with.

How do you come up with the lyrics for your songs? Who are some of your favorite lyricists?

I just use my imagination and my emotions. I think I’m more inspired by book rather than other songwriters for inspiration to my lyrics, I try to read a lot, watch movies and look at people and my surroundings to find inspiration to a song.

Do you get nervous when you perform? Do you remember the first time you ever played on stage?

I’m mostly nervous when I sing to my friends and my family or to a small and intimate crowd. It’s almost easier to play for a lot of people and be on a huge stage! Because then it doesn’t feel as personal as it do when people who know me really well come to listen. The first time I performed on a real stage was when I was 9, I was in this childrens musical dressed out as a mouse (!) singing and acting a bit (the whole musical was this classic Swedish musical about animals living in a forrest). We toured for two summers all over Sweden so when the summer ended I came back with a lot of funny stories for my classmates.

What is the best part of playing in your band?

Because were just two people we can both take up a lot of  room on stage! I also have a lot of freedom in the music to do what I like and I can play any instrument I want. And the best part, because many of our songs is just based on drums and vocals I can sing just as I feel like

Did you ever take lessons, or were you just born singing like that?

I started early to sing in church choirs but when I became a teenager I felt I needed to try my voice different ways so I started to take lessons for this classical trained teacher. That wasn´t my thing at all so I eventually found a jazz teacher that I liked a lot. She helped me to start using my voice more freely, to improvise. And that is the best thing I have ever realized about music, that it should be free because otherwise its not really alive.

What are some of the songs on the new record about?

Independence, about breaking loose. About transforming sadness into strength. And about feeling a bit lost and insecure sometimes but still trying to find a way. I was quite angry and frustrated when I wrote the lyrics but I wanted that to come out but in a good and powerful way.

Do you have any hidden talents?

I’m a really good bike-rider, I can talk with cats and I climb trees fast as a flash

A question I have been asked by girls a few times is “What is the worst band name you have ever heard of?” and I rack my head for a few easy bad ones, but now, now I have an answer:

VOLUNTARY BUTLER SCHEME.

They are British. I do not even know if they are good. That band name is sooo bad I can’t bring myself to even check out the Myspace page. OOOF!

Watching this ‘tube of Sonny Terry on Pete Seeger’s TV show made me realize that I should have put more about harmonicas in the book. There is only one mention, in the section about playing shows anywhere, and it’s just a little joke about playing Radiohead songs on the harmonica out on the curb in front of your house.

People forget now, but there was a time when every band had a harmonica.

Boswell Sisters “Sleepytime Down South” –1932

The Ronettes

The Clark Sisters-Elbernita, Jacky, Dorinda, Karen and Denise–the gospel/vocal group from Detroit

Heart “Crazy On You” — 1976

Meg and Dia “Black Wedding”– 2009