Queens of rock

Featured, Features — By Nate Gessner

And during the one-week-long girls’ camp, the women noticed something: The campers’ moms wanted to rock, too.

“So many people were dropping their kids off, saying, ‘I wish I had this when I was young,’” Krista Rasmussen, a GRCM instructor, recalls.

Those parents got their wish.

Pollay teamed up with the Madison Music Foundry, a recording and rehearsal studio, to host the inaugural Ladies Rock Camp Madison in October 2010. Now, young girls wouldn’t be the only ones channeling their inner Bikini Kill.

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Inside the Madison Music Foundry is a maze-like warren of practice rooms. On this particular Saturday afternoon, each door opens to a room of women, grabbing the rock world by the cojones and refusing to let go, twisting them like volume knobs cranked to 11.

Behind door number one, seven campers stand in a circle. Their attention is focused on Anna Vogelzang, a Madison singer-songwriter, who balances a keyboard on a wooden stool. Vogelzang leads a vocal warm-up. Ten women practicing lip trills sound like a chorus of mermaids — notes bubbling up from pursed, pulsating lips of otherworldly women of the sea.

Down the hall, seven bassists huddle together for a lesson from instructors Laura Detert and Connie Jordan. Seven bass players in one room seems like a recipe for disaster, but through the patience of Detert and Jordan and the determination of the campers, these women will become masters of disaster — picking and plucking, creating a low-toned thunderstorm.

Behind door number three, Kille sits front and center, surrounded by three campers with guitars. Her ebony acoustic-electric shines, illuminated by studio lights. Behind her beautiful guitar peeks a five-months-pregnant belly, a pale blue t-shirt stretched taut over the swell of her stomach. She is the image of patience and grace — almost saintly, if a saint could strum a mean A major seven while belting out a powerful vocal melody. Nothing slows Kille down.

Heading down the hall, it’s a shame this isn’t a game show — it’s easy to guess what’s behind door number four. Instructor Nicky Sund leads the beat on her own drum set while Rasmussen keeps time with a cowbell. A couple of the women with sticks seem more confident than others, but that may be due to the intruders in the room. Camper Cathleen Dohrn says to the photographer over the sound of the skins, “This is a lot harder than it looks.” Before leaving the room, Dohrn playfully throws in a drum fill. Sund smiles.

Everyone breaks between instruction and practice. Beth Dohrn, Cathleen’s sister, sits with her daughter, Kira Dohrn Jones, who is 14 and a GRCM camper. Beth Dohrn is master of ceremonies and board president of GRCM and LRCM, but today she plays the role of camper. Dohrn says the whole family is somewhat musical now, jokingly suggesting the idea of a family band. Kira is not amused.

“It seems like a weird idea to me,” she says, making a face.

Despite Kira’s hesitation to rock with her mom, she admires what her mother is doing. And Dohrn is glad to be in a band with her sister, finally taking time to do something for herself.

“Driving my children from one place to the other, laundry, grocery shopping,” Beth says. “None of those things, I don’t miss any of them today.”

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The first Ladies Rock Camp Madison comes to a close with a spectacular showcase at the High Noon Saloon. All the bands take the stage triumphantly — their sons, daughters, significant others, co-workers, friends and instructors screaming like teenage girls seeing the Beatles at Candlestick Park. After all the women are done rocking, they’re positively glowing — and not just because of the stage lights.

Emily Jones, bassist of Wicked Edge, reflects on the experience. She is certain she will do it again.

“The women who are running it are all excellent,” Jones says. “There really is a good feeling of ‘We want you to come in and take where you are and go as far as you can with it. We’re gonna give you some tools to put together a simple but rockin’ song.”

A live show fanatic and now the keyboardist in Wicked Edge, Kris Huehne is also convinced she’ll revisit LRCM.

“It was the most fun thing I’ve ever done,” she says. “It’s just the experience of a lifetime.”

Cathleen Dohrn, Now or Never’s drummer, has a similar idea as her sister about the family band.

“I went to my kids and said ‘Dude, we gotta start a band,’” she says. “It was incredible fun, not only being with my sister and niece, but with this great group of women. I have a newfound appreciation for the drums.”

The likelihood of a “Dohrn Family Band” remains unclear, but the world may not be ready for a hard rock version of the Partridge Family, anyway. Teenagers will always find a way to be embarrassed by their parents, no matter how rockin’ they may be. Sharing the stage with your mother could mean the kiss of death for a high schooler.

Although the daughters of rock camp moms might not want to share the spotlight with their parents, one thing is for certain — these grown-up campers have gotten a taste of rock ‘n’ roll and want a second helping. Many of the women say they’ll return next year and nearly all want to switch to drums.

Halle Pollay, meanwhile, has quit her job as an accountant to pursue GRCM full-time.

“It was probably the best career move I’ve ever made,” she says. “Maybe not financially, but definitely spirit-wise.”

The next Ladies Rock Camp Madison will be held February 18, 19 and 20. Check out http://www.grcmadison.org/ for more information about LRCM or the next GRCM.

Published December 9, 2010.

Tags: Gessner, Ladies Rock