(Lailathephotographer/Laila Iravani/Palliard/Flickr)Portland's Girl Rock Camp is in its tenth year
(OregonLive.com)
Fabi Reyna played rock 'n' roll for four years before she made it into the spotlight. But it wasn't a lack of talent that kept her from it -- it was boys.
Attending music camps as a child in her hometown of Austin, Reyna was often forced to play back-up guitar for boys her age. When she was, on a rare occasion, given the chance to play lead guitar, she says boys would get so mad they would sometimes cry. And once, when she was 12, a boy told her that her gender prevented her from being a good musician.
Mini-summer session called Rock Camp Studio has
the girls working with their instructors and bands.
Reyna says she timidly backed down from the insult. But she came to Portland the next summer, in 2006, to attend the Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls, and her perspective changed: She realized being female didn't mean she couldn't rock out.
Fabi Reyna played rock 'n' roll for four years before she made it into the spotlight. But it wasn't a lack of talent that kept her from it -- it was boys.
Attending music camps as a child in her hometown of Austin, Reyna was often forced to play back-up guitar for boys her age. When she was, on a rare occasion, given the chance to play lead guitar, she says boys would get so mad they would sometimes cry. And once, when she was 12, a boy told her that her gender prevented her from being a good musician.
Mini-summer session called Rock Camp Studio has
the girls working with their instructors and bands.
Reyna says she timidly backed down from the insult. But she came to Portland the next summer, in 2006, to attend the Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls, and her perspective changed: She realized being female didn't mean she couldn't rock out.
"I was like, 'Yeah, what am I doing listening to dudes and holding myself back?'" says Reyna, now 19. Now she lives in Portland and tours with two bands -- Fabi and Sexhair -- and runs a record label, Talking Helps Records, with two friends. This week, Reyna will attribute much of her success to girls rock camp when she performs at a ceremony in honor of the organization's 10th anniversary. More
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