Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls was founded in Portland in the early 2000s to provide space for girls and non-binary young people to learn to play and write songs. Now there are hundreds of these camps all over the world, but the one in Portland is changing. Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls is passing the torch to the Portland nonprofit Friends of Noise, which works to give youth access to the music industry. We talk to Andre Middleton, the executive director of Friends of Noise, and two young sound engineers who have been trained by the program: Fox Newey and Mikayla Zoe Best-Prostrednik.
This transcript was created by a computer and edited by a volunteer.
Dave Miller: From the Gert Boyle Studio at OPB, this is Think Out Loud. I’m Dave Miller. Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls was founded in Portland in the early 2000s. The idea was simple but powerful - to provide a space for girls and non-binary young people to learn to write and perform songs. There are now hundreds of these camps all over the world but the one in Portland is changing. The original group has folded and is passing the torch to a different Portland nonprofit. Friends of Noise was created in 2016 to give youth access to the music industry. Andre Middleton is the executive director of Friends of Noise. He joins us now, along with two young sound engineers who have been trained by this program, Fox Newey and Mikayla Zoe Best-Prostrednik. Welcome to all three of you.
[Voices Overlap]: Thank you | Thank you for having us.
Miller: Andre, first, why did you start Friends of Noise seven years ago?
Andre Middleton: In all fairness, it was because there was a lack of all-ages spaces in Portland. I used to work for the Regional Arts and Culture Council and while I worked there, there was this really great space called BackSpace in downtown Portland that had just closed. And a bunch of stakeholders from Rock Camp for Girls, My Voice Music, Ethos, and so many [others] all started meeting to talk about what could we do to revitalize an all-ladies music ecosystem here in Portland.
Miller: And the ‘ecosystem,’ that seems like an important word because it’s not just venues, right?
Middleton: Right. It’s not just venues. When we started, the vision was to just get a venue, but we realized that it’s so much more than that because in Portland, a healthy music scene is really an ecosystem. You have to have sound engineers, you have to have artists, you have to have publicists, graphic artists, videographers, all working together to make spaces that are accessible and fun for young people to want to be in.
Miller: So has the venue idea melted away or is that still a part of the vision?
Middleton: It is still a part, a high part of the vision. In fact, we’re trying to get a venue as we speak. But with the pandemic, with real estate being what it is, we set aside the idea of having to have a brick and mortar and it actually was a big help because it decentralized where we were. We’ve been able to put on shows in St. Johns, East Portland, SW Portland, all over town because we’re mobile. So instead of forcing young people to come to one central location we’re able to do events and shows all over Portland.
Miller: Why is it all ages? Why does that matter? As opposed to saying ‘if you wanna see music, you have to be 21 so you can drink.’ I mean, there’s the money now and in many places, there has been this connection between being able to drink and being able to take in live music. Why is that a problem?
Middleton: Well, it’s a problem because it is not creating a healthy pipeline for young people, not just to see music but to be those musicians themselves. We have crossed paths and supported over 1,000 young musicians since we started and most of them really just want to perform. They wanna play. It’s an added bonus to be able to get them in front of like-minded members of their own cohort to be able to see the professional gigging musicians of today. So it really is all about creating a healthy pipeline where young people can see themselves in those roles.
Miller: Zoe, when did you first hear about Friends of Noise and think, ‘well, I want to take part in this’?
Mikayla Zoe Best-Prostrednik: Yeah, I started in 2017, I believe. I originally got involved through a live set program at Mississippi Studios, through Young Audiences. And through them, I somehow got involved with Friends of Noise.
Miller: And what was the piece of these programs that attracted you?
Best-Prostrednik: To Friends of Noise in particular? The opportunity to be able to sound engineer at a young age and continue the skills that I learned through Live SET. [That] was what drew me in.
Miller: You wanted to be behind the board for shows?
Best-Prostrednik: Yes.
Miller: Why? What’s it like?
Best-Prostrednik: I love the technical side of the music industry and being able to have a part in it, even though I’m not fully a musician. I love the fact that I can still be involved and just being able to mix and use the knobs and to just have an impact on the quality of the sound that is being produced by the artist.
Miller: Fox, what about you? What was your path to becoming a sound engineer?
Fox Newey: Yeah, so I got involved with Friends of Noise through Live SET, which is this great program that takes place on weekends for about a month and then there’s a concert where you engineer a whole show, for the first time. And then after that, I got in touch with Andre and started working with him in early 2022. And, yeah, the same thing sort of interested me, being able to really make a difference in what people were hearing. And I was really, mostly at the beginning, excited about production, like in a studio. But then I got involved in Live Sound and that sort of changed everything for me
Miller: And you were getting interested in Live Sound at a time, it seems, when live shows, right before, had just all but disappeared and then they were sort of slowly coming back. Did the disappearance of shows make you want them more?
Newey: Yeah. Absolutely. I had been to concerts before the pandemic but I was pretty young and still in high school. So I wasn’t really going to local shows and the shows that I was going to were, you know, I wanted to go to more but they were all, there was a barrier of age.
Miller: So you felt that the barrier that Andre is talking about?
Newey: Yeah. Even still, like, I’m not 21. And so they’re still like, ‘oh, this artist is coming into town and they are doing a 21 and over show.’ And I think it’s really great that we get to provide a space for people to be able to figure out what music they like. You know, not everybody likes the same thing. But if you have the opportunity to go see live shows, it really makes a difference I think.
Miller: Andre, let’s zoom forward to the news that I think really hasn’t gotten too much public notice yet, if at all, which is at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls, a nonprofit, they filed to disband the nonprofit in March. What went through your mind when you heard that this nonprofit, that’s meant a lot to a lot of people for 20 years and helped create different chapters all over the world. What went through your mind when you heard it was closing?
Middleton: It was a level of sadness, a level of realization of what impact the pandemic was still having on so many like minded and similarly sized organizations, not just here in Portland, but across the country. But also a sense of awe and respect that they saw Friends of Noise as being a logical and emotional carrier of that torch.
Miller: A logical and emotional carrier for the torch. What did they actually give you in terms of back end stuff?
Middleton: Well, I literally was at their storage unit two or three days ago looking at just a storage bin full of instruments, memorabilia, drums, guitars, amps, like everything that they needed and used to run their camp every year.
Miller: They donated all that to you?
Middleton: All that to us.
Miller: And now what are the possible directions you could take Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls?
Middleton: Well, I need to be honest and say that I really don’t know. The conversations that I’ve had with our board for the Friends of Noise and some young people that are in this room right now, it’s really about listening to what young people need. The landscape has changed so much between 20 years ago and today. When Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp started, the trans rights movement wasn’t where it is today. People acknowledging that gender is just a construct, wasn’t where it is today. So we really, really want to do a good job of listening to what the needs are. It’s also fair to say that Rock Camp really did draw a very particular majority white, majority upper middle class clientele. How do we expand that to include more BIPOC youth, more youth from East Portland, more youth from marginalized areas that could benefit from the ideas and support that these two young women on either side of me provide on a daily basis.
Miller: I’m glad you wrote that last part. I mean, so in a sense you’re saying there are question marks about both the groups of people who were the intended audience or target for Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls, but also the genre of music. My understanding is that when Friends of Noise started, you made a really concerted effort to embrace and celebrate and help young people work in a really wide variety of styles. So it wasn’t just rock ‘n’ roll or punk, but it was also hip hop or metal or whatever. I mean, is it fair to say that you’re not interested now or ever in just focusing on rock ‘n’ roll?
Middleton: Yes, it is fair to say that I and Friends of Noise are not interested in only focusing on rock ‘n’ roll.
Miller: So where does that leave you? I mean, what it seems like you’re saying is it’s time now, maybe it’s always been time to expand definitions and expand audiences. And yet, the baton was passed to you. So what are some possibilities?
Middleton: Well, some possibilities we’ve thought of are, for example, the idea of calling it ‘Rock Camp for Resistance.’ How are we really putting forward the values that Rock Camp for Girls espoused but materializing them in a way that is truly broadcasting that we want trans kids, we want gay kids, we want straight kids, we want even some boys on some occasions.
Miller: Even some boys?
Middleton: If they are allies. And if they understand that this is a space that is not gonna be big footed or dominated by a dominant culture and that it’s the people in the room that are gonna define where the organization goes in the future.
Miller: Zoe, I’m curious whether it’s the live music world or the world of music production, it has often been seen as very dominated by men, often white men. Is that something that you’ve experienced as you’ve been learning the ropes? What has it been like for you?
Best-Prostrednik: Oh absolutely. Being in a male dominated space has been a little bit intimidating at first or just being the only girl just feeling like I’m paving the past a little bit. I’m really lucky and grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given through Friends of Noise and through Live SET and my mentors, really advocating for folks like me, who are not cismale or male at all, to be able to have equal opportunities. So I feel very fortunate for that.
Miller: Fox, setting aside the particulars of Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls nonprofit folding, what opportunities for young people, just in the Portland area, when it comes to music, would you like to see them have access to?
Newey: Yeah, I mean, that’s a big question but I think a lot of people just don’t quite have access to instruments or a space to practice or a way to get there, to songwrite or to figure out like, ‘wow, I am interested in sound engineering or live sound’ or whatever. I think Friends of Noise does a very good job. I mean, when I got involved it helped me figure out a lot and I think just providing a space where people can make mistakes and learn and then figure out, ‘hey, this is actually something I’m really serious about.’
Miller: You were tapped by Andre to book a benefit show that’s going to be happening this Friday. What can folks expect at that show?
Newey: Yeah. So this show is going to be, as you said, a benefit show. It is Friday May 12th. It is at JaJa PDX and the bands that are playing are Mauve, Femme Cell, As Above, and Mr. Dinkles from Seattle. We tried to get a variety of bands from different genres and also different ages and yeah, it’s gonna be a fun time. I’m very excited. I’m very proud of the show...
Middleton: And if I can interrupt real quick, I didn’t tap Fox. Fox tapped herself. This is like the third show that Fox has said ‘I want to have control and book and plan and produce concerts for Friends of Noise.’ And it’s been an honor just to get out of the way and see what she can do and she’s doing a great job at it.
Miller: I appreciate that clarification. Fox, what’s it like to do all this yourself?
Newey: I mean, at first I was intimidated but I think getting behind the scenes and really just being able to plan things has helped me gain a lot of connections, especially with bands and other sound engineers and just artists and even just fans of music, people who attend the shows. It really has just helped me out a lot, especially just like gaining a lot of connections and meeting people.
Miller: Do you see this as the work of your future?
Newey: Yeah, this is definitely - I’m where I want to be and I see myself staying here for a long time.
Miller: Fox, Zoe and Andre, thanks very much.
[Voices Overlap]: Really appreciate it. Thank you so much for having us.
Miller: Fox Newey and Mikayla Zoe Best-Prostrednik are sound engineers who took part in the Friends of Noise nonprofits training. Andre Middleton is the executive director of Friends of Noise.
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