He Also Played a Helluva Center Field

Last night I watched Mamalizza rock out with her new band Murder Country, having spent three days learning to play, writing a song, and then playing it to a packed house, all part of the Willie Mae Rock Camp.

Every woman should do this - it looks fun as hell and is a great cause: getting girls to ROCK!

Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls is a non-profit music and mentoring program that empowers girls and women through music education, volunteerism, and activities that foster self-respect, leadership skills, creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration.

It was also the most effortlessly fun cameraderie I've ever seen between bands in a club.  I don't think dudes could do this; they'd get too competitive/assholey. I remember one time my band was watching another band play before us (closers close, bitches!), and the sound was fucking dreadful.  It was so bad I was embarrassed for them, and I turned to The Barber, who did sound professionally and had gone to school for it, and asked if he could fix it for them. He simply said "sure I could," and remained sitting, watching the band go down in flames.  "Somehow," the sound was fixed once we started playing  :)

On the website just now, I've also learned that the camp is named in honor of Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton, who, if I've watched my PBS doc on the history of rock and roll (an intoxicating joint I videotaped and watched a zillion times while in Oxford, and also the first thing I heard Liev Schreiber narrate) correctly, and I think I have, sang Hound Dog before Elvis did.

I had previously wondered if it was for some reason named after Willie Mae's Scotch House in New Orleans, which has been declared home of the best fried chicken in the country.  Of course I secretly hoped we'd be showerd with free fried chicken. You can imagine my disappointment  ;)