Girls Guide to Rocking

Description

From greats like Patti Smith and Cyndi Lauper to TV's Miley Cyrus ("Hannah Montana") and Demi Lovato, girls want to rock. They want to start bands, write songs, get up on stage, and kick out the jams. Here's the book to teach them how. Written by an obsessive music lover who's spent her life playing, performing, publicizing, and writing about rock 'n' roll, "The Girl's Guide to Rocking" is a hip, inspirational guide for rad girls who want to make their rock dreams come true. It's everything a rocking girl needs to know: how to find your instrument - and if your hands are too small for the bass, try the guitar; how to get your band together - ask everyone you know, put up flyers, check the local music schools; temperamental old-school tube amps vs. uncool but supersmart digital amps; giving your band the right name, plus a cautionary glossary of overused words (Wolf, Star, Crystal, Earth, etc.) ; the freedom of going solo, and how to handle performing alone in the spotlight; songwriting tips, with eight prompts to get the lyrics flowing; the ins and outs of recording, whether at home or in a studio; and, taking care of business - publicizing your band, making money on T-shirts, legalese and the creative personality, your MySpace page, and the four signs that say 'time to hire a manager' - in other words, you've arrived.

Jessica Hopper is a music and culture critic whose work regularly appears in Chicago Reader, LA Weekly, SPIN, ANP and Chicago Tribune and has also been included in DaCapo's Best of Music Writing 2004, 2005 and 2007. She is also the music consultant for the public radio show, This American Life. Her widely-anthologized essay, "Emo: Where the Girls Aren't" was described as "influential" by The New York Times. Holding fast to the music-is-my-life credo, Hopper has also done time as a tour manager, band publicist, DJ, touring bassist, Girls Rock Camp booster, and fanzine publisher. She lives in Chicago.

This highly informational and inspiring do-it-yourself resource will guide girls toward their rocker dreams. It will also appeal to the young-at-heart who dream of being a rock star and readers and researchers of girl culture. --Elizabeth M. Wavle, Elmira College Library, NY