Last month Cate and I went to a do at Swarovski Crystallized organised by The Industry. Though their events are usually fashion-focused, this one featured an interview with British singer and songwriter Kate Nash, which was more than enough to pull me in.
Listening to her talk about the link between fashion and music with hurried excitement was interesting, but what really blew me away was her new project, the Rock N Roll For Girls After-School Music Club.
She cited Bikini Kill frontwoman Kathleen Hanna’s involvement in the Girls Rock Camps, and a panel she sat on at last year’s Birds Eye View event (chaired by journalist Miranda Sawyer), as direct inspiration for setting up the programme.
Its aim is simply to provide a safe environment in which girls can write songs, learn about music and be creative. You can’t argue with that.
She’s trialling it with six schools across the country, and obviously wants to remain closely involved with each of the clubs to begin with.
I hope to see her develop this into something bigger, powered by the web. A site perhaps, that holds all of the materials a teacher might need to set up a club at their own school or college, and the ability for each girl to create a profile, swap tips, share lessons and set up gigs. There’s a world of potential.