She Rocks, And You Can Too

On Tuesday, Jenny Case spent the rainy evening at the Minnesota Zoo, catching a show by The Go-Go’s–the only all-female band to have written its own songs, played its own instruments and have an album reach number one on the Billboard charts. That same evening, in front of the merchandise booth and just steps away from where The Go-Go’s would play their ‘80s hits, another girl group, Case’s proteges, also played their own instruments and performed their own songs. A four piece rock band that formed four years ago at Girls Rock n Roll Retreat, they go by the name Half Demon Doll. They are still teenagers today. And maybe, just maybe, they’ll be the second all-female band to hit number one with their own music.  

That’s Jenny Case’s dream, at least, and part of the reason she’s one of the co-founders of She Rock She Rock, a local nonprofit that works to “empower females through the art of music” and encompasses the Girls Rock n Roll Retreat, Women’s Rock n Roll Retreat, bi-monthly all-female jam sessions in the basement of , and music workshops. 

She Rock She Rock was started two years ago by Jenny Case, Edie Baumgart and Karen Gustafson, but it was back in 2007 when the first Girls Rock n Roll Retreat was held at Perpich Center for Arts Education in Golden Valley. As part of the international Girls Rock Camp Alliance, which began in Portland with the Rock ‘n Roll Camp for Girls a decade ago, the Girls Rock n Roll Retreat (GRRR) is a weeklong day camp held twice each summer. Girls–some with prior music experience, others with only an interest–arrive Monday, are placed in a band of four to seven girls, spend the week writing and rehearsing a song, and on Friday put on a concert. 

In GRRR’s first summer, a band of nine year olds called Chocolate Metal was formed. (Yes, the girls choose their own band names.) That same year saw the formation of Half Demon Doll. The 14-year-olds were all former students of Case’s, who also teaches music lessons on her own. One of them, Sam Stahlmann, was Case’s inspiration for starting GRRR.

“I saw how she just wanted to be in an all girl band and she was so motivated but she couldn’t find any other girls,” Case said.

Case’s musical instincts must be good. She placed Stahlmann with four other girls at GRRR and they became Half Demon Doll. Four of the five make up the band today. In 2008, Half Demon Doll won Teen Vogue’s Rock Meets Runway competition at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City, the band released an EP in 2010, and they’ve played their fair share of shows around Minnesota. This Sunday, you can catch them at the Triple Rock Social Club for an 18 plus show (even though only three of the four girls have turned 18 by now). 

This summer, Stahlmann and the rest of Half Demon Doll will be helping out at GRRR as assistant teachers. Stahlmann said returning to where Half Demon Doll began has special meaning for her. 

“It’s great to be able to leave an impact on those girls like Jenny left an impact on me,” she said. 

With her partners at She Rock She Rock, Case–a local rocker herself–is on a mission to bring new female rockers into the music world, noting that her own musical influences are mostly male.

“As far as inspiring me to play an instrument, I’ve never learned a Madonna song or a Joni Mitchell song; it’s always been Rush or Queen or Led Zeppelin,” Case said. “And that’s what bums me out. I’m like, ‘Where are all the women?’”

Two GRRR sessions are held each summer. This year’s retreats are scheduled for the weeks beginning July 11 and July 18. Registration for vocalists and drummers is now closed, but registration is still open for guitar, bass and keyboards. Beginners are welcomed. 

The first Women’s Rock n Roll Retreat (WRRR)–a consolidated, overnight version of GRRR for the older crowd–will be held in November. Registration for WRRR will begin in the next couple of weeks. 

Learn more about both retreats as well as the bi-monthly all-female jam sessions in the basement of Jack’s (She Rock She Rock’s headquarters), or by meeting Jenny Case and other members of She Rock She Rock at the this Sunday.