Girls Rock 2010!

July 16

Today's the day all the bands get to play in front of the whole camp and it's a really great exercise for the girls. They also got their t-shirts back, screen-printed with their logo designs. A very exciting day indeed. The older girls even changed their clothes for the camp performance. All the girls were adorable. Some were nervous and some were obviously born to stand in front of a mic. It's pretty amazing to see what kids can do with just basic knowledge of their instruments with only a week to learn.

The Black Candles still entertain me. Each of the four are so laid back and I'd say Lily is the most social of the group. But there have been conflicts and it occurs to me that some girls I've observed this week have so many rules with each other. A lot of the conflicts I see are happening because one girl tells the other that they can't do something because of a specific reason. The other girl will challenge the reason, but the other girl will expand the reason, which just makes matters worse. Then they both get angry; one girl is mad that the other won't do what she's telling her to do and the other girl is mad because someone is trying to prevent her from doing what she's doing. It becomes hard to navigate sometimes because we want the girls to feel empowered, but we certainly don't want them to take away the power of other girls. Then again, as Heather pointed out, we can't be expected to change bad habits/personality traits in one week!

The Black Candles did pretty good during their performance. It's so fun to watch them as a volunteer manager who's been with them all week. You spend so much time trying to teach the basics (not just with music, but common courtesy and respect for others as well) and you think that they're not getting it. But then you watch them at the end of the week and realize they've been listening all along. After their camp performance, the girls were pumped up. Lily sang louder, Xelah was into it and more involved with the band than ever. Anna didn't seem phased (it's her 3rd annual camp, after all) and Marin continued to bring a great balance to the band, creating a role for herself as the band's leader.

July 17, Performance Day!

This is usually a very chaotic day. In the morning, all bands will get a chance to play their song one more time in the community room. While they're not playing, they will either make buttons or get their hair and makeup done. A temporary tattoo station was thrown in for good measure. All of the girls seem to really love the button and makeup/hair part and it's hard to keep these things flowing so that everyone can be finished by the time pizza is served. Once they've eaten, their parents come and pick them up and take them to the venue.

Also during this hour, all the donated equipment has to be gathered, loaded and taken to the storage space. A certain amount of equipment has to be loaded and taken to the venue. Some volunteers need to get to the venue to set up. Some need to stay with the girls. And too few gathered, loaded and transported equipment to storage. I was one of those very few, and on the hottest day in years (102 degrees) it didn't seem like the best thing to be doing right before the big showcase. At the venue, there was even more chaos. There was no air conditioning in the venue. The parents were waiting out in the hot lobby with no chance for cold beverages, since there wasn't a venue staffer in sight. And no one knew who was to be the person at the merch table and at the door. Luckily, a few moms helped get things straightened out while the campers were running rampant inside the venue. After what seemed to be an eternity, the volunteers all got on the same page and began to corral the girls into the space they would be in for the entire show unless they were on stage.

When the doors finally opened, word spread that the line to get into the venue was around the block and I couldn't believe it was about to get even hotter in there. But that's rock 'n' roll, right? It was really something to see all that support for the girls. Those families, including grandparents, were so very proud of their daughters, you could just see every face in the audience beaming. And it was nice to see that someone was behind the bar serving cans of Pabst and other cold beverages. It probably wouldn't have been appropriate for me to have a beer, but oh how I wanted one!

Every band was great. The Black Candles were really fabulous and it's so hard to believe that in about a half an hour, it was all over. The week was so long and within minutes, your band is done and you have to say goodbye soon after.

So another end to another rewarding camp experience. And hopefully this camp wasn't about teaching girls that they are better than boys, but rather that they, like boys, deserve to be heard and respected and valued. Putting microphones, guitars and drumsticks in their hands goes a long way in reasserting that. And the music, friendships and memories that come out of that whole process is just icing on the cake.

Girls Rock 2010!

July 14

Ah, hump day. This is the day when things seem to come together at the last minute, but it's not apparent at all until then. The Black Candles got off to a rocky start today, working on the design of their logo that will be screen printed onto t-shirts. It didn't go all that well because they just couldn't agree, and compromise didn't come too easy. They were guided through the process by one of the girls leading the workshop, which was great, but there definitely wasn't the enthusiasm you'd expect after just designing a logo. But I'm certain they'll dig it when they see it on a T-shirt. The process was interesting to watch because of the dynamic between the girls. It's hard to deny someone their opinion, but then again they're going to encounter plenty of those very scenerios so maybe it's important to teach them compromise or the art of choosing their battles now.

After lunch, we had our "soft" practice. The girls, as always, were scattered, unfocused and lazy and Heather and I figured it was time to change our tactics. We decided not to let them make any more changes because it was imperative that we complete the song and start nailing it. After all, we only had 2 days. Friday they were to perform in front of camp. And Saturday was the final performance. So we really only had Thursday to practice a certain amount of run-throughs of the song. I'll admit, we weren't feeling like things were going to fall in place in time. The girls didn't seem into it and they were still trying to make changes, from little ones (changing a line) to big ones (getting rid of the whole intro).

But miraculously, during loud practice, things really did fall into place. Another volunteer, a bass instructor, came and sat in and offered some great suggestions for the girls, especially the bass player and we really started to see things change for the better. And along with that came some excitement from the girls, even Xelah, the keyboardist, who didn't always agree with other ideas for the song. So, as is the seeming tradition, hump day proved to be the day when things just clicked for the girls. Tomorrow will be a good practice day where they really cement it all. And Friday I suspect we'll see more emotion from all four girls.


July 15
Today, Channel 9 News came in to do a piece on Girls Rock Camp. Word spread and the girls were beside themselves with excitement. I was helping out in Drum Instruction and the girls just could not focus, they all wanted to be on TV. It was funny to see them fidgety and unfocused until the cameras came around. Then they just rocked it. A band called BrainWash played their song for the camera and hopefully they got to see themselves here.


As for The Black Candles, they're still kickin' it. One day before they have to play in front of the camp, and two days before playing in front of a packed house at the Oriental, they're still trying to make changes in the song before they even have it mastered. I guess that's to be expected but um, we have to determine the parts and play them over and over again, right?

But it has been cool to see them collaborating more with each other. Xelah's really coming out of her shell and has been more open to other people's ideas. Lily is getting more comfortable with a mic in her hand and experiments with a louder voice at times, so we'll see how she comes across at the performance. Anna is doing great at lining up her bass beats with the drums. I found out she was at Girls Rock Camp in North Carolina for the past two years, just recently moving to Denver, and is doing bass for the first time. And Marin has been getting more focused, willing to herd the group into what they're doing at any given point during practices. She reminds me a lot of Bella last year; so sweet and incredibly easy-going, someone everyone gets along with.

Girls Rock 2010!

July 13

The second day of camp is always a mixed blessing. By now, the girls have a group of friends they now pal around with and they also have a task, which is to write a song with their band. But it's also different from the first day since they sometimes seem to be more content to run around with those new friends, rather than focusing on the task at hand. They seem to forget why they're here, as they make up games and chase each other in between workshops.

But I recall this from last year, so I'm not as freaked out. Today there were a couple of workshops about assertiveness and playing in bands with boys. Really great stuff and I always wonder how much of these things sink in with the girls. Then the bands got to practice for the first time. They each got a practice without instruments and a practice with instruments. For Black Candles' "soft" practice, we talked about the song some more and the girls decided that they wanted the first verse to be quiet and the chorus to be loud. We also talked about stage presence and what they wanted to look like onstage. Most agreed with black lipstick and the t-shirts they're gonna put their logos on tomorrow, but the spray-painting the hair so that it looks like a flame bit.......well, that remains to be seen. Again, it was great that we had Anna's lyrics and I gotta tell you, that girl wrote really profound stuff. I think as we get older, we forget how amazing we were at that age. I can't wait to see what they all do with the song.

The first loud practice is always interesting. We have to remember how new it is for the girls to be holding instruments and microphones, sometimes for the first time. So there has to be some space given for them to experiment with the sounds they're creating. But at a certain point, there has to be some order. After all, there are only four days to write, practice and perform this one song before they're playing it on a very big stage in front of a lot of people. So the balance to strike with that is sometimes hard to find. And the chaos can be exhausting. Luckily, I'm not the band coach. They're the ones who have to guide the girls through the songwriting task. I'm just there to "manage" and as with last year, I find it sometimes difficult to not interject my opinions about how the song should go. Heather, our coach, is great. Anytime the girls say "Maybe we should do this here and then do that there.....," she'll tell them those are great ideas. And the girls continue to play different beats from each other. While I look at the clock and wonder how the hell all this is going to come together (and sound like a cohesive song) by Saturday! I suppose this is what it's like to be a parent. You've gotta let your kid go out into the world and experience it all from their point of view and make mistakes without you trying to pack their heads with your own opinions and perspectives right? And sometimes you stand by and watch them clearly out of sync...but you just gotta encourage them to move forward.

Girls Rock Camp 2010!

July 11

Well here we go again. The second annual Girls Rock Camp. I’m a band manager again this year and I’m curious to see how this second year goes. The organizers have made some improvements over the last year. The camp itself is at a new place that has a better vibe, and there will be less moving of equipment from room to room. The showcase is also at a different venue: the lovely Oriental Theater...the site of the very first, and now legendary, Au Jus show....but that’s a whole ‘nuther blog. Don’t miss the final Girls Rock showcase Saturday, July 17. I think the performances start at 3 or so. (click here for info)

Today most of the volunteers met and loaded equipment, stuffed swag bags and hung posters to make the place a little more rock ‘n’ roll. I’m always impressed with people who can devote their time and energy to causes they deem worthy. They truly do make the world go round. There’s a great mix of volunteers this year that are ready to do what’s necessary to make the girls’ camp experience something they’ll remember throughout their formative years. And as we’ve often heard each other saying: I wish they would have had something like this when I was growing up!

July 12

First day of camp. There are 13 returning campers and 17 new girls. The only Trouble In Midnight member from last year (the band I managed last year) is Alexis. Kind of surprising that she’s the only one, but she brought her younger sister to the camp so I guess that kinda makes up for it. The first day of camp is quite different from the routine of the other days. It’s a lot of ice breaker events and getting to know each other. Today there seemed to be a lot of extra time for girls to run around and I think that’s because the volunteers were so efficient that there was extra time in the schedule. So for me today, it was a lot of watching. I felt like I was observing for a sociology experiment. Some things that ran through my mind whilst watching:

--leaders need followers

--I’m always attracted to loners and repelled by those who strive to be the center of attention

--girls can be catty & rude

--kids really do say the funniest things

--there really is a time of the day when focus is damn near impossible

--obnoxious people can indeed make seemingly normal people around them obnoxious as well

--it’s hard to feed a large group of tweens…when one doesn’t like her burrito, it’s a good bet the person next to her won’t like hers either

After lunch there was a songwriting workshop and then the girls were placed into two groups by age, Pix & Stix. Getting all the girls into bands was a very long process, with some breakdowns and lots of confusion. But as is typical, it all worked out. My band is of the younger sort and it started out as a trio (the best kind), but gained a vocalist at the last minute. So they had to start over with the naming process to be sure that everyone agreed. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally chose The Black Candles. So Marin (drums), Xelah (keyboards), Anna (bass) and Lily (vocals) will be working on their song all week. Anna already had lyrics written that she brought brought to the table, and amazingly, Lily wanted to use them instead of writing her own. So we’re so much farther along than where we’d be if we didn’t have lyrics. The wonderful Heather (who performed with her band the Blue Belles during lunch) is our band coach and she’ll be great at directing the girls, musically. Tomorrow, we’ll get into a groove and begin our journey as a band. I think I got the loner girls, the ones who maybe didn’t connect with the others as well as the rest of the girls during the first half of the day; the ones who didn’t feel the need to follow the alpha girls. Funny how we all found each other in the end.

Girls Rock Showcase

Girls Rock, final day. Saturday, August 1.

Well, the day is finally here. The showcase is just a few hours away and there's still lots to do. Each band had 20 minutes of practice. When they weren't practicing their song, the girls were making buttons (thanks to the help of Fancy Tiger) or getting their hair and makeup done, which was very exciting for most. They made the most of it, getting tattoos, putting glitter on their eyes, cheeks and lips, and rocking out their hair. Some brought outfits that they had planned and others wore their logo'd t-shirts. After eating pizza (and reapplying the shimmer on their lips), the girls were picked up by their families and taken to the Mercury Cafe.

At the venue, the volunteers marked off an area for the girls and set up the merch table. Photographers took pictures and the instrument instructors ran through soundcheck. After the doors opened and the families started pouring in, the energy of the place just skyrocketed. Monique, project director for Girls Rock Denver, gave a tearful introduction to the organization, conveying how emotional it was to see a year and a half of hard work finally come to fruition. After that, it was all about the rock. The order of the bands could not have been more perfect, starting with the youngest band (they effectively tugged on the heartstrings of the crowd) and ending with the oldest (which included a 16 year old drummer with 5 years of drumming experience). So it was The Next Generation, Kosmic Rumbles, Trouble at Midnight, The Unknowne, Sparkling Lemonade and The Lighter Side of Dark. The camp volunteers were not the only ones emotional while cheering the girls on; the families were so proud of their girls and they created such an enthusiastic vibe. The Mercury Cafe was packed and I'm still amazed that none of the girls froze while onstage. They all remembered their parts and lyrics and the only mistakes were likely having more to do with not being able to hear themselves or each other. But none of that mattered because the crowd was so loud and supportive every step of the way.

As Trouble at Midnight was preparing for their performance, I put Sadie's tour posters on the stage. And they launched into the song without the worrysome nerves that I thought they would have. They were spectacular and I could not have been more proud. And sad. I was realizing that this was it. The end of a pretty intense week. The last band, The Lighter Side of Dark, was reportedly approached afterwards about doing a gig next summer at the zoo! Hopefully that'll work out somehow with the guitarist living in Kentucky. But just news of them being asked to play outside of camp was incredibly cool!

After the bands performed and the adults led them in the camp theme song that they created during camp, the girls scattered. I eventually found all my girls and gave them a quick hug and a card that I had for each of them. As some of them left, I had the urge to call after them, "let's go bowling or something," but instead it seemed as though this might be the last time I see some of them, and it was so sad! Zoe gave the volunteers boxes of cookies and the moms and dads of the rest of the band were so appreciative of our time, dedication and enthusiasm for what we were doing. It was so rewarding to hear the parents talk about how much their kids loved the experience and how the parents were planning on getting them the instruments of their choice. The showcase proved to be the inspiration needed to get others involved in the organization. So many people approached me and the other volunteers about wanting to be managers, coaches, instructors or just wanting to be involved somehow in next year's camp.

Volunteers sometimes don't get the luxury of knowing how much of a difference they've made on another life. But when I asked camper Alexis what lessons she has learned this week about being a girl, she answered: 1) Girls are smarter than boys and 2) Girls are really independent. So I know that somewhere in the midst of all the rock & roll, the girls learned a little something about empowerment, healthy self images and the possibilities of equality between genders. So I'm completely certain my time and energy went to a particularly good cause!

Girls Rock!

Friday, July 31. Day 5.

The day before the showcase. We decided to rotate the girls through a plugged-in band practice, instead of 2 hours of instrument instruction in the a.m. So each band got 20 minutes to practice with karen (bass instructor) and sara (drum instructor). I think this worked well, considering that the girls were having a hard time keeping focus for 2 hours in instruction classes. Also, it gave them an added band practice in front of some new eyes. I sat in the bass class for those 2 hours and had the girls run thru their parts. Several times, we went to the playground for some fresh air.

In the afternoon, Trouble at Midnight had their loud practice upstairs in the drum room that was lined with mirrors. Seth ran them through the song and spent particular attention to the last line of the song, "I want my life to rock!" This is where the rest of the band was going to join in. But they weren't very enthusiastic about it. They were told to shout it loudly. But for some reason, that didn't come easy to them, so we told them to do it while looking at themselves in the mirror to show how uninspired it was. After awhile, it finally sounded loud and we ran through the entire song 3 more times. Luckily we had some comedy relief after an hour of a pretty focused practice. To start the last song, Bella was about to count everyone in but realized her drumstick was upside down. And after the song, Sadie asked the band whether, when raising her arm during the I-Want-My-Life-To-Rock line, she should hold it like this (slightly bent) or like this (straight). I don't know why Seth and I thought that was so hilarious, but we did. I guess it's easy to forget what young girls tend to focus on.


After practice, there was an hour of showcase run-through. Each band was going to have the chance to play their song in front of the rest of the camp. Finally, I got to see the other bands and it was not disappointing at all! I just can't get over how great it was to watch each girl get to this point. What a treat. During our afternoon practice, Seth asked each girl what they did well during the run-through and what they needed to change. We also got our t-shirts back with our band logos on them. I was so impressed with TaM's logo, considering how quickly they threw it together. I think it was Tuesday when the girls got to work on designing their logos. During this workshop, the managers & coaches had a meeting. When I walked into the logo workshop with only 10 minutes to go, I saw that each girl was doing their own drawing. After realizing that they had not agreed to any one thing, they voted on each of their drawings. There were 2 that got the most votes so they worked on putting them together. They didn't have much time to work on it, but it came out so great nonetheless. Maggie May's moon saying "That's Ms. Trouble to you," was so very appropriate!

Finally, at the end of the day, the lovely Marni (guitar instructor) gave a kickass workshop on how to work with male musicians. The girls seemed to really like this workshop. At one point, Marni told them that if they're not moving their own gear, the boys aren't going to take them seriously. So she enacted a scene of how to do that even though they might not be able to lift gear. She got down and lifted one end of an amp and shouted to fellow female volunteer "Hey Joe, come help me lift this. I want to move it right over there." This way, girls can convey a self-confidence that proves that they are in the band and that they are as strong as the guys, which is important as a female musician in a male-dominated industry.

Girls Rock!

Thursday, July 30. Day 4.

We're definitely over the hump now. The campers don't seem to be moving with much urgency, but the volunteers sure are. Most of the conversations I overhear from the kids are more about what they're gonna do onstage, and not about their actual song. I remember the thoughts I had when I played my first performance in front of a crowd...I talked a big game beforehand about my moves and how I would act and the little skits me and my bandmates would do. But once onstage, I just froze and stared at my instrument wishing I could hear myself, and then regretting that i did none of the fabulous moves I had fantasized about. Ugh. I wonder if the girls will go through the same thing. The volunteers are more focused on the showcase coming up (2 days away...yikes!) and are busy honing in on what needs to be done from now until then with both the logistics of the camp and the performance details with their bands.

We're also at the point in the week where we've all been around each other for so many hours that we are starting to relax more. The girls are more comfortable with each other and it seems like perhaps they're starting to lose some of their focus, replacing it with an overall enjoyment of new friendships and a preference for playing games and talking with each other. I noticed with my band anyway, that for the first time they came to our second afternoon band practice with less conviction than previous days. They were more tired and much more in the mood for play rather than playing in a band. Even I would have preferred to lay on the floor with them, asking silly questions and playing catch with whatever object was close by. Luckily Coach Seth had a plan and took each girl individually to go over their parts. Then she made them all play through the song about 5 times, making small corrections and last minute criticisms. Earlier, we had determined who's doing what for each of their solos. Maggie-May is actually gonna lift her bass behind her head and play a small riff of "Green Onions" for hers. Awesome...I just love that girl!
Anyway, I am much more hopeful about the band's musical togetherness than I was at the earlier practice today. I'm assuming tomorrow will be the day we just cement it all and play the tune 5 billion times (or as many times as we can in 2 hours). And I also suspect that tomorrow we may just begin to realize that it's almost over and we'll start looking at each other a little differently; as though we know we're about to say our goodbyes soon. My heart gets heavy just thinking about it.

Today we did a pretty cool excercise where we all taped a piece of heart-shaped paper to our backs and everyone else wrote on it why we rocked. It was great to see 5-8 kids and volunteers at a time, in a train writing on each other's backs. The kids really made sure that they got everyone; the girls shuffled around each other saying "Did I do you?" To see the faces of the girls as they read their hearts was really special. It would be really cool if we all did this once or twice a year, not only to be reminded of what positive things people think about us, but also to identify all the positive things we think about everyone else. It's so easy for us to focus on the things that annoy us, rather than on what we truly enjoy about each other. Perhaps instead of shoving our faces with enough food to feed plenty of homeless people on Thanksgiving, we might consider slapping a heart on our family's backs and writing on it all the things we love about them. For now though, I'm envisioning smiling campers clutching their hearts as they retire from yet another full day of self esteem building, getting even closer to realizing how truly special they all are!

GIRLS ROCK!

Tuesday, July 28. Day 2.

Well, I gotta say, I'm so freakin' happy with my band. It's unbelievable to me that 5 girls, ages 8-13 are so respectful and incredibly fair with each other. The decision-making process with that many adults is difficult, let alone with kids. But every day, I'm more and more impressed with these girls.

The group is made up of girls that you most likely wouldn't see hanging out together at school, for whatever reason. But there are no bullys in the band. No one is bossy, no one throws tantrums, no one is mean. I'm telling you, these girls are the best. Zoe is the vocalist. She's smart and extremely talented in that she writes and draws. The first day, she took pictures of her bandmates on her phone and that night drew their faces and brought the drawing to class for possible use as the band logo. Alexis is the guiarist and is prim, proper and very softspoken. You have to really get close to her to hear what she's saying. She's the quiet type that everyone wants to hear an opinion from cuz when she does talk, it's usually smart and well-thought out. She contributed to the song's topic on day one and got Zoe's juices flowing on the song lyrics. She may not be too loud in a group setting, but she's very effective in one-on-one relationships. Bella is our drummer and after her first lesson, she was constantly tapping out a beat with her drumsticks no matter where she was. She's enthusiastic and is the type of girl that gets along with everyone. Such a happy-go-lucky soul; reminds me of me on some level - the girl that just wants to laugh. Maggie May is the bassist with more experience on her instrument than the other girls. The first day, she came in looking very grunge, with a flannel shirt and skinny jeans. She kept to herself and didn't contribute at all in our first band meeting. But it wasn't in a moody i-can't-believe-i'm-in-this-stupid-band kind of way. She responded when spoken to and would give her vote when asked. She was quiet, but still engaged with the group. Sadie is our keyboardist and when she first came to the registration table, I noticed how easy it was for her to verbalize her emotions: "I am so nervous." She is incredibly bright and is also a great artist; drawing robots is her specialty. She certainly gets attached to ideas (think: milk & cheese), but does not hold onto them to the point of getting angry when no one else is interested. She can hold her own in a conversation and has a mature sense of humor.

So this morning, the girls had 2 full hours in instrument instruction. After that, the bands got together to learn about zine making and to make a page for a zine that is gonna get printed, copied and handed out to everyone. Being that each of the girls in Trouble at Midnight (TaM) seems to love art and immediately started creating their own, they will be contributing to the camp zine as well as creating 5 different pages for their band zine. Overacheivers, to be sure. After lunch, our loud practice was spent with the instruments learning to listen to the bass & drums for the beat and Zoe figuring out how to fit her already-written chorus into the music. So far, she had written the first verse as well as the chorus but was having a hard time hearing it with the music being played. That's OK. We've still got 3 1/2 days to get it down (gulp)!

We had an hour at the end of the afternoon in "soft" practice (no plugged-in instruments) to work on lyrics. Well, first Seth had get the band's agreement to hold off on discussing what to wear and how to do their hair for the showcase until after they've written lyrics and music to the song. Friday will be the day we hammer down those very important details of what the band is gonna look like onstage. For now, we need to finish the words to the song. So the instrumentalists heard the words to the one written verse for the first time and everyone liked it. The subject and direction of the song was identified and the girls set out to work on the lyrics. Again, as I've said many times...I am so impressed watching this process with these girls. Even Maggie May, on this second day, was completely into it. Every girl had a part in everything the band decided on. The unspoken rule was to vote on any decision, no matter how small (which likes & dislikes to put on their camp zine page, for instance), and the girls responded so well to the fairness of it all. Incredibly and perhaps subconsciously, they've completely created a safe environment for themselves in which to experess their thoughts and opinions, even when what they shared wasn't fully accepted. What an amazing feat for 5 girls to accomplish pretty much on their own!

So we had 20 minutes left and all we had left to write was the 3rd verse. We were definitely getting giddy at that point, and Sadie especially was less inclined to sit still and focus. I told them that if they got this done in 20 minutes, I'd give them a treat the next day. So we tried to refocus (I especially liked the part of trying to find a word that rhymes with feet. It's incredible how easy it was for me to revert to a 9-year old: how about, i gotta rock out before it starts to SLEET. or, why don't you just call me PETE. or, i was grooving down to the MEAT. don't make me sit on my SEAT...luckily it made the girls giggle!). But Sadie was focused a bit too much on this so-called treat I said I'd bring. I said how did she know it was gonna be candy? Maybe it was a banana. She frowned and seemed to turn back to the lyrics, disgusted that I would even consider a banana a treat. Low and behold, they finished it. And I'm proud to say KUDOS to the girls for creating the vision of a song and determining the structure and lyrics that completely fit that vision. With no fights, pouting or heartache at all. But rather with me and Seth's sarcastic humor and lots of giggling and random jokes from the girls. Geesh, I cannot wait to fit the song in with the music tomorrow! Progress.